Ever since the band I was in broke up I've been thinking about buying myself a bass; primarily for the purpose of recording, although I wouldn't be averse to jamming with some other musicians once I can actually play the thing properly
My initial instinct was to get a Squier, but then I came across the J & D's on the DV247 website. At less than half the price of even the cheapest Squier bass available locally (Affinity PJ at £206/210) I was sceptical that they'd be any good, but some write ups I read here and elsewhere convinced me to pull the trigger. So I ordered the white with black pickguard p-bass (£92 with delivery) because... Ramones f*** yeah, and it arrived early this afternoon.
First impressions. My! That's a lot of packaging. Two whole boxes in fact. Once I'd gotten over just how big the outer box was I got to work and soon freed my new wooden chum from his cardboard tomb.
Second impressions. This... This is actually rather well made. Neck sits nicely in the pocket; hardware seems decent; knobs and tuners operate smoothly and without any noise, and, after running finger and thumb down the sides of the fretboard I can tell you that I found no evidence of any lack of attention to detail in that department. All the frets look well finished, with not a sharp edge to be found. Also, the saddles on the bridge have grooves. Which is nice.
Third impressions. Plugged it into my Pathfinder 15 (because I don't have a bass amp), tuned up and... Oh no, it sounds crap. But enough about my playing (got you there ), it sounds bloody good considering what I paid for it. I'm in no great hurry to change the strings or the pickups. Though I am wondering about swapping the chrome saddles for brass. Just to see what it would do to the tone.
Anyhao, photos
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Please ignore the date stamp