Alexbass444 Posted February 8 Posted February 8 Hi! Im in a doubt and need some light. Ive been several years with my fender jazz bass american special and Im thinking about the possibility of selling it and buy a brand new bass. There are three models I could afford and I like: Epiphone thunderbird rex brown Schecter model t Charvel frank bello Do you think I should do it or am I insane? Quote
Lozz196 Posted February 8 Posted February 8 First off look at what your current bass isn’t doing for you, then the question is do any of those mentioned solve that. If so then put the miles in if possible to try them out. 3 1 Quote
jd56hawk Posted February 9 Posted February 9 If you're thinking about getting rid of it, it isn't very special, is it? If you simply want another bass, is there something special about the three you're considering? Have you tried them? Are they better than your Fender? Can you simply keep the Fender and buy the Thunderbird? 1 Quote
Alexbass444 Posted February 9 Author Posted February 9 Cant try anyone in my city, I only watch YouTube videos about that models. And I cant buy anyone without selling my Fender. Hard decission. 1 Quote
Burns-bass Posted February 9 Posted February 9 I’d look at all these as a trade down on what you have in terms of build quality and diversity of sound. No way would I swap a U.S. Jazz for an Epiphone. 5 1 Quote
cocco Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Personally I'd keep the Jazz. It sounds like you're just bored. T-birds are cool, but have terrible ergonomics and are less versatile. The other two are Jazz adjacent. 2 1 Quote
jd56hawk Posted February 9 Posted February 9 3 hours ago, Alexbass444 said: Cant try anyone in my city, I only watch YouTube videos about that models. And I cant buy anyone without selling my Fender. Hard decission. I know what you mean. Had to sell a few basses recently due to moving to another state...money issues. Other than that, I almost always buy from Reverb because they have basses you just can't find in any music shops. 1 Quote
PaulThePlug Posted February 9 Posted February 9 (edited) Love my Thru-neck T-Bird Pro... Super Cool Looks, Meaty Mudbucker... ...with neck dive and a top body edge that will at least sore if not kill ya fore arm! You know how a Jazz won't stand up straight? or how the protruberance gets in the way on the sofa when sitting down, cos it's not a P?.. Well, its a bit like that, x10! As for the Schecter T or Frank Bello, Go HB50 Modder, Entwistle PJ Neo's? and have some fun! Honest Boring Answer Keep the J, look out for a cheap Thru or bolt-on neck T for the look. Edited February 9 by PaulThePlug 1 1 Quote
Mickeyboro Posted February 9 Posted February 9 You don’t say what your musical style is…and thats important. If it can’t be done on a decent Jazz (and yours is) then I don’t think its worth doing - in my musical world anyway. Maybe you feel you want a more exotic visual image? 1 1 Quote
Alexbass444 Posted February 9 Author Posted February 9 I play mostly hard rock, near metal. I think the best way is to keep my jb, Im sure I will miss it if I sell it. 12 years rocking without a problem... 1 Quote
PaulThePlug Posted February 9 Posted February 9 (edited) @Alexbass444 Have you ever done a bitsa or modder? The feeling is so good! Jazz PJ? Bitsa with Kent Armstrong's... P Pickup J Plate was less than a tenner from Ali Express on my Aria Pro wearing Entwistle Vintage PBX and JBX (Not Neo, wrong cover!) Edited February 9 by PaulThePlug 1 Quote
AlexDelores Posted February 9 Posted February 9 37 minutes ago, Alexbass444 said: I play mostly hard rock, near metal. I think the best way is to keep my jb, Im sure I will miss it if I sell it. 12 years rocking without a problem... I think if you own and play a bass for over 10 years, you’ll sincerely miss it when it’s gone. If there’s a genuine reason to get rid, i.e you solely play 5 string or short scale now, or the neck shape is causing you pain and so on, then move it on. Similarly, if you’ve only had it a couple of years and unsure of it then it’s probably not for you. Hate to say it but the internet (this forum especially) is generally the root of GAS. My suggestion is to stop watching YouTube videos of the T’Bird for a bit and more and you’ll likely stop lusting for one. For what it’s worth, I have a Mex Fender Jazz & a black Epi T’bird pro and as mentioned above, as fun as the T’bird is for 10 mins of fun, it’s massive and pretty uncomfortable to play unless you’re throwing it around a stage. If you’ve got only 1 bass, you can’t go far wrong with the Jazz. IMO of course. Alex On second thought, that’s very sensible of me, buy a Gibson. 2 1 Quote
