mcnach Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 (edited) Much faster than the 10 weeks I expected... my new Jake is ready! I'll not have it with me until next week, but Adrian sent me a picture to keep me daydreaming It's a very simple design, and not a looker compared to other basses, admittedly. I did not go for looks on this one, but for simplicity and I specified all hardware, pickup placement, neck profile/finish, even the side dots... Can't wait!!! ([b]edit: it arrived at post #20[/b]) Edited September 17, 2015 by mcnach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mal2404 Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 It's official Adrian, simple does not make bad looking basses!!! Love it man and I can't believe it's ready so quickly!!!!! How long did you have to wait? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 Wow, that is......red! Congrats Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naetharu Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 (edited) Loving it! It looks great with the bold red and simple colour config. Congrats mate What specs did you go with for it? Edited September 10, 2015 by Naetharu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 (edited) [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1441891513' post='2862663'] It's a very simple design, and not a looker compared to other basses... [/quote] I beg to differ, it looks totally fantastic. But now I want the same in vintage white with chrome hardware... Would you mind very much if I was a bit nosy and asked you to PM me a few details? Cost, waiting time, etc? Thanks and congratulations on a really cracking bass. If it plays and sounds as good as it looks then you've got a winner there. Edited September 10, 2015 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 10, 2015 Author Share Posted September 10, 2015 [quote name='mal2404' timestamp='1441892187' post='2862679'] It's official Adrian, simple does not make bad looking basses!!! Love it man and I can't believe it's ready so quickly!!!!! How long did you have to wait? [/quote] I ordered it in early-mid July... so about 8-9 weeks? I wasn't expecting it yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 10, 2015 Author Share Posted September 10, 2015 [quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1441892548' post='2862683'] Wow, that is......red! Congrats Si [/quote] RED? crap! my monitor is playing up again... it's supposed to be blue!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 10, 2015 Author Share Posted September 10, 2015 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1441892997' post='2862694'] I beg to differ, it looks totally fantastic. But now I want the same in vintage white with chrome hardware... Would you mind very much if I was a bit nosy and asked you to PM me a few details? Cost, waiting time, etc? Thanks and congratulations on a really cracking bass. If it plays and sounds as good as it looks then you've got a winner there. [/quote] Thank you! I'll PM you tonight. Put the kettle on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 (edited) [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1441893949' post='2862718'] it's supposed to be blue!!!!!!!!!!!!! [/quote] Eh?? I thought it was green. [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1441893992' post='2862719'] Thank you! I'll PM you tonight. Put the kettle on. [/quote] Credit where it's due. I was thinking along broadly similar lines myself. Less is more! Edited September 10, 2015 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 10, 2015 Author Share Posted September 10, 2015 [quote name='Naetharu' timestamp='1441892803' post='2862690'] Loving it! It looks great with the bold red and simple colour config. Congrats mate What specs did you go with for it? [/quote] I went for the standard Jake design with a number of variations: Passive electronics - volume/tone Ash body Maple neck/fingerboard, vintage tint glossy lacquer 3mm diameter side dots 43mm spacing at the nut and 21mm deep at 1st fret (wide and wide spacing, but not chunky in cross-section) Hipshot ultralite tuners ETS bridge (20mm spacing, top-loading) Delano PMVC 4 AL-H pickup The pickup is in reverse orientation and slightly closer to the bridge than normal. Essentially, the DG coil is about 5mm closer to the neck than the standard Precision DG, and the EA coil just below it. I was playing with pickup placements a while ago on an old OLP, and that was roughly one of the positions I liked a lot. It was fat, but a bit more defined than a Precision, yet it still share a lot with the Precision. If I moved it closer towards the bridge then it started getting too much into Stingray territory, even using P type pickups, so that looked like a good place for a "hybrid". I love the Precision, but I miss the extra definition I get on a Stingray. This is my attempt to get something that would sit in between. Oh, it also has my band's logo on the headstock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 10, 2015 Author Share Posted September 10, 2015 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1441894040' post='2862720'] Eh?? I