Fionn

With the exception of my first ‘proper’ bass back in the early 90’s (P-Bass Lyte) I’ve never been a Fender player. I don’t have anything against them, per se. It’s just that my bass journey has lead me in a different direction (Warwicks mainly). That said, I recently had the opportunity to play and compare three different Jazz basses, and it got me gassing. One was a Mexican Standard Jazz, one was American (basic Jazz, not sure if there was an exact model name), and the other was an Indonesian Squier VM Jazz. All were made this side of the millennium, all were nicely set up, and with decent strings. Comparing the three basses, they didn’t sound as different as I had expected. In terms of sound quality, I felt that there wasn’t much between them (but what is down to subjective preference) really. All three sounded like true Jazz basses, albeit with slightly different tonal characteristics. The Mexican bass perhaps lacked the guts of the other two, a bit less ‘thickness’ in the tone. Only slightly though. There really wasn’t much in it. The American model felt most solid to play, although again, I didn’t perceive that much of a leap in quality between it and the cheapo Squier model. The Mexican bass was poorest in the hands. It wasn’t finished so well either. The Indonesian Squier had a rattle coming from a tuning peg, but overall I couldn’t fault it. Far-Eastern budget basses seem to have come a LONG way since I was a beginner in the 90’s! My query is this ... I’ve now got serious Jazz gas, and I intend to get myself one. On the basis of my experience, and considering the price, I’m thinking of going for a Squier VM. I was very surprised by the quality of the instrument, especially when directly compared to more expensive models. Is this normal with these basses, or might I just have played a particularly good one? Generally speaking, has anyone else perceived little difference across the price-scale like this? I can’t see any reason to pay more for the Mexican Jazz when the budget bass clearly bossed it. Not so sure if this was an anomaly, and my location doesn’t allow me to play lots of different basses whenever I like, so I wouldn’t mind some advice from ye who are in the know. What are other folks experiences with these basses? How do you feel that the Squier VM compares with the Mexican standard? And are there any other cheaper models that stand out? I’ll be buying a used bass when the time comes. Thanks.

I bought this from ‘Bamboo’ on here. Swapped the original gold ironmongery for black

This

Thank you 🙂 Aye, it’s the original MEC. I suppose this must be a predecessor to the Jazzman, sure. I think the rear pickup position is identical.

The rear stacked pot is entirely eq (bass & treble cut and boost), the central pot is the sweep between the two pickups, and the front pot is volume. The front pot has the push-pull thing to switch between active and passive modes.

Thanks man! Aye, they are relatively rare. Made from the end of 1996 until 2000. This is from the first year of production, when they used wenge (as opposed to ovankol) for the necks. It’s not a split coil pickup, no. it’s actually two separate J pickups in the same housing, with a dummy coil between, for noise cancelling when soloing either pickup. So a bit more versatile than it first appears. The pickup position rests in the ‘Stingray’ sweet-spot though. That was the point in the Pro M. It’s like a hybrid between a Streamer and a MM Stingray.

Hey folks. Been away from the forum for a while, but this is my current Warwick-weapon of choice ... 1997 Streamer Pro M. I’m in love with this thing 🙂

I’m currently on the hunt for a reverb pedal, and a friend has offered me a Boss RV3 at a very good price. I’ve been scratching around for info online, but bass-relevant opinions are scant and inconsistent. The bass demo’s on YouTube aren’t so great either. I’ve had no experience of reverb pedals thus far, and I don’t have the opportunity to demo it (or any other pedal) first, hence my question. I was wondering what folks opinions of this pedal are? I’m digging the fact that it doubles as a delay, and I’m not a true-bypass purist, so that’s all good. Regarding sound quality though... Does it retain low end? Is the character of the reverb suited to bass? Any other observations, good or bad? I play both passive and active basses, and the pedal would be part of an already extensive board. Your thoughts would be most appreciated.

Just bought a nice bridge from Adrian. Good all the way!

Alain is a top guy to deal with! Chieftain!