Terry M. Posted February 9 Posted February 9 The good thing is if you get rid of the Jazz and fancy another one later on they're not exactly hard to come by. Quote
miles'tone Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Good call keeping your Jazz 👍 If you want a bit more from it, consider installing a series/parallel pull pot where the neck pickup volume pot is. A Jazz is already wired in parallel (both pickups working independently), click the volume knob up and it will put your pickups in series (both pickups working as one big one, like a Precision Bass). The bridge volume knob won't do anything in series so you'll have one volume, one tone - like a P bass. A Jazz in series mode is a fabulous sound. Knarley and fat like a P but with added detail. Cheap mod. Plenty of how-to's online... 2 1 Quote
fretmeister Posted February 10 Posted February 10 Keep it. I think the Specials (P and J) are some of the best basses Fender ever made. Slimmer comfy necks, slightly thinner and lower weight body. All suitable for tuner / pickup upgrades if you want. If you want another bass as well - set up a small monthly payment into a savings account and forget it's there. It will add up quickly enough. You can always do non-reversible modifications in the meantime - if you like the Frank Bello sound - swap the pickups for EMGs. The X Series J pickups have loads of headroom and bite. 1 Quote
bremen Posted February 10 Posted February 10 21 hours ago, miles'tone said: Good call keeping your Jazz 👍 If you want a bit more from it, consider installing a series/parallel pull pot where the neck pickup volume pot is. A Jazz is already wired in parallel (both pickups working independently), click the volume knob up and it will put your pickups in series (both pickups working as one big one, like a Precision Bass). The bridge volume knob won't do anything in series so you'll have one volume, one tone - like a P bass. A Jazz in series mode is a fabulous sound. Knarley and fat like a P but with added detail. Cheap mod. Plenty of how-to's online... I need to try that. Turning up the bridge pup seems to fight the (juicy) neck pup when wired 'normal' 1 Quote
Terry M. Posted February 10 Posted February 10 21 hours ago, miles'tone said: Good call keeping your Jazz 👍 If you want a bit more from it, consider installing a series/parallel pull pot where the neck pickup volume pot is. A Jazz is already wired in parallel (both pickups working independently), click the volume knob up and it will put your pickups in series (both pickups working as one big one, like a Precision Bass). The bridge volume knob won't do anything in series so you'll have one volume, one tone - like a P bass. A Jazz in series mode is a fabulous sound. Knarley and fat like a P but with added detail. Cheap mod. Plenty of how-to's online... Some of us will remember the Fender American Series from about 20 years ago (not American Standard) that came with the S-1 switch as stock to change between series and parallel mode. I tried a used Jazz 5 string version just a few hours ago in Fair Deal Music in Birmingham and asked the question: Fender why did you stop this feature? In series mode it simply sounded divine. To me anyway 🤤 1 1 Quote
Alexbass444 Posted February 12 Author Posted February 12 Thanks everyone for your opinions! At the end, I keep my jb, this fretboard is so sweet... the overall sound...so solid construction... Keep another 12 years! 2 Quote
edstraker123 Posted February 12 Posted February 12 I've just bought and returned a new Schecter Model T exotic.Not only did it have a shielding / grounding issue but despite it looking lovely it was really uninspiring to play. I swapped it for a Fender Am Pro Precision which is simply fantastic. Keep the jazz or check out the Schecter C4 silver mountain - now that is a cool bass for metal ! Quote
Terry M. Posted February 12 Posted February 12 20 minutes ago, edstraker123 said: I've just bought and returned a new Schecter Model T exotic.Not only did it have a shielding / grounding issue but despite it looking lovely it was really uninspiring to play. I swapped it for a Fender Am Pro Precision which is simply fantastic. Keep the jazz or check out the Schecter C4 silver mountain - now that is a cool bass for metal ! That's a shame as the shielding issue is an easy fix in most cases. If it's not inspiring you then you did the right thing. 1 Quote
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