Bonding with the wrong bass

[Guest MoJo]

Excuse the ambiguous title but I didn't know how else to phrase it. The story goes, I recently bought a Vintage V4, purely because it's yellowed Vintage White body more closely matched our guitarist's Strat and I thought it would look good visually, from a presentation perspective. The plan was to swap the maple/maple neck off my existing, newer V4 onto this body and sell the other bass. When I got it home however, I found I prefered the deeper profile of the maple/rosewood neck on the newly acquired bass to the one on my existing V4. I can't put the flippin' thing down now. Don't know what to do. I can already hear the echoes of 'It's only a cheap Vintage mate, what's the fuss?' but I'm so taken by it that I'm even considering sidelining my BB1100S.

[fretmeister]

If you love it, then play it.

 

End of.

 

[bonzodog]

You know my thoughts on the JHS vintage basses. They are so under rated and I think you are struggling to accept that such cheap basses can be very very good quality and very playable. I still regret selling my Tony Butler one to you and in truth part of the reason I moved from Vintage to Squier and now MIM is purely the name on the headstock.

To make it worse my first V4 before I had the Tony Butler one had a lovely slim neck for a Precision and haven't found one as nice since. 

Just enjoy playing it mate and forget the brand stereotype. If I had the room and a more forgiving wife I would be getting another V4 😁😁

[Guest MoJo]

4 minutes ago, bonzodog said:

You know my thoughts on the JHS vintage basses. They are so under rated and I think you are struggling to accept that such cheap basses can be very very good quality and very playable. I still regret selling my Tony Butler one to you and in truth part of the reason I moved from Vintage to Squier and now MIM is purely the name on the headstock.

To make it worse my first V4 before I had the Tony Butler one had a lovely slim neck for a Precision and haven't found one as nice since. 

Just enjoy playing it mate and forget the brand stereotype. If I had the room and a more forgiving wife I would be getting another V4 😁😁

I know someone locally, the guy I bought the latest V4 off in fact, who is selling a mint Tony Butler V4......£120 

[la bam]

I have a v4 reissue and love it.

Im also buying another tonight as a backup.

Superb basses. The finish is absolutely outstanding. Tone great. Output powerful.

I genuinely wouldnt buy any other p bass now. Theres no point. These go in as new condition for around £100 ! Madness.

 

[Cat Burrito]

I think the reality is what you think you'll like sometimes disappoints and what you weren't too excited about occasionally blows you away.

[TheGreek]

Spending lots of cash doesn't guarantee you'll get a bass you'll like. I've found this out to my cost with 2x Wals, a Ritter and a Roscoe.

On the other hand, every Bass Collection Nanyo I've picked up has felt so right. My Korean Spectors are just as playable as my USA ones - so they went.

Find what YOU want - don't feel that what works for others will work for you.

[bassbiscuits]

11 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Spending lots of cash doesn't guarantee you'll get a bass you'll like. I've found this out to my cost with 2x Wals, a Ritter and a Roscoe.

On the other hand, every Bass Collection Nanyo I've picked up has felt so right. My Korean Spectors are just as playable as my USA ones - so they went.

Find what YOU want - don't feel that what works for others will work for you.

This.

In the last couple of years I've bought and sold a Mike Lull which i expected to be my forever dream bass, and instead hung on to a secondhand Yamaha BB604 which plays and sounds brilliantly.

Same with guitars - my USA strat has gone, by battered old MIJ strat is still with me after 15 years.

If you find the right one for you, hang on to it.

[Guest MoJo]

2 hours ago, la bam said:

I have a v4 reissue and love it.

Im also buying another tonight as a backup.

Superb basses. The finish is absolutely outstanding. Tone great. Output powerful.

I genuinely wouldnt buy any other p bass now. Theres no point. These go in as new condition for around £100 ! Madness.

 

Here's my two (not a particularly good photo) The one on the right is the latest acquisition ..... £82. Ridiculous amount of bass for under a ton

 

[paul_5]

“The wand chooses the wizard”

[Combed20]

2 hours ago, MoJo said:

Here's my two (not a particularly good photo) The one on the right is the latest acquisition ..... £82. Ridiculous amount of bass for under a ton

 

Where'd you get the lack scratch plate from? Looking great!

[Bolo]

It's only a cheap Vintage mate, what's the fuss?

[Guest MoJo]

2 hours ago, Combed20 said:

Where'd you get the lack scratch plate from? Looking great!

