Shed's displaced the bass - need another one ....!

[Pirellithecat]

Just built myself a Shed in which lives my main rig and a home practice bass.

But it's not enough!

I have a small "office" in the house and I'd like to be able to pick up a bass when stuff comes on the "radio" and play along.

Got a little mixer and headphones already in place  ..... so all I need is a bass.     

My Shed resident cheapo is a Squier Standard Precision Special - (38mm neck).

Quiet fancy a Jazz of the same ilk - but should I be looking at others?    

Spec - 38-40mm neck, pref Rosewood, Jazz style, Passive (probably), nice to play rather than fantastic via pick-ups.

And Modable in case I get the urge ........  tatty is OK but not "broken"!

Budget £250

I keep seeing positive comments on Harley Bentons, Vintage, and CV Squiers - and I'd be looking very second hand.   So I'd be grateful for any pointers ..... what does the Basschat Team think? 

 

 

 

 

[Pea Turgh]

The Harley Benton Jazz I bought played and sounded ace.  Weighed a ton though!  Suppose weight isn’t such a consideration for office noodling though.  Have you posted your shed in the “Show is your shed” page?

[Pirellithecat]

There's a "Show You Shed" Page?    Ooh er - I do need some advice on the acoustics - mine really does sound awful for bass - /......... well it does when I play one.

[Pea Turgh]

There isn’t one, yet... 😂. There is a show us your music spaces one though.  I’m interested in your shed as I’m in the process of building one to put all my music gear in.

[Pirellithecat]

Well I might be able to show what NOT to do#!!

[Reggaebass]

20 minutes ago, Pirellithecat said:

There's a "Show You Shed" Page?    Ooh er - I do need some advice on the acoustics - mine really does sound awful for bass - /......... well it does when I play one.

I built the one on the left to play in and I’ve got an old Ashdown mag 300 and 2 TE15s in there, and the insulation made a massive difference to the sound , and it’s really warm in the winter with just a small electric heater, I used earthwool , which was a lot cheaper than celotex 🙂

[Pirellithecat]

Mine's bigger than yours!  Photo's when it stops raining!!

Anyone any bass guitar recommendations??

[Reggaebass]

7 hours ago, Pirellithecat said:

Anyone any bass guitar recommendations?

I don’t know what your budget is but I’ve had and I’ve still got some really good mim jazz basses, and if you’re not happy with something they are easy to upgrade 🙂

edit, I’ve just seen your budget 

Edited August 26, 2020 by Reggaebass

[hubrad]

Cruiser/Cruzer by Crafter were well in your budget when they were available new, and second hand they're great value.. I have a couple myself! Pickups are ok, but the basses themselves justify upgrading those.. I put Japanese J in one and Fender and Ibanez in another. 

[Pirellithecat]

Thanks.

Reggaebass - which MIM's do you rate.  Better than the Squiers??

Nice shed by the way, very smart - hope it sounds better than mine...

Hubrad - I'll have a look at the spec on the Crafter's

Cheers

 

[Reggaebass]

45 minutes ago, Pirellithecat said:

which MIM's do you rate.  Better than the Squiers

I haven’t had much experience with the squires , but a lot of people here have, but every mim one I’ve had has been good,   maybe I’ve been lucky.

 not sure if you’ve seen this thread, 

 

[Pea Turgh]

Here we go: 

 

[TheGreek]

There is a Squier Standard with a J/P set up. I have one which surprised me how good it is for a £150 bass.

Recommended.

[police squad]

the vintage V74 or V74/75 would fit the bill. RRP about £350 but plenty for sale for less, plus 2nd hand too

[ezbass]

How about a little short scale action? Perfect for picking up for a quick play.

[moley6knipe]

Or an acoustic maybe?

[Grahambythesea]

I think a Spector Performer is within your second hand price range. Excellent for the money and drag you away from F clones.

[Pirellithecat]

Arghh ........

It's Pandora's Box .... what have I done?

I now want an Acoustic, and I'd rather like a Spector, and the Vintage, AND a MIM in Lake Placid blue,  And a Squier CV........... but I can't get distracted into getting a Short Scale.  I've had three Ibanez in the past and I really like them and their excessive number of frets and the neck.  But I need to get better at playing basses with similar necks to mine and a similar number of frets.  The variables should really just be Jazz configuration to see if I like it.

