Nice Jazz bass ...... options for £500 (new or used)?

[paddy109]

On 27/05/2024 at 15:08, Pirellithecat said:

I'll check the Ashdown out - 38mm nut?

Yep!

[Pirellithecat]

On 15/05/2024 at 19:25, Pirellithecat said:

Well it's getting closer ........... maybe this or perhaps this .........

Well - went for the Sire!  

Pros
The neck is great
- in terms of being able to navigate it, despite the extra frets, it works really well.  The body cut out also works very well in terms of points of reference and easy access.. 
- very nice feel and profile, not sticky, sits really well in the hand and is very comfortable and "fast".
- sounds powerful with lots of bottom end - it'll take me a while to get the EQ predictably right, but it's a lot more powerful than other (PJ) basses I have. It's also quite different - more so than I  imagined vs a PJ.
- gets noticed! (my other basses are all black).  This could be good .... or bad! 
It's VERY good for a budget bass - to the extent that I'm glad I didn't go for a Fender at a similar price (or similar spec at twice the price).  

Cons - some of these are not Sire related - just the difference between J Bass/P Bass
Arrived with a "scuffed" Headstock - just cosmetic but am having a conversation with Thomann.
The set-up is OK - action a little high, and there's variation in String volume/feel so maybe need to get the string heights sorted +/- pickup heights - otherwise good.
The body really is noticeably different to the P Bass styles I've always played - bit clumsy in comparison and BIG - and of course it doesn't really want to stand up straight in a stand.  It's  little bit heavier than  I'm used to, but OK (used it last night for the first time in a 2.5hour gig and no problems.).  More neck dive than I'm used too - so maybe lightweight tuners called for?
The Headstock isn't better in real life!   
(Predictably)  - Insertion loss on Pup Controls (very noticeable live and difficult to predictably change the sound on the hoof).

So, it's very good and a great introduction to a J Bass, albeit with 24 frets and a bigger cutaway (which work very well).  It doesn't feel cheap, but it certainly doesn't feel "high end". 
It's probably a keeper in which case it'll probably get a few mods which will bring it up to a great gigging bass!

Edited June 16 by Pirellithecat

[Pirellithecat]

And now I've gigged it, and started to think what I'd like to do to it ...... the first thing is ..... "UnBling" it - probably a new thread, but any suggestions on colours for a replacement Pickguard?  I'm leaning towards "Parchment" or similar, but hard to envisage from pics on't internet. 
Any suggestions welcome! 

[miles'tone]

Mother of pearl pickguard to match the inlay blocks would work.

[ead]

Mint p/g?  But agree MOP would look cool too, maybe aged MOP if you want a more creamy colour.

[Pirellithecat]

So no takers for parchment then?   I'll check out the options mentioned above .  Thanks.  

[OliverBlackman]

On 16/06/2024 at 17:58, Pirellithecat said:

Well - went for the Sire!  

Pros
The neck is great
- in terms of being able to navigate it, despite the extra frets, it works really well.  The body cut out also works very well in terms of points of reference and easy access.. 
- very nice feel and profile, not sticky, sits really well in the hand and is very comfortable and "fast".
- sounds powerful with lots of bottom end - it'll take me a while to get the EQ predictably right, but it's a lot more powerful than other (PJ) basses I have. It's also quite different - more so than I  imagined vs a PJ.
- gets noticed! (my other basses are all black).  This could be good .... or bad! 
It's VERY good for a budget bass - to the extent that I'm glad I didn't go for a Fender at a similar price (or similar spec at twice the price).  

Cons - some of these are not Sire related - just the difference between J Bass/P Bass
Arrived with a "scuffed" Headstock - just cosmetic but am having a conversation with Thomann.
The set-up is OK - action a little high, and there's variation in String volume/feel so maybe need to get the string heights sorted +/- pickup heights - otherwise good.
The body really is noticeably different to the P Bass styles I've always played - bit clumsy in comparison and BIG - and of course it doesn't really want to stand up straight in a stand.  It's  little bit heavier than  I'm used to, but OK (used it last night for the first time in a 2.5hour gig and no problems.).  More neck dive than I'm used too - so maybe lightweight tuners called for?
The Headstock isn't better in real life!   
(Predictably)  - Insertion loss on Pup Controls (very noticeable live and difficult to predictably change the sound on the hoof).

So, it's very good and a great introduction to a J Bass, albeit with 24 frets and a bigger cutaway (which work very well).  It doesn't feel cheap, but it certainly doesn't feel "high end". 
It's probably a keeper in which case it'll probably get a few mods which will bring it up to a great gigging bass!

The neck dive might be a repercussion of the 24 frets because my standard V5 5 string doesn’t have any. 
 

I agree about the different body shape compared to a P though. I’d prefer a P body with J pickups and a J neck.

 

I think most Sire basses are heavier than some of their equivalents but I guess that’s how they make them so cheap.