[quote name='PaulKing' timestamp='1484830053' post='3218838'] Update to this. Raising my score to 8.5/10 (via compressor and EQ). First, I figured out the value of the compressor on this baby. I never normally use any compression so I had it dialed right down. Then I read somewhere in a review about this amp (was it here?) "... compressor ... almost essential on an amp of this size..." so i dialled it in. Wowser, what a difference. Suddenly got a heap more output and presence without distortion. Then I thought I should beef up the EQ a bit, lose that nasal honk. Running the bass through a boss EQ7 was all it needed. A big fat scoop, boost hi and low, cut low mid, boost output a bit - bingo. Its a shame to add another piece of kit to something that's all about portability, but as it basically sits under the sideboard in my kitchen, I can leave the EQ pedal plugged in. Now I can hear my bass tone! Pretty bloody good actually, a pleasure to play, rather than just a compromise solution. happy days. [/quote] Do you think it would be loud enough to jam with a couple of acoustic guitars, without distorting?

[quote name='Hellzero' timestamp='1507804057' post='3388030'] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/313371-fenix-by-young-chang-jazz-bass-fretless-for-peanuts-again-i-know/"]http://basschat.co.u...s-again-i-know/[/url] [/quote] THIS

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1507766492' post='3387886'] Two of my current trio [/quote] Awesome, Kev. That's a fine a pair, indeed. That Streamer is pretty much my dream bass. [quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1507789520' post='3387901'] When you see the Thumb and Streamer side by side you can see how the placement of the top horn / 14th v 16th fret level, makes the Thumb hang out to the left a bit. [/quote] Yeahhh, that's the reason that I had to let go of my Thumb Bass, unfortunately. Just too tiring on my left forearm, with the 1st fret being a bus journey away. Otherwise, it was amazing. Best sounding bass I've ever owned. If I were only ever sitting down to play, I'd still have it.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1507652982' post='3387015'] This is cheating. It's deception at it's worst. (Why didn't I think of this? Many thanks ) [/quote] Nae worries man. I've got a set of Fender 9050's on the way. They're for a black and tort P Bass. Thing is, they've got that hideous lime-green silk on them. As soon as they arrive, the silks are getting dipped in the black stuff. Sure, it affects neither my tone, nor my technique, but there are aesthetic considerations. It's an unnecessary indulgence, to be sure, but hey, we've got food and shelter sorted out, so why the hell not? Bass players against gaudy silk, unite!

Thanks for that

There's a way to keep your current strings, but with a more neutral colour. Dip the silks in black dye, leave them to dry, rinse them off, leave to dry again, apply to bass ... Job done. If it's only the colour of the silks that you don't like, if you're ok with them being black, and you're happy with the sound and feel of the strings otherwise, then it's an option. Cheaper and less risky than buying a new set of strings that you're unfamiliar with. I dyed the silks on a set of Ernie Ball Cobalt flats in this way. Dyed the purple silk to black. It worked absolutely fine.

Just wondering if somebody could advise me on this ... I've just bought a Roland Bass Micro Cube RX (you know, the tiny 5W practice combo). It was 2nd hand, and doesn't have a PSU with it. The current draw for the combo (according to Roland) is 186 mA. The technical specs for the recommended adapter are as follows ... Model: PSB-1U Input: 100-240V, 0.4A, 50-60Hz Output: +9.0V AC 2A 18W MAX Center Negative Now, I have a redundant 9V PSU that I think might work, but I would like some advice from the forum first, in case there's something that I'm missing, or not understanding correctly. The PSU that I have is a Boss switching adapter, specs as follows. Would it work? Model: PSA-230ES Input: 100-240V- 50-60Hz 250mA Output: 9V AC 0.5A 4.5W Center Negative What say ye's?

Me ...

Bought a hot hand from Chris. Super-fast shipping, excellent packing, and great comm's. All good! Happy Fionn!

Sorted

Sorted

All good in the Macehood. Deal with confidence! 🏆