So, can I refine the question to ...

"Which Fender Jazz Bass Copy is really good for around £250 second hand?"

I've excluded the Affinity Range, I rather like the Indonesian Squier Standard Range, tempted by a Chinese CV Jazz, but have no idea how these compare to the Vintage Range, the MIM Fenders (if I stretch the budget a tiny bit).  And the Harley Benton sounds interesting.

Can't really go and try all of the above as PMT are 2 hours plus away even in Covid Free times and some aren't still in production - so I'm casting around before taking a punt!

Thanks for the contributions so far.

 

[S.F.Sorrow]

I've had some very disappointing experiences with Harley Benton but my JB-75 (natural finish) was a huge positive surprise. I'm actually shocked how good it is for such a ridiculously low price. If you're looking for a cheap NEW J-bass I don't think it gets much better than this. At least not unless you're prepared to pay at least 2-3 times more.

I'm sure they can vary a lot in this price range but I'm very happy with mine.

The hardware is very decent. Better than Fender Player series IMO.

I was expecting to replace the Roswell pickups but they are actually quite good. Maybe just a tiny bit harsher in the highs than the best J-bass pickups out there but those pickups would cost more than this entire bass! I ended up keeping the Roswells.

The general craftsmanship is surprisingly good. At least on mine. Very nicely matched two-piece ash body. The fretwork out of the box was pretty good. I expected it to need a bit of work but it was close to perfect out of the box and easily as good as anything out there after just a tiny bit of spot levelling/recrowning/polish. But it was absolutely 100% playable out of the box too. Just some very minor buzz when setup for low action.

The neck pocket on mine is extremely tight. If it was any tighter the neck wouldn't have fit in there!

The stock strings were ok too. I think they were D'Addarios. Not my personal favorites but certainly better than the junk they put on the (even) cheaper Harley Benton Standard Series.

The pots feel nice. Seems like good quality.

It even has a double action truss rod. You won't find that on a Fender below £1500.

Of course there's some bad stuff too at this ridiculously low price:

There is absolutely no shielding inside. Unless you run both pickups at full there WILL  be hum. I mostly use the neck pickup soloed (or just a tiny hint of the bridge pickup) so I had to bring out the copper foil and shield it properly.

The setup wasn't the best. Action/relief were surprisingly good but the saddles were set in a straight line so the intonation was WAY off.

Weight... This thing is heavy. But so are 70s Fender Jazz Basses and it's supposed to be a "JB-75" so I guess they got it pretty much spot on.😁 But it really is HEAVY.

The neck feels slightly chunky for a J-bass. Not the width but the front to back profile. If you're looking for a classic, slim J-bass neck you might be disappointed. Personally I like it a lot but I'm used to vintage P-basses and compared to those it's obviously a lot slimmer.

The binding is fake. Just painted. I think the block "inlays" are fake to. I mean, they LOOK like they're painted but they also feel slightly recessed into the fretboard so I'm not sure what to make of it to be honest...??? But it looks nice and at this price... who cares if they're fake?

Based on my experience with other Harley Benton models I can only assume they must vary a lot in quality. Some of the others I've played have been HORRIBLE but Thomann has a very good return policy. As long as you're prepared to deal with all the hassle (customs paperwork etc.) there isn't much of a risk.

Of course it's not rosewood but you would have to pay considerably more for a NEW rosewood bass these days. If you can handle the weight and you're prepared to do a bit of shielding I honestly don't you will find a better new J-bass anywhere near this price range.

If you're looking for something used the obvious answer would be the first generation (made in China) Squier Classic Vibe basses. Shockingly good instruments (in some respects better than MIA Fenders IMO) but it's not easy to find them used. They totally blew the scales for price/performance. I've got some REALLY expensive basses in my collection but I will NEVER sell my Chinese CVs.

There's also the discontinued Vintage Modified series. Not quite as astonishingly good as the Chinese CVs but still very good J-basses for cheap and unlike the current Squiers they had rosewood fingerboards. The VMs should also be easier to find used than the Chinese CVs.

 

 

[Pirellithecat]

Excellent write up Mr Sorrow - thanks.

