how can I make my MIM Jazz play and sound better?

[thumbo]

I guess the title says it all! I'm after some advice from people that have MIM jazz basses or know anything about making them better.

I inherited a MIM Jazz bass a couple of years ago and it's never sounded very good or played that well either. I'm never going to
sell the bass because of the sentiment attached to it, but I want to make the most of it as I could make good use out of a semi-nice jazz bass.

I'm willing to gut the electronics and maybe stick in some Nordstrands, but would those be wasted on this bass? I'd like to keep it passive. Anyone got any suggestions on the pickup/electronics side of thing?

The second and slightly trickier issue to tackle is the playability of this bass. I want to keep it in standard tuning and use it mainly for funk and jazz. Anyone got any suggestions for string gauge, brands of strings or tips on setup of a MIM jazz?

I've tried different gauges of d'addarios on this bass and had some EMG J's in it for a while, but the EMG's sounded pretty dull.

Any suggestions would be helpful because I'd like to make the most of this bass.


Cheers
Ed

Edited November 24, 2007 by thumbo

[David Nimrod]

A Badass bridge certainly helps, as to strings, well that's personal ;-)

On my fretless MIM I have Status roundwounds, they sing beautifully.

But a MIM will always be (like all Fenders) very variable in sound...

You can get an exceptional one, or more likely a dull sounding one.

I'd say it's only worth investing in expensive upgrades if you have to.

Just enjoy it for what it is, maybe a backup bass or whatever...

[GreeneKing]

Is the bass set up well? String wise I'd say maybe try some Newtone strings or some DR sunbeams.

[url="http://www.newtonestrings.com/"]http://www.newtonestrings.com/[/url]

Another possibility would be to fit a Villex Booster unit.

Hope you get what you want out of this bass.

Peter

[thumbo]

Thanks fellas, I've already done the badass manouvre, and that definitely made a difference, cheers David.

Peter, those newtone strings sound interesting, I'll give them a go. Setup wise I'm pretty confident with setting up basses and I can usually get a bass just how I like it, however I think the bass could actually do with a fretdress as it seems it's got a couple of high frets around the 4th/5th fret area. I'll call upon my luthier friend to have a look!

Edited November 24, 2007 by thumbo

[bassbloke]

MIM jazzes are very, very variable. I tried one in a shop that had a loose truss rod - the rattle was atrocious and it had no sustain whatsoever. So, the frst place to start is with the bass unplugged. How does it sound? Does it have a naturally decent tone. MIM jazzes are usually quite bright and zingy - maybe a bit metallic because of the proud frets.

The worst parts on Mexican jazzes are necks and electronics. If you want to keep it passive, completely remove wiring and line the control cavity and rear of the pickguard with copper foil - available from AxesRUs, ebay, etc... Then get a better quality, beter shielded wiring kit - Maplins or AxesRUs, ebay, etc.. if yu want nylon wrapped for that old school look.

Pickups - the stock pickups are OK - cheapo to standard single coils. I would just scour the 2nd hand ads or ebay for decent looking pair of replacements. IMPORTANT - measure them first. On earlier models, the pickups are both the same width, on later models, they're different sizes (or vice versa).

Finally, swap the nut. You can get Graphteq or Tusq replacement nuts on ebay for a few qid. They look better than the white plastic ones and do a better job.

I prefer stock bridges to the Badass, but you can certainly pick up a US model with a heavier base plate and meatier saddles. Other alternatives that often crop up for not a lot are the Schaller 3D bridges.

[bassbloke]

Oh yeah - I've always used Warwick EMPs on my Jazz. I find heavier strings/low action/dead straight neck is a great combination - I've had it on the 4 jazz basses I've owned/I own.

[Soulfinger]

I got unexpectedly great results with my 1999 MIM Jazz when I strung it with Yamaha stainless steels I had lying around (they came with my BB414) and plugged it into my Sansamp Bass Driver DI. The strings made a world of difference in terms of growl and punch, and the Sansamp rounds out the bottom nicely and adds a bit of tubey warmth. Great combination.

The bass still needs a proper shielding job though, it´s rather noisy ATM...

[beerdragon]

I stuck a pair of 84 Wizard pups on my MIM jazz and it was a different bass altogether. highly recommended.

[thumbo]

Lots of food for thought here! Thanks

Bassbloke, I've been sticking to using nickel plated strings on this bass to tame the zingyness a little, which seems to be working quite well. A new nut is definitely in order for it, I'll give a tusq one a shot i think. Thats interesting about the setup on your jazz, I'll try setting the neck straight as opposed to the very slight relief it has at the moment. Which gauge of EMP's do you use?

Beerdragon, I've heard a few people singing the praises of a set of Wizards in a Jazz bass recently. I reckon I'm gonna give these a shot once my bank account has recovered from christmas. :wacko: I've just been reading about them on their website and the 84's sound like they'd do the trick for me.

[bassbloke]

[quote name='thumbo' post='94227' date='Nov 25 2007, 06:34 PM']Lots of food for thought here! Thanks

Bassbloke, I've been sticking to using nickel plated strings on this bass to tame the zingyness a little, which seems to be working quite well. A new nut is definitely in order for it, I'll give a tusq one a shot i think. Thats interesting about the setup on your jazz, I'll try setting the neck straight as opposed to the very slight relief it has at the moment. Which gauge of EMP's do you use?

Beerdragon, I've heard a few people singing the praises of a set of Wizards in a Jazz bass recently. I reckon I'm gonna give these a shot once my bank account has recovered from christmas. :wacko: I've just been reading about them on their website and the 84's sound like they'd do the trick for me.[/quote]

Heavy Ones! 45 - 135. I tame the zinginess on mine with the passive tone.

[Muppet]

If you want to stick to passive I've got a set of Jazz pickups from an 2006 American Jazz lying around doing nothing. Barely used. Shout me if you want and we can think about a price.

[sk8]

[quote name='beerdragon' post='94128' date='Nov 25 2007, 02:24 PM']I stuck a pair of 84 Wizard pups on my MIM jazz and it was a different bass altogether. highly recommended.[/quote]
what did they gove you over the standard pups? I'm considering swappin the EMGs out of my hohner for these

[beerdragon]

[quote name='sk8' post='94503' date='Nov 26 2007, 01:08 PM']what did they gove you over the standard pups? I'm considering swappin the EMGs out of my hohner for these[/quote]

When i bought my MIM i thought the pups were ok. plenty of volume and not bad tonewise. then i was told about the Wizards on the old Bassworld site and bought a pair of the 84's for a bargain £70 and they are totally diiferent sound, plenty of growl and playing around with the tone you can a deep bass sound. what have you got to lose, it wont be seventy quid because if you dont like em, someone will buy them off you.

[thumbo]

Thanks to some of the setup tips in this thread and a set of Fender usa Jazz p-ups from Muppet I've got this bass playing and sounding much better now. Cheers chaps!