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Posted

I realise this is probably a polarizing question. But who does everybody believe makes the best jazz bass? I'm talking£1000-£2000 Mark New or used. I'm not particularly bothered about the electronics just the overall build quality. We looking at fender,maruscyk, lakland, sandburg, mayones? What's everyone's opinions? I've only ever had fender jazzed but would love to hear others thought. Cheers people :)

Posted

I'm getting really tempted to try to find a jazz with a nice natural wood body,,,, so no good looking at Fender.
For me maruscyk is a natural choice to look at for value for money on a great bass.

Posted

Celinder, AC, Stenbeck and the like are probably all out of reach and not too common second hand.

Lull, Sadowsky and Xotic are all where I would look.

Posted (edited)

What is your definition of a good Jazz sound?
70s Ash/Maple or 60s Alder/RW?
Active/Passive?
4-string/5-string?
Graphite rods in the neck or not?

For a traditional JB the recent Fender AVRIs are pretty good.

Edited by xroads
Posted (edited)

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1472692549' post='3123408']
I'm getting really tempted to try to find a jazz with a nice natural wood body,,,, so no good looking at Fender.
For me maruscyk is a natural choice to look at for value for money on a great bass.
[/quote]

I've not tried one but the natural bodied Fender Elites (and before them the Deluxes) look very pretty to me.

I'm a bit undecided about the merits of active basses though, particularly active Fenders.

Edited by Cato
Posted

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1472714647' post='3123473']


I've not tried one but the natural bodied Fender Elites (and before them the Deluxes) look very pretty to me.

I'm a bit undecided about the merits of active basses though, particularly active Fenders.
[/quote]
Me too. I'm becoming more convinced that all you need is a good setup and pickups. The preamp often over-boosts IMHO.

Posted

[quote name='civilian_project' timestamp='1472681813' post='3123336']
who does everybody believe makes the best jazz bass? I'm talking£1000-£2000 Mark New or used.
[/quote]

I would suggest any Mike Lull or Lakland and always buy used. My experience of these basses is very positive but I couldn't decide which is best, or if are they better than other basses in this class of instrument. At this price point you're looking at different flavours of great and personal preference would be the only deciding factor.

"The jazz debate"? For me there isn't much to discuss. Since 2003 my main bass has been an active US Lakland 55-94 and it's been joined, for the last 4 years, by a passive Lull PJ5. I've bought a couple of other basses in that time (Fender Jazz and Rob Allen) and while they are good they've never made it out to more than a handful of gigs because of the competition. I've been checking out Sadowsky Jazz basses lately but it is more than likely that my next bass (if there ever is another) will be a Lull or Lakland.

Posted

[quote name='Sparky Mark' timestamp='1472715060' post='3123480']
Also consider the USA made Spector Coda Deluxe.
[/quote]

THIS!

Posted

Have a look at ACG in the Affiliates section - he I showing a Custom J type on his website. Going by the short scale ACG I have it will be an excellent playing bass and built in the UK to.

Posted (edited)

I think Xotic make a very good argument to buy there jazz basses over others .Amazingly versatile, Not massively expensive,especially second hand. Supreme Jazz basses. They will be my next Jazz bass.

Edited by bubinga5
Posted

The only Jazz I've ever owned that I got on with was a Overwater custom - had too many basses around that time so decided to sell it - huge mistake - the neck was fantastic, balance was spot on and the range of tones far exceeded anything with the "F" word on the headstock. Not sure what the cost would be today but they were certainly well priced back then..

Posted

Difficult to define 'best' when to comes to a Jazz, or any other bass for that matter, as it's highly personal and therefore a very woolly definition. What I think is best, may not be best for you.

If you know what you want, you can narrow down the options, or go the custom route for a 'best' fit.

GLWTSearch

Posted

For that kind of money the Lull is a safe bet, they are constantly light, play fast, well balanced and well put together.

Posted

For me, if you're just looking for suggestions on basses that look and sound like jazz basses, I would be looking at Xotic, Lull, Sadowsky, Lakland.....in that order of (my) preference. I'm having a particularly fun time with my Xotic XJ-1T 'Lightweight' 5er.

If you want something that sounds like a jazz, but doesn't necessarily LOOK like a jazz, well then your options grow exponentially!

Si

Posted

[quote name='thebassist' timestamp='1472729403' post='3123709']
I like post-2012 passive American Standard Fenders - hard to find good ones though in my opinion.
[/quote]

Yep, the Custom Shop pickups in these make them sound very nice indeed.

Posted

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1472749480' post='3123921']
The only Jazz I've ever owned that I got on with was a Overwater custom -
[/quote]
The Overwater J's sound very, very good but they all seem to be on the heavy side (around 10lbs to 12lbs on their website) so, sadly, I'll never own one.

Posted

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1472755955' post='3124000']
Not impressed by Fender for their money so I'd always buy second hand... and even then I think others do it so much better, IME
[/quote]

I am quite impressed by the recent AVRI models - on the used market the price is fair.

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