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US made super jazzes


ianrendall

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11 hours ago, MOSCOWBASS said:

Check out Xotic bass, I really like these.

26814529_1782993201720158_6286646524946371552_n.jpg

Yes!!

I was reading through this thread waiting for somone to mention xotic. 

Surely the best jazz on the planet today?... 

Gets my vote anyway! 

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My favourite subject..American made Super Jazz Basses.  OOhhh let me think for a second. Xotic, Low End, Pensa, Sadowsky, Suhr, Lull, FClef, Modulus, Pavel,Valenti. The list goes on. Xotic Imo make the best modern Jazz bass today. Just my opinion. Pensa Jazz basses are just pure jazz bass porn. But they are very expensive for a jazz bass. If my coin was on the line it would be this. Pensa Jazz 5 in cherry burst quilted maple. 

pensa52.jpg

Edited by bubinga5
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1 minute ago, ped said:

Celinder are the best jazzes I’ve played. Haven’t ever owned a US jazz though. Had some nice Japanese ones (Bacchus, Bossa)

Celinder are an instrument not many will play I guess. Is he still making them.? Ive never played one.They seem to be the holy grail when it comes to Jazz basses.Whether this is a myth or not.? His 6 string basses I've seen go for very low prices. I nearly bought one before I got the Sei. 

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2 minutes ago, bubinga5 said:

Celinder are an instrument not many will play I guess. Is he still making them.? Ive never played one.They seem to be the holy grail when it comes to Jazz basses.Whether this is a myth or not.? His 6 string basses I've seen go for very low prices. I nearly bought one before I got the Sei. 

 There’s something tactile about them. It feels like a complete instrument, whereas some jazz basses to me feel like parts screwed together. Hard to explain. 

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50 minutes ago, bubinga5 said:

Celinder are an instrument not many will play I guess. Is he still making them.? Ive never played one.They seem to be the holy grail when it comes to Jazz basses.Whether this is a myth or not.? His 6 string basses I've seen go for very low prices. I nearly bought one before I got the Sei. 

He is not currently accepting orders for new builds. 

http://celinderworks.com/

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1 hour ago, bubinga5 said:

My favourite subject..American made Super Jazz Basses.  OOhhh let me think for a second. Xotic, Low End, Pensa, Sadowsky, Suhr, Lull, FClef, Modulus, Pavel,Valenti. The list goes on. Xotic Imo make the best modern Jazz bass today. Just my opinion. Pensa Jazz basses are just pure jazz bass porn. But they are very expensive for a jazz bass. If my coin was on the line it would be this. Pensa Jazz 5 in cherry burst quilted maple. 

pensa52.jpg

Just visited the Pensa website.....lord god in heaven I have never seen such pretty shiny things. 

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2 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

I nearly had kittens when I saw the prices!

Eye watering for sure. I still want one.I care not for Sadowsky etc.  My holy grail of Jazz Basses are Pensa's.I like the rare and unknown one offs like my Sei. They just don't get talked about in the UK. 

 

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17 minutes ago, bubinga5 said:

Eye watering for sure. I still want one.I care not for Sadowsky etc.  My holy grail of Jazz Basses are Pensa's.I like the rare and unknown one offs like my Sei. They just don't get talked about in the UK. 

 

To my surprise, thread is the first I’ve heard of Pensa. I must say I like the headstock - kind of a sharper version of Lakland/Xotic. Looks pretty wide at the nut but I presume those details can be customised at will. 

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32 minutes ago, ianrendall said:

Ok. I have been very tempted by a Shuker custom build. Talk to me. 

All I want is a J type with a 2 band and active/passive switch. I don’t have a solid budget yet and not in any hurry but I would estimate my max to be £2500. 

Take a look at this:

 

http://bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Mike_Lull_mv4_Nat.html

 

I have a similar Lull and it's just a great bass - I will never get rid of it. 

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1 hour ago, ianrendall said:

Ok. I have been very tempted by a Shuker custom build. Talk to me. 

All I want is a J type with a 2 band and active/passive switch. I don’t have a solid budget yet and not in any hurry but I would estimate my max to be £2500. 

Imperious attention to detail, fit finish ... and Jon will invest as much time as you need in advising you (face to face or vicariously) how to achieve the sound that you have in your head.

Brilliant builder, a gentleman and in my opinion he undercharges. Give him a call.

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On 30/08/2018 at 09:55, ianrendall said:

What would you get that’s not Fender? I’m talking classic setup - two single coils, 34”, no fancy tops. I’m saving hard for a dream bass and I am solidly set on a classic American built J type. I’m thinking Sadowsky NYC, Lull, anything that isn’t ‘factory’ built. 

I'll put in a word for one of my customers, Marco Cortes, www.marcobassguitars.com. Many of his jazz variants are 34.5" scale (TFL line, which are more the "super jazzes) and have pretty blingy tops, but his newer N1 line are 34 inch, generally more understated, and more traditional in terms of the parts appointments. In the US $1200 gets you into an N1. He winds his own pickups, makes his own finishes, and does the majority of the build work himself. There's at least one dealer in the UK: Great British Bass Lounge. My involvement is with bespoke onboard preamp designs, which he is licensing and ultimately will be producing on his own. Not sure how many used ones show up in the UK, but I've met quite a few European endorsers the last couple of years at NAMM.

I have many friends with Sadowsky, Lull, or Lakland basses. Can't go wrong with any of those, in my experience. Best of luck with whatever you decide on.

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I had a Sadowsky (metro) on my wish list for quite a while until I finally got one (Will Lee Model). Having played passive J basses for so long, I just couldn’t get on with the pre-amp and finally moved it on.I went back to my trusty passive J bass until one day, I went to get a new amp and there was a used Suhr active J Classic J Bass sitting there in the shop.

I’d never heard of Suhr before but it was one of those times when I just couldn’t put the thing down and it came home with me. The pre-amp is just subtle enough to give it a kick but plays like a Passive (if you can understand that) and I’ve had to learn to how to handle the never ending sustain but it’s the only bass I’ve played where I’ve had other players comment  on my tone (in a good way).

Basically, don’t forget to try as many as you can before you commit

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On 07/09/2018 at 22:32, Floyd Pepper said:

I had a Sadowsky (metro) on my wish list for quite a while until I finally got one (Will Lee Model). Having played passive J basses for so long, I just couldn’t get on with the pre-amp and finally moved it on.I went back to my trusty passive J bass until one day, I went to get a new amp and there was a used Suhr active J Classic J Bass sitting there in the shop.

I’d never heard of Suhr before but it was one of those times when I just couldn’t put the thing down and it came home with me. The pre-amp is just subtle enough to give it a kick but plays like a Passive (if you can understand that) 

That’s interesting. Never got on with active basses, but similarly have hankered after the Will Lee for a while, mainly neck & brand. Will check a Suhr if I can find one anywhere.. 

Seems very few passives in the ‘super jazz’ camp. 

Can anyone recommend passive (super) jazzes worth checking?

And anyone out there had a passive J bass built from a normally ‘active’ luthier? 

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14 hours ago, thodrik said:

Alleva Coppola make some very nice boutique looking jazzes.

For me though, if you want a great passive jazz bass, a Fender will be as good as anything. You just need to play a few until you find ‘the one’.

I had an AMAZING 2013 US Standard Fender Jazz which to me was every bit as good as the Foderas, Overwaters, ACGs, Modulus basses, etc. I've owned. I only sold it because I transitioned 100% to a 6er. It really was a case of playing a few (around 20 I'd estimate) until I found 'the one'.

Edited by thebassist
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