The Chase and the Catch

[Doctor J]

After many years of chasing, I've managed to buy a Fender Jazz Plus. It has been an itch I've wanted to scratch for 30 years. I love the concept - slightly downsized body, slim neck, Lace Sensors and a Kubicki 9v preamp from a time when Fender still tried new things. It's been a long, long time since I saw a black and maple one which hadn't been modded in some way so I felt now was the time. This one is a 93 from sunny Italy.

Now, the waiting game while it tries to survive the courier lottery.

[ped]

Looks great, I’ve always liked the look of these especially with the controls in a line like that. Is it 60s spacing? 

Congratulations, it must be deeply satisfying to find one after such a long search. Fingers crossed it arrives safely. 

[Doctor J]

Thanks, Ped. Yeah, it's exciting. I used to lust over these in the old Frontline magazines you could pick up for free in the music shops. They seemed so cutting edge at the time and must be one of the first Jazz-on-steroids type of designs. Of course, they were so very far beyond my reach, financially, so it's a good feeling to finally be able to get my hands on one. They had a fairly interesting range of colours too but the simple black and maple one just looks classic to me, clean and uncluttered, it's serious business. It is 60's spacing, I believe, but there is very little information out there on them. I will hopefully know for sure before the end of next week.

[Hellzero]

You know the chase is better than the catch, you know. 

[Doctor J]

There is always another chase. Hello, Thumb NT 😂

[Reggaebass]

Very nice Doctor J, they have a sleek look about them and quite a powerful sound I believe 👍

[LeftyJ]

Very cool! I think Mark Ronson played a 4-string version at Glastonbury 2019 when he joined King Princess for one song. It looks to be modded with Basslines pickups and simpler electronics though:

[Doctor J]

Yeah that looks like it. The electronics and pickups are really what draw me to it, though. It's an interesting setup.

[Doctor J]

It's in the country. I'm optimistic, but no more than that, of receiving it tomorrow 😂

[machinehead]

It looks great.  I love a downsized jazz body.  It hasn't far to go now!
Frank.

Edited January 28, 2021 by machinehead
spelling

[Doctor J]

Thanks, Frank, yeah out for delivery now. Nice. I am quite excited to finally play one of these 😁

[Guest]

On 24/01/2021 at 11:33, LeftyJ said:

Very cool! I think Mark Ronson played a 4-string version at Glastonbury 2019 when he joined King Princess for one song. It looks to be modded with Basslines pickups and simpler electronics though:

I think you need to count the tuners...

[bartelby]

That is one good looking bass!

[LeftyJ]

4 hours ago, FDC484950 said:

I think you need to count the tuners...

Good call 

[NancyJohnson]

The used to be a show on Discovery called Chasing Classic Cars - the host used to do a voiceover in the opening credits about it always something like, 'it's about the thrill of the chase'. 

After a 30 year wait for a Hamer (that arrived last week), I'd probably say that this is more apt until the inevitable GAS kicks in at some point (a Darkglass 1x15, which is apparently in the works):

[Doctor J]

The thud sound which I thought was the door of the van closing was more likely the bass being lobbed over the gate. No notification from the driver, just left there in the elements. Just as well I heard it and had a look out the window. Great job, UPS!

Anyway, compulsory courier woe aside, initial impression: this neck is a great shape. It's pure J but a little slimmer front to back. I like it a lot. The pickups are indeed in the 60's position. The pots need a bit of a clean, (in fact the whole thing desperately needs a thorough clean, look at the biocrud on the knobs ffs), the blend is a bit scratchy but everything works. The strings are remarkably dead and, of course, disgusting and need to go.

Snapped with a standard size Jazz body to show the size difference. I need to strip it and clean it and set it up but I have a good feeling.
 

[bartelby]

Those knobs look like they need to be scrubbed with bleach!

[Doctor J]

Just now, bartelby said:

Those knobs look like they need to be scrubbed with bleach!

Yeah, by somebody else's hands too 😁

[Reggaebass]

That looks cool  Dr J, after a clean and setup I’d say that’s gonna be great 👍 

[Doctor J]

Well, that took longer than expected 😂 I had to get some penetrating oil to get a saddle screw and a knob locking screw moving. Never underestimate the power of old biocrud to get into every nook and sieze up things you would not believe. The pots also needed some cleaning but they're all smooth and scratch free now. Not an inconsiderable amount of work, but it's done now.

 

General impressions, this is a really nice bass, a clever tweak of a great design. It's very comfortable with some nice features. The backplate has inserts for machine screws, a simple but tasteful touch which I wasn't expecting from the big F.

 

The bridge is a decent unit which allows for quick string release.

 

The Kubicki preamp is quirky, it must be said, but also quite practical and useful once you understand what it's doing. Knobs are vol + pickup blend, treble + bass and a four way rotary switch. In the cavity is a small mid boost control which, after some testing, I've set at about 80%. The four way switch is the key to the whole thing.

1st position is passive, where the volume and blend work as expected, but the bass control becomes a standard passive tone roll-off. Classic Jazz bass.

Position two is active, so you get volume, blend, bass and treble. There are no detents in the bass and treble controls and, while they're labelled as cut and boost, it feels like there is a lot more boost than cut in both. They're quite musical, though and pleasingly subtle.

Position three is active again but with the mid boost engaged. It undoes a lot of the natural J scoop and gives it a healthy growl. Nice.

Fourth position is a kill switch which turns it off. No output at all. I'm sure, some day, I will find a use for that. I might try it with a wall of distortion and use it rhythmically.

It all works well with the silver Lace Sensors. They're clean, with healthy but not outrageous output.

 

I like the smaller headstock, it suits the smaller body well.

 

And the tuners look like branded Schallers, I think?

 

Overall, I like it a lot. I grew up with a J bass so it's homely, but it's a more comfortable shape. It sounds like a standard Jazz bass when you want it to, but also has Jazz-on-steroids on tap and neither gets in the way of the other. I put all the parts back together on Sunday evening with a quick setup and, now everything has settled down, will do a thorough setup later on. It's good but I think it has potential greatness when properly set up. Plus (no pun intended) I'm not scared to catch something nasty off it anymore 😂

 

Edited June 30, 2021 by Doctor J

[PlungerModerno]

Sweet! I think the smaller headstock looks very neat, a nice piece of maple too. Those bridges are pretty comfy too, kinda like the auld Ibanez bridges.