NBD: Maruszczyk Jake 4 (configured as a Jazz, really)

[mcnach]

The actual NBD was exactly a week ago... but I've been busy, which is a good thing for a NBD as it's not all about the excitement of the new arrival as I've put a few hours on it already, although it's still pretty new, of course

If you're bored already: IT's AMAAAAAAZING!!!!

If you want to be bored, then keep reading. For I'll tell you all about it, and show you how NOT to make a custom order.

The idea for this bass started a while ago, when I realised I really like the Jazz bass sound but not the big body, its weight, and the thin neck. I've owned more Jazz basses than any other type, so I guess I tried to like them, and I did like them... but they're never quite right.
At the beginning of 2016 I started thinking about doing something about this. Maruszczyk came to mind, as I already had two superb basses from them, but I was in a more budget-conscious period than usual so I ended up converting my Matt Freeman Squier Precision into a Jazz:

First I did this:



Then I did this:



Originally it had a pair of Nordstrand NJ4SE humbuckers that I had in my drawer. Nice pickups but not quite what I wanted, which is a more traditional Jazz sound but with more 'balls'. So I got a pair of cream-covered DiMarzio Area J humbuckers. I have this in a beater Squier Jazz and sound pretty good. The Matt Freeman was a fun bass to play, and now I got a lot of the Jazz bass 'thing' in it in my preferred Precision body, with a lovely Precision neck (a bit slim for a Precision, but still good). The controls are V-Blend-T, whether this has something to do with the fact that it's the least Jazzy Jazz bass I've had, I don't know. The pickups are in the correct place.

Anyway... then Prince died. I can't say I'm a huge fan... but I always enjoyed watching him play. What an amazing musician. I thought "that's it... my custom Jazz, when it happens, will be purple with white pickguard and maple neck, loosely based on his Jazz".

The months passed. The year was nearly over.

I came across Hammersmith basses who made some beautiful red Precision type basses with Jazz pickups, and without realising almost I was chatting with them. Then the communication dried up when they failed to give me a few details... and in that time I came to my senses: "let's go to Maruszczyk and get that Jazz done, as I know he will make a great instrument".

As I'm familiar with the process by now, I filled in all the relevant details for the order. Essentially it was going to be a Jake (precision style), with a number of customisations.
- I went with their standard hardware, black, as it is just fine.
- I chose Haeussel pickups as they seemed on paper the right choice, and WoT's bass sounds great with them
- maple fingerboard, with no front markers and big 3mm diameter side dots.
- yellow 'vintage' tint lacquered neck
- ash body, chambered for reduced weight
- 42-43mm wide at the nut, and 21-22mm deep at the first fret
- purple translucent body, showing off the grain.
- white pickguard.

Initially I could not decide between flat purple finish or sparkly. In the end I went for the translucent one.

And once the order was placed I further converted the Matt Freeman as it was pointless having another Precision/Jazz hybrid... and moved the neck pickup closer to the bridge. The result is the two pickups are roughly where a MM pickup would be on a Stingray but with a wider spacing... and it does not sound at all like a Stingray but it sounds pretty damn good




And I waited for the new Jake to arrive.

And it arrived last week. This is the famous 'sofa shot' that we get when the bass is completed, prior to shipping:




It was not exactly what I was after... colour-wise, but it looked close enough.

However, when it arrived and I opened it, I saw this:




Which was... beautiful. Just beautiful. The grain, the feel, fantastic... just... nothing like the colour I had in mind!

And then, the neck... again nothing like the colour I wanted. It was pretty dark amber. Beautiful (much like the Matt Freeman) but not what I had in mind...



And it became clear that while I had been careful about the basic parameters of the bass, I had done a poor job at describing the finish I wanted...
I wanted the yellowish tint... like in my red Jake. But that time I chatted with Adrian and we made sure we understood the exact tint. As a result what I got was just what I wanted. This time I simply stated 'vintage tint'... doh! So that's what I got.
As for the colour... I sent a couple of examples. Adrian wrote back with a picture of one of his basses for comparison. It was very very close. I said yes, but a bit redder and a bit darker. I also sent an hexadecimal and an RGB code for the shade of purple I had in mind, and a jpeg.
So what went wrong?
Well... what went wrong is that I used my laptop to choose the colour. It seems it's boosting the blues and when I asked for more red, it wasn't actually needed. In hindsight, I should have spent a bit more time on it, maybe posting a physical example [1] and/or actually mentioning "you know Prince's bass? THAT purple!"

dolt...

[mcnach]

So here I was... with a bass that did not look the way I wanted it... yet, it was quite pretty.

The colour is... odd. In natural light it can show a much more purplish colour, in other lights it looks more reddish...


Using a whiteish LED lamp:



with flash:



and one morning, with daylight from the nearby window:


It's an odd colour that can look like a pretty boring old furniture like maroon-like or a pretty cool purpleish shade...

BUT... colours, colours... how does it play?

Well, let's say that at first I started thinking that I could always refinish it some time. I thought I could contact Adrian and explain the situation and send it back to try to get it right (even if I'd have to pay a bunch... it was kind of special that I got THAT particular colour.
But that was before I played it.

The bass weights next to nothing. It's about 7.8lbs. It balances really well. The neck feels amazing. The dimensions are just right, as specified, and the whole body resonates beautifully. It has a nice 'snap' when I slap it and I feel the vibrations when it's on my lap. The action was very very low and I altered it a tiny bit. It's not 100% perfect but pretty much. It's really smooth to play, and if I dig in I get a very "Fleaesque" fret clank that sounds great when playing RHCP songs. The pickups are fantastic. It's got the classic Jazz sound, very well balanced, and with both pickups on it's got enough of that trademark scooped Jazz sound but also enough clarity to retain its presence. It's a lovely Jazz bass sound, but it feels (to me) nothing like a Jazz, and I love it. I can't put it down. So the colour may not be what I wanted but it's an amazing bass and if it were snot-green I'd keep it it just as it is and would not mess with it.

It is, simply, my dream Jazz bass. The two previous Maruszczyk basses I bought were both very good, but this one... this one is just superb.

I think, in the future, if I want any particular kind of bass, I'm just going straight to Maruszczyk. The ability to specify so many details about the instrument is amazing, and ends up costing what a US Fender would. Just make sure you know exactly what you want and make sure you indicate it very clearly

[Rumple]

I absolutely love the finish on this bass, reminds me of an orange Roscoe I once owned.

[mcnach]

I can't believe I just sold this...

[CameronJ]

Neither can I!

[mcnach]

[quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1507337105' post='3384895']
Neither can I!
[/quote]

Don't say that! You're supposed to be supportive and say that it's all for the best and all that! Don't make it harder than it already is!

[Mickeyboro]

Seller's remorse... I know it well!

[CameronJ]

[quote name='Mickeyboro' timestamp='1507389597' post='3385164']
Seller's remorse... I know it well!
[/quote]

Luckily I don't think I've ever ad seller's remorse. It's only a matter of time though really...sooner or later I'll make a mistake