Circle_of_Fifths

[quote name='iconic' post='972971' date='Sep 30 2010, 09:36 AM']thanks, isn't that Russian?[/quote] Maybe - but ask a Bulgarian and they will say they invented the word and the Russians stole it. Here's my Bulgarian friend::: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6qJ6UFq8s"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6qJ6UFq8s[/url]

[quote name='iconic' post='972941' date='Sep 30 2010, 09:14 AM']"It wasn't just the money difference either - the '75 had those dumb (but pretty) physically uncomfortable-to-play-on chrome guards over the pickups. Taking them off would leave holes and I don't like to see holes in things like that. " like these ...still got my scratchplate film on too![/quote] Nice troika.

[quote name='SignsOfDelirium_bassist' post='972774' date='Sep 30 2010, 07:04 AM']I didn't have my VMJ stock for very long...but it was damn nice stock, I just felt like modding it a bit So all I can really say is this...slam some Wizard 64s in there, with a badass3 and it's a whole new level of beast! haha. I've still yet to get some 500/250k pots installed, but I can't wait till I have. My only 2 complaints is that unfortunately the fingerboard isn't glossed, but it's still very nice to play, so it's not a big deal...And neither is the fact that the inlays look painted on to me, I'm not that fussed, from a distance they look real enough [/quote] There was a rumor that the inlays were painted on the VMs. On one site there was a letter posted to/from Fender about that very situation. What was revealed was that the inlays are INDEED inlaid and not painted on the fretboard. They are real-honest-to-goodness 'Pearloid', which appears to be a plastic variety of artificial abalone shell. Since abalone is protected in the US - it figgers. Mother Of Pearl has always been abalone in the US, but I cannot speak for other countries. (I don't think the Geddy Lee [i]inlay-verses-painted-on[/i] situation was addressed however, and the jury's still out on those.) As far as the date on the VM-Jazz - it's quite mysterious to me as the bass was new, hanging on the hook at Guitar Center and when I bought it, it had only been there a week or so. Again - when it rains soup, I'll only have a spoon. I just had an ugly thought - I bet I've got the wrong rear/headstock image there for the VM-J! I played a Fender '75 Jazz that looked like my '70s VM-Jazz and for the price difference I couldn't see the big reason [u]why[/u] to buy the MiA version. The looks were pretty close and the feel was only slightly different but for reasons on which I could not put a finger, and the sounds were slightly muffled it seemed on the MiA. The VM-J was brighter and more respondent to my fingers. They both appeared to have the same Fender 7250 NPS strings, and although the pickups were obviously different, I liked the tone and feel of the VM better. It wasn't just the money difference either - the '75 had those dumb (but pretty) physically uncomfortable-to-play-on chrome guards over the pickups. Taking them off would leave holes and I don't like to see holes in things like that. I like to palm-mute and they would be right in the way.

[quote name='spongebob' post='971986' date='Sep 29 2010, 10:56 AM']Yes! Yes! That's the one.....looks great. How's it with you?[/quote] It's swell. It has definition and tone that I never expected from a Jazz. The p'ups are Duncan Designed - and if that means that Duncan built them or just had them created under license, they smoke! I replaced the 7250 NPS Fender strings on it after a very short while though for Elixir NANOS (45/100) and a lot of the string zing went away. I really like the NANOS and have them on a few of my basses. Weight-wise - it's a little heavier than everything but my Deluxe Jazz, but it's so smooth to wear with just a minimal amount of head heaviness. The finish was and still is superb and there's no fret sprout or sharp edges anywhere. The pots are smooth and velvety and they are silent. Let me show you the insides::: ...........and the outsides::: Yeah - my living room's red. So's the carpet and the couches. Well - the walls aren't though. The VM-Jazz is just a great hot rod to play and it can bark at the lead guitarist and shut down the drummer too. The biggest tone-thing is the clarity and definition of the notes and yet it can honk in the super-low arena too. All in all, I enjoy it mucho and it has it's established place in my playing pool. You'll enjoy yours - and I'm talking STOCK here!

