hamfist

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1413186844' post='2575506'] There could still be a correlation between basswood and basses that aren't wonderful. Simply because basswood is cheap and therefore gets used for cheap instruments, and also high end instrument buyers don't like it, so high end bass makers may avoid it for marketing purposes. But, correlation does not imply causation. [/quote] Quite possible for Basswood, agreed. I, like many others though, have changed the body of a bass whilst keeping everything else the same, and noticed a profound difference in tone. I will note though that there are differences between different bodies of the same wood, as there are differences between woods. Each body is effectively unique. However, I am convinced that there are also reasonable generalisations that can be stated about various woods as used in bass bodies. This really isn't the thread to go into it in detail though. My initial comment about basswood construction in the Revelation Jazz bass on ebay will put many others off as well as me though.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1413154820' post='2575417'] What's wrong with basswood? [/quote] I know this is a contentious subject, but I have yet to play a basswood-constructed bass that I have been impressed with. Ditto Agathis. Soft, non-resonant. I strongly believe that the body and (even more) the neck structure and material are intimately involved in the tone of a bass. Hardness and rigidity being key factors. I'm sure basswood construction can be done right. I am aware that Bongo's are made from Basswood for example. But the whole instrument will have been designed from the ground up with that in mind I expect, and a lot of care gone into the whole construction. Cheaper basses just seem to use standard designs and yet make the bodies from basswood. Doesn't work IMO.

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1413145062' post='2575308'] Also, these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Revelation-RBJ67-Four-Strings-ELECTRIC-J-BASS-GUITAR-Vintage-WHITE-Jazz-Base-/171176177040?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item27dae52d90 "The best bass guitar at this price-point we've seen", or so they claim. Has anyone had a look? (The headstock is very Hofner, with that cut-back point. I've a nice fretless Hofner neck like that.) [/quote] Basswood body. Yuck.

One thing to consider is that if you converted it to a single MM pickup setup, it would probably sound a whole lot better with a preamp in there too. Most people seem to want the extra tonal EQ tweaking that a preamp gives to a MM type setup. Your $$ has that preamp of course. Is there room under the pickguard for a preamp ? A bit of routing may be required. Or a P-retro (getting expensive here) which is very space-efficient. I'd definitely like to see a white pickguard on that bass too. I like black as a basic colour on a bass but it needs highlights of some other light colour to make it rather less boring. Or maybe white or cream pickup covers, something like this .... [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/sch-body.html][/url] If it were me, I'd probably start off with a decent new set of PJ pickups, with white pickup covers. New sound and new look ! No routing, no new pickguard. It's an easy first thing to do anyway. Going the MM route sounds interesting but its a lot more work.

[quote name='roger' timestamp='1412939965' post='2573460'] I always thought of doing a jazz with status neck, are the necks hollow at the heel? That always put me off! How did you get on drilling the heel? Any words of wisdom? Cheers, rog [/quote] The heel is not hollow but does have a soft wooden core around the main structural graphite, which is something like 8mm thick. You only need to get your neck screws through that first side of the graphite (they recommend drilling 12mm deep) to get a really secure hold. Words of advice .... well, believe the bit about countersinking all holes a bit before you screw anything in. If you don't the laquer will crack. But it's not an issue if you simply countersink all holes a mm or 2. Second, you need to be more careful with the size of your neck heel holes than with wood. If the hole is a "normal" diameter for screwing into wood, then you almost certainly won't be able to force in a screw into a hole in graphite of the same size, as the graphite is stiffer and stronger. However, if you are overconfident and a little inexperienced (ie. me) then it is easy to over drill the hole and then the screw thread will not grip. I started off with a 4mm bit, as my screws were fairly chunky. These were too small. My next sized drill bit up was 5mm, which unfortunately I discovered on one hole was too big and the screw did not grip in it (I had to fill and redrill that hole to get a good grip). In hindsight I really needed a 4.5mm drill bit I think for the screws I had. So my advice is start small, but don't force the screws in - you don't want one snapping off. If the hole is too small, increase the size by very small amounts, until it's just right. You have much less room for error than with wood.

The Gedster has good taste.

[quote name='DogHammer' timestamp='1412856535' post='2572687'] Just a shame they dont make them in Left Handed! [/quote] I'll bet they would put a nut in the "wrong" way round, you could then have a reversed headstock left hander neck. I think reversed headstocks look great personally.

Thanks guys. I really am so pleased with it too. I've put so many hours of effort into it, trying all sorts of things with it. It has been worth the effort though

Just realised that I didn't really mention fit and finish at all. So, I'll a couple of words here. THe paintwork is excellent and the paint seems resilient to knocks. Ditto the gloss varnish on the neck. The neck slot is OK. A bit of green paint has gone down between the neck and body somehow. Clearly not from a high quality bass but from a few feet away no-one will notice. It's certainly not terrible. The dark blocks on the fretboard seem very nicely done and the binding at the fretboard edges seems completely well executed also. Overall, pretty impressive. Everything ( apart from the already mentioned neck pickup issue) lines up well. So, so much better than any budget basses of not so long ago. It's very difficult to say so early on but I'm suspecting that the paint finish will be hard-wearing. Quality, cheap solid gloss colours finishes seem to be easy to apply cheaply these days. That's about it.

