OutToPlayJazz

The CVJ is a 60's Jazz clone, so the rear pickup is closer to the mid pickup. The necks are glossed & the bridge is a high mass affair (a blockier version of the new Fender bridge.) They're also made in a new Chinese factory where the quality control seems to be second to none, whereas the VMJ's are made in the Korean Cort factory. All in all they're really nice & at that price, if you want to put in some really serious pickups, it's one of those basses that's definitely worth it. These are going to be a future classic.

Yes, I see your point there - You could do a lot worse than try the new Classic Vibe Jazz. The one I played the other day was really nice & had one of the nicest glossed flamed necks I've seen in ages. Not bad for £299, either. No maple board and only in white, though.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='865855' date='Jun 13 2010, 12:18 PM']I'm going to be honest, i think you have problems.[/quote] Nah, he just likes his basses - He's in good company around here!

I was out with the Jeff Hooper Swing Easy Band on tour last week with some of the most respected players in the country & I was told a little story about Ray Brown... Some guys met Ray Brown walking down the street at 1am with his double bass on his back. They recognized him & asked Ray where he'd been playing, to which he replied he'd been in a local club all evening on a gig & was now on his way to the American version of the Musician's Union where they had practise booths. He'd religiously go to these places after gigs wherever possible and practise from 1am until 4 or 5am just playing strict time to a metronome. That's how you get to be good - Oh, and learning to read helps enormously, too!

Ouch! If it had to be one of those three, I'd have to go for the stack-knob LPB model, but in terms of Jazzes, having owned *ahem!* a few, I'd have to go for either my 50th Anniversary or a Road Worn. Both have very different, but serious Jazz voices of their own & if I had custom shop money, I'd be ordering another Status, LOL!

Sounds to me like you really want the American Standard with the maple fingerboard. Time to get saving?

I think some of the signature models are very good instruments, but some are just pointless badge engineering in order to boost sales via association. If you love someone's sound, their signature bass will often not give you what you're after, like for instance the Marcus Miller Jazz doesn't really sound like Marcus' sound. What you really need is a nitro finish Jazz with 70's spacing to take you to Marcus-ville. Then you're getting there. The new MK bass is doubtless a really nice instrument. Having had a couple of KingBasses, if you can get along with the body shape, they're seriously fine instruments & among the best you can get, but as for the ethics or morals of a signature bass, I think it's just fine. Just remember you're you & your playing is what counts at the end of the day.

[quote name='fender73' post='864747' date='Jun 11 2010, 10:13 PM']Too much on one bass for me (i loved my own Kingbass) - great for a one off, but not as a production bass...and that Mark King LED is hideous.[/quote] If you read the text, you'll find out that the "MARK KING" is only on Mark's personal basses. Production models will have two red star LED's at the 12th. As for "bling", you can switch LED's off, you know

[quote name='Rayman' post='864557' date='Jun 11 2010, 06:33 PM']Stunning bass, and as a L42 fan I'd love to own one, but you'd have to have some bottle to pull that out at a gig.[/quote] Depends on what kind of gigs you do

Oh, lots of things... More of the Strictly Come Dancing Tour which I love playing on - Such easy work! More big band work with the Nick Ross Orchestra, the Len Phillips Big Band & of course, the Jeff Hooper Swing Easy Big Band - I love playing with Jeff's band as he always has the best players around & the arrangements really stretch me to my limits. We've also got the contract for the Sheffield pro pantomime again this year, so looking forward to five weeks of Peter Pan at Xmas. Lots of projects in the works at the moment, so lots to write, promote, etc. And I'll be playing with my old rock trio in July for the first time in about a year and a half. I miss the guys in The PHD. That reminds me, I must buy some earplugs!

At the end of the day, an instrument is for playing. Before you get rid of the fretless Precision, go to a good teacher & see if your left hand technique can be improved upon. If it turns out you're playing pretty well already, then get rid and find something you can't put down due to it being so good to play & so great sounding.

Cont'd... The 30th Anniversary J pickups are a completely new 2010 design. Clarity and dynamics are preserved while being fully screened and hum-cancelling. An active EQ is fitted which has treble and bass, cut / boost controls. It also has a variable frequency midrange control with a boost / flat / cut switch. An 18 volt battery supply is fitted to allow for full dynamics and maximum headroom. The woven graphite through-neck is set into the body then the facing wood is vacuum pressed on. This is a more difficult and time consuming design but allows the wood to be seen across the full face of the body. All hardware is custom made to our own design exclusively for Status Graphite.