[quote name='bh2' post='971918' date='Sep 29 2010, 09:40 AM']I think Mr sponge is refering to the new ones... with the strat knobs... [url="http://www.squierguitars.com/products/search.php?partno=0327702506"]http://www.squierguitars.com/products/sear...rtno=0327702506[/url] I reckon the CV will be better.[/quote] Hmm. Didn't know that the '77s were also Squier VM-Jazz models. I know the '70s are so called though; that's the model I have posted and the reason I was asking. Just confused - easy for me I guess. I see what he means now though:::

[quote name='spongebob' post='971825' date='Sep 29 2010, 08:14 AM']Has anyone seen the (new, I think) Squier VM Jazz? I've read loads of great stuff on here about the new Squiers - and this looks great - like a '75 Jazz! I'm normally a Ric man, and don't have much experience of the Squier stuff - haven't played one in years - but I've always fancied a '75 Jazz..... Obviously, it's not the same planet as the £1300+, but would these basses be a real let-down? Anyone else on here got a Squier amongst the top-end stuff? I just think these look great, for under £250!![/quote] You mean this one? :::

[quote name='Rasta' post='966979' date='Sep 24 2010, 09:55 AM']I wonder, in terms of build quality, how this compares to the Squire CV range? I have owned a VM Jazz in the past and although a good bass for the money i feel the CV range is leaps ahead having tried the jazzers and purchased a 51P. :snob:[/quote] I really wanted to love the CV - as it took me back to days of yore when I was rocking surf music in Newport Beach and Balboa, California in 1960-68. It just didn't happen. The CVs that I played had that odd feeling that they were made out of some sort of German plastic and had no warmth in my hands and wee generally unresponsive to my input and just made the sounds they wanted. It was frustrating - so I looked elsewhere and found the VM-Jazz and bought that instead. Here's a sample of the overall gloss-ness that had my teeth on edge::: There wasn't anything 'wrong' with the CVs - they just didn't float my boat, that's all. Today - Saturday here - I've got an 8-hour gig with 5 or 6 sets to play for a Western BBQ in a 40 acre pasture for about 300 people, and I'm bringing my Deluxe Jazz, my VM-Jazz and my VM-Jaguar, so I'll get to see how it cuts in a real situation. This is the first session I'll get with the Jaguar, so it's going to be interesting to hear how it performs and the crowd can hear it. This is another one of those parties where I don't actually get paid - it's just free beer, steaks and 300 of my closest friends. We're in the middle of our normal September/October heat where the temperature is going to be over 105ºF/40.5ºC and humidity in the single digits. We get Santana Winds about this time of the year and they are our biggest fire-season promulgators. I had a small 3-hour jam last night at the fire station here with the WED/Sat crew and it went well, and the Jaguar had a lot of character that I have only begun to find and it surely has a lot of capacity to hold the line against three guitars at full volume and a guy with very heavy drum sticks. It seemed to sit in that frequency zone that wasn't being held hostage by the guitars. It's 7AM here and I've got a lot of gear to haul up to that pasture and get set up so I've got to go for prolly the rest of the day. Check y'all later.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='966919' date='Sep 24 2010, 08:59 AM']Unless I'm mistaken, which happens not infrequently, Music Junkie in Leicester had one in. Dunno where you are in Notts, but surely Leicester is not that far away. It was a couple of weeks ago and my memory is not the most reliable one in the world, but I think it was the Jaguar bass.[/quote] Hard to imagine the time difference betwixt London and where I live - so I went and looked at [url="http://www.abbeyroad.com/visit/"]Abbey Road Crossing[/url] and you people are all awake! Of course - now I notice it's just a little after 5AM there. Let me know when you can drop by there and mug with your Jaguar bass for me to see a live shot of you and it.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='966489' date='Sep 24 2010, 02:37 AM']except the jazzmaster was the older brother i think[/quote] I actually like it for several reasons - and these are MY reasons:: [list=1] [*]It's [i]'The Bass That Never Was, Yet Is'[/i] [*]Hot p'ups [*]I didn't have another P/J combination in the choir [*]I've never owned a Fender Jaguar [*]I have an empty spare hardcase [*]Hot p'ups [*]It's understated beauty and musical applicability [*]I never liked all the goofy hardware on the original Jaguar [*]Looks good on the bandstand AND strapped on! [*]The lower weight factors in strongly [*]Hot p'ups [*]Uniqueness in design [*]Conspicuous consumption [*]Matches my Deluxe Jazz [*]Really HOT p'ups [*]Bragging rights (OK - that's a cheap shot) [*]Feels like a sports car in my hands [*]Stacked knobs [*]It's a 'guy-thing' ♂ [*]Did I mention it has [color="#FF0000"]hot[/color] p'ups? [/list] Really - since I have a couple of different Jazzes (1-active, 1-passive), a Precision and now the Jaguar with the P/J configuration was a natural evolution for my bass playing collection I think. Now I have to consolidate my reasons with the biggest factor: I think I have all the bass tones and sounds covered now → well, maybe until I get a fretless or a full-sized stand up double.

