ag42

I totally agree with the good sound and the well built basses! They're so solid I've been collecting over the years, so have 2 The Jacks (one converted to fretless, the other with a John East preamp and it's a highly recommended mod), a B-Bass V with real EMG pickups and preamp, 2 J-Bass Pros (fretted and fretless) and an L75 guitar...I kinda like them... 😁

I'd always passed the viola basses by, they looked amazing but not for me style- or sound-wise. Then, slowly over the last year, I started seeing videos of fretless versions and thought they sounded double bass-ish...and gave a b-stock Harley Benton Beatbass Fretless a home...so glad I did! Even without a proper setup but with tapewounds fitted, this can do double bass and loads of other tones! The controls I thought weren't flexible enough, but actually give quick access to certain tones, the weight is...different... (all the weight is in the neck, wide strap is needed). It's not for everything or everyone, and I'm going to try some Chromes on (D'Addario tapewounds aren't as smooth as I thought), but man this is good, especially as fretless!

I've lusted after a Jack for years but saw the prices rising and rising...then I saw an eBay special, a little dirty with no rear cover but an intact battery box and in good paint shape for sub 200 pounds...and bought it! Made a new rear cover (means I don't have the serial number, so I can't date it), electronics didn't function (passive only) and neck was max'ed out truss rod wise. One John east pre-amp and a heated neck adjustment later...I LOVE it!!!! It's so flexible with the pre-amp and plays as well as I thought something as wonderful as it is should. I've got a B-Bass (fretless, with proper EMG pickups and preamp), L75 (guitar), J-Bass fretted and J-Bass fretless, so I've loved Hohners for a while, but man these are good basses. Congrats on your purchase!!!

They've just posted on FB, it's a data centre issue...

They're supposed to be solid alder - my 'burst one when I took the neck of definitely had a little extra solid epoxy... But the paint hides a multitude of sins and I've put it out of my mind... 😁

I’ve had my two J&D mini jazz basses for almost a year now, and they’ve weirdly become my most played basses. One is fretted, one is fretless (fitted an ebony fingerboard meant for a guitar from StewMac, a project in itself!), both have Hipshot bridges (I love these, though putting them on a bass that costs less than the bridge might be a bit foolish...), CTS pots, GraphTech nuts, shielded cavities and TruOil’ed necks. The tuners were going to be replaced, but after I took them apart, sanded the underside of the gears flat up to a high grit count and screwed them down carefully, these things have been bulletproof - they seem to be better quality than the Sire tuners on my V3 (which stripped whilst DETUNING the low B!!!). I’m still on the original pickups, they sound more than fine to me (better than the Mikro 5-string I have, that I’m getting Bartolinis for). They’re both so comfortable to play, sound great (with the Hipshot bridges mounted just a bit further back and the fact they’re longer than the original, D’Addario EXL160S sets will fit with no wrapping issues), and are just so easy to play one finger per fret, so actually less tiring to play. If you’re after a cheap bass to mod the living daylights out of and try short scale basses, these are great for that and for little money. If you’re after a bass for your kids to play, it’s a good starting point (and you can nick it later for modding...).

@2x18 I know this is an old post, but do you still remember what the type of Gotoh tuners were that you fitted to your bass? I see the Gotoh GB528 are roughly the right size, but any hints/tips on how well they fitted, were they a tight fit, anything you remember from fitting them! I have two of these little beasts, love them to bits and just want to make sure they have the best parts on them...and yes I've modded the hell out of them already!!!

Has anyone got a 5-string Fretless V7 in Alder/Rosewood? I'm thinking about buying one after all the relatively glowing reviews... Curious what the fretless sounds are like, the mwah, and whether fingerboard is coated (it looked it in the website pics)? :-)

Has anyone every put a different bridge on a Stagg EDB EUB, or managed to get hold of original bridges? I ask 'cos I have a Fishman Full Circle pickup I want to try out, which screws in perfectly to the bottom part of the bridge (5/16-18 threading, just in case you wanted to know!), but the top part of the Full Circle isn't threaded and the top part of the bridge is, so it'll move around. I want to get hold of another top part that I can fill with wood somehow and re-drill, and keep my original just in case I mess things up. Or, put a different bridge on that I could drill from scratch, but so far I've found no-one who's put a different bridge on. Any ideas anyone?

I put 4/4 Weichs on my Stagg after a few discussions on TB - much better fit, and when set up for correct intonation the bridge was upright (wasn't able to with the stock strings) and the dots pretty much line up with the notes. The tension of the Weichs is lovely for me, but I'm used to fretless basses.