Jazz basses for around the £350ish mark

[ThomBassmonkey]

Ok, I'm getting slightly blown away by the choices in this price range, which is what I'm looking at spending on a jazz.

My ideal jazz would be maple boarded with no binding and a plain wood body. Not too fussed about the rest, just never owned a maple bass and like the look of pale wood on pale wood.

What would come close to that is a 2nd hand Fender MIM, of which the maple necked versions don't seem to come up often and I don't think the standards come as natural finish.

A Squier VMJ, either new or 2nd hand with upgrades. But the binding is horrible.

Another brand completley, maybe a Tokai (the shop I work at can stock them so I'd get discount) and I'd be able to get that with some major upgrades.

Saving up a bit more money (around the £400 mark) could net me:

A CIJ, which is my preferred choice, but they're so rare that finding one for my budget (or rather a bit over it) with the options I'd prefer would be very lucky.

A Highway 1 which is a US Fender, but they don't really have any of the options I'm looking for.

Of course I could always save up much longer and buy a US (which is something I don't have any reserves over doing apart from the time it'd take) but I know nothing about them either.


Ideally I want something that has good quality woods so it can be upgraded nicely as and when I get money (possibly to the point where I replace everything and I actually have two fully functioning basses), but is a good base to work from.

[OutToPlayJazz]

Sounds to me like you really want the American Standard with the maple fingerboard. Time to get saving?

[ThomBassmonkey]

Well I can't really save for the best part of a year, I've still got a fair whack to pay off on my recent GAS symptoms. If I manage to get rid of some more of my stuff, I'll be looking at the more expensive models, but the other item (my WEM) I hope to get a fair bit of money from is another item that might be hard to find a buyer for.

[OutToPlayJazz]

Yes, I see your point there - You could do a lot worse than try the new Classic Vibe Jazz. The one I played the other day was really nice & had one of the nicest glossed flamed necks I've seen in ages. Not bad for £299, either. No maple board and only in white, though.

[ThomBassmonkey]

That's right mate, add another bass into the fray.

What are the differences between the VMJ and CVJ? Because considering what I want, the VMJ is much closer, hate the binding on them, but at least it's maple on a natural body. I've never played a CVJ though.

[OutToPlayJazz]

The CVJ is a 60's Jazz clone, so the rear pickup is closer to the mid pickup. The necks are glossed & the bridge is a high mass affair (a blockier version of the new Fender bridge.) They're also made in a new Chinese factory where the quality control seems to be second to none, whereas the VMJ's are made in the Korean Cort factory.

All in all they're really nice & at that price, if you want to put in some really serious pickups, it's one of those basses that's definitely worth it. These are going to be a future classic.

[bh2]

I have to concur about the CV Jazz, great basses for the mons. Good modding/replica platform too!

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='865920' date='Jun 13 2010, 01:36 PM']The CVJ is a 60's Jazz clone, so the rear pickup is closer to the mid pickup. The necks are glossed & the bridge is a high mass affair (a blockier version of the new Fender bridge.) They're also made in a new Chinese factory where the quality control seems to be second to none, whereas the VMJ's are made in the Korean Cort factory.

All in all they're really nice & at that price, if you want to put in some really serious pickups, it's one of those basses that's definitely worth it. These are going to be a future classic.[/quote]

How many different pickup positions are there then? I thought the VMJ was 'standard' rather than 70s, is 60s different again?!
The VMJ I tried was heavy, and not amazingly well finished, but the acoustic tone was incredibly 'warm'. A lot of people seem to rate those Duncan Designed pickups , but to me they lacked bandwidth and sounded a bit cheap. If you could find one that was well finished and had as nice a sound as the one I tried, then with new pickups you'd be on to a real winner IMO. I do prefer the white/pearloid blocks & binding on a maple board though.

[OutToPlayJazz]

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='865975' date='Jun 13 2010, 02:32 PM']How many different pickup positions are there then? I thought the VMJ was 'standard' rather than 70s, is 60s different again?!
The VMJ I tried was heavy, and not amazingly well finished, but the acoustic tone was incredibly 'warm'. A lot of people seem to rate those Duncan Designed pickups , but to me they lacked bandwidth and sounded a bit cheap. If you could find one that was well finished and had as nice a sound as the one I tried, then with new pickups you'd be on to a real winner IMO. I do prefer the white/pearloid blocks & binding on a maple board though.[/quote]

Well traditionally there are only two on Jazzes - The original 60's position & the 70's position (one quarter inch further back towards the bridge.) They originally did it because the rear pickup peeked out from the chrome bridge cover, but the happy coincidence was that the sound became brighter and grittier on the back pickup.

If you look at most high quality twin pickup basses (particularly with soap bar humbuckers), they nearly always mimic the 70's spacing. Some get the back pickup even closer to the bridge, but there's definitely a trend there.