I received my Surf Green J&D Jazz from DV this morning. Reassuringly and nicely double boxed. Opened up the package and it's a beauty, aesthetically. The green is magnificent although unfortunately clashes terribly with my other light green bass. Now the bad ...... The A string nut slot was cut so low that it clanged on the 1st fret. Unplayable. The "waisted" tuners which IMO have no right on a non-tilted headstock bass do not allow the A string low enough on the tuner to avoid rattle on a low open A. The jack input feels lightweight, insecure and rather crap TBH. The pickup holes drilled for the neck pickup do not quite match the hole in the scratchplate. Therefore it is very difficult to get the neck pickup not tilting towards the neck. Oh, also, the foam padding under the pickups is an absolute joke - one little piece about 2cm long and only a few mm thick. I called up DV about the nut and they agreed a small refund to allow me to buy and fit a new nut. I was more than happy with this for the reasons that will follow. A Graphtech nut was quickly bought locally and fitted with an hour or so. Slots were cut and bingo, the bass plays like a dream. THis neck is not just good for the money, it's a great neck ! OK, the fret ends are a bit sharpish (nothing that 5 mins with a suitable tool will not sort out) but this neck plays beautifully. The action can go really low without fret buzz. Only my new Status neck and the 90's Ibanez Prestige SR neck I used to have were better for playability. Staggeringly good fret even-ness and levelling for a cheap bass. Now that I have fitted an old set of non-waisted Hohner tuners I had lying around, the strings can now pull nicely downward back from the nut on both E and A strings. What does it sound like then ? .......... Well it actually sounds fantastic. To put this perspective I have owned MIA, MIJ and MIM Fender Jazzes and this sounds as good as any of them, and better than most. The pickups actually remind me of the tonerider Jazz set, which I hold in very high regard. Both neck and bridge pickups soloed sound great, exactly as I'd want them to. As does the blend. No tonal weaknesses anywhere to my ears. Very impressed. Did I really just pay £118 for this (minus my little refund of course) ? I bought this as a cheapy, cheapy backup to abuse at home but it's a serious bass people ! OK, agreed, I have had to tweak and change a few bits here and there but considering the outlay I have not been unhappy about it. Overall I am absolutely thrilled. Right, now to convert it to a PJ and fit all the black hardware !!

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1412782434' post='2572004'] Gosh that looks nice. Stats, please? How wide and heavy is it compared to the original? if you can think back that far [/quote] Spec-wise it's a pretty std slimmish Jazz neck. 63mm heel, 38mm nut, 20mm depth at the first fret. Weight is not staggeringly light but is definitely a bit lighter than equivalent sized maple/rosewood necks I have used.

very nice indeed.

From what I remember reading, and from my own experience with an '06 Streamer $$, Warwick went through a phase in the early 00's to about 08-09 when they used really thick, chunky necks. Still 38mm nuts (for the 4 strings obviously) but much chunkier front to back. I'd actually say tht PJ-equipped Streamer or Fortress is more versatile than a $$ in a useful sense. The $$ cannot get near a Precision tone unfortunately IME.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1412628993' post='2570654'] That doesn't sound quite right, I thought with a Jazz, the 2 single coils produce hum when used alone but cancel when blended together. Wouldn't mixing a QP and a Stack give you the same result as a PJ combo - only one pickup is hum cancelling, the other hums and therefore so does the combination? [/quote] Correct sir.

Sold a neck to Colin. Easy deal. Great comms throughout. Would happily deal with again. Thanks !

You have a magnificent bass already, which already covers the basic Jazz and Precision sounds. You have no "need" for a Jazz or a P (you may, of course, have a "want" though) The commonly found basses that might make significantly different tones to yours would be Stingray or Rick-type basses

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1412419120' post='2568744'] I make it just a smidging under 1.5" [/quote] THanks Rumple. THink I might get one of these then. The 1.5" (or less) nut width is a must for me though. And now ordered !!! I was initially thinking of converting it to a PJ, and adding a black bridge and control plate. Hmmmmm.

DO these have a 1.5" nut ? It looks a bit wider in the pics to me.

Thanks for all your comments guys. And, Andybass, yes you need to fit your own tuners and string tree.

Just received my new Status Jazz neck and I have to say that it is not just a master feat of engineering but is a thing of incredible beauty also. Just holding and looking at the thing after taking it out of the (bombproof) packaging was a great pleasure. They are not cheap at £360 each but now I've fitted it I think it is some of the best money I have ever spent on bass. I've put it on "old faithful", my 1986 Westone Thunder 1A body, which has been through so many incarnations it must be thoroughly confused by now. An advantage is that I know the body very well and have had at least 8 necks on it at various times. This Status neck stands out in a class of it's own. Not only is it slim and the fretwork beautifully set up straight from new but the sheer resonance and punch is wonderful. I am completely converted. I really can't think of anything else I would now want to do to this bass. For me, it is now perfect. For anyone else who has been toying with the idea of a Status neck I'd say go for it. A product of the highest, highest quality and set up beautifully straight from the box. Pics .... [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/statwest-main.html][/url] [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/statwest-rear-full.html][/url] [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/statwest-hstock-front.html][/url] [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/statwest-hstock-rear.html][/url] [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/statwest-main-b.html][/url] [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/statwest-neck-rear.html][/url] [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/statwest-hstock-end.html][/url]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1412153997' post='2566102'] It has four expensive new stings ... [/quote] I Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Doh

Seriously good fun. Nice job !