thegummy

Can't say about the jazz bass but I'm about to buy a new 22 fret guitar because the differently spaced neck pickup in my 24 fret guitar sounds a lot different so I'd believe the different placement of the j bridge pups could well be quite different.

7 hours ago, bazzbass said:

this. I find with a VVT the sweet spot is neck pup full, bridge pup backed off until the slight mid boost occurs.All is personal taste of course

 

I do the same but back off the neck slightly. Either way, the tiniest backing off of either really changes the sound quite a bit; the term "opens up" seems to fit with how it sounds.

I searched Google news to see if there were any stories about Gibson being in trouble and found a story that they're suing Funko (collectible figures) because a the Slash and James Hetfield models are holding Gibson guitars!

I really hate that, almost makes me consider my upcoming purchase of a Gibson.

Just seeing that I said that tort only works with rosewood fretboards.

Since posting that I took a risk and installed one on my Strat with maple fretboard and it is one of the nicest looking instruments I've seen.

4 hours ago, FinnDave said:

I know the CVs are top of the line Squiers, but over 400 squids doesn't sound like a bargain to me, another 100 and you could get a Fender standard!

Are they better?

Man that is one amazing looking bass.

Doesn't seem to be any information on the pickups though.

Any indication of price?

Nice one, love those early precisions.

Merry Christmas!

P.s. Hilarious username lol

When I watched some of it before, it seemed like he was trying to convince people that it's more ethical to pay a lot of money to someone to build a bass than buy one from a company who may not pay their workers as much.

Apart from not agreeing with his political opinion, it made it sound like he was almost admitting the Asian factory instruments are actually on par with his, hence having to introduce this other incentive to buy his. Couldn't watch it all though, it was too long and I wasn't liking what he had said so far. It's a shame it wasn't a textual article that I could read a lot faster.

18 minutes ago, Twanger said:

It's not all politics and no, he doesn't get into physical differences.

What else does he talk about if he doesn't actually talk about the basses themselves?

Don't think I'd buy into the idea that the higher paid workers would be more motivated to be better. The factory in Korea that made my J has a very good reputation for consistently putting out very well made instruments whereas the Gibson USA factory will pay higher wages but not necessarily have that same reputation.

Just to clarify, I'm not trying to decide between a Mexican and American Fender; I already have a Schecter J bass and would like to know specific things that would be different if I bought a more expensive bass to see if it's ever worth doing it. Not that that nullifies your advice, just clarifying

1 hour ago, spectoremg said:

This helps make a bass better than most 

Sub-optimally placed tuning pegs? *hides*

26 minutes ago, Rumple said:

Wilton Felder played a lot of the Jackson 5 bass lines, I'm not sure if that one is him though.

Never heard that name, I should check him out

Listening to Xmas songs while doing my wrapping and the bass on this Jackson 5 one is great, anyone know who played on it?

Carol Kaye?

46 minutes ago, LoneFurrow said:

Juha Ruokangas recently published a couple of videos to try to elaborate on why hand-made guitars cost as much as they do. Although he's more focused on guitars, he does offer the Steam bass as part of his range. The principles apply whether considering a guitar or bass, I'd assume. 

Part 1 - Guitar Prices  

Part 2 - Ethical Footprint
 

 

I've actually watched some of that before and really didn't like it.

Does he get into physical differences or is it all politics?

6 minutes ago, Funkfingers said:

"Yeah but don't shout it out or they'll all want one." 

 

 

Nice one, cheers for helping me out with my queries about various instruments!

9 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

In comparison to my US Fenders, my Mexican one is a good bass, but the tuners aren`t as good, there aren`t the graphite rods, the bridge isn`t as stable, and the pickups aren`t quite as full-sounding. So the US are better for those points, imo. Whether or not they`re nearly a grands worth of money better, well not sure.

Thanks a lot for the info.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you mean by the stability of the bridge?

