Josh

I'm currently awaiting a tort plate from TBD: Can't say I'm a fan of it without really.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1377600598' post='2189161'] I can never understand why he gets such a hard time on here. He has inspired thousands of bassists around the world and is probably still doing so. [/quote] I don't think I've seen anyone on here in recent memory who has had a bad thing to say about Geddy Lee, maybe more along the lines of he isn't as good as he used to be but that's obviously down to personal taste and perception. He seems to be one of the few select bassists that is almost universally respected by most of us, he's certainly not to some people's taste but even then there is respect given for his longevity and being one of the great innovators of the instrument. Not to forget that Geddy is by all accounts a nice and humble guy who makes time for his fans.

It's a bit weighty, I'd say its between 9-10lbs.

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/214433-nbd-squier-vmj-v-content/page__fromsearch__1

One of the best mods I've done is to take the neck off of a Fender American Special jazz as it was the only good thing about that bass, I put it onto my Squier CV, both aesthetically and tonally it was a great mod. As well as changing the stock bridge for a Schaller roller bridge which again was a beneficial mod as getting the right action is so easy now. I think a lot of people who do mod sometimes adopt the mentality of: "Putting a BA2 on my jazz will turn it into a completely different bass!", which in my experience isn't always the case, in fact BA bridges generally mean you'll be buggered when trying to get a low action.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1376859984' post='2180139'] you can't make a jazz thump like precision.... you can get a streamer's (SS1 4 string) neck pickup closer than a jazz will get.... [/quote] But at least you can get a precision-esque tone out of a jazz, whereas streamers will always fall short of replicating a classic jazz tone.

You should be able to press the top of either volume control.

[quote name='cybertect' timestamp='1376408556' post='2173527'] That is a quite a looker; I've had my eye on the fretless Jazz and Precision (and the Bass VI has certainly piqued my interest) If it's the same as the 2013 VM fretless Jazz, they've dropped the Duncan-Designed pickups that were on the 2012 model and introduced some new Fender designed ones. [/quote] Well taking the DD logo off has certainly made them look less cheap, as well as having the neck glossed as opposed to the unfinished necks on the normal VMJ's.

[quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1376404233' post='2173436'] I'm genuinely interested to know why you don't think the bridge is good. It may be different on the 5-string but I've found the 4 string bridge perfectly adequate. [/quote] I think having a more solid and robust bridge with better adjustability really helps me be able to set the bass up with the perfect action for me, as well as increasing the sustain. I agree the bridges are perfectly adequate, especially on the CV models. I changed the high-mass bridge on my CV jazz to a Schaller roller bridge and it gave me far greater adjustability than the standard one. The saddles on the Schaller are able to go lower than that of a standard bridge and as such I was able to get the right action with ease. That's just me though, I know someone would have it the way the bass is now and not change anything. That's the best thing about the VM's and CV's, they are great off the shelf basses but are also fantastic basses to modify.

[quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1376400284' post='2173342'] My advice would be to hold fire before you make any changes. I bought a 4-string VMJ a couple of years back, intending to make a few mods. After trying it out a few times I decided to leave it just as it was. [/quote] I'm quite happy with how it sounds so I think I'll leave the pick ups alone, but I've already got some vintage style knobs on the way and I've just had a quote from TheBassDoc on a tort scratch plate I just need to find a good bridge.

Isn't Ken Smith notorious for his apparently bad customer relations?

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1376392083' post='2173146'] Nice bass, what are the pickups like? The VM pickups are allegedly a bit polite apparently. [/quote] I'm actually quite surprised with the pick ups, I'm not sure wether they're the same as the pick ups in the CV jazz or if they're Duncan Designed as they have no insignia, but regardless they actually have a very hot output and they sound just as good as the set of Wizard 64's in my Squier/Fender jazz.