thought it was green. [/quote] It's the Jake 'sunglasses' custom 4 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1441894040' post='2862720'] Credit where it's due. I was thinking along broadly similar lines myself. Less is more! [/quote] Indeed. After years of adding preamps and extra switching combinations to everything... I am now appreciating the beauty of a simple instrument: one pickup, basic tone shaping, volume to mute when not playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 Looks great. Really nice. I'd love one in sonic blue or shell pink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo2 Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 This is super nice, a bold, striking minimalist approach, love it! And you can ask for your band's logo on the headstock, and hey presto - no problem, ready to ship. Congrats, let us know once it arrives how gooood it sounds. I may get rid of the basses I have and put an order through soon ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 That's really not my kinda bass. But as not my kinda basses go that's one really really lovely not my kinda bass!!! Hmmmm... Starting to get seriously tempted by this brand! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 11, 2015 Author Share Posted September 11, 2015 [quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1441953664' post='2863161'] That's really not my kinda bass. But as not my kinda basses go that's one really really lovely not my kinda bass!!! Hmmmm... Starting to get seriously tempted by this brand! [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LewisK1975 Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 NICE! Lovely as it is tho, with a Delano MM pickup between the reverse P and the Bridge, you'd seriously have something special there!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 (edited) Nice, and it'll look good on stage. It has a bit of a Charvel/Jackson vibe about it, but thankfully without the pointy headstock! Edited September 11, 2015 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 11, 2015 Author Share Posted September 11, 2015 (edited) [quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1441962207' post='2863242'] NICE! Lovely as it is tho, with a Delano MM pickup between the reverse P and the Bridge, you'd seriously have something special there!! [/quote] I did toy with the idea of adding a second reverse P right below the other one... but my whole point was simplicity and the hybrid thing: still fat, still reminiscent of a Precision, but a little more definition. Edited September 11, 2015 by mcnach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 11, 2015 Author Share Posted September 11, 2015 [quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1441965719' post='2863282'] Nice, and it'll look good on stage. It has a bit of a Charvel/Jackson vibe about it, but thankfully without the pointy headstock! [/quote] that's true!!!!!!!! but yeah, not a fan of pointy headstocks. I did own an Ibanez RG548 (SSH, floyd rose, pointy headstock) but it was natural ash so a bit more subdued and not so "80s"... that's as far as I'd go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 IT ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cruel... it arrived in the morning and I could not escape until 4.30pm today... I opened it at work as soon as it arrived. It comes with a nice gigbag (and a very nice wide comfy leather strap!), so I just got rid off all the packaging while at work. I mean, it's not like I'm sending it back or anything First impression... I don't quite like it. I LOVE IT. The shade of red is *exactly* what I wanted. It never shows just right in my pictures, and it's hard to describe... it's just "live" enough with the right amount of orange in it rather than pink... very "Ferrari" Lovely. Then I picked it up, and the neck felt great (it should, I very carefully chose its dimensions) and it was surprisingly light too. I can't measure it accurately, but it feels similar to my Cort GB74, my lightest bass, which is just under 8 lbs, So this must be perhaps a bit more, but in the ballpark of 8 lbs. I wonder if asking for the Hipshot Ultralite tuners meant they chose a light wood, as it's noticeably lighter than my other Jake (also ash/maple) where I did not specify that. However, despite the light weight, it feels very solid, and well balanced, no neck dive whatsoever (which would have been a serious issue for me, I can't stand neck dive). I've been playing it for a little while already... Nice pickup! I had never tried that Delano alnico one but it's a good choice, definitely. The DG coil is unmistakeably Precision, but the EA is a little different, less deep, more defined, with more bark to it... Just like on my other Jake, I felt the pickup was a little too close to the strings, so I brought it down a little, and managed to get a good balance between strings and a better sound over all where the E string was not so "in your face". It's definitely NOT a Precision (so mission accomplished) and it doesn't sound quite the way I remember in my old pickup position tests (with