Jackzucker20000 Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 (edited) I was lucky enough to find one of these in the USA. A little scary as the dealer was not local and all sales were final but it plays and sounds great. It's a 30" scale 6 string with 16mm spacing, tuned E-E. I have been using a JCR, 33" 6 string bass for solo playing (also tuned E-E) and I love the JCR. It sounds very rich, very complex, i love the aguilar super doubles and the pope preamp and the 33" scale but for some of the solo playing I do, the 33" scale and some of the stretches can be a bit tiresome/painful. The cazpar is passive and along with the ash body, maple neck, zircote fb, it's not as rich or complex of a sound as the JCR. I'm not sure if that's due to the complexity in woods and construction of the jcr, the scale length, all of the above or what...However, I've only had it a couple hours so that impression could change after I dial it in. With the shorter scale, I can use heavier strings and on the cazpar top 2 strings (B and E) i'm using .040 and .030 whereas on the JCR i'm using .032 and .022. With the 33" scale, I'm not sure I could go as heavy as what's on the cazpar. And with the heavier strings, I can dig in a lot more on the high strings which I really like. I posted a solo bass video of the JCR in this posting and I will add one of the cazpar in the next day or two so you can hear the comparison. So far I'm really happy with the cazpar and I think it basically replaces the JCR *AND* my ibanez headless bass so it's a good bargain for me, lol... Here's a clip of the JCR with the type of solo playing I do. I'll add a clip of the cazpar soon... Edited September 4, 2022 by Jackzucker20000 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackzucker20000 Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 Wanted to give a little update. I practiced with the cazpar for several hours today. It's a great bass but it's not in the same league as the JCR. I put the JCR up forsale but i'm agonizing over it. In almost every way, the JCR is a much better bass. Better build quality, better hardware, better attention to detail, better sustain, tone, etc. The cazpar is way easier to play solo bass on due to the scale length though. When I do my solo stuff on the JCR, due to the wide neck and the 33" scale, it ends up hurting my left hand because a lot of the chord voicings I use stretch 5 or 6 frets. The cazpar is much better suited for that. But the tone of the JCR really is in a different league... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 Tough one, as you never want to change things on such expensive basses, but if you prefer the feel of the Cazpar you should be able to find some other pickups or preamp for it fairly easily. Easier to change those bits than the feel and fit of the bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 Why not look into having a custom 30" 6er made? You can go for similar specs to the JCR? I play 31.5" ACG basses, 5s and 6s, and for me that's the best compromise as I can also get a really useable low B with it. I used to play 33" basses, but switching to 31.5" has been a game changer for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackzucker20000 Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 3 hours ago, BassApprentice said: Tough one, as you never want to change things on such expensive basses, but if you prefer the feel of the Cazpar you should be able to find some other pickups or preamp for it fairly easily. Easier to change those bits than the feel and fit of the bass yeah, i'd consider swapping the pickups and adding a preamp on the mensinger if I knew for sure it would bring it up to the JCR tonally. However, i think physics is at play here with a huge difference in string length (jcr is 3" longer scale and uses a through the body design). Also, the neck through design and complex body materials whereas the cazpar is a bolt on with simple ash body/maple neck. Sustain is way better on the JCR. One surprising thing, harmonics jump out much more on the cazpar... 1 hour ago, eude said: Why not look into having a custom 30" 6er made? You can go for similar specs to the JCR? I play 31.5" ACG basses, 5s and 6s, and for me that's the best compromise as I can also get a really useable low B with it. I used to play 33" basses, but switching to 31.5" has been a game changer for me. Yeah, I have been hesitant to go that route because I've had spectacularly bad experiences with custom basses but it's probably worth looking into. Swan makes something that is 30.75 which I really like but it's very expensive and i'm not sure i'd get my money back out of it if I end up being disappointed. Manne also makes a 31 that looks great. I'll have to look at ACG again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 10 minutes ago, Jackzucker20000 said: Yeah, I have been hesitant to go that route because I've had spectacularly bad experiences with custom basses but it's probably worth looking into. Swan makes something that is 30.75 which I really like but it's very expensive and i'm not sure i'd get my money back out of it if I end up being disappointed. Manne also makes a 31 that looks great. I'll have to look at ACG again... Wasn't saying ACG is the way forward for you, but they are for me 100%. What about asking JCR if they would make one for you, along the lines of what you already have, but in a shorter scale? That's the more obvious solution, to me anyway. You have a bass by them that you really really like, it has everything you want, bar the reach being too much, they'd be best placed to come up with something that ticks all your boxes I'd expect... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackzucker20000 Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 1 hour ago, eude said: Wasn't saying ACG is the way forward for you, but they are for me 100%. What about asking JCR if they would make one for you, along the lines of what you already have, but in a shorter scale? That's the more obvious solution, to me anyway. You have a bass by them that you really really like, it has everything you want, bar the reach being too much, they'd be best placed to come up with something that ticks all your boxes I'd expect... It's a bit difficult with them because he doesn't speak english and I don't speak spanish so we are always tripping over each other but yeah, it's definitely worth reaching out to him about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybassdoyle Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 I like that you've got your own thing going on there matey. FWIW I think you're right in that the JCR clear has a lot more 'stuff' going on - the cazpar will not be that bass even if you change out electrics etc. Different scale and materials like you say. My experience of custom build is that it's great in theory but you don't necessarily get exactly what you need at the end of it. Very difficult to translate your feelings and inner