I may need a great cheap Jazz bass. MIM 70's classic Jazz.?

[bubinga5]

I can't hide from my financial situation, so i need to sell some gear. Ive sold my Cab, now it might be time to sell my bass. I'm looking for a great cheap Jazz Bass. I was looking for a TRB6 but I'm in the realm's of £400-500.

Im thinking about the MIM 70s classic jazz. Does anyone own one.? It may be the case that i don't need to sell my Maruszczyk, but who knows. I am prepared for it as like someone said its only stuff. I have heard though that these Fender's are killer, and they have the 70's position pups. I don't mind going for a Squire but I'm not sure they do a 70's RI with that 70's pickup spacing.

Edited January 26, 2017 by bubinga5

[LukeFRC]

I might be wrong, but looking at used fender prices things like the MIM 70's classic seem fairly high priced and doesn't seem to go for that much less than a secondhand Maruszczyk

EDIT: plus if you've sold your cab sell your amp?

Edited January 26, 2017 by LukeFRC

[bubinga5]

Ive seen Fender Classic 70's MIM's go for £400. New at £750 online. Ive been offered £800 for the Maruszczyk. The Maruszczyk is £1250 new now with this spec. There is imo a big difference in price



I won't let my amp go for sentimental reasons. Plus its needs some electrical attention.

Edited January 26, 2017 by bubinga5

[miles'tone]

I've played one in a shop a while ago and I was impressed. I gigged an American Standard Jazz for a decade and that MIM 70s J was, to me, much nicer to play and sounded brilliant. It was a bit lighter too and much more resonant. It had "it". I'm a Precision guy now but I did feel sad not being able to take that J home.
As always, try before you buy.

[prowla]

If you're patient you could build...

I'm working on a Precision and so far it's cost me:[list]
[*]£52 for the Squier body, neck and a load of parts.
[*]An old Badass bridge I had, but there are decent quality ones on ebay for cheap (even Fender Badass copies for under £50).
[*]£35 for some Shadow pickups (the Squier ones were weak and a shop had this as old stock).
[*]£20 for CTS pots, a Sprague cap and a Switchcraft socket.
[*]£30 for a scratchplate (in a job-lot).
[*]£50 for a Mighty Mite fretless neck, including machines.
[*]£20 for a set of strings.
[*]£10 for a pair of Straplock buttons.
[*]£10 for a 4-hole neckplate with an "F" on it.
[*]£55 for a Hipshot D-tuner (guessing you wouldn't need one of these).
[/list]
It is a very nice bass!

I'll probably replace the body at some point - had been thinking about a Warmoth (as you know from my J-bass thread), the scratchplate isn't the best fit and I might go for better pickups if the mood takes me.

The point is, though, that I've made up a good bass for well under your budget, so there's no reason you couldn't too!

[AREA]

I would prefer a Sire V7 or Sire V7 Vintage (70s Stringspacing) over a MIM Fender any Day.

[ead]

How about something like a Squier Silver Series Jazz?

[SH73]

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1485475283' post='3224334']
If you're patient you could build...

I'm working on a Precision and so far it's cost me:[list]
[*]£52 for the Squier body, neck and a load of parts.
[*]An old Badass bridge I had, but there are decent quality ones on ebay for cheap (even Fender Badass copies for under £50).
[*]£35 for some Shadow pickups (the Squier ones were weak and a shop had this as old stock).
[*]£20 for CTS pots, a Sprague cap and a Switchcraft socket.
[*]£30 for a scratchplate (in a job-lot).
[*]£50 for a Mighty Mite fretless neck, including machines.
[*]£20 for a set of strings.
[*]£10 for a pair of Straplock buttons.
[*]£10 for a 4-hole neckplate with an "F" on it.
[*]£55 for a Hipshot D-tuner (guessing you wouldn't need one of these).
[/list]
It is a very nice bass!

I'll probably replace the body at some point - had been thinking about a Warmoth (as you know from my J-bass thread), the scratchplate isn't the best fit and I might go for better pickups if the mood takes me.

The point is, though, that I've made up a good bass for well under your budget, so there's no reason you couldn't too!
[/quote]
Hi, Out if interest, where did you get the parts as I am after a p bass body and p bass neck with tuners for a project.

[synthaside]

I have a MIM 70's Jazz I bought it because I really wanted a bound a blocked neck, it is a fantastic bass, but on the heavy side ,mine is a two piece body. The join only visible on the rear due to a slight grain change, the finish is immaculate, dark smokey black to orange sunburst. That coming from me someone who associates sunburst with a white plate , ( the colour of cheap starter guitars) as one I'd never own is high praise.
If you can get one of these for £400 that is right on the money, if not a bit of a bargain they play like much more expensive instruments.

