Terry M.

On 06/07/2025 at 10:25, Piers_Williamson said:

I just read the sleeve notes.  MM plays on The Nightfly, The Goodbye Look and Maxine.  The rest of the album is a roll call of the best: Anthony Jackson, Chuck Rainey, Abe Laboriel, Will Lee.  I gues that's what you expect from Donald Fagen (except he mainly uses Ready Freddy Washingotn live now

You may already know that Chuck Rainey was asked by Steely Dan NOT to slap on "Peg" so during recording he turned his back and did it anyway. They ended up loving it 😊

2 hours ago, AJC08 said:

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

So I literally just need vol/vol or vol/blend (not fussed) b/t, and a passive switch ideally. I'm more than happy for stacked controls. Just no idea where to turn.

 

In regards to liking the sound, I love it, but I want flexibility on board. If I'm playing live, I dont want to have to fiddle with pedals mid gig to get a slightly different tone. Plenty do that I knkw, just not for me.

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

What are your thoughts with regards to the Sadowsky outboard preamp pedal? It keeps things real simple.

12 hours ago, AJC08 said:

Hi guys

 

This year I have acquired a Lakland DJ 5 which I absolutely love! Out of a great deal of gear I have owned and used this is absolutely one of the best all around basses I've had so top marks to Lakland.

 

I do however want to add a preamp of some sort. I've tried over a period of months to contact East for their specific one and had no response via email or on here. I hope everything is ok on their end but this is very frustrating.

 

The preamp must ideally have bass, treble and a passive bypass. Don't mind stacked or anything along those lines. Ideally I'd have a passive tone control as well as I use that a hell of a lot.

 

I just do not know where on earth to turn. It also needs to be easily available in the UK too as I cant be dealing with shipping from the US.

 

Literally any advice on where to turn would be a huge help!

 

Thanks as always

 

Aj

Another vote for the Sadowsky outboard premp pedal. You have the bonus of the bass's tone control in both active and passive a la VTC and you don't have to perform any surgery on the bass should you desire to move it on as-is. It will sell as it left the factory no problem as a lot of users want them all-passive. Then sell the pedal on also if needed.

5 hours ago, chris_b said:

If you love the sound, why do you want to change it?

 

I'd buy another bass to fiddle with.

To be fair he didn't specifically say he loves the sound. But I'm sure he does 😊

2 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

Perhaps its all in my head (but I’m sure it isn’t) that the USA ones simply do sound and feel better.

Maybe it is maybe it isn't. You're using a subjective term though when you say better.Play a bunch of USA basses and Squier ones and you'll know for definite. The ultimate test would be a blindfold one. We go to Sainsbury's and see McVities Digestive Biscuits and we see the Sainsbury's own brand version. Guess which one most people will assume is superior before even sampling either packet?  Well McVities make both despite the lower price of Sainsbury's "version". Leo used ash and alder based on cheapness and availability. It was not a tonewood choice in the beginning. There's no magic there so if a Squier is poplar bodied for example there is no inherent disadvantage other than what the user places on it based on preconceptions and prior association.

10 minutes ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

Absolutely, Terry. Yes, a certain Squier may have the right sound for you and may outplay all the Custom Shop Fenders you might try.

 

But I still maintain that even though some of the prices are ridiculous, you are getting (given you pick the right one for you) a better bass by buying from the American ranges.

I've owned American Fenders and I've owned Squiers and I've enjoyed both to some degree but can't see any "magic" with the USA made stuff,but you mustn't interpret this as "they're crap" They're not crap. CNC machines work indiscriminately regardless of where they're plugged in. In this day and age I find it hard to believe there's a magic formula to bolting together two pieces of wood with just 4 screws and a thin metal neckplate is all I'm saying. The marketing machine would have us believe otherwise but really? 

24 minutes ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

Depends on how acutely you listen, I suppose. (Unless you have those ears that say 'a bass is a bass'.)

 

I could even tell you which of my three Americans is which while blindfolded - they all have unique voicings.

The nitro finished American Original has it's own free singing tone.

The open pore Ash FSR has a very different punchier bottom end from the 2008 Am.Std pickups.

The American Elite has more sparkle at the top end and a distinct active shove to the bass frequencies.

But someone with double the hearing acuteness you have can still prefer the sound of a Squier over your American Fenders. Aren't we talking about personal taste here? "Good" sound is subjective. How many of us has spent quite a bit on "upgrading" pickups only to either not hear the difference or prefer the originals?

7 minutes ago, Mrbigstuff said:

This is basically the only guaranteed difference. Does the buyer really want something that has been assembled in the west or something assembled in the east!

If it's made well it makes no difference where it was assembled. 

24 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

I suppose there’s good and bad in all different ones , I’ve never had a bad American one myself , neither has anyone I know, you get what you pay for 

I paid for a brand new American Fender once and within weeks the paint started to peel. Fender replaced it through the retailer Guitar Guitar but I've never had a Squier do that.

25 minutes ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

No, as a professional musician, I'm telling you that my American Jazzes feel and sound superior. This is not to say that the Squier 40th isn't a very good Jazz. It definitely is.