other pickups), but it's got that character I was after. Perhaps I would try moving the pickup a LITTLE bit closer to the bridge, maybe another cm, or 1.5cm... but I didn't want the "Stingray with a P pickup" vibe so it's fine as is. It sounds really good! It's a shame I cannot take nice pictures, because the bass is delicious to look at too. It may be basic, but it's soooo lickable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 This is the beast: Then angle of the picture makes it look a bit elongated... that's just an artifact. Here's the pickguard of the other Jake, superimposed, so that you see the different position of the pickup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Black Hipshot ultralite tuners: You can see in the picture above the very glossy lacquer on the neck. If you like lacquered necks, you would love this. It feels great, and the tint is perfect. ON my other Jake I passed, thinking the Maruszczyk tint was a little too yellow for my liking... what a mistake!!! Afterwards I saw other examples and they looked great. It's a very nice tint. I got my band's logo on the headstock too: A bit vain, yes, so what? Hey, if it gets stolen it'd be very easy to prove it was mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowhand_mike Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 very nice, i'm not a P bass person but the more i see them more not a not a p bass person i become, so simple, love the big black tuners, never seen that style i mat black before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 3mm side dots, so that it's easy to see them on dark stages: The black knobs have small red dot markers... That was a nice touch! I did not specify that, I expected them to be all black The bridge is made my ETS, whom I did not know. It looks like a nice bridge. I chose it out of several options when talking to Adrian about it, because I wanted it to be black, to be top-loader, and 20mm spacing. This one looked good. It has a small Maruszczyk logo on it. The intonation is a little off, but I want to put some stainless strings on it so I did not b. other changing it. It's not as off as it looks, and I intend to play a gig tonight with it, I'm sure it'll be ok And to finish this... here's a picture during the welcome party, with some of its new friends, the basses I'm playing the most lately. I wanted to put the Mike Dirnt Precision in the picture as well, but there was no room... Left to right: Squier Matt Freeman Precision. With an Entwistle PBN-X pickup, the neodymium one. I love that pickup. Really powerful, yet balanced. This bass sounds fantastic with this pickup. Squier make some truly amazing instrument these days!!! Fender Classic 50 Precision. Wider neck, yet very comfy. Totally stock, I love it as it is. The pickup is not as powerful as others out there, but it's got that classic Precision sound. There are slightly better ones, but I am not in a hurry to change it. Maruszczyk Jake custom. You may have read about it before Similar neck to the Classic 50, just a tiny bit narrower. Maruszczyk Jake 4p. This bass is amazing. I wish I had specified a slightly wider string spacing and the vintage tint... I wasn't sure what to expect, I could not believe how good this bass was. The only thing... the P pickup, I did not like it. It's got a Seymour Duncan SPB-1 right now, but it's not fully fitted. The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed there's only a couple of screws on the pickguard and no knobs. The screws I was using to mount the new pickup (with narrower ears, so I drilled new holes for them and used a new pickguard too) were a strange steel alloy, containing a large proportion of butter. Horrible horrible screws. One snapped, and in the proces of removing the bit stuck into the wood, it snapped again. Patience and a small chisel allowed me to remove the remaining bit without causing much damage, but I need to fix the hole. I intend to use a paste made of PVA glue and sawdust, but I haven't managed to go and buy some glue. True story. This weekend! EBMM Stingray. My trusty 2002 Stingray, with a John East 3-band preamp. I had its neck lacquered glossy too. This used to be the bass I played 98% until I fell in love with the Precision. I think the P bass suits my band better... but what a bass. This one will never ever be sold. Ever. My red Maruszczyk is an attempt to take what I like about the P bass, and give it a bit of the definition and growl that I like on the Stingray. A bit. I think the hybridisation has been a successful experiment. But let's see how it works out live... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 [quote name='lowhand_mike' timestamp='1442510633' post='2867496'] very nice, i'm not a P bass person but the more i see them more not a not a p bass person i become, so simple, love the big black tuners, never seen that style i mat black before [/quote] well, then you might like this a bit, as it's very much a not much of a P bass despite it's appearance at first glance! I like simple, me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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