I'm moving away from P Bass/ chunky necks, and without trying the bass in question I think the Harley Benson might be a mistake.   however, the CV does sound very promising.......... 

I have a search

Cheers

[S.F.Sorrow]

17 hours ago, Pirellithecat said:

Excellent write up Mr Sorrow - thanks.

I'm moving away from P Bass/ chunky necks, and without trying the bass in question I think the Harley Benson might be a mistake.   however, the CV does sound very promising.......... 

I have a search

Cheers

If you don't like chunky necks you should definitely avoid any of the Harley Benton P or J clones. The Harley Benton P-basses are even chunkier.

If you want something really cheap with a slim neck a Bronco might be fun. It's not a J-bass but they have lovely necks and short scale might be convenient in the office. The stock bridge and pickup are absolute rubbish but it can always be modded into something really cool later if you like how it feels. The stock strings are garbage too. Extremely thin gauge and floppy. It's not even worth trying them. If you get a Bronco make sure to get a decent set of short scale strings. I've never ever heard anyone say a single nice thing about the stock strings on a Bronco.

Just be aware that there has been a recent batch of Broncos with faulty bridge saddles. The string spacing is WAY off. Huge gap between A and D, much narrower between the two outer pairs of strings. You might want to try (or at least see a pic) before you buy. Fender is aware of the problem but they don't seem to care.

Broncos are very fun basses though. It's my favorite "TV bass" because of the convenient size, weight and nice, slim neck. I actually liked it so much that I have now replaced the bridge, shielded it better and installed a wonderful sounding replacement pickup from Jaime at The Creamery. It sounds absolutely amazing and I often use it for recording instead of my MUCH more expensive basses.

[P-Belly Evans]

The Ibanez Talmans seem to go down well too. The 4s have a fair few interesting colours and all for 160 quid new. I am currently getting itchy fingers over a fiver at the mo and can't decide between the two Talmans (one active, one passive) or the Harley Benton Pj5 or the PJ75 vintage.. although that PJ5 for 115 quid seems remarkable value. 

[P-Belly Evans]

In addition to the chat about Classic Vibes and Vintage Modified,  I have both, my Vintage modified Jazz is really good with a really really slim neck. My last generation Chinese Classic Vibe P is different gravy again and although the neck is a little bit chunkier, it plays like a dream. Seriously, I can heartily recommend both. 

[S.F.Sorrow]

19 minutes ago, P-Belly Evans said:

The Ibanez Talmans seem to go down well too. The 4s have a fair few interesting colours and all for 160 quid new. I am currently getting itchy fingers over a fiver at the mo and can't decide between the two Talmans (one active, one passive) or the Harley Benton Pj5 or the PJ75 vintage.. although that PJ5 for 115 quid seems remarkable value. 

I've got a TMB30. It has a surprisingly chunky neck for a short scale. Probably not the best choice for someone looking for a slim J-style neck. I also think the stock 'Dynamix' pickups were a bit sterile/harsh sounding so I ended up replacing them. Maybe the stock pickups work better in the active models? And then there's of course the even more expensive ones with Nordstrands. But the neck is definitely on the chunky side and the bass is also a bit heavier than I had expected. I like it but it feels very bulky compared to say a Bronco/Mustang.

[P-Belly Evans]

27 minutes ago, S.F.Sorrow said:

I've got a TMB30. It has a surprisingly chunky neck for a short scale. Probably not the best choice for someone looking for a slim J-style neck. I also think the stock 'Dynamix' pickups were a bit sterile/harsh sounding so I ended up replacing them. Maybe the stock pickups work better in the active models? And then there's of course the even more expensive ones with Nordstrands. But the neck is definitely on the chunky side and the bass is also a bit heavier than I had expected. I like it but it feels very bulky compared to say a Bronco/Mustang.

Interesting insight. Cheers for that, and I agree with your thoughts regarding the OP''s requirements. The Talmans sound similar to my Vintera Mustang then - the chunkiest neck of any bass I own. I have always avoided chunky necks but the tone from the Mustang is just toooo good to quibble over slightly more girth. I am also in possession of a Status S2000 at the mo and it has the widest D shaped neck known to man., but wow is it fast as hell... and that tone. So now I am open to anything. Bring on the fabled baseball bat Stingray I say! 

Edited August 27, 2020 by P-Belly Evans