[quote name='leroybasslines' timestamp='1376380742' post='2172935'] I once tried a Stingray in PMT Bristol. It was set up so badly it was unplayable - the action was so low all you got between frets 7 to 11 or so was buzz with no note at all. When I asked the guy doing the bass stuff he said he'd personally set it up that way because 'that's how the good players like it'! Oh dear. Needless to say, I didn't give PMT my money that day! Not sure who does the bass stuff there now, but I hope it isn't him! They definitely suffer from some poor staff in there. You know when you've asked to try a bass, they plug it in and hammer out some terrible slap bass and hand you the instrument with a 'beat that, loser' air. No need! Having said that, I've spoken to many knowledgeable guys in there that go out of their way to help. I guess these problems are the downside of a big shop with a comparatively high turnover of staff... [/quote] Well that certainly makes a change from at least 85% of the basses having terrible and unplayable actions, even this one had been taken straight out of the box and put straight out. It's worse when they've plugged you into an amp (Which will most likely be an Orange because they always try and flog you one) they stand there and fiddle with the controls on the amp whilst you're trying to play a really badly set up bass, so it sounds doubly horrendous. Whilst waiting for the member staff who was serving me to let me know my payment plan had been accepted, I was stood staring at the same basses that have been on that wall for well over year for some, there was a young boy who was shopping for his first bass with his mum (Who actually knew a fair bit of muso terminology) and the guy who was serving had very little clue about what he was trying to sell to the lad. I would've offered straight away to lower the action and straighten the neck of any bass he liked the look of, not just grabbing the nearest bass that was closest to the budget. They don't have anyone in charge of the bass department because apparently they can't afford it and I guess compared to the guitar departments, drums, keyboards and studio equipment departments that the bass department isn't really as important.

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1376328061' post='2172216'] Yes he is Looks lovely, I'm a fan of white basses! Not really a fan of that shop though.. They never seem to keen for me to try out the basses in there. But James (one of the staff) is an awesome block. [/quote] PMT Bristol is very hit and miss, I'm fortunate enough to have a drummer who is practically buying from them ever other day and so by proxy I've gotten to know some of the staff. T.J is one of the good guys to look out for.

I've been following the recent threads about the new Squier VM models, the inclusion of an olympic white and maple 5 string jazz really peaked my interest and I thought it would make a great back up to my Fender/Squier and Warwick, and I have missed having a 5 string lately. So low and behold I potter in to PMT in Bristol this past friday and they have one sat hidden in the corner for a fair £300, after a couple of days of mulling it over and looking at possible payment options I finally bit the bullet and bought it earlier today: After having a quick tinker when I got it home my first impression is that it is a fantastic 5 string for the price, both in looks and playability, and this is with the stock strings on which I will be changing in the next half hour for a set of D'Addario nickels. The bass is crying out for some vintage style knobs and a tort scratch plate(Is it the BassDoctor who is our resident scratch plate master?) and a better bridge but for right now it was definitely a justified impulse purchase

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1375685963' post='2164121'] and shouldnt your thread be titled DRUMMER WOES ? [/quote] The same thing has happened with guitarists and vocalists at Uni

I guess I should explain with some more conext. This is down to my drummer who is a great drummer and I love the guy to bits, but he is also a producer/engineer and as such he does our demos and E.P's, I understand perfectly that having a 0.0mm action is horrible for recording as is a 4ft high action but it's just he feels the need to always comment on it not being high enough for him for when he rips it out of my hands, whacks the treble all the way up and starts playing old school Blink 182 songs. There have been somewhat heated discussions over recording certain basses and when I decide to move a bass on, I know it is ridiculous but trying to get the point across to him that the action on MY bass is set up for ME, not for him as I'm the one who spends most days playing it and I don't want to give myself an injury forcing myself to play on a higher action seems to go over his head. And for a long time now I've been somewhat at peace with the action on both of my basses, I can safely say that my action has been slowly moving up a mm every few months and I look back on how I had my previous basses set up and I'd even say they were too low. Live & learn and all of that

Now, is it just me or do any of you get a bit touchy when it comes to non-bassists who will pick up your bass and proceed to play very hamfistedly and then complain about your action being too low/high? We all know its a personal preference and from one bassist to another our basses are going to play very differently and we accept that, I respect that we all have varying degrees of technique which will affect how the bass responds as well. I'm not one to tell a guitarist how their action should be or complain about how easy it is to play, it's not my instrument and most guitars I have played the action has seemingly been fine but that might be down to bassists having a stronger left hand. Much the same for drummers, I'm not going to play on someone's kit and then proceed to tell them how they should set it up and what height the hi-hats and cymbals should be at. Am I wrong to get tetchy?