NBD... sort of. Red Squier Jazz yumminess

[mcnach]

I bought this '94 Korean Squier Jazz here a while ago because I wanted a cheap Jazz and I wanted it red. The first one that came along was purchased. The electronics were not working and needed some general attention, but nothing terrible.

I have two other fretted Jazz basses. What was my first real bass (a Vintage clone I sold and managed to buy back) and a CIJ75 RI Fender. This one did not have the sentimental value or the quality... but it was red , and the neck was delicious... so I kept it and gigged it a few times, trying flats, tapewounds... also trying different pickups (the original ones went, they were not very nice). I have used it with Seymour Duncan SJB-2 pickups for a while, but they were a bit too dark for my taste. I wanted something a bit more brighter and "traditional" and the DiMarzio Area J looked interesting, being humbuckers too (ok, so not that traditional after all ). And a J-Retro preamp appeared for sale, with Jazz-like concentric knobs. I bought that one too.

Finally, last night, the deed was done. I replaced the pickups and fitted the preamp.
I also have been using this bass without pickguard but I had this mint green in my collection, so I put it on.



It sounds great!

I have a gig tonight, and this red beauty is coming with me, giving the Stingray a rest

[bh2]

Cor! What a beaut!

The J-Retro looks great with the Jazz knobs... must fit them to mine.

[Bassman Sam]

That looks lush. How did sound live? I bet it was great given the mods.

[gjones]

Frankly, having had one fitted to my Jazz in the past, there's not much a Jazz with a J-Retro can't do. It can sound like a P or a Stingray if that's what you want.

Or even a bog standard Jazz.....

[mcnach]

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1379800536' post='2216985']
Frankly, having had one fitted to my Jazz in the past, there's not much a Jazz with a J-Retro can't do. It can sound like a P or a Stingray if that's what you want.

Or even a bog standard Jazz.....
[/quote]


A Stingray is something a Jazz cannot even begin to approximate, J-Retro or no J-Retro.
Not that it needs to!!!

Played it live last night. It sounded great. I really like these preamps... but I have to accept I'm a Stingray man at heart: whatever I play, I try to make it sound close to one. I love the Jazz and even P basses... but when it comes to playing live, I just feel a lot more at home with a Stingray. I guess it's mostly because of familiarity.

When I use a Jazz, I tend to use the bridge pickup alone the most. I think one of the reasons I like a J-Retro in a Jazz is that it allows me to fatten it a little bit, as it can sound a bit thinner than I'd like by itself, on a passive Jazz. But the main reason I like the J-Retro is that semiparametric mid-sweep control. The ability to tweak the mids just right from the bass is so useful.

Another gig tonight... hmmm... Red Jazz or Stingray?