If I'm trying to be super honest looking for negatives the bass does seem a little lower on the output side compared to my Bista J with SD's and a kiogon loom. If i A-B them and put both up to full the bitsa has it on volume.

Secondly, as this is my first " FENDER" with a skunk stripe I am a little worried that the rod is trying to come out the back I can feel a tiny raise with my thumb, but I may be being paranoid.

Edited January 27, 2017 by synthaside

[dmccombe7]

Have you looked at the Vintage Basses. Some guitarists i know have bought their guitars and swear they are better than any Gibson Les Paul they've had for playability and weight.
I do remember their basses getting some pretty good reviews and think they do a Jazz type bass.
Maybe worth a look.
Thomann circa £260

Dave

Edited January 27, 2017 by dmccombe7

[prowla]

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1485508344' post='3224403']
Hi, Out if interest, where did you get the parts as I am after a p bass body and p bass neck with tuners for a project.
[/quote]
ebay, and a couple of bits from random shops.

I also got someone to make me a headstock logo, which I've not yet put on (it says "Prowla", not "Fender" - don't agree with counterfeits!).

I've also built a Strat with a whammy bar from bits; it came in at around the £100-150 mark, with an Iron Gear pickup and decent machines being the most expensive parts. I bought an unfinished body and stained it a lovely dark oak colour, and then a couple of coats of spray lacquer. I'm not sure it's quite fit to gig, but it was fun making it. I got a Squier neck from a shop for a tenner (turns out it's quite a nice neck).

The thing about the Fenders and Fender-based guitars is that they are made to be able to swap things and there are plenty of choices.

[prowla]

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1485510166' post='3224416']
Have you looked at the Vintage Basses. Some guitarists i know have bought their guitars and swear they are better than any Gibson Les Paul they've had for playability and weight.
I do remember their basses getting some pretty good reviews and think they do a Jazz type bass.
Maybe worth a look.
Thomann circa £260

Dave
[/quote]
That's a good point - some of the Vintage stuff seems quite good; I may pick one up at some point.

[EliasMooseblaster]

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1485510166' post='3224416']
Have you looked at the Vintage Basses. Some guitarists i know have bought their guitars and swear they are better than any Gibson Les Paul they've had for playability and weight.
I do remember their basses getting some pretty good reviews and think they do a Jazz type bass.
Maybe worth a look.
Thomann circa £260

Dave
[/quote]

+1 for Vintage - I have one of their SG copies (VS6?) which pre-dates them shipping with Wilkinson hardware. Even before I upgraded the pickups, I felt like it measured up well to the Epiphone and even some of the cheaper Gibson equivalents I've since tried; since I put some Wilkinson pickups in, it's quite the beast!

Edit: alternatively, because you did specify the '70s pickup spacing, are there any Squier CVs knocking around? I assume the '70s CV Jazz basses were built with historically accurate pickup positions, and whilst I've not tried a CV Jazz, the other CV basses and guitars I have tried have been universally excellent.

Edited January 27, 2017 by EliasMooseblaster

[uncle psychosis]

There are literally thousands of jazz basses that are very decent instruments at that kind of budget (£400 ish). Just go and play a lot

[Panamonte]

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1485508344' post='3224403']

Hi, Out if interest, where did you get the parts as I am after a p bass body and p bass neck with tuners for a project.
[/quote]

Worth keeping an eye on the Other Musically Related Items For Sale section. I picked up a fully loaded P bass body from there for £40 in November. Replaced the loom and pickups, fitted a spare neck I had and - voila - lovely P bass!

Having a quick look I found these:

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/296079-sonic-blue-precision-bass-body/page__hl__body__fromsearch__1

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/295292-squier-p-bass-neck-l49/page__p__3177502__hl__neck__fromsearch__1#entry3177502

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='synthaside' timestamp='1485509635' post='3224412']
I have a MIM 70's Jazz I bought it because I really wanted a bound a blocked neck, it is a fantastic bass, but on the heavy side ,mine is a two piece body. The join only visible on the rear due to a slight grain change, the finish is immaculate, dark smokey black to orange sunburst. That coming from me someone who associates sunburst with a white plate , ( the colour of cheap starter guitars) as one I'd never own is high praise.
If you can get one of these for £400 that is right on the money, if not a bit of a bargain they play like much more expensive instruments.

If I'm trying to be super honest looking for negatives the bass does seem a little lower on the output side compared to my Bista J with SD's and a kiogon loom. If i A-B them and put both up to full the bitsa has it on volume.

