margusalviste

Schroeder 1210. Great sound and loud as hell! Also quite light for a 12 and 10 and tweeter.

You may execute me but... Status basses! Well, Status' pickups and electronics together with their graphite necks to be precise. The playability and build quality is always great but the sounds are too thin for my taste. They are not nearly as good as the Germain made Bogart graphite neck basses. These basses are absolutely great! Sorry British!

I also had a Bravewood 62 Jazz. What an amazing instrument it was! Really great work from John!

There is one solution - keep it 20 years in a smoky bar!

It's difficult to say anything based on the pics. The neck seems to be from 70s but the body is really difficult to date based on this photo. Perhaps this site helps a bit: http://www.guitarnucleus.com/fenderserial.html

Antiquity IIs all the way!!! Tried them against all the possible brands and there is no better choice of pickups for a jazz bass! Well, perhaps Fralins but they sound a bit differently.

[quote name='john_the_bass' timestamp='1179505209' post='1634'] (i have enough basses, I have enough basses, I have enough basses....) [/quote] Oh, I needed that mantra!!! Thank you so much! I am saved now! (for a moment)

Yamaha Motion? These were extremely good basses and they had short scale.

Order parts from Warmoth and let them make a funky finish for the body. Sliver or Gold Flake for example. And let them add the P/J pickup holes and buy a set of Fralins or Nordstrands etc. You'll get great quality and the most fanciest image one can get. (The resale value might be low though).

[quote name='Bankai' timestamp='1329080776' post='1536996'] Well I wouldn't go THAT far [/quote] Well, I have had 3 Sadowskys and I can easily compare them with Sandbergs. They are a bit different though but the quality is there.

My experience tells that nitro lets the body vibrate better and therefore makes the sound much better. So NITRO all the way!

I can say that Sandbergs have always surprised me whenever I've tried any of them whether in the store or friend's place. They are easily in the Sadowsky league and just excellent for the price! The sound is always a question of taste.

For me the Delanos make quite different sound than you might expect from a vintage Fender. Too modern I'd say. Perhaps Sanberg with Antiquities or Fralins or Lollars will make it?

As much as I've played both (just as a possible buyer) I can tell that these are quite different animals both playing and sound wise. Sandberg being more modern. Both are great axes though!

535 without any doubts! I have had two 535 and three Sadowskys. Sold all of them but regret selling my MTDs. Would buy back at once!

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1328190751' post='1523302'] Second best strings, Sadowsky Blue Steels. [/quote] Sadowsky Blue Steels are really great strings! I had a set on my MTD535 almost a year and they still sounded as new. The tension is just right and I love their sound! Highly recommended! PS! Well, I oil my strings after every playing using Dunlop String Cleaner - also highly recommended! Saves you lots of money!

Try Elixirs! They have nice tension although they sound a bit different than other brands because of the coated finish. But they might please you.

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1328140399' post='1522695'] I'm very much the same. Anti-Fender folk complain that people like us are stuck in the dark ages, and that's fine, but for me the dark ages are where it's at. I've played MTD's, F-Basses, Sadowskys, Dingwalls, Seis, Overwaters, etc. etc. but I've never found anything that matches a good Jazz bass, with the exception of Sadowsky stuff. [indent=1]The one thing that gets me with Fender though unfortunately is the lack of consistency with their instruments. There are good ones, and there are terrible ones, and it has led me to look to Lakland and Sadowsky for the suitable alternatives to such a mish-mash of quality control.[/indent] [/quote] +1 I have always thought that those boutique instruments are far better than Fenders. And some of them are better than those poor quality Fenders indeed. But my recent experience tells that the best sounding and playing basses are these two old Fenders I got. Better than any of my Sadowskys, better than my former Norstrand Nordy, Celinder or Fodera NYC. So no GASing any more.

Well, I recorded yesterday a track for my friend's album and tried both - the P and the J. For me J did most of the work. It sounded exactly like a P when I used only the neck pickup and it had that unmistakable slap sound with both pickups on that P (nor any other bass) doesn't have.

Yeah, what an amazing instrument it is! The old ones have something special which is even difficult to describe - like a 3 dimensional nuance. And although some folks try to fool people with blind tests and make us believe that wood doesn't make any difference and that a piece of furniture sported with strings and pickups make the same sound as an expensive vintage instrument - there is more than just a sound. It's the feel that counts. It's totally different to hold a nicely worn in vintage bass in your hands or a new production bass.

I just got two old jazz basses, one collected from mixed original vintage parts from 60s (including 62 neck and hardware) and the other - all original 78. I have owned a bunch of high end basses, not that I was about to collect them but I was always looking for the best possible sound and playability. My house was home for Foderas, Alembics, Sadowskys, MTDs, Pedullas, Nordstrands, Benaventes, Status etc. I even got a bunch of old Fenders (63 and 78P, 2x69, 78, 80s J) which I sold for different reasons. But now when I still have some 10+ basses I realized that there is no better instrument than an old jazz bass! Just changed the strings, made a nice setup for both of them and after playing against all my existing high end stuff I realized that I really don't need any other instrument than those two old jazz basses. What a situation?! After all these sleepless nights GASing for the ultimate bass, paying thousands of Euros for those noble instruments and all those envious faces around me - I just need these two old jazz basses?! Wow, what a great job you have done Leo! What about you?