GuyR

Bit of bog reading bumpf....No.2 is interesting to me as Tony was a friend of my fathers, I used to drool over his cars when he popped over when I young 'un!

Surprisingly few boutique bass in there, with most being mass produced fodder. - About four years ago, I was lucky enough to be looking around Ronnie Lane's Mrs' loft -long story- and came across the (sadly empty) case for a Zemaitis acoustic bass. I wonder whether it was one of these

Aside from the customer service issues, and how the relic'ing feels and looks, what are they like to play?

Like Mr Police Squad says, Bravewoods are lovely to play. My experience is they have a convincing authentic vintage feel about them, particularly the feel of the neck which is quite inspiring to play.I was also keen on the idea of having a bespoke build for a reasonable price, financially the ballpark equivalent of a second hand CS. I wanted a 1960 spec Jazz, in distressed surf green, matching headstock and a one-piece dirty-looking maple neck - not likely to pop up second hand. A 2nd hand CS, having already had its initial depreciation in value is a safer financial bet perhaps, as Dingus says, but I tend to buy as a consumer, and never sell basses, so it didn't concern me. I note there have been customer service issues, but my experience has been all good. Sadly I'm too much of a luddite to upload a picture.

i have 2 Bravewoods -one is a giutar i bought 2nd hand which gave me confidence in ordering a jazz bass.

The ageing and finishing is as good as anything out there and better than the Fender equivalent, I think. In particular the impression of wear on the neck is very impressive. I have original '62 and '65 custom - colour jazz basses and it doesn't look, or play like an impostor.

The customer sevice aspect of the order was fine and the bass was delivered on time. You get the impression from the website that John probably doesn't have much patience with time-wasters or high maintenance customers As production is tiny,they seem to hold a good proportion of their value as well.

John has also just done a build for me, fabulous bass ( beaten-up stack-knob jazz in surf green with matching headstock and one-piece maple neck) I get the impression he wants to avoid high maintenance customers. He's a nice guy and very straightforward to deal with.

On the subject of JVs I agree with Dingus they are overpriced. I have 3, but was furtunate enough to buy new, having tried every one for sale in Denmark St. There was a wide variation of sound, feel and especially weight. JVs were very well received because they were a quality product (like Tokai) at the tail-end of the period of poor-quality copies and even poorer-quality USA originals.

Having said that, I'm in no hurry to sell....

[url="http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t418/Guycrussell/Basses021.jpg"]http://i1058.photobu...l/Basses021.jpg[/url]" Hopefully have uploaded photos of an (almost) matching pair. Apologies to all if the link is not correctly uploaded

+1 for the sessionette 100w 4x10 I loved mine. Thought it might make me sound like Dill Katz. Apparently you need talent too.

Fender necks do vary within the same age range - if you look at some of the books about vintage Fender guitars which have tables of neck dimensions the dimensions for individual models do vary significantly . I expect it is the same for basses - although I am certainly no expert, I hasten to add.

I have '62 and '65 jazz basses. The '62 has a shallower neck, although the widths feel the same. I wouldn't look for an early Jazz bass solely to find a slimmer neck, as there are great alternatives, but if you buy a good one you won't regret it.

I was going to reply to this yesterday, but I picked up my fretless jazz bass and lost track of time.....

I even have an old cutting from the 1980s of a Tokai (JP90?) which is a their own take on Jaco's bass.



I have one - cost me £250 if you can find one, you could save yourself a considerable sum of money, they are fantastic basses, so long as you don't mind the missing "F" word

Last year, I was lucky enough to buy Pino's back-up '79 fretless Stingray. I also have '80s Boss chorus and octave pedals. Unfortunately, his talent was not available to buy.

Sounds like a perfect excuse to buy an additional bass - no point in mucking about with your current ones. If you can find one, a 1980s Tokai Jazz sound fretless can be picked up for £300 or so, sometimes cheaper. If you already like the Jazz neck shape, there is nothing better for the money. I would never part with mine.

