machinehead

I've been using my LM II with a Barefaced Compact or Midget, or both, so I decided to sell my Markbass CMD121P combo. It hasn't sold, so I've bought an Ashdown Little Giant 1000 as a back up to the LM II. I'm pleasantly surprised at how good it sounds!! It's definately not as loud as a LM II even though it claims to be the same 500watts. (per channel ie. 2 x 500W) But it's loud enough and the sound is extremely good. It was bought used so the price was OK, and overall, I'm very happy. I think I'll try this on a gig. Especially through two cabs because it has two 500w channels. (My cabs are 8 ohms so, only say, 300 w per channel. Easily enough in the real world) I think I'm going to like this amp. It's great value for money. I hope it's reliable though. It's ugly as F***. Any thoughts or advice from other owners? Frank.

The MIM classic 70s jazz has a deeper neck than any other jazz I've played. I find it very comfortable. Frank.

Jeez H..... That is lovely J. Ibanez have made some lovely bass guitars. That is trulybeautiful. I love the body grain. Frank.

There's a brand new black/rosewood MM Ray for sale in a shop in Belfast for £959. And they post. Frank

I know exactly how you're feeling J. I always talk myself into it by saying I can always sell it on and get (most) of my money back. And that's true, isn't it? Frank

[quote name='Circle_of_Fifths' post='1003257' date='Oct 28 2010, 01:26 AM']I live very close to the USA Fender facility where they machine the necks and body blanks. Many of them are shipped to Mexico where they are hand finished and then painted and assembled there. The same assembly procedure is in the MiA plant, but the people there are more supposed to be full-fledged luthiers, not just artisans. Ultimately the final shaping and sanding of the bodies and necks is done at each facility - but there can be some differences in personality in each and every bass or guitar too. I think fear is a great motivator in the Corona USA plant and the fact that the high-end market is pretty flat with sales still in the long drop, that there may be a little more emphasis on QC in the States with people clamoring for [u]any[/u] job and a lot of great luthiers are out of work, waiting to take the place of a malfeasant employee. Enter the MiJ and CiJ units and you have something that may appeal to many people - but you know that all the Japanese cars have little or no personality as they feel like they are cookie-cuttered and each and every one of them is the same as the last one and the next one. That may or may not be a good thing too. As an example - don't you miss the Morgan or the Austin when they were really Brit cars? There was absolutely NO consistency in them fer sure! I like consistency, but clones are something else again. 'Uninspiring' is a word that comes to mind and 'pride of ownership' is another. Back to the MiMs. The necks are all machined in the Corona plant and shipped to Mexico: this I KNOW as a fact!. (Neighbor's son works there) The electronics are all off-shore procured for all the Fenders anyway - and there can be Quality of Design differences, however I think it's more differences in assembly as most of the electronics and electrical parts are pretty much modular now anyway. The active ones, for sure and maybe less so, the passives. Painting and assembly is quite another story. The MiMs are all hand assembled, and although the MiAs are too, follow-through and QC can run a large gauntlet South O' de Border from 'Before Cervesa' to 'After Cervesa' attempts to build a guitar. American labor is totally aware of their personal replace-[i]ability[/i] factor, while Juan and Juanita don't seem to give a rat's rectum. There's the 'mañana' attitude too to consider. But - I digressed there for a few lines. I own a really superb MiM Deluxe Jazz that outshines every MiA that I've played and felt except for one - and that was an RW (but I hate to say it since I cringe at the RW concept - [u]totally, dude![/u]). No - I think it's an individual thing in the appreciation of anything that helps someone create artistic things: music, sculptures, finger paints, etc. I just like having so many choices and lots of differences. MY boat needs to float the way I want it to. I think blindly saying that all MiJs or CiJs are perfect in every way isn't the whole truth either - not that I'm making that accusation at all. If I can afford it and it sings for me - then I buy it. Simple. I don't look at the logos. [b] That said:[/b] I don't really look at anything that doesn't have a Fender head shape or says Ibanez on it though. Great post Joe. Very interesting insights - especially where the necks and bodies are concerned. From my own experience, I worked in San Diego (National City but had an apartment in La Jolla) and most of the workers, about 90%, were Mexican. The product was still considered to be a USA product though. Makes you think. Frank. .[/quote]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1002984' date='Oct 27 2010, 08:45 PM']This post saddens me slightly. I have owned a CIJ 51 RI and a MIM 70s RI. Both of which were ok but had to be tweaked (realigned bridge, freed up the tuners etc) in order to meet my expectations. I have no plans to get either a CIJ or MIM again but coincidentally I'd hoped maybe one day to have a look at a MIA 75 RI. There's probably no point now though if they're much and such. [/quote] Hahaha. But remember, it's only fair to point out that I own your old classic 70s jazz so it has benefitted from your TLC. I'll try to go into a little more detail. If you compare the 75 reissue (USA) to the classic 70s (MIM) then the necks are similar. Binding and block markers equal quality. 75 neck feels a little slimmer and faster while the 70 is deeper front to back but still feels good. Both high quality so it's down to your preference on feel. The 75 body is a lovely piece of ash with beautiful grain and the 70s 3T sunburst with a decent grain showing. Different, but both good in their own ways Perhaps the hardware is better on the USA but if it is, and the sticky tuners on the 70s is a minus point on my particular bass, but the difference is hard enough to detect. Misaligned bridges are bad but also occur on USA basses so points off all round. The pots may well be better on the USA but I never notice the difference in sound. If they break, they will be replaced. (Obviously) Pick ups are good on both so again, it's mostly down to perception and taste. Both basses weigh about the same with the 75 being slightly lighter. Only by a few ounces. All in all, the 75 is in no way 3 times better than the 70s but is about 3 times the price. That's where I'm coming from so I hope that makes some sense? The 51P is excellent. The neck is lovely and very playable. In no way fat to my feel. Interestingly, the neck pocket on this bass has a bigger gap than either of the two jazzes. It's still fine though. It has a badass III. I'm no great lover of Fender bridges. All three have badasses in fact. Anyway, I'm a sceptical person when it comes to this kind of thing and don't trust marketing hype. However, if you spend money and you're happy with what you bought, then it's good. It doesn't matter if you spend more on a US bass just as long as you feel good about it. I've done it. After all, musical instruments are an emotional thing aren't they. So it's not all about cold facts. Frank.