For those of you who didn't catch this on the "Get your Status-Graphite basses out" thread, here's the new 30th Anniversary L42 bass... Here we have the first official pictures of the Level 42 30th Anniversary KingBass & a description from the official Status website... In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Level 42 making great music and in collaboration with Mark King we have developed a special version of the now classic KingBass. Each custom-made instrument will be supplied with an individually numbered certificate signed by both Mark King and Rob Green. The original KingBass was designed and first introduced 10 years ago. Mark suggested the combination of the original, smaller body combined with the Mk-II J pickups and classic Status EQ. His 4-string models retain the custom 16.5mm string spacing and 32" scale "BendWell" options preferred by Mark. The 30th Anniversary KingBass is available as both four and five string models and includes many custom options : > Custom 16.5mm string spacing > Headless woven graphite neck with custom 32" scale and 'BendWell' > Custom 2010 hum-cancelling J type pickups > 3-band EQ with variable frequency midrange > Custom front and side LED's featuring new back-lit stars > Graphite through-neck set into body below the front facing wood > Book-matched birds eye or flamed maple facing veneer > Two stunning colour options : Cherry-amber or Vintage-amber sunburst > Custom gold hardware designed by Rob Green and custom made for Status Graphite # The 30th Anniversary model only has the wood and LED options are as pictured below. These will have exactly the same specifications, colours, EQ and set-up as Mark's basses. Birds eye maple facing veneer Vintage-amber sunburst Mahogany back Custom 'star' LED's on front face of fingerboard Blue LED's on 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 17, 19, 21st frets Two blue LED's on the 24th fret Two red LED's on the 12th fret Red side LED's Custom 30th Anniversary logo in BendWell Gold hardware Flamed maple facing veneer Cherry-amber sunburst Mahogany back Custom 'star' LED's on front face of fingerboard Green LED's on 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 17, 19, 21st frets Two green LED's on the 24th fret Two red LED's on the 12th fret Red side LED's Custom 30th Anniversary logo in BendWell Gold hardware The custom 32" scale BendWell is fitted as standard. It has a silver logo stating : "Level 42, 30th Anniversary, 1980 - 2010". The headless "top-nut" is designed to use double-ball strings but you can also fit regular single-ball strings using the locking screws supplied with the bass. Mark's bass has his name back-lit with red LED's on the 12th fret. Custom production models will have two star shaped markers on the 12th fret as standard. Blue and red LED's are featured on the birds eye maple / vintage sunburst model Green and red LED's are featured on the flamed maple / vintage sunburst model Mark has two 30th Anniversary basses : This model has a flame maple facing veneer over a mahogany back. The faux, natural binding accentuates the cherry - amber sunburst. Green and red LED's are fitted. Mark's other 30th Anniversary model has a birds eye maple veneer over a mahogany back with a vintage - amber sunburst. Gold hardware is fitted as standard. Star shaped front LED's back-lit with blue LED's. A dual-action truss-rod is fitted. This allows a perfect set-up to suit your personal preference and playing style.

Cont'd... The 30th Anniversary J pickups are a completely new 2010 design. Clarity and dynamics are preserved while being fully screened and hum-cancelling. An active EQ is fitted which has treble and bass, cut / boost controls. It also has a variable frequency midrange control with a boost / flat / cut switch. An 18 volt battery supply is fitted to allow for full dynamics and maximum headroom. The woven graphite through-neck is set into the body then the facing wood is vacuum pressed on. This is a more difficult and time consuming design but allows the wood to be seen across the full face of the body. All hardware is custom made to our own design exclusively for Status Graphite.