[quote name='iconic' post='965451' date='Sep 23 2010, 03:51 AM']I didn't know there was a Vintage Modified P bass...everyone seems to talk about the VM jazz (I have one!) any reason why, is the CVP that much better? [/quote] First - I hope we're talkin' apples and apples here. The only CV-P of which I am familiar is the CV-P with the single pickup. If this is the bass of which you are speaking::: .....................then let me continue with my tirade. Otherwise, just ignore my rambling and I'll get over it -------------- somehow. Crushed - but OK, really. I kept hearing that the CVs were so-o-o much better and more quality-like - but I don't see it at all. I TRIED to love one of those CV-Ps at my Guitar Center and it just didn't talk to me. Somehow it felt very odd and 'glossy' - but that's not really the right word. The CVs are just much more plastic-y feeling to me and that turned me off - that and the tiny fret wires. They sound OK to my ears and I think they are worth the money - but I still bought the VM-Jazz when I was in that market that day to get a CV. What I really disliked was the inability of me getting a clean note out of it - and the setup was [u]good[/u] - it just felt sloppy to finger. Now - the VM-P is really a nice bass. I matched it to an MiA and an MiM Precision and it was so close that it was not even fair considering the price difference. I have an old Squier Precision that has some 'work' done to it and although I find it to be the best (read: only) full-on P that I have - the VM-P was a notch or two higher [u]in it's stock form.[/u] Head-dive is a real problem with it - but I can compensate for that for the sounds and tones it can generate; I'd surely suffer some for the sake of art if I had to! If I was in the market for a new Precision - this VM-P would be the one! [b][center]CV-P= NO VM-P= YES! [i]Enthusiastically[/i], YES! [/center][/b]

[quote name='ScaryBass' post='965381' date='Sep 23 2010, 02:47 AM']I've been wanting to try one of these since they were first announced, I've never been a fan of the shell pickguards but it just seems to work on these. How would you say it compares to the VM jazz? Obviously I haven't tried the jag yet but at the moment my next bass is a toss up between the jazz and the jaguar, just wondering what your opinions are![/quote] You would ask me that - huh? On the spot here - I can only say the VM Jazz is a whole different animal. The VM-J is a milder version since it has much lower gain to the sound (as I can state it). It doesn't have the [u]punch[/u] of the Jaguar at all - but please remember that until I got the Jaguar, I never noticed it at all. The fit and finish on the VM-Jazz is superb and there are no physical or electrical defects at all. I love the clear coat and the naked blonde wood underneath it, and Squier really did a nice job on the neck with the binding and the squares on the fingerboard. [indent]The tuning machines on both are the same. The Jazz weighs a little more though. Controls are all clean and very progressive on both.[/indent] I keep the action pretty low as I am a soft player and that's a safe option for my style of playing. Comparisons beyond that are pretty hard to pin down though. I still love the VM-Jazz and also even my Squier-P and my MiM Deluxe Jazz - they all perform different functions and have much different voices. That's one reason why I got such a diverse bunch of basses - they all sing differently. I usually run an [b]MXR DI+[/b] stomp and I find that I have to turn it 'way down or off and just pass through for the Jaguar - those pickups are that hot! But for any other basses (not counting my active ones) - I can just turn up the volume and turn the MXR on a little more. If I wanted to appease the P.O.S.H people in a refined atmosphere like a fine hofbrau or restaurant and the music was cool jazz and gentle pop-tunes, then I'd bring the Ibanez SR500::: - so I feel that trying to categorize a sound and compare it to another bass is kinda tough. But for most any other venue - I prefer the less Strad-type SR500 instrument as I like to keep the image fitting to the venue.

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='965194' date='Sep 22 2010, 08:15 PM']I am very sorry to hear that, and I mean it as I have a disabled 17 years old son in a wheelchair so I can fully understand the struggles. Look on the bright side, at least you have lived most of your life walking and living normally whereas my son was born with cerebral palsy and has never been able to walk, kick a ball or do what other children do.[/quote] That's a heart-ripper alright! How badly disabled is he - [i]even though I know it's none of my business[/i] - but does he play any music or does he not do that? Even singing or whistling is a unique talent in and of itself. My heart - once it restarts - goes out to you and whomever helps take care of him. My prayers for you too.

