Fretless Fender Jazz comparisons

[xgsjx]

Yesterday I had a little time to kill in Glasgow whilst waiting on the wife, so I headed to Guitar Guitar to see if they had any fretless bass' in for me to try & joy of joys, they had not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 lined fretless Jazzers & a fretless Stingray too.

First bass I tried was the MIA Jazz & what can I say, such a beautiful instrument to play (I still don't like the top horn, but hey, not all basses are perfect).
Had it going through an Ashdown ABM 500 combo (which I couldn't fault either).
The bass had loads of beef in the low end on either pickup & it's made me want one! Might be some time before I can afford one though. It was just over £1200.

Next up I tried the MIM Jazz. At almost £600 this was a very disappointing instrument. The second I held it I could feel the difference in quality. Not just a wee bit, but like the difference from a nice tailored suit to a bin bag. It didn't have any low end beef either, which was a further disappointment.

Then I tried the Squire. This outshone the MIM by a long way. I'd be happy with this bass & all I'd need to do is stick a set of flatwounds on it & lower the action a bit.
Very impressed considering it's a £300 bass.

Then I tried the Creme de la creme, the Jaco Jazz. Even over the quality of the MIA, you can feel the difference. I like the thinner profile (almost as thin as my Ibby) & the notes just sung from this bass. Though I'm not sure I'd spend the extra £500 on this over the MIA.

So my winner out of those 4 is the MIA. I'm now toying with the idea of selling all my pedals (& my wife) to get one.

[BassTractor]

I'll buy!
The pedals, that is.

Thanks for writing it all down. It's always interesting with stuff like this.

BTW, that MIA would set you back 2K here in Norway, so go buy it while it's on offer!


best,
bert

[ead]

Here's another one to ponder. Hand built unlined fretless J Type ACG, yours for a little over £800 (I think).

[url="http://www.acguitars.co.uk/acg_admin/wordpress/portfolio/g019-j-type-fretless-4/"]http://www.acguitars.co.uk/acg_admin/wordpress/portfolio/g019-j-type-fretless-4/[/url]

[xgsjx]

Cheers. I've browsed the ACG website & just drooled all over my keyboard.

That ACG Jazz is rather nice, though I wouldn't have it in black (had my share of black basses over the years).

[ead]

They are superb, although I would say that wouldn't I as I am lucky to have the full custom version of that bass. I know what you mean about black basses though, not a fan personally.

You could always order your own version, which in Graft spec would be about £830ish for a passive one...

Edited June 19, 2013 by ead

[mr zed]

I own a 2009 American Jazz deluxe 4 string fretted which I bought new and cost me over £1K. Beautiful instrument. I have recently bought a second hand 2004 mex Jazz fretless off these very pages for £250 inc delivery. The difference is quality is very noticable however the fretless is just so much fun to play. The neck is fantastic. I do not play fretless that much with the band so didn't want to part with tons of cash. The problem I had was the massive difference in tone and volume when changing between both basses mid-set (the deluxe is active, the fretless is passive). So I stuck an East J Retro in the fretless (£125 second hand also from a basschat member) and voila..........I challange anyone in a blind test to tell which bass I was playing. Also bought a hard case for £50, a tort pickguard for £10 and 3 x Fender plastic stacked knobs (which I had shipped in from the good ol' US of A (£35). So the bass owes me £470 and I couldn't be happier.

Full agree that the MIA is miles better than the MIM and the Squier sits between the 2. If I was was buying new i'd probably go for the Squier (more bang for your buck) or possibly the Vintage (which is held in high regard on here) however if I played a lot of fretless i'd probably opt for the MIA (would still put the J Retro in there though!

The ACG looks fantastic BTW.

[bh2]

I have to agree that the J-Retro/fretless combo is a killer.

[dazza14]

Try the Vintage 'Jaco' bass... it's a beauty.
But, if you've got over a £1k to blow on one, do it, i doubt a £300 Vintage would compare with a MIA Fender.