Jazz Basses

[velvetkevorkian]

22 hours ago, tauzero said:

Push the boat out a bit, there's a Sei Jazz for £950 in Basses for Sale at the moment.

Dad of the year

[dave_bass5]

1 hour ago, SteveXFR said:

 

I'd probably avoid Squier after the P bass I had which was just never nice to play and wouldn't stay in tune.

Why didint you exchange it or send it back. 
it’s not a common thing IME. I gigged with a few Squiers for over 10 years. Never had any tuning issues or failures other than the odd pot crackle as i sweat a lot. 
Even the late great Herbie Flowers used a Squire. Saw him play it when he did Ward or the worlds at the O2. 

[Misdee]

A  Sire V5, new or second hand, would be ideal, it seems to me. I've seen them that are a reasonable weight, too.

 

Failing that, as others have pointed out, this is Basschat! There's an endless supply of quality used basses on the market, with bargains to be had in every price range. If it were my daughter that's where I would be looking for a bass (after the initial shock of finding out I had a daughter wore off and DNA test results ect). I'm sure you can find a cracking bass with a Jazz neck for the kind of money you want to spend, and if for some reason it doesn't suit in the longer term then you can get your money back out of it and start again.

[SteveXFR]

38 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Why didint you exchange it or send it back. 
it’s not a common thing IME. I gigged with a few Squiers for over 10 years. Never had any tuning issues or failures other than the odd pot crackle as i sweat a lot. 
Even the late great Herbie Flowers used a Squire. Saw him play it when he did Ward or the worlds at the O2. 

 

I bought it like new but second hand so couldn't return it.

Did Herbie Flowers have a highly skilled tech who can make anything play nicely?

[peteb]

You sometimes see those KSD (budget Ken Smith line) jazz basses go secondhand pretty cheaply. They're supposed to be good, so maybe worth looking out for? 

 

[dave_bass5]

13 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

Did Herbie Flowers have a highly skilled tech who can make anything play nicely?

Maybe, but i didn’t 🤔

[tauzero]

Cort GB4 or GB94 Custom - HJ rather than JJ pickups, lovely neck. Obsolete now so second-hand only.

 

[asingardenof]

3 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

Not all squiers are good - the VM I had little to gloat about and was heavier than my Sire 5 string.

The Sire V5 is passive only.

As you say, with Squiers the QC can be hit or miss. My VM 70s Jazz was excellent other than being a bit on the heavy side.

[ezbass]

Another couple to consider:

 

Bass Collection https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product/blockhead-bass/ https://www.basscentre.com/bass-collection-jive-bass.html

 

Who knows what they're like, but a very yellow and affordable, MarkBass https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product/markbass-mb-yellow-jb/

 

An even cheaper, original run Sadowsky MetroExpress https://www.thomann.co.uk/sadowsky_metroexpress_21_vin_mo_blmp.htm

Edited November 5, 2024 by ezbass

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, tauzero said:

Cort GB4 or GB94 Custom - HJ rather than JJ pickups, lovely neck. Obsolete now so second-hand only.

 

 

[tauzero]

20 minutes ago, ezbass said:

 

 

That was perfect timing. If I still played 4-strings I'd have hung on to it, but I have a pair of 4-string Thumbs so it was somewhat surplus to requirements. Pete Trewavas has used one with Marillion so it gets the seal of approval from an excellent bassist.

[Dan Dare]

Going rate for used Mexican J basses (Players and Vinteras) seems to be £500-£600, so right on your budget. Not an inspired or original choice, but a known quantity and easily sold on when upgrade time comes.

[SteveXFR]

4 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

Going rate for used Mexican J basses (Players and Vinteras) seems to be £500-£600, so right on your budget. Not an inspired or original choice, but a known quantity and easily sold on when upgrade time comes.

 

I had a couple Mexican p basses and like you said, it's a not at all inspired or original choice but they're good solid instruments, they work and they'll probably survive until the heat death of the universe or maybe a clumsy music student at university with loads of gigs.

Edited November 5, 2024 by SteveXFR

[rwillett]

On 05/11/2024 at 08:00, skidder652003 said:

All good recommendations.

For me it would be a used Jap Fender if you could find one in that price bracket.

I have a 97 MIJ Jazz in blue and its a great bass. You can find them at around £600 or so.

[SteveXFR]

5 hours ago, rwillett said:

I have a 97 MIJ Jazz in blue and its a great bass. You can find them at around £600 or so.

 

I can't find any under £750

[miles'tone]

40 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

I can't find any under £750

Have a look at some 80s MIJ Tokai Jazz Sound basses. They are up there with the older MIJ Fenders. Great basses.

[rwillett]

1 hour ago, SteveXFR said:

 

I can't find any under £750

They can be found perhaps not quite yet. Mine is great but as somebody else has said the Tokai might be another option. Don't dismiss the older Squiers. I have an 89 Squier Tele MIK and it's fabulous.  

 

Look around and try stuff if you  can. 

 

Rob

[Steve Browning]

The Fernandes is only 400 quid now.

[tegs07]

there is an all parts jazz bass neck on bc for sale 

maybe put together a bitsa?

 

i have a neck plate, dimarzio pickups and and probably a loom and knobs knocking about that i could donate.

[OliverBlackman]

3 hours ago, miles'tone said:

Have a look at some 80s MIJ Tokai Jazz Sound basses. They are up there with the older MIJ Fenders. Great basses.

I had an 80s Tokai jazz and I’ve never struggled with a bass so much live. No matter what I did I could not get it to cut through. A major disappointment because the neck was lovely.

[skidder652003]

13 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

 

I can't find any under £750

TBH that fernandes does look nice..

 

[SteveXFR]

The Fernandes is appealing but the 6 hour round trip to collect is a bit much.

[ezbass]

Just remembered the Soloking Roscoe Beck type basses. Anderton's have stock of blue and black https://www.andertons.co.uk/soloking-mj1-classic-4-string-bass-in-lake-placid-blue/ https://www.andertons.co.uk/soloking-mj1-classic-4-string-bass-in-metallic-black/ and here's a link to the thread about them 

 

[Steve Browning]

I do hope the bass that is bought is revealed here. I always wonder what the outcome of these threads is. 

[skidder652003]

11 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

The Fernandes is appealing but the 6 hour round trip to collect is a bit much.

ive had guitars sent and delivered by courier through the buy and sell forum on here, always been ok although I understand you might feel a little nervous going down that route.