Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

NBD (in praise of cheap basses)


tredders
 Share

Recommended Posts

I've always had a hate/hate relationship with Jazz basses. No matter which I've tried and owned in the past (inc a US 62 RI, a Jap 62 RI, a Jap 75 RI etc), I've never managed to get a decent sound out of one. I fully accept that this is solely down to my playing style/lack of talent, however, I can plunk away on a Precision and (occasionally) sound ok.

Anyway, long story short, I saw a Squier VMJ advertised for a good price, and it was only 10 mins from home, so I thought I'd take a punt on it. The owner had added black knobs, black tuners, black bridge cover , and had replaced the Squier decal with a Fender one, so it looked great. Went round, picked it up, and it was exactly as advertised, so I bought it with the intention of being able to play around with it (change pups, maybe put a J Retro in there) and see if i could finally find a Jazz I got on with.

First stop was Bass Direct, where I bought a cheap set of flats (Elite Detroits - £26), and took it home to clean it up and set it up. Quick tweak of the truss rod, change the saddle heights, put the new strings on, and I was ready to give it a thrash. Totally surprised to find that it's a really really good bass! Plays really well, has a lovely fast neck, and the standard pickups seem absolutely fine. With the flats on, it sounds typically 60's, but grab a pick and play with the tone control and it does a nice trebly almost roundwound sound.

Not sure whether it's because I had low expectations, or whether it's a comparatively cheap bass, but I'm so impressed. Not sure I'll change anything on it, certainly not yet, anyway. Hugely impressed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1484419226' post='3215392']
That looks pretty good to me. Is that the new Orange OB1-300 / 500 amp in the pic. ?
I'm curious to know how that combination sounds together.

Dave
[/quote]

That was seller's pic, so I can't answer your question, Dave. Sound sweet out of my Eden Metro though!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...