The 60's spacing gives you the traditional Jazz burp on the back pickup, whereas the 70's spacing sounds a bit angrier and grittier, but has an overall brightening effect on the sound when you're using both pickups.

I keep thinking of patenting a design where you can slide the back J pickup around, between both positions. Wouldn't that be cool?

[ThomBassmonkey]

Ok, I'll have a look into them, there's a shop in Nottingham that apparently sells them for £250 so definitely worth a look as I could buy a pair of SDs (though I know stuff all about pickups, so that'll probably be a whole new thread if I think whatever I get needs a little something extra) with the change from that.

[fender73]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='865920' date='Jun 13 2010, 01:36 PM']The CVJ is a 60's Jazz clone, so the rear pickup is closer to the mid pickup. The necks are glossed & the bridge is a high mass affair (a blockier version of the new Fender bridge.) They're also made in a new Chinese factory where the quality control seems to be second to none, whereas the VMJ's are made in the Korean Cort factory.

All in all they're really nice & at that price, if you want to put in some really serious pickups, it's one of those basses that's definitely worth it. These are going to be a future classic.[/quote]

+1 - i have nothing but praise for the CV basses

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='fender73' post='866051' date='Jun 13 2010, 03:37 PM']+1 - i have nothing but praise for the CV basses[/quote]

Add me to the list.

Im also a new CV Jazz owner. This time last year i was playing a USA Fender P5, then i went to a Lakalnd DJ5, sold that and got a Lakland Duck Dunn, sold that and am now more than happy to be playing the Squier. I do have a Ray34 but i cant see that getting used much now, although i will keep it as a back up.

Ive only done one gig so far with it but its the first bass ive had in the past three years that has made me smile when i first plugged it in.
Its not perfect of course, and personally i can feel its a cheap bass, but ive also had basses that cost over £1000 and those havent been perfect either.
Its the playability and price that i love, plus its the right white for me. There are no flaws at all in the finish as far as i can see, and i love the gloss neck.

I am upgrading the pups but thats more to do with wanting a different tone rather than anything wrong with the tone i already have. As people have already said, its a good bass to mod if you dont like anything on it as the initial outlay is pretty low.

@Rich. I didnt realise about the different pup spacing, although i have read mention of 60's and 70's layouts but never bothered finding out what the difference is, so thanks for that info. Very handy to know.

[LawrenceH]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='865987' date='Jun 13 2010, 02:38 PM']I keep thinking of patenting a design where you can slide the back J pickup around, between both positions. Wouldn't that be cool? [/quote]

Yes! I also remember hearing a clip from a German company, of a bass they made that had twin jazz-style single coils at the bridge so you could switch between the two positions, hearing the sound of each in direct comparison which was very interesting.
Incidentally I'm still pretty sure that the VMJ is 60s placement.

[ThomBassmonkey]

Ok, so the general idea is the CVJ is the best deal for around this price, even including 2nd hand?

I'll have to see if I can find one around for 2nd hand, from the sounds of it a CVJ and £150 of upgrades (would probably result in a pair of SDs and a Badass, though I'd have to see how it goes) would be a lot of bass for around £350.

[bh2]

You won't need the Badass IMO, so money saved there can go to a set of vintage style machines.

[ThomBassmonkey]

That'd be if I could find one second hand anyway hehe, they don't seem to crop up regularly.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='866363' date='Jun 13 2010, 08:19 PM']That'd be if I could find one second hand anyway hehe, they don't seem to crop up regularly.[/quote]

You could get a brand new CVJ for £250, thts under your original budget. That would leave you enough for a set of pups.
I agree with bh2, the Squier bridge is fine and can see no reason to replace it.

[Balcro]

A couple more pointers here to add to the CV60's Jazz.

Appearance wise this might suit - [url="http://www.cortguitars.com/_webapp_2714982/GB75"]http://www.cortguitars.com/_webapp_2714982/GB75[/url]

There are still some otherwise identical 4 strings around. Try woodbrass.com in France. Bridge pickup is 3-way switchable, but distribution and easy access for auditioning is limited. See the Gear Porn forum.


Also - [url="http://www.dawsons.co.uk/acatalog/Farida_Bass_Guitars.html"]http://www.dawsons.co.uk/acatalog/Farida_Bass_Guitars.html[/url]
FJB6 and 20. Let's just say the quality is probably as good as the CV Jazz.

Happy hunting.

Balcro

[tony_m]

I'm the very happy owner of both a CVJ and a VMJ.

I also don't have a life, so can confirm that according to my shonky wooden ruler, the pickup spacing on both of mine is identical at 3.55" (which I believe is near-as-dammit the "60s" spacing), and that both sets of pups are located the same distance from the top fret, which I guess means both could be described as being in '60s configuration.