I'm not telling you what your experience is at all,no way can I do that. I'm saying that it feels superior to YOU which is all that matters 👍

12 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

In glad you’ve mentioned this, I often hear hear how there’s not much difference between a squier and US made bass, in my experience there is a big difference, I bought my nephew an affinity jazz and it felt and sounded nothing like my CS and AVRI jazzes, it was an older one and I’m sure they’ve improved since, I can’t say if the price difference is worth it because that’s up to the individual , they both do the same job but I think it’s what makes you happy and feel good playing 

I've played some American Fenders that felt lifeless and dull and Squiers that were not and have owned several of each. I watched a video online earlier this year where a "gourmet" food stand was set up and was giving out free samples. Everyone actually thought they were eating gourmet food and was seemingly impressed. It was revealed to be Greggs all along. 

23 minutes ago, HeadlessBassist said:

I recently bought and set up a Squier 40th Anniversary Jazz for a pupil. Yes, it's a great sounding & playing bass, but a good American Fender bass still sounds and feels superior.

This is subjective. On paper yes the Fender is supposed to be superior but...

1 hour ago, Burns-bass said:

The more gigs I play and the more varied music I'm asked  to work on, I value the simplicity and quality of the American Fenders I've had. 

But this simplicity and quality can exist in far-eastern produced Squiers at a fraction of the cost. Exactly how can Fender justify the much higher prices for essentially the same thing? I think with regards to sounds between boutique and Fender basses ,in many cases the "best" bass tone isn't what's required.I've been in situations where people just want the sound they're used to hearing on their favourite albums. It makes no difference to them if an alternative sounds "better". I'm not suggesting this applies to you personally but it's definitely out there.

They should have kept the S-1 series/parallel switch found on passive American Series Jazz Basses. As it was so unobtrusive it would be up to the user to ignore it if they wanted it in parallel the whole time. Nothing lost there and an extra sound palette for the series switching fans. In fact have it on even the active Jazzes. Didn't see the point of it as much on P basses however.

Fender know there are many loyal fans who won't stray from the brand so it almost gives them a licence to charge what they feel like. They have a sizeable captive audience. I don't have a problem with the brand per se but I don't feel their prices are in line with their innovation. As mentioned previously you now pay a premium for an already bashed up looking "new" bass.

Great basses these. I would only slightly disagree with the Lakland comparison with regards to the nut width. Bridge string spacing definitely 😊

I gigged my sub £1k Mexican Player Plus Jazz V just last night and it did everything I needed it to do. Would it have done more if it was a £4k Custom Shop model? I vote no. I like my Fender but at heart I'm a Warwick fan.

7 minutes ago, Beedster said:

If you buy a car, a TV, or a washing machine, the more you pay the better the features, at least within a brand. It's simply not the case with Fender, where you can find a Squier that blows a Custom Shop out of the water. A good example for me is my Classic Vibe '51 Precision which plays, feels, and sounds as good, if not better, than my old Custom Shop relic 51 that retailed for almost 10 times more. There is variability in wood for sure, but far too much of all of this is smoke and mirrors; Fender would love you to think that a Custom Shop instrument is infinitely better than a Squier, but they know damn well the differences are often random, and that the purchase of a FCS instrument is often as much about bragging rights as about quality  

I'm totally with you on this.

On 30/06/2025 at 22:27, uncle psychosis said:

I'm definitely of the opinion that mass produced instruments with bolt on necks definitely have a quality:price ceiling where the diminishing returns get silly but I'm not sure I know at what price point that happens. 

I tried a Squier Affinity Jazz Bass V in a store once followed by a Fender American Ultra ii Jazz Bass V and for the life of me couldn't understand the price difference. I'm not saying the Fender wasn't better but they're both essentially two pieces of wood screwed together (I know I'm gonna pay for saying that 😂). So I too don't know where the price point you mentioned happens either.

9 hours ago, AGBFunkybassman said:

or just being a bit too obsessive ?

 

Maybe this? I will say that I feel alternate fingering feels WAY more efficient than raking to me but it's all personal.

I buy basses I know I don't need and the associated guilt makes me real secretive about it when in actual fact the wife knows what I'm like and is nowhere near as bothered about it as I think she is. It helps that she loves music and is also a classically trained mandolin player. 

I see this is still here. I'm not really in the market for one of these but I'm curious if you've had any interest?

These basses are almost free when you consider the performance-to-price ratio versus the vintage Fender market. I purchased a new Squier (Affinity I might add) Active Jazz V before Christmas after picking one up to try in PMT (RIP) ONLY because it was the only fiver they had.I thought it was that good. I'm not knocking the vintage Fender market but I'll confess to not understanding the prices whatsoever.

2 minutes ago, skej21 said:

He takes terrible photos!

I let him know it's not a Stingray Special with the 18v preamp and neodymium pickups as per his ad wording and he thanked me and said he'd amend it. This was a few weeks back and it still has the wrong description showing. Hopefully it doesn't get bought by someone unfamiliar with the differences. The price is a bit different to when it was on here. I only twigged it was the same bass today.