"If this bass could only talk" has spellbinding playing throughout, particularly on " working man" and "Tradition", along with cameos from Allan Holdsworth and Stewart Copeland.

"Stanley Clarke Live at the Greek" is superb too - and the live band includes Billy Cobham and Larry Carlton.

Both highly recommended.

The single least relevant issue in determining the value of a commodity - in this case a bass- is what the seller paid for it.

I first went there in the late '90s, have bought two very nice basses there - gave Martin my wants list & he phoned me when something suitable came in. Have sold through the Gallery too. The experience I have had is the opposite to the OP's. Martin and Alex have been a pleasure to deal with.

Do not try this at home

13 amp plug on the end of your lead ought to do it

When faced with a difficult decision over which bass to buy, best to buy both. I you are only going to have one, sounds like a Stingray is the bass for you.

A Jazz bass like that might cure GAS for a while.

I have a little Blackstar practice amp - only one watt but it's a big one - more than loud enough for living room duties - and I also use it for bass when I can't be bothered to get the big rig out. Obviously, I keep the volume down to reasonable levels and cut the low frequencies but it sounds really nice....


I have the same combo. Set the sound up clean, add a bit of reverb and a fretless jazz bass. Instant Jaco sound, just add talent (I knew there was something missing)

I haven't weighed them and the white one is on loan, but the sunburst one is a shade lighter than one I know is 10lb, I'd guess the white one a good bit under 9lb. The Strat pictured is the lightest one I have held.

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1357851706' post='1929622']
It must be JV088**?? I would guess neck date of first week of June '82?

Looking at the thread, I think I'm first in the queue if there is one? Joking aside, it's lovely.

[/quote]

Thanks to you and Luke for your kind comments and for starting this thread. Your JVs are not too shabby either!

I don't think I will be parting company with it anytime soon though! The number is JV088** - I have never had the neck of any of my JVs, so not sure of the date.

The white one is later, JV805**. I spent a whole (very pleasurable) afternoon in Denmark St in 1984 trying every one in every shop. Very lightweight and very bright sounding. The pictured one is much heavier in weight and darker sounding - I had a Strat JV088** serial no about 50 off my pictured Jazz, identical wood, also quite heavy.

When the JVs came out, if you wanted a vintage style Jazz with dots not blocks, these were the only option then and are still a great bass although expensive now.

I look forward to seeing what else is posted.....

Thanks for adding that Luke, I must work out how to add pics.

The Jazz is early, serial no JV88** have had it for 30 years and still play it regularly, along with a white Squier-logo JV Jazz I bought in 1984 and still have. I still have the inspection tag, but not the cardboard carton!

The other JV bass in the picture is a short-scale 6 string, but I have had trouble getting bass strings the correct length for it..

Odd detail in the Fender-logo Jazz compared with the later JV is the scratch plate is 3 ply rather than the 4 ply of the later one. I wonder if Rick's is the same and when it changed over.

I tried a lot of US Jazzes over the years, but never found one I preferred to until I bought a pre-cbs Jazz about 13 years ago

There is a wide range of variation in feel, sound and weight between supposedly identical basses, so it may be the American Fender was a below-average one and the Squier a good one. If you are a "novice" (God, I hate to sound patronising and do not wish to sound rude) you might find as you become more experienced, the differences become more apparent.

If you are going to play long-term, in my opinion you are well advised to buy the best quality bass you can, 2nd hand. This will hold you back the least, give the most enjoyment, not need upgrading and will retain the highest proportion of its value, should you need to sell it. I bought nice quality Jazzes 30 years ago and still use them regularly.

Good luck

Make sure you get a satisfactory provenance proving the previous ownership if that is a factor in the price.

Auction receipt and catalogue would be OK if they mention the well-known owner. Without this, it will be difficult to resell for the full value.

Lozz's suggestion of reading material is spot-on to check the bass is original.

It reappeared on the site about 10 days ago priced at £12995 and is now listed as "sold". The string must have been up to the job.