I own a MIA 75 reissue jazz, a MIM classic 70s jazz and a MIJ 51 reissue P. It's honestly hard to tell the difference. I think they are all good quality basses and I think the price difference is down to the marketing dept creating an impression of a difference so that they can charge you more. That's my honest opinion. Frank.

[quote name='acidbass' post='1001138' date='Oct 26 2010, 02:13 PM']A Bass Bash would be a great idea! Sadly I have to echo the sentiments of those above - there are no decent shops on this island to try out bass gear, unless of course you're after an Aria or a Westfield! Marcus Music in Belfast is closed now too, which used to be the best in the city for basses. I think Matchetts have a few £500+ basses in, but even at that, you aren't spoiled for choice.[/quote] A bass bash would be a great idea. I think it would be difficult to organise this year, but perhaps early in 2011? I'll start a thread about it after Christmas. Matchetts have a few lower priced basses in stock, plus a few Warwicks, some Fenders and Squiers and a nice Stingray. Not great but I suppose the market just isn't there. They usually keep a decent range of Les Pauls, 335s, strats, teles etc so our 6 string brethren are better catered for. Frank.

They're great quality instruments. Many of the basses they manufacture are rebadged as Lakland, Fender etc. Frank.

[quote name='squire5' post='997410' date='Oct 22 2010, 06:45 PM']That logo looks like the type that are available on Ebay,where you get the entire logo on one piece of paper.Normally you would separate the OCB bit and position it properly,but some just put the whole thing on in one piece.I know,I've used them in the past! PS Hi Frank.Hows the little Precision you bought off me a while ago in Downpatrick? Gerry[/quote] Hi Gerry, The wee Precision is doing just fine. Has a few gigs under its belt. No one has commented on the logo yet. Great playing and sounding bass. I've set it up with a bit lower action to suit myself and it's superb. The looks are killer too. Hope everythings well with you. Frank.

Thanks people. In summary then... it's definately not what it says and probably not even a Fender. I wonder if the seller believes what he's written is true. That would be a shame as he's clearly been scammed if that's the case. I wonder what it really is? A cheap copy tarted up most likely by the look of things. Frank

Thanks guys. Any suggestions as to what year or even what era this bass might be? I still like the look of it even though it doesn't seem to be what it's advertised as. Frank.

I wonder would some of you Fender experts care to help me with a '74 Jazz? Please see the link to gumtree. [url="http://belfast.gumtree.com/belfast/00/67326400.html"]http://belfast.gumtree.com/belfast/00/67326400.html[/url] I'm interested in this but a few things worry me. The bridge pick up looks like a 60s position? Didn't all the 70s jazz have block markers? Any opinions on this bass very welcome before I go to have a look. Including comments on the value. Thanks, Frank.

[quote name='JTUK' post='994536' date='Oct 20 2010, 10:40 AM']Haven't seen it, but a crucial factor is how the thing stacks up. They are all boxes with a bias to a degree or another, there is no new science here as such but if they look like dogs and some do, then they will not last past the latest fad stage. Makers can spout all they like about this and that but when the presentation is poor..which can be subjective, admitedly..they aren't going to be taken that seriously, IMV. And if you are going to run a website, then get that right as well. If someone misses the detail in the cab and compounds that with an average looking website, I'd be thinking what other corners have been cut or even missed. You can apply the webite analogy to bands as well...but it is more understanable in a 'business' that may make so little money for them.[/quote] Interesting thoughts. Are you thinking about any website in particular? Frank.