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='965190' date='Sep 22 2010, 06:59 PM']Assume you are allowed to, or are your own boss, what are the essential items you'd keep at work? What are yours?[/quote] I quit working so I could devote 24/7/365 to what I wanted for a change. Actually became 100% disabled so my time is my time and I spend my time as I see fit. My osteoporosis got so bad that the doc ordered me to never pick up anything more than 10 lbs - so if I have to pick up something that weighs too much I have to start shucking clothing - and that isn't a pretty picture for an employer to see. Nor customers.

The length is about 1/2" longer (12.5mm) overall than my Deluxe Jazz, and the neck is the same length. This bass 'that never was' is just sorta a design clone of the Jag guitar, and it isn't any shorter or have fewer frets than a 'normal' bass. Weight-wise, it's the lightest bass next to my SR500 - which weighs the same at 8lbs or 3.6287kg. What I notice about the pickups is that they are both equally responsive - but they are [color="#FF0000"][i][b]HOT [size=4]HOT[/size] [size=5]HOT![/size] [/b][/i][/color] I usually run my [b]MXR Bass +DI[/b] on my basses and for this Jaguar I just have to just pass through it since the signal's so strong. I'd put it on par with a very high-gain active bass for the power of the output. I know it's the newness of it and all - but I grab it first to play when I want to make some noise. The strings are up for debate, as Squier says they are [b]SUPER[/b] 7250 NPSs, whatever that means. All I know for sure is that they are not stainless as they blacken my fingers when I play it like a nickle string does. The sound these stock strings produce is very much like a very bright set of stainless - so it must be the pickups. You can dial about any sound you want out of these electrics though - so don't think the strings are a limiting factor - in fact they make the bass what it is and now I have another quandary. What strings will I use to replace them later on when they need it? I think ROTO RS45s will come very close and at a very nice price too.

Paid for it a few weeks ago and picked it up on Thursday (Sept 16th) when it finally arrived. After I got it home and took off the pick guard and control panel for inspection and a thorough wax-job - I played it and am flabbergasted. This bass has some VERY HOT pickups and they can really create lots of tones and sounds that for all intents sound like an active bass. The finish is flawless - no sharp frets - no mechanical problems - pots are super smooth and the tone pots are notched to hold whatever position you set them in. Tuners are on par and the frets are level and no buzzing. The action's low from the factory. The rosewood is the tightest grain I have on any of my basses - Fender/Ibanez/Squier. Strings are 'Fender 7250 NPS" which means they are rough, noisy and harsh. Red-silked, they might be NOS, but more than likely they are made in Mexico where Fender has set up their own string machines. All-in-all - a very fine bass and it has all the funk of a bass that never existed, yet looks vintage enough to fool anyone. If you get your hands on one - you too will be impressed.

I hope this helps at least a little. I'm not too sure of the UK/US money conversion factors though. I own an Ibanez AEB10E-BK that has tremendous tone and sustain and playability. Plus it looks good too! I opted to keep the round-wound bronze strings on it since I found that any clank or string-zip was MY playing style and I have learned how to make them quiet now. Be careful with adding higher tension or thicker strings as they won't fit well and the nut break-over point will be rounded and noisy. One can damage the bridge and actually rip it off the body if one doesn't replace strings intelligently. Dean acoustics are notorious for this problem! As far as playing for practice, that's all well-n-good, but if you ever think you can play one naked (without an amp), you'll be in for a surprise. They'll get swallowed up by even a couple of loud acoustic guitars, and if you add a drummer, then you might just as well stay home. OK - the good points: [list=1] [*]They can force you to play with a lot more control and that's always good. [*]They will teach you about harmonics, which a slab bass might not do so well [*]They have tons of sustain [*]They have tons of tone [*]They are a real attention-grabber to the audience when they 1) see it 2) hear it. [/list] The not so good points: [list=1] [*]They are big [*]They are lots more fragile than a slab and cannot be used defensively to exit a hostile pub/bar [*]They need an amplifier [*]They can create a lot of feedback (Sonderns) if you don't get a sound hole plug [/list] My opinion? Get one and leave the bronze wound rounds on it. Pay enough to get one with a decent preamp and tuner built in. Obviously - get a hard case for it!!! Emphasis on HARD. Listen to/watch the [b][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4hv_8TXFWg&feature=fvsr#"]Clapton concert with Nathan East[/url][/b] on an acoustic 5-er bass. You will be a believer after that.

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='926778' date='Aug 16 2010, 11:12 AM']That'd be cool, cheers. We went out to the Joshua Tree & did a Gram Parsons pilgrimmage. Very cool.[/quote] Did you get to any of the Cowboy Bar/Clubs out there? I played in one a few times when it was still CW and not what it later turned into: Writer/Performer Experimental Wretched Showcase. Good clubs and open-mic facilities are getting to be fewer and fewer now.

