Brother Jones

I miss my TRB5 and am getting pissed off at missing out on them here. So. PM'd...

Is the ramp removable? If so can we have a picture of the bass without it?

Thanks

Sorry to be 'that bloke', but is there a weight on this please?

Thanks.

Could be wrong, but I think this used to be mine... I traded it (here) for a US Jazz Deluxe with Nordstrand pups and was not convinced I'd had the better end of the deal.

GK MB150E. The little, supposedly 150w combo (do they still make them?). I only bought it because it was cute and supposedly portable.

In reality, while it was small, it was also extremely heavy and a nightmare to carry on the tube.Plus the cab rattled something awful. Replaced with my Eden rig which was a revelation.The older Eden heads remain my favourites.

"Perfect condition"? Lovely bass, but hardly "perfect".

I owned a TKO75 (as my first decent combo), then a TNT150, then a Databass. The TNT150 had a biamp out option, and Peavey made a powered 2x8 cab for it. Still remember that rig with great affection...

I should have bought this a few weeks ago when I had the chance...

Bugger.

I [i]think[/i] I might have owned this too (bought here in 2005 or so). But the action was incredibly low even then, and it didn't have the neck imperfection... It was an amazing bass.

I'm willing to bet it's heavily string-related. When I bought my 2012 US Standard, it had very obviously been in the shop for a while, the strings were dead, etc, so they knocked down the price and threw in some Rotos. Horrible, scratchy, tinny sounding things. Replaced with DR Sunbeams and EMGs, and now I think it's the best Jazz I've ever owned.

I do think US Jazzes sound brighter than they used to though.

I'd have this like a shot if I wasn't saving for an ACG. Very nice. Within a few years people will be buying these just for the bridge....

Really impressed by the standard (active) EMGs I put on my fretted US Standard at the end of last year. I thought they might be a bit too crispy and hi-fi, but I was wrong.

The added bonus is, once you've installed the circuit (very easy - assuming you can accommodate the battery), you can always just swap out for the several other EMG Jazz flavours (JV-X etc).

1985 - Hohner Jazz copy, black, tort, maple board
1990- Fender Jap Jazz, black, rosewood board. Later modded with MECs and a Badass
1993 - Fender Jap Jazz, sunburst, tort, rosewood
1995 - Fender Jap Jazz, seafoam,tort, rosewood
1998 - Fender US Jazz, 1970, black, rosewood
2001 - Fender US Jazz Deluxe, seethrough red, pearl, rosewood
2003 - Fender US Jazz 1978, black, rosewood
2004 - Fender US Jazz 1973, sunburst, tort, rosewood
2006 - Sadowsky UV70, ash, maple
2007 - Sadowsky MV5, sunburst, tort, rosewood
2009 - Fender US Jazz Deluxe 5, sunburst, tort, rosewood (and Nordstrand pups)
2014 - Fender US Jazz 2012, modded with standard EMGs.

Guess I like Jazz basses

Horn break from Sir Duke, or perhaps Rhythm Stick, a bit of a slappy thing (usually Run for Cover or a variation on that theme), and a bit of a harmonic thing. The latter is important for me, as while Jazzes are not normally a problem, Ps and Musicmen are a bit variable on that front.

This has been discussed in the past, mainly with a view to string tension. I think the consensus was that difference was marginal at best. I've played Jazz basses of one sort or another for 30 years (from Hohners and Tokais to NYC Sadowskys), and string-through Fenders since 2001