thoughts into a clear spec that delivers the outcomes you want. This said there are great builders out there who will no doubt do a fantastic job. Alan or Martin at Sei, John Shuker etc. I guess it starts to get really hard to find used basses to try once you go below 33 (and that's hard enough to find to begin with). If you love the JCR perhaps you need to work with it. I'm guessing the challenge is the voicings but let's face it, depending on how ambitious you wanna get there will always be challenging voicings even at 30 scale!! Good luck with your quest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 30 minutes ago, Jackzucker20000 said: It's a bit difficult with them because he doesn't speak english and I don't speak spanish so we are always tripping over each other but yeah, it's definitely worth reaching out to him about that. I guess some bilingual intermediary you trust would be the way to go if you went that route then. I honestly think it's the safest route to what you want/need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 Why not have JCR just make a 30" version of your 33"? Again, it will sound and feel different due to the scale length, but you'll be able to tick off the build quality and hardware/pickups issues you are having with the Menzinger. Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackzucker20000 Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 58 minutes ago, andybassdoyle said: I like that you've got your own thing going on there matey. FWIW I think you're right in that the JCR clear has a lot more 'stuff' going on - the cazpar will not be that bass even if you change out electrics etc. Different scale and materials like you say. My experience of custom build is that it's great in theory but you don't necessarily get exactly what you need at the end of it. Very difficult to translate your feelings and inner thoughts into a clear spec that delivers the outcomes you want. This said there are great builders out there who will no doubt do a fantastic job. Alan or Martin at Sei, John Shuker etc. I guess it starts to get really hard to find used basses to try once you go below 33 (and that's hard enough to find to begin with). If you love the JCR perhaps you need to work with it. I'm guessing the challenge is the voicings but let's face it, depending on how ambitious you wanna get there will always be challenging voicings even at 30 scale!! Good luck with your quest! regardless of "challenges" there's the reality that there is almost no way to play this voicing without getting my elbow almost touching the neck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackzucker20000 Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 47 minutes ago, Sibob said: Why not have JCR just make a 30" version of your 33"? Again, it will sound and feel different due to the scale length, but you'll be able to tick off the build quality and hardware/pickups issues you are having with the Menzinger. Si He didn't seem to be interested... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackzucker20000 Posted September 2, 2022 Author Share Posted September 2, 2022 But I did reach out to mensinger / Maruszczyk and asked him about making a 30 or 31" sputnik bass. The sputnik is more similar in construction to the JCR... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 28 minutes ago, Jackzucker20000 said: But I did reach out to mensinger / Maruszczyk and asked him about making a 30 or 31" sputnik bass. The sputnik is more similar in construction to the JCR... That's a good shout actually, the Sputnik could be built similarly to your JCR. It sounds like JCR didn't understand your enquiry or just isn't interested. There was a gorgeous 32" Sputnik 5er on here recently, which is a lot more along the lines you're thinking. I'm sure they could come up with something that scratches your itch. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackzucker20000 Posted September 3, 2022 Author Share Posted September 3, 2022 Maruszczyk emailed me back. 32 is the smallest they'll go on a singlecut... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 43 minutes ago, Jackzucker20000 said: Maruszczyk emailed me back. 32 is the smallest they'll go on a singlecut... Argh. That's annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackzucker20000 Posted September 3, 2022 Author Share Posted September 3, 2022 (edited) But I think i'm going to order a custom build like this. It's the joker model which does come in a 30. I like the buckeye burl better but my experience with guitars is that mahogany back and maple top is a magical combo. Buckeye probably doesn't contribute anything to the sound... Edited September 3, 2022 by Jackzucker20000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackzucker20000 Posted September 4, 2022 Author Share Posted September 4, 2022 as promised, here's the mensinger cazpar, i'll also update the original thread so folks can compare the tone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackzucker20000 Posted September 13, 2022 Author Share Posted September 13, 2022 another clip of the mensinger on the beatles Norwegian Wood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aguacollas Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 On 02/09/2022 at 15:44, eude said: I guess some bilingual intermediary you trust would be the way to go if you went that route then. I honestly think it's the safest route to what you want/need. Hi guys. I am a spanish bass player. I live near Barcelona, I think JCR is in Alicante. I’ve been considering buying a JCR for years, almost bought a second hand J bass some months ago. If you need any help translating or in a coversation, I’ll be happy to help a fellow bass player. No problem. Really. Even if you eventually decide to order a custom build I can help through the process, and gladly so. Someone helped me once in a similar situation and I’d be happy to return the favour to another bass player. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aguacollas Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 i just read the following messages, sorry. That Joker model looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackzucker20000 Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 (edited) 23 hours ago, aguacollas said: i just read the following messages, sorry. That Joker model looks great. I tried to get jamie to build me a 30" version of his ST-6 but he didn't seem to be interested. He doesn't speak english and I don't speak spanish so I'm not sure if it was a translation issue or not. I just sold my 6 string JCR but have 2 other ones. They needed a little TLC at first but i love both of them now. Adrian at mensinger was not not able to provide much info when I was thinking of building a custom joker so I've put that project on the backburner. I'm just going to live with the cazpar as is for now... Edited September 14, 2022 by Jackzucker20000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.