I only have five basses at the mo. (I know - raucous American) - but none of them do I consider as 'spare' basses. They all work for their home and hearth and they each get to be front liners at least once a month. Incidentally I take at least three basses with me to jams or gigs. They make nice eye-candy if they don't all get played that venue/that time - but they are usually rotated during a gig if any of their brethren go south on me. So far I haven't killed a bass.

The VM-Jags do exist - but for some reason the photos of them have all be excised from the sites that are pre-selling them here in the US. The Fender Squier site still has them posted fer sure! These are the new VMs and that Jag is 'The Bass That Never Was" There appears to be no variations on color or other details yet. But if Fender is using the Squier lineup to keep it's doors open and some of the better luthiers working - then more power to them. The high-end basses aren't selling in this economy and these $300USD basses are flying out of the stores as fast as they hit. Good-on for Fender to see the need and fulfill the desire for some new blood in the way of designs that are blowing people away and making those with the big dollar basses take notice. Rumor has it that Fender USA will move all it's manufacturing outside of the US borders - prolly Mexico as the labor base is better there and quite frankly, MIM has really gotten it's act together with quality control. I bought my MIM Deluxe and it has a US neck and electronics - so who's to say they aren't as good. Mine certainly sings well and I can't see the additional cash just to get a body and finishing done in the US. ]

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='926216' date='Aug 16 2010, 02:20 AM']Welcome to Basschat. I had the good fortune to drive through rural California a few months ago & it was one of the most beautiful places in the world.[/quote] I can post pixs of the area if you'd like to see SoCal - but from a view that most tourists don't see very often. In the meantime and until I find all the posting sites for OT stuff, here's a [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anza,_California"][b]LINK[/b][/url] to where I live on The Wiki. It'll get to almost 45ºC today and MAYBE a chance of thunderstorms and heavy rain ([i]yeah - sure![/i]) - a prognostication by the weather guessers. MY apples and pears are all coming along nicely and we will have a large harvest this year. This is some of the area immediately around us. I go off-road a lot to see the abandoned silver and gold mines and have even worked some of the tailings for some nice gold traces and flakes. Anyway - like I said - I'll post some of those pixs if anyone wants to see them in an OT area if I can find it.

64+ y/o - played a lot of Surf and Pre-Beatles and in the past couple of years have decided to come back to bass playing. Retired on a pension and SS, I have lots of time and know how to use a keyboard. If you ask me the time, I'll tell you how to build a clock. I live up and over the California desert city of Palm Springs where we look down on it from our mountain house at 4,200 feet altitude. We (my wife and I) moved here to get out of the smog and bad air of the Hemet/San Jacinto Valley and all the crime. Up until a week or so ago - I was on a bass-buying splurge to get back into shape and purchase several basses - all with 'different voices' if you will. But you know how that is for bass player. More gear! Not going pro again - nor will I be hitting the road. I play a few private BBQs and lawn parties and have a gig going on at a few fire stations in the upper valley here. I tend to gravitate toward Fender gear - but also have a couple of Ibanez basses - one acoustic (AEB10E-BK) and an SR500. My Fenders (even a Fender Squier clone) start with my very favorite Affinity P-bass which is no longer stock although it looks deceptively so. Better p'ups and a neck to die for. Oh - and a secret switch to take it into the basement for tone. My Next Squier is a Vintage Modified J-Bass in natural maple and blonde everywhere you can see except for the PG and the neck blocks. Then I have a Deluxe MiM J-Active Fender that is a Cadillac to me - since my SR500 is my Stradivarius! They both have killer tone and qualities that fortunately don't overlap each other. That's why I need them both. Would anyone like to explain that to my wife please? I play a mean trombone, harmonicas and keyboard and can hum a decent kazoo too. Just don't ask me to sing and play bass at the same time. Since this is a UK-site, I would like to tell you that I have an olde friend on Geraldine Road in Wandsworth SW18 - but somehow have lost contact over the years. Let me know if you see her go by, OK? Currently I have ordered one of the new VM Squier Jaguar basses from my favorite Guitar Center. Hopefully it gets there soon. That should be all I need to be happy. Well - that and a bag of $20.00 USD bills in non-sequential numbers and unmarked. A medium bag of twenties would be sufficient - I'm not greedy. I've looked in here a few times and noticed a lot of topics that I need to study and understand since my sabbatical from music for over 40 years. Like: [i]Who's that Geddy-guy?[/i] I dunnow him.