HeadlessBassist

Yes, Jams can often be 'Cliquey'. We run one on a Sunday afternoon with a separate sound guy who generally keeps things in check. As the two professional musicians running it, we get off the stage as quickly as possible and spend the rest of the afternoon backing everyone else. Annoyances over the years? Yes, there's sometimes a player who turns up without an instrument - we've got a house bass, guitar, drums and keys for those eventualities. In the previous incarnation of the Jam, there was one annoying bloke who would always turn up empty handed and expected to play my bass, and didn't seem to understand that it was a professional instrument set up for me and no, he wasn't welcome to play it. You do tend to get the local blues/classic rock mob who insist on turning all the backline up and think that 109dB is perfectly acceptable, but you just turn them down again. Generally we aim to be very welcoming and supportive, always encouraging others getting up to play and backing others where needed.

Sounds good - was that the one on Barton Street? Was Mark there from A.Remus Sound?

Hi Mark, if no one else answers, I could do something next week, by all means, as I'm only 40 mins away - Unfortunately I'm down with my 85 year old Father in hospital this week, and two long distance gigs on Thursday and Saturday. But do let me know if I can help as of Sunday/Monday. What's the bass, btw?

That looks like a fantastic project. What does the CV Maple Jazz sound like as a HS? Loving the control plate too.

After not buying any basses for a couple of years, and only one last year, I seem to be making up for lost time in 2025... First, we have the penultimate Status KingBass Mk-II, completed in 2019 with green wrap-around LEDs, followed by a late model all graphite 2021 Status Stealth 2, then a 2023 Fender American Performer Mustang which I can't stop playing at the moment, and finally the back-up to my main Fender American Original 60s Jazz, a 2012 FSR Limited Edition Hand Stained Ash Am.Std Jazz, courtesy of @SkinnyMan on here.

I think we all have different sounds/instruments for various situations. I'm mainly a Jazz Bass player these days, due to mainly playing 50's/60's in a touring live tribute show, but I still love to get the Status basses out and playing in the world whenever I can. It's basically horses for courses. Hopefully they will be out a lot in another forthcoming tribute project, but I definitely wouldn't be without them. It's my sound.

The only "issue" I've had with the standard pickups/preamp in the Space 5 is a general lack of output. I'm used to very powerful pre's and the Space 5 seems to have about the same output as a passive Jazz bass. This is, of course no problem when you give the amp some extra input gain. It is a very polite sounding bass, but also capable of sounding very full and gritty. You need to run just a slither of extra treble and a gobful of bass to make the Mark Bass pre sing. I like the Bartolinis personally. They are a very smooth sounding pickup, and you hear more transmission from the body and fingerboard than the preamp. I prefer this, as when you hear too much preamp, things can get harsh very quickly. Simply put, the Space 5 is a nice instrument that needs some EQ-ing. It's not a nice sounding instrument when run flat, and you do have to spend some time dialing in your sound. Having heard mine played live by others, I can report it's a great sounding bass.

Thanks - yes, I've really grown very fond of it. I hesitated for a while, as I had one of the Custom Shop designed Rascals about ten years ago and it didn't fit, which put me off short scales, but the Mustang has that just right feeling. And as Nick Campbell Destroys said in the promo video for Guitar Center, it really does sound like an angry Jazz bass when everything is dimed. Happy Mustang-ing!

That's really nice. Congrats! Has it got the same Japanese split coil with the reverse thread height adjustment screws as the Mexican/American ones? I bought a used American Performer Mustang a couple of weeks ago and love it. It's a perfect tonic to play as house bass player at a Sunday jam I do after a long distance Saturday tribute show with a Jazz strapped to me for two hours.

I'm liking the extra large volume control

I'm going to give my usual recommendation for VFM five stringers - Cort Artisan Space Bass 5. You can get a really nice used one for around £500. There's nothing better for the money. FishFaceFour has a Cort Artisan B5 in a lovely red stain for sale on these hallowed pages, which uses the same Bartolini Pickups and MarkBass preamp for about £400. Good luck with your search!

