dazza14 Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Just tried a Vintage V940FL bass at my local music shop and i was blown away by it! It's pretty heavy in the body, i think it's Bubinga, but i was amazed at the sounds i was able to get out of it. I've got my heart set on a saucy Squier or Vintage fretless - both in the Jaco style - because i play a Squier Jazz and the body shape will feel right at home but this was a lovely bass. My one gripe was the size of the bottom horn, it's really small so sits rather unsteadily on my thigh when i played it sitting down but it's now a contender for becomming my chosen fretless. Just need to try either a Squier or Vintage for comparison. I've been told these basses come up on The Bay for really good prices too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 (edited) Have you seen the Vintage Icon fretless? Doesn't come much more Jaco than that. Here's a vid of a Basschatter's demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xd2394nEYs Edited May 3, 2013 by Roland Rock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 I've just got my first fretless - a Vintage Jaco from a fellow BCer - and it is very impressive indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 [quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1367571620' post='2066988'] I've just got my first fretless - a Vintage Jaco from a fellow BCer - and it is very impressive indeed. [/quote] That may well be the one i was looking at, but the old saying of 'you snooze, you lose' was true. I used to own a Vintage Pcopy and it was a really nice bass but i wouldn't replace my Jazz with it so it had to go (i like to keep a small group of guitars so they get used). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacker Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 I think the Vintage gear is great VFM. I really like that one withe burl maple top, the V100 - what a super bass for the money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetaFunk Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 I had a Vintage Icon 'Jaco' Bass which i sold last year. Great bass for the money. Really well made and it was very light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted May 3, 2013 Author Share Posted May 3, 2013 I think i'll be keeping an eye on The Bay and the for sale forum for a Jaco bass, i've heard nothing but good things and i really liked my old Vintage bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 Just watched wombats excellent YouTube video. I have some serious learning to do lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted May 3, 2013 Share Posted May 3, 2013 [quote name='dazza14' timestamp='1367574592' post='2067044'] That may well be the one i was looking at, but the old saying of 'you snooze, you lose' was true. I used to own a Vintage Pcopy and it was a really nice bass but i wouldn't replace my Jazz with it so it had to go (i like to keep a small group of guitars so they get used). [/quote] Yes it may well have been the same one. I hope another one appears soon for you, they are well worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 [quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1367586278' post='2067259'] Yes it may well have been the same one. I hope another one appears soon for you, they are well worth it. [/quote] Got one this morning!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greggo Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Vintage stuff is really good value and well made. I bought a Vintage Musicman stingray copy and although as stock the tone is a bit meh (this is due to preamp) the playability of it is up there with basses 3x as much, especially with a setup. I just swapped the rubbish pre-amp it came with for a stingray 2 band clone from probass.co.uk for a mere £40 and the bass really sings now. The actual stock pickup is really good. Im really gassing for a Vintage v4 (p bass copy) and a Vintage v52 (telecaster copy) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 [quote name='dazza14' timestamp='1368175839' post='2074005'] Got one this morning!! [/quote] That's excellent news, nice one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muttley Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 When I got back into playing a couple of years ago I bought a Vintage V1004 fretless for £notmuch on eBay. The styling isn't quite to my taste but it's an awesome instrument. I've also tried a V940 and although this was also excellent but the V1004 is in the next league (to be fair, some of this was down to a poor setup on the 940). As a comparison, a while later I inherited a USA-built Fender Jazz fretless which many would regard as the benchmark for this type of instrument. The Vintage is better balanced, lighter and offers a wider range of sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetaFunk Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 There was a Vintage Icon 'Jaco' on ebay this week at £75 that went unsold as it didn't get any bids. A absolute bargain for that sort of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 [quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1368179021' post='2074068'] There was a Vintage Icon 'Jaco' on ebay this week at £75 that went unsold as it didn't get any bids. A absolute bargain for that sort of money. [/quote] Thats the one i got! It turned out i'd done dealings with the seller in the past, so a quick call, suggested a buy-it-now and KERBLAMMO! it's now mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetaFunk Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 [quote name='dazza14' timestamp='1368181887' post='2074112'] Thats the one i got! It turned out i'd done dealings with the seller in the past, so a quick call, suggested a buy-it-now and KERBLAMMO! it's now mine! [/quote] Well done! That's a lot of bass for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Savage Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Vintage basses are superb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza14 Posted May 10, 2013 Author Share Posted May 10, 2013 [quote name='Ian Savage' timestamp='1368182756' post='2074123'] Vintage basses are superb [/quote] They are! I had a vintage white Pbass copy with maple neck, it was a lovely bass but the neck was like a banana and the truss rod was inneffective, i tried looking for a replacement neck but couldn't get one so i sold it on to a bassist in a Clash tribute band, i think it's probably in pieces in a Biffa bin somewhere, great bass though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 [quote name='dazza14' timestamp='1368181887' post='2074112'] Thats the one i got! It turned out i'd done dealings with the seller in the past, so a quick call, suggested a buy-it-now and KERBLAMMO! it's now mine! [/quote] Crikey that's a good result. Nice one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Alsatian Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 [quote name='dazza14' timestamp='1368186976' post='2074195'] They are! I had a vintage white Pbass copy with maple neck, it was a lovely bass but the neck was like a banana and the truss rod was inneffective, i tried looking for a replacement neck but couldn't get one so i sold it on to a bassist in a Clash tribute band, i think it's probably in pieces in a Biffa bin somewhere, great bass though. [/quote] I had a problem with a twisted neck in a Vintage fretless Jazz I bought for spares/repair and got in touch with JHS to query a new neck. They were pretty unhelpful to be honest, just told me that I'd have to go through a dealer (didn't tell me where) and it probably would cost £60. They told me I could probably get a luthier to sort it for 'about £40', which I doubted. However, I got in touch with Effect Power Supplies as they stock Vintage instruments asked if they could order one for me and they did - £59 and six weeks later (they had to wait for one to arrive from China) and I had my new neck. If anyone needs a replacement neck for a Vintage-branded instrument, I'd definitely recommend getting in touch with them. Very helpful! [url="http://www.effectpowersupplies.com/"]http://www.effectpowersupplies.com/[/url] I have a lot of time for Vintage instruments and £75 for the 'Jaco' is a super-bargain! I added a set of Wilkinson Alnico Jazz pickups to mine and it improved it even further! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muttley Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 [quote name='Green Alsatian' timestamp='1368196596' post='2074370'] I had a problem with a twisted neck in a Vintage fretless Jazz I bought for spares/repair and got in touch with JHS to query a new neck. They were pretty unhelpful to be honest, just told me that I'd have to go through a dealer (didn't tell me where) and it probably would cost £60. [/quote] That's not unusual and not really a bad mark against JHS. Retailers don't like it when a distributor is in direct competition for a retail customer so to avoid this a distributor may have a policy to direct all retail and service enquiries out to their dealer network. That said, they should have suggested someone locally but, daft though it may seem, there may be another policy to not make recommendations to avoid favouritism! Anyway, glad you got it sorted in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Alsatian Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Thanks. That's quite true, and I certainly don't hold it against them, more a mental note that the tone of the emails I received were from someone who [i]appeared[/i] to be not that bothered and that my asking was a chore for them. My experience with other similar companies has been more positive. Specifically, in the first reply I received, I was informed that they didn't stock parts but they were obtained by special order, with no mention of contacting a dealer to do this, which insinuated that they could order one. When I requested a neck be ordered, I received a blunt reply that they couldn't do that and I should seek out a retailer (I mentioned my location in my first email, for shipping estimates). It didn't annoy me, just something that I didn't expect, given that I work in service provision myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Pepper Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Just bought a Vintage Icon Jaco bass off of Gumtree based on this thread. It's fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmachine2112 Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 I,ve had my vintage v4 for a good few years now and I got it s/h for a steal and for the money it,s a great bass. [sharedmedia=core:attachments:87061] I fitted a maple neck off a vintage musoman one cause they didn,t make a maple necked version at the time. I,ll be giggin it tonight again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smythe Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 [quote name='dazza14' timestamp='1367570665' post='2066958'] Just tried a Vintage V940FL bass at my local music shop and i was blown away by it! It's pretty heavy in the body, i think it's Bubinga, but i was amazed at the sounds i was able to get out of it. I've got my heart set on a saucy Squier or Vintage fretless - both in the Jaco style - because i play a Squier Jazz and the body shape will feel right at home but this was a lovely bass. My one gripe was the size of the bottom horn, it's really small so sits rather unsteadily on my thigh when i played it sitting down but it's now a contender for becomming my chosen fretless. Just need to try either a Squier or Vintage for comparison. I've been told these basses come up on The Bay for really good prices too... [/quote] I have this fretless too. I bought it second hand for under £200 and its become a buy of the century for me... My band mates love it, ive only used it in a gigging situation twice, but I've had more positive comments and questions from revellers about the V940fl than i have about all my expensive basses combined... i've had them over 6 yrs and gigged regularly with threm too lol!! Stringed with Thomastik JF344's and you cant go wrong. Being knit picky, the only thing i dislike about the bass is the neck P pickup is a bit loud and boomy but i just keep the EQ in and around the bridge J pickup area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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