A few further comments following on from what other folk have said:-

The VMJ sounds a tad brighter / more resonant than the CVJ played acoustically (both are strung with Fender flats, light gauge). Amplified, it also sounds to have a bit more bite, but both are luvverly in their own way.

The VMJ is heavier than the CVJ by half a pound or so.

While the painted-on binding on the VMJ isn't as sexy as the genuine stuff, it's neat enough. My VMJ also has a nicely matched two-piece body - bearing in mind that I bought it on t'interweb, sight unseen, I guess this could just be luck, but I've no complaints at all about the finish.

The CVJ was also bought on t'interweb, and my only complaint about the finish was a poorly-rendered "tortoiseshell" scratchplate. I've since replaced this with a parchment Squier Standard one off Fleabay - it isn't quite a perfect fit round the top of the control plate, but is near enough for me and looks fine from anything more than 18" away.

As dave_bass5 and bh2 have both said, the High Mass bridge on the CVJ is fine as it is. As for the bridge on the VMJ, I replaced this with a Wilkinson jobbie also off Fleabay, mainly because I wanted brass saddles (like the CVJ) rather than the nondescript shiny (die-cast?) things that came as standard. Definitely looks better, and also seemed to improve the sound in that annoying hard-to-explain-exactly-how kind of way.

Hope this helps!!!

Edited June 13, 2010 by tony_m

[ThomBassmonkey]

[quote name='Balcro' post='866597' date='Jun 13 2010, 11:13 PM']Also - [url="http://www.dawsons.co.uk/acatalog/Farida_Bass_Guitars.html"]http://www.dawsons.co.uk/acatalog/Farida_Bass_Guitars.html[/url]
FJB6 and 20. Let's just say the quality is probably as good as the CV Jazz.[/quote]

Now there's an option that I don't know why I didn't think of. We have a Farida hollowbodied telecaster in at the shop and it's an amazing instrument for the price. Don't particularly like the bottom horn, but I've heard that they make Fenders, so it's more than possible they're just Fenders with a bit extra shaping done.

Thanks for that post, Tony. Very useful. I'll be ringing a couple of places later today to see if they have the VMJ and CVJ in to A/B them.

Then I'd just need to replace the decal with a proper Fender one. hehehe

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='866815' date='Jun 14 2010, 10:44 AM']Now there's an option that I don't know why I didn't think of. We have a Farida hollowbodied telecaster in at the shop and it's an amazing instrument for the price. Don't particularly like the bottom horn, but I've heard that they make Fenders, so it's more than possible they're just Fenders with a bit extra shaping done.

Thanks for that post, Tony. Very useful. I'll be ringing a couple of places later today to see if they have the VMJ and CVJ in to A/B them.

Then I'd just need to replace the decal with a proper Fender one. hehehe [/quote]

I found the CV Jazz to be pretty hard to find last week. In fact i only found two shops online that had any stock.

[tony_m]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='866815' date='Jun 14 2010, 10:44 AM']Now there's an option that I don't know why I didn't think of. We have a Farida hollowbodied telecaster in at the shop and it's an amazing instrument for the price. Don't particularly like the bottom horn, but I've heard that they make Fenders, so it's more than possible they're just Fenders with a bit extra shaping done.

Thanks for that post, Tony. Very useful. I'll be ringing a couple of places later today to see if they have the VMJ and CVJ in to A/B them.[/quote]
You're very welcome, Thom. Hope you manage to find one that's to your taste!

[quote]Then I'd just need to replace the decal with a proper Fender one. hehehe [/quote]
Ooh, is that the sound of pitchforks being sharpened?

[ThomBassmonkey]

Well the story goes that I've passionately hated Fenders for 10 years, the telecaster being the only exception that I kinda accepted 5 years ago. Earlier this year for no apparent reason I had an itch to have a play on a Jazz so I went into a local music shop and had a go on a maple boarded MIM and it was stunning, sounded great even through the sh*te amp they had and the neck was brilliant.

So I'm kinda like, if I have to do it, I'd rather have a Fender just so I'm not getting a copy of the bass I once hated so much haha. But if I do get a Squier, I'll have to at least label it as a Fender, just for my own justification.

Who knows though, my amp could sell before I buy and I'd be in a situation to be looking at 2nd hand USAs.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='866921' date='Jun 14 2010, 12:22 PM']So I'm kinda like, if I have to do it, I'd rather have a Fender just so I'm not getting a copy of the bass I once hated so much haha. But if I do get a Squier, I'll have to at least label it as a Fender, just for my own justification. [/quote]

I must admit im a bit nervious about having Squier on my CVJ. Its not so much me, as i know the bass is great but if other musicians see it they might not take me seriously.

Then again, if i had a MIM i would probably want a MIA sticker over it lol.

[bh2]

A set of these will look the biz on your new CV Jazz...