1 hour ago, chris_b said:

So you're asking what makes a bass different and special and you tell us to discount all the things that do that! Design, materials, quality of workmanship are what makes anything special. That it "speaks" to someone is what makes it special to that person. Personal preference (which can totally irrational and subconscious) does that last bit.

Why do people buy a Jag  or Merc instead of a Dacia? They all do the same thing.

I buy this bass rather than that because the tone is better, it feels better to play and it's got a tort pick guard.

The only thing I said to discount is pickups and electronics.

It's just that vague terms don't give me any information whereas specific things like the ones mentioned so far in the thread do.

3 minutes ago, Cato said:

Bit of a can of worms this one.

Is it possible to take,say, a Harley Benton Jazz, and upgrade everything, from the fret finish and tuners to installing all new electronics, to the point where it plays and sounds as good as a Sadowsky.? 

I have know idea, but anyone who has bought a much more expensive bass, and I'm one of them, would prefer to think that it isn't.

That last sentence is interesting.

I've always thought it quite hard for a lot of people to really know what exactly they're getting for extra money. I personally have bought expensive things based on the idea that I'm unsure if the cheaper Model X could be upgraded and finished up to be as good as Model X Plus, but I know that buying Model X Plus will definitely get me that level. (Hope that makes sense)

54 minutes ago, Funkfingers said:

For the extra money, you would expect the wood in an American Fender bass guitar to be lighter and prettier than on the nearest equivalent Mexican or SE Asian lookalike. The other critical thing that your money pays for is the time and attention of an experienced finishing person. Here, I am thinking about tumbling of fingerboard edges and fettling of fret ends. Non-essential touches that make an instrument waaaaaay more enjoyable to use.

Another significant difference is the technology that goes into full-on professional instruments. The "better" woods ought to make the neck less prone to bowing or twisting. I love the vintage appearance and feel of a Fender AVRI bass but there is no denying that the modern truss rod and graphite reinforcement construction of the American Elite, Professional and discontinued American Standard holds up better to the rigours of transportation and climatic variations.

Thanks very much, great info.

The weight thing makes sense as the body of the Schecter J I have feels significantly heavier than a Fender P I have that cost more than double.

P.S. Are you the same funkfingers from "the fret board" forum or just the same name?

So I have a Schecter J bass, got it for around 350 a while ago.

Ignoring pickups and electronics that can be easily replaced, what specific things would be better on a presumed better bass, for example an American Fender Jazz bass? If possible, avoiding vague abstract terms like "build quality", instead mentioning specific differences.

I mean, to a lay person, 2 J basses - as long as there's no problems with the manufacturing process (to the point you'd return it) - would seemingly be very similar. Despite being a "bass player" I'm not that much more informed than said lay person.

Bass sounds fantastic!

Feel a bit sorry for the guitar player though, is it even plugged in? lol

Jazz basses have more low end, precisions are more mid rangey.

If you're comparing them played alone then a lot of people prefer the sound of a j bass, it's in a band that the p comes into its own.

Thanks for the reply.

See, the description on that page is what I thought may be what is being meant but I don't know if it's true (assuming I'm not misunderstanding it).

When I first heard of this I took a few songs I was in to at the time and wrote out the intervals of the bass line and found that chord tones weren't especially favoured over other notes.

From my own playing experience, obviously the root note is massively favourable; the 5th sounds good but maybe cliche sometimes but the 3rd, for example, doesn't necessarily sound better than the 2nd or 4th. In fact, while I may be playing 3rds without thinking about it, when I've been mindful of trying to use 3rds it never really sounds right.

I think I need to try and find time to study the intervals of a few more bass lines.

Thanks a lot, I very much appreciate your reply.

I've never played anything with a chord like that before, maybe that's partly why I don't understand it if the approach comes in to play for chords like that.

I've seen a few interviews with Carole Kaye where she talks about it being much better to learn from a chordal approach instead of scales. I've heard similar things said elsewhere.

I don't understand this though. Chords are made from scales. It can't mean to only play root, 3rd, 5th because loads of basslines use other notes.

Can anyone explain what this means?