I got it from JHS. It's the pickguard they fit to the Tony Butler V4

[lojo]

18 hours ago, fretmeister said:

If you love it, then play it.

 

End of.

 

 

[Norris]

My guitarist regularly plays a Vintage in preference to the many more expensive guitars he owns. I prefer my Squire to the other more expensive basses I own.

Don't get hung up on the name on the headstock. Play the one that feels and sounds great 

[BigRedX]

If it's the one you like playing and it fits visually and sonically with the band then it's not the wrong bass.

[Paul S]

I bought a Yamaha BB425 and it blew me away - for the price it is amazing.  Following the logic that the top end models would be even more remarkable I sought out an 80s BB5000, finally tracked one down in Japan and had it imported.  Cost me top dollar.  It arrived and was truly magnificent.  However, I just didn't bond with it and felt more comfortable playing the BB425.  Moved on the BB5000 and, due to an unknown to me truss rod issue, took an absolutely mahoosive hit financially.

[la bam]

Shielding the vintages - just attaching aluminim tape from bandq to cover the underside of the scratchplate and all the pickup and control cavity completely eliminates that hum at high levels and tone open.

Takes about 1 hour. Costs about £10.

Ive done this on 2 and its worked perfectly both times. The beauty is with these being so cheap youre not bothered about trying stuff like this.

Then ive found i bond even more as ive put a lot of effort into the bass.

 

 

Edited April 10, 2018 by la bam

[discreet]

On 09/04/2018 at 15:06, Cat Burrito said:

...what you think you'll like sometimes disappoints and what you weren't too excited about occasionally blows you away...

23 hours ago, TheGreek said:

...Find what YOU want - don't feel that what works for others will work for you...

 

Have to agree. What constitutes a 'good' bass is so personal and subjective. You'd think there'd be as many different basses available as there are people to play them. Oh wait... 

Edited April 10, 2018 by discreet

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 25, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[4000]

21 hours ago, TheGreek said:

Spending lots of cash doesn't guarantee you'll get a bass you'll like. I've found this out to my cost with 2x Wals, a Ritter and a Roscoe.

On the other hand, every Bass Collection Nanyo I've picked up has felt so right. My Korean Spectors are just as playable as my USA ones - so they went.

Find what YOU want - don't feel that what works for others will work for you.

This, as I've also said previously. We should sticky the last line.

[discreet]

15 minutes ago, Jus Lukin said:

...price alone does not equate to a cool instrument! If you dig it, enjoy it!

Yes. I've had some expensive instruments, but currently enjoying my go-to bass, which cost £97. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy a Wal or a Ritter if you want one, but there's a point at which the law of diminishing returns kicks in and it seems to kick in surprisingly quickly.

This from a 'playing and using' point of view. Obviously if you're a collector or investor, it's a different set of priorities.

Edited April 10, 2018 by discreet

[EliasMooseblaster]

26 minutes ago, discreet said:

This from a 'playing and using' point of view. Obviously if you're a collector or investor, it's a different set of priorities.

So very true - I haven't had the pleasure of trying a JHS/Vintage bass, but I do have one of their SG guitar copies. About ten years ago the shoulder strap on its gig bag failed and it fell, face-first, onto a tube platform. Obviously I was upset at the time, but I'd have been mortified if it had been a real Gibson, or a high-end bass. But apart from cosmetic damage, the only thing that actually broke was the pickup switch. Easily replaced, and I've since been into shops to try Epi and Gibson versions and come away slightly nonplussed. If the £600+ version doesn't make me feel that much more inspired than my beaten-up sub-£200 version, I'll keep playing the Vintage and hang on to my money! (You never know when I might get bad GAS for a Sandberg again, after all...)

[Lozz196]

Yep, it`s all about which bass you simply prefer playing. I`ve just got back from rehearsing and I used my MIM Precision, it coped admirably but I knew all along that I prefer the playability and responsiveness of my US Precisions. Nothing wrong with the MIM, far from it, I`m just more comfortable with the US, but it`s not about the badge - really - if I preferred the MIM I`d be able to generate a fair bit of wedge by offloading my US ones, but the hands and ears prefer the US, and that`s what I go by. So whatever the brand, model, even if you have two, three or four identical basses, play the one you gel with best. A mate of mine has seven of the same guitar, but he has his fave out of that bunch, his go-to guitar.

[rushscored4]

I have a Vintage Icon Series Jaco Pastorius fretless J bass and its ridulously good considering I only paid £130 second hand! Looks stunning too with it's "bass of doom" relicing.