TrevorG

Agreed though I do have a natural finish P (rosewood fingerboard)which looks like it matches the headstock which is good too.

Got to ask. Did it come with that neck or did your assemble it yourself? Looks great!

The last bass I bought was about a year ago. I went twenty years without buying one but was kept busy with what I had. I would love a good excuse to buy more even though I'm 60 this year but that's not the same as GAS. It's curiosity. Dangerous thing judging yourself by age rather than all the other facets that make up who you are. Spoke to a bass player mate of mine who used to play with Wizard back in the day. He was mid sixties and his wife had just had another baby! Makes buying another bass look a bit trivial. I had my kids late in life (though not THAT late). It's definitely kept me young. Maybe basses do the same, just cheaper.

I’m embarrassed to say this is how they sit in my living room because I cannot decide! Just put flats on the P for the first time.. loving that. Just strung the five string E to C… really loving that. And the Jazz? It’s a Jazz!!!

I think it depends on the PJ. My Ultra is balanced beautifully. I have the Jazz in the same series and, while they're on a par for quality, I think the PJ would cover a little more ground than the Jazz. The tail PU sounds fat and punchy - very useable. Tried other basses where the tail pickup wasn't so strong - made a big difference.

I agree about the “openness” but prefer to have the choice of both.

I've never let the price stop me from buying something that's right for me. Which is why it took me ten years to save up £4,500 for my Spector NS5XL. Fortune's improved recently and I was able two get a couple more basses around the £2,000 mark each(a couple of years apart) but only because they worked for me just as well as the Spector. I can feel the difference in quality but the improved design of the cheaper basses mean they are even more playable. None of these outshine my Overwater Explorer which cost me £750 back in 85 or do the job of my £400 Washburn acoustic five string fretless. In my mind, if you get what's right for you they should all have the same value regardless of what you paid for them.

Actually I've read that there's much higher boosts on treble and mids on the Elite than the Ultra.

That's a beaut! Especially with the Rose wood board. Congrats.

I tried one recently but can add little to what's already been said. I have the Ultra PJ and was a little relieved the Jazz P/U was so weak. It was one of the few advantages the Ultra had over the Deluxe which was a shock considering the price difference. Loved the neck, again quite close to the Ultra in feel. Weight was good too. If you generally favour the split coil I don't think the single coil is a big issue. Definitely good value.

YES!!! But I bought another one anyway.

Fair enough.

So what are they after?

At the end of the day it’s a master build copy of a regular bass. How much can your do to improve it? I’m sure it’s lovely to know quality control is not an issue and doubtless the hand made pick ups elevate the sound a great deal but I doubt it’s three times better than an Ultra model. Even if it was that much better, it would also be better then the Jeddy’s original bass so how is it a copy?

IT LOOKS AMAZING. I'd do anything for a decent reason to buy one though, ironically, if I had one I don't think I'd out it down!

Now I've stopped dribbling over your photo I will say I owned an Ibanez fretless Musician but couldn't get a long with it. Beautifully built but made for a better player than I was at the time. Around the same time John Paul Jones leant me his Wal to try out(love name dropping but the story's too long). I loved it but it cost about the same as my college tuition fees! I'm trying to ignore my desire for a violin bass but looking at your collection isn't helping. If your intention was to make me jealous, you've done a great job! Not that my own set up is too shabby.

Lol!! I didn’t say I’d sold the Spector or the Alembic, did I(the Alembic was stolen)? Variety is the spice of life but the P is its bread and butter.

After owning a number of decent basses including Spector and Alembic I jumped for joy finding my Precision. It was as if I’d stopped beating around the bush and finally gone where everyone else had always been. Bass lines felt more intuitive because it was the same instrument many bass lines were written on. Not saying other basses can’t do it but a decent P can save a lot of searching.

8lbs9!!!!? I was jealous just looking at it but that’s an amazing weight for that much quality wood. Never heard a Ken Smith I didn’t love. Congratulations.

love the J p/u on my Fender Ultra. Tiny bit louder than the split coil and really barky.

I had GAS for the dark night and the silver which also looks great. Have a couple of Ultras which do look great (natural ash and Texas Tea) but it’s a shame those colours weren’t repeated in the Ultra range.

Got to be one their best looking production models out there. Really nice! Nice tone too! Congrats.

Not without being twice the price and then it would be too expensive. Happened once with a Custom 5 string Sadowsky, before I found my (much cheaper) J to do the same job. Amazing instrument but not £4000 amazing! The J is a string and £2000 less but is a beautiful player.

https://www.wdmusic.com/pickguards-fender-american-ultra.html

Photo?