[Burns-bass]

I had one of the first batch of Sire basses and it was an exceptional instrument for the price. The problem is that they're not professional level instruments, and if you play regularly you'll have to make changes that (in my experience) often add up to the same price as a premium bass, minus the resale value... 

[lemmywinks]

1 hour ago, Burns-bass said:

I had one of the first batch of Sire basses and it was an exceptional instrument for the price. The problem is that they're not professional level instruments, and if you play regularly you'll have to make changes that (in my experience) often add up to the same price as a premium bass, minus the resale value... 

 

It depends where you get the parts from really, I bought used Schaller tuners and Nordstrand pickups and when I sold my Sire I put the original parts back on and sold the upgrades for what I'd paid for them. I lost a bit of money on the Gotoh bridge (£20 or so) as I bought that new but that's it, the cost of ownership was minimal really!

 

The later Sires (from late Gen1 onwards) have much better tuners, the Gen2 have better pickups and now they come with more standard bridge saddles which reduce the break angle to the through body slots. A few of my mates have Gen2 V7 basses and (aside from the plastic knobs which I don't like) there's not really anything I'd change if I wanted to gig one tbh, in fact I recently got a set of used Sire Grover clones for a cheap Aria I bought and they're rock solid.

 

This is what they're using now btw, much better. I think bassassain said they're a clone of Grover 142 which looks to be the case:

https://northwestguitars.co.uk/products/4-x-bass-tuners-open-back-for-right-handed-fender-squier-jazz-precision-bass

Edited June 19 by lemmywinks

[Pirellithecat]

Just had a look "under the hood"  so that I could get a template for the Pickguard.
It's very tidy.
All black screening  paint with the Pups earthed to a "screw" into the paint (!)).  Very neat, cloth insulated colour coded Pup wiring, very well soldered and cable-tied for tidiness.   Routing all great and screw holes all neat and straight.  Bit of saw dust in the cavity but otherwise clean.  Really simply and well done. 
Nice! 
I'd assumed the Pickguard was  plastic - but it's actually a pice of alloy/metal. 2.8mm thick and pretty heavy (for a pickguard). 

It might just be in comparison with my other basses, but it does seem fairly "quiet" in terms of output, and it's noticeable noisier (hum).

[ead]

Inspired by this thread I've just gambled and bought one of them there Jet JJB-300 basses.  A very pleasant bass indeed.

[Paddy777]

On 11/05/2024 at 06:57, Raslee said:

Sadowsky Metroexpress from the stock sale on Thomann…absolutely brilliant! 

I haven’t read the thread past this post 👆 however I would absolutely agree with this. The Sadowsky MetroExpress’s are really fantastic basses and the price they’re going out for at Thomann which is sometimes as low as £279 but most of them are sitting around £320-£350, but there’s nothing out there IMO that comes close under £500

[jd56hawk]

Big Jazz bass fan, I'm talking Squier...I have one of the best, a Crafted In China Classic Vibe.

Still, this 40th-Anniversary Jazz came as a bit of a surprise, the satin-finish neck alone made it worth the money.

Edited June 26 by jd56hawk

[Pirellithecat]

Gigged last night ........ 
Nice to play.
Neck is very easy to play and the frets all seem to be in intuitively in the right place - I know that sounds strange but in swapping between 20 and 22 fret basses - I sometimes find the frets aren't quite where I expect them to be!  The Sire 24 is great in this respect! 

The bass is noticeable noisier (as expected near to or at certain angles to the Bass Cab) than my PJ or P's - quite a difference!
The large control knobs are a little intrusive.
I find the V V T arrangement quite off-putting - might just take a bit of getting used to as the control of volume is more difficult and their effect on the tone is much more impactful than on a PJ. 
The positive to this is that the bass is more flexible, tonally.

So, it's  going to be a case of;
Get used to it (the pragmatic option ... for now!)
Then - perhaps, change controls for smaller knobs and (probably) Vol Blend Tone, which might mean either an EMG ABC installation (Battery ???!!) or .....
Go Active 
Or, trade for a similar bass with better Hum-cancelling pickups and, probably and active preamp). 

Given that I like the 24 fret neck - it's probably just about worth modding this rather than going for an eg. V7, as there are a few things I'd probably do with either (lightweight tuners,  ? Bridge upgrade).
But a few more outings first!!   

[Valere]

£500 should get you a used MIJ fender or an 80’s MIJ Tokai Jazz Sound if you’re lucky. Can’t go wrong with a classic vibes Squier if you want to buy new. 

Edited July 8 by Valere

[Paddy777]

Honestly if I had £500 for a Jazz Bass I’d 100% buy the Sadowsky MetroExpress JJ4 for sale in the classified section - it’s got the VTC preamp, upgraded pickups and even had the decal changed to the proper Sadowsky logo - once they’re setup properly with all the fretwork done and all the electronics are upgraded there’s very little out there comes close under 4 figures..