Secondly, as this is my first " FENDER" with a skunk stripe I am a little worried that the rod is trying to come out the back I can feel a tiny raise with my thumb, but I may be being paranoid.
[/quote] lower output isn't a negative - that's why your amp has a gain knob. Some pickups' tone is partly due to lower gain.

[synthaside]

Oh I wasn't , calling it a negative per say .... I was looking for some "pro's and cons" , and being brutally honest.
I've no idea what the 70's pickups are supposed to be like, it can be annoying when I'vee got the sound just so for the venue, and I need to swap.
We are talking about from 9 o'clock on the gain on my mark bass round to 12 o'clock , some people might call the weight a problem .... I dont , so i didnt list it there.

[Lozz196]

If wanting a Jazz with the 70s pickup spacing the Fender Classic 70s Jazz is a great way of getting that without too much outlay. They are great basses.

[bubinga5]

[quote name='AREA' timestamp='1485503467' post='3224371']
I would prefer a Sire V7 or Sire V7 Vintage (70s Stringspacing) over a MIM Fender any Day.
[/quote]Im aware its a great Jazz bass, but is it only me that doesn't like like the Sire Jazz body shape. And maybe the Marcus Miller plastered all over the headstock.?

[BassManGraham]

I have a MIM 70s Classic. As I am a sucker for block inlay fret boards and love the 70's P/U position, I. As it comes it is a very decent bass indeed and stands up well in head to head with my USA jazzes.
If you can get a clean one for under £500 I would definitely go for it. Personally I find the C neck profile chunkier for my stubby fingers than my USA Standard and Deluxe Jazzes.
I have made a few upgrades to it and now it blows away all Standard & Deluxe non modified USA models.
Mods include an East J Retro Active Circuit, Badass II Bridge, Tortoise Shell Pickguard, Hipshot Drop D Xtender tuner. It sounds and looks great.
However for the cost of the preowned bass and upgrades I could have probably ordered an Elwood!

I think an Elwood or Headless Frog is next on my G.A.S list

Good hunting

[timhiggins]

I've had fender mim 70's jazz ,squier vmj ,and sire v7 and i think if you want an active jazz you cant beat the v7
if i was going for the passive option i would probably go for the 70's vmj over the 70's classic mim fender as there is very little in it i.m.o
unless of course the headstock bothers you

[prowla]

[quote name='BassManGraham' timestamp='1485618128' post='3225357']
I have a MIM 70s Classic. As I am a sucker for block inlay fret boards and love the 70's P/U position, I. As it comes it is a very decent bass indeed and stands up well in head to head with my USA jazzes.
If you can get a clean one for under £500 I would definitely go for it. Personally I find the C neck profile chunkier for my stubby fingers than my USA Standard and Deluxe Jazzes.
I have made a few upgrades to it and now it blows away all Standard & Deluxe non modified USA models.
Mods include an East J Retro Active Circuit, Badass II Bridge, Tortoise Shell Pickguard, Hipshot Drop D Xtender tuner. It sounds and looks great.
However for the cost of the preowned bass and upgrades I could have probably ordered an Elwood!

I think an Elwood or Headless Frog is next on my G.A.S list

Good hunting
[/quote]
(I refer you to my "wandered into a shop" thread... :-) )

[blank20]

If You want something good and non expensive, You should consider theese two models
https://musicsquare.co.uk/156821_Fender-Squier-Vintage-Modified-Jazz-Bass-824270s-CAR-Bass-Guitar.html
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JBass77Amb

[bubinga5]

[quote name='blank20' timestamp='1486140996' post='3229614']
If You want something good and non expensive, You should consider theese two models
https://musicsquare.co.uk/156821_Fender-Squier-Vintage-Modified-Jazz-Bass-824270s-CAR-Bass-Guitar.html
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JBass77Amb
[/quote]I dig that Amber 77 jazz. I don't care about the name personally, but I'm worried about quality and playability. I'm coming from a Maruszczyk so I'm not super high end.

[MisterT]

I'm in the same camp as you, bub - GASing for a Jazz for a while. And here's the killer, I just missed a MIM Fender on a local Facebook group that went for £300. Could have easily viewed before buying - ruddy typical.

So this Squier thing is possibly a thing. I've tried a MIM Jazz and loved it, just didn't have nearly 700 squid at the time. Still don't so I'll go try them at PMT on a side by side thing. What I don't want to happen is to get a Squier and then start modding it and spending what I would have on a MIM.

There's something rewarding about a cheap bass that sounds good.