Here we have the first official pictures of the Level 42 30th Anniversary KingBass & a description from the official Status website... In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Level 42 making great music and in collaboration with Mark King we have developed a special version of the now classic KingBass. Each custom-made instrument will be supplied with an individually numbered certificate signed by both Mark King and Rob Green. The original KingBass was designed and first introduced 10 years ago. Mark suggested the combination of the original, smaller body combined with the Mk-II J pickups and classic Status EQ. His 4-string models retain the custom 16.5mm string spacing and 32" scale "BendWell" options preferred by Mark. The 30th Anniversary KingBass is available as both four and five string models and includes many custom options : > Custom 16.5mm string spacing > Headless woven graphite neck with custom 32" scale and 'BendWell' > Custom 2010 hum-cancelling J type pickups > 3-band EQ with variable frequency midrange > Custom front and side LED's featuring new back-lit stars > Graphite through-neck set into body below the front facing wood > Book-matched birds eye or flamed maple facing veneer > Two stunning colour options : Cherry-amber or Vintage-amber sunburst > Custom gold hardware designed by Rob Green and custom made for Status Graphite # The 30th Anniversary model only has the wood and LED options are as pictured below. These will have exactly the same specifications, colours, EQ and set-up as Mark's basses. Birds eye maple facing veneer Vintage-amber sunburst Mahogany back Custom 'star' LED's on front face of fingerboard Blue LED's on 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 17, 19, 21st frets Two blue LED's on the 24th fret Two red LED's on the 12th fret Red side LED's Custom 30th Anniversary logo in BendWell Gold hardware Flamed maple facing veneer Cherry-amber sunburst Mahogany back Custom 'star' LED's on front face of fingerboard Green LED's on 3, 5, 7, 9, 15, 17, 19, 21st frets Two green LED's on the 24th fret Two red LED's on the 12th fret Red side LED's Custom 30th Anniversary logo in BendWell Gold hardware The custom 32" scale BendWell is fitted as standard. It has a silver logo stating : "Level 42, 30th Anniversary, 1980 - 2010". The headless "top-nut" is designed to use double-ball strings but you can also fit regular single-ball strings using the locking screws supplied with the bass. Mark's bass has his name back-lit with red LED's on the 12th fret. Custom production models will have two star shaped markers on the 12th fret as standard. Blue and red LED's are featured on the birds eye maple / vintage sunburst model Green and red LED's are featured on the flamed maple / vintage sunburst model Mark has two 30th Anniversary basses : This model has a flame maple facing veneer over a mahogany back. The faux, natural binding accentuates the cherry - amber sunburst. Green and red LED's are fitted. Mark's other 30th Anniversary model has a birds eye maple veneer over a mahogany back with a vintage - amber sunburst. Gold hardware is fitted as standard. Star shaped front LED's back-lit with blue LED's. A dual-action truss-rod is fitted. This allows a perfect set-up to suit your personal preference and playing style.

[quote name='Fat Rich' post='862395' date='Jun 9 2010, 05:40 PM']Just picked up a used S2 Bolt on from the Bass Gallery: It's exactly the spec I would have ordered and apart from a couple of light dings and some finger wear it's as good as new. It feels exactly like my old S1 but has a sweeter, more complex tone and complements the full on bassy, edgy, in yer face sound of the S1. Really chuffed! [/quote] Lovely looking bass, Rich - You'll find the satin finish marks more easily - My S2 5er with the cocobolo top & phenowood board has a few little battle scars on it, but it is the bass I work most of all these days. [quote name='BarnacleBob' post='863436' date='Jun 10 2010, 04:26 PM']You've bought another one then? BB[/quote] We still need some pics of your lovely new Streamline catch, Captain Bob!

Not quite my thing, but I suppose fiesta red comes close in certain lighting situations.

I've also got the fiesta red Precision and agree it's a great bass for comparatively little money. I was thinking of putting vintage Fender reverse tuners, a grooved saddle F bridge & a Wizard Thumper. But the bass is so good as stock, I'm leaving it alone for the time being. Dave, don't worry about the CV Jazz. It really is as good as they say. I played another new one the other day & it had the most glorious flamed neck I've seen on a jazz in years. These really are the new JV's! Rich

The SR300 is the best value bass among those three you listed. Excellent build & sound, 3-band preamp, great playability & easily worth the £230 you'll pay for it. Have fun

Quite similar to the new FretKing Super 80 Ventura bass as reviewed in last month's BGM... [url="http://www.fret-king.com/venturasuper80car_spec.html"]http://www.fret-king.com/venturasuper80car_spec.html[/url]

Nope, it's definitely a "Sid" so get that maple abomination off and restore the "Sid"!

Hey guys, if any of you are around, I'll be doing a mini tour of the East Coast this weekend... Friday 4th June - Len Phillips Big Band at Pakefield Pontins, Suffolk. Saturday 5th June - Barlow Proms night (Barlow is just north of Chesterfield, Derbyshire.) Sunday 6th June - Jeff Hooper Big Band at Pakefield Pontins, Suffolk. Tuesday 8th June - Jeff Hooper Big Band at Potters, Gt.Yarmouth. If anyone knows of a Suffolk/Norfolk jam session on the Monday night for a bit of a play and a beer, let me know!

I've done setups on a couple of STAGG basses for pupils. They're simple and functional but the quality of materials isn't up to much. As happychappy said, your money is better spent elsewhere, to be honest.