From the bass player front... Victor Wowten. Marcus Muller. (Has a sideline in Yogurt.) Tal Walkenfeld. James Jamersin. Nick Dampbell Destroys. Suzi Quattro (Audi Lawsuit edition.) John Bentwistle. Gay Brown. Vino Palladino. (Major drinking problem.) Bootsy Callins (runs a part time radio talk show.) Will Lie. Hadrien Fraud.

Thanks Dave. Yes, it seems to be a regular occurrence for me these days. Lytham St Annes on Thursday and Felixstowe on Saturday this week.

Lovely return to the Exchange Theatre at Sturminster Newton down in deepest Dorset. Drove past Stonehenge. 200 mile trip back home and in bed for 4am. Awesome three tribute act gig and audience was a full house. Played as house bass player today at a local Nottingham Jam while practically dead on my feet. Currently eating Cherry Pie and Custard before I predictably fall asleep in an armchair.

Very, very nice. Nitro finish (the most important part), I presume?

Congratulations Looks amazing. Hope you enjoy playing the heck out of it!

Agreed. Being aware of different places you can place your right hand opens up a world of possibilities.

Yes, that rear humbucker on Blu's signature bass does sound huge - very much like a parallel Stingray. I've been wanting to try one of those Jazzes for a while, not that the blue sparkle/mirror finish is really me. 🫣

Delilah works best if you do the verses in 3/4 and the chorus in 4/4 as a Quo style shuffle.

I can only come at this from the pro world, but people's attitudes to Musicians apply whether you're Amateur or Professional. I used to live in the South West, and a young bar manager at a local pub where I was having a couple of beers with a friend suddenly mentioned to me, "I hear you're a professional musician..." "Yes, I am." I replied. "Wow man, you'll have to come and play for us one evening!" "Yes, sure - book a date in the venue diary and agree a fee and I'll comer and play for you." "Nooo maaaan! Music's free! Music's for everyone..." "I'm sure you wouldn't expect your ****** Plumber to come and unblock your toilet for free, would you?!" That's the general shape of the exchange, anyway. Basically, a lot of people don't see music as a real job. Yes, it's fantastic if you can afford to play for free as a hobby, but people often forget that to some of us, it's our job.

Lovely basses. I had one many moons ago, but had to part with it, as it weighed more than a boat anchor! Hope yours is a nice light one Congrats!

As I said, when you dig in with the Performer...

I see you have the highly thought of JMJ there as well. Which do you like playing the best?

Your mods sound very comprehensive and effective. Love the lollipop tuners too!

Via a series of trades, I ended up with three Jazz basses. Obviously I only need two - my main American Original 60's and my hand stained 2012 FSR Am.Std as a back-up on the live shows. So the butterscotch blonde Deluxe had to go, as well as an Ibanez SR1400 which I found to be very bland, even with it's Nordstrand Big Singles. So while on the hunt for something a bit different, I came across two Mustang basses - one American Performer and a Mexican Player series PJ, both made in 2023. After setting up the American Performer on 40-95 Elixirs (it came with Labella Flats which completely killed the character of the bass) and with a great deal of finagling with the pickup height later (the Yosemite small split coil is obviously from Fender Japan, as the adjustment screws have reverse threads, whereas the Yosemite jazz pickup has normal US clockwise screws for the height adjustment). These pickups are incredibly sensitive to string height. Many have said that the American Performer Mustang can often seem too 'polite' sounding, and I can see what they mean. The bass has a very clean sound and doesn't have any 'snap' to the sound until you really start to dig in. Obviously, with the short scale length, when heard in isolation the A & E strings can seem a little lacking, but this impression disappears when playing live, which I did this afternoon at a local Jam Session where I'm the regular house bass player. It's a great sounding bass and a pleasure to fly around on. Haven't really had much of a chance to do much with the Mexican bass as yet, but will have more of a go tomorrow. It basically sounds like a MIM P&J Precision with a touch more 'twang' from the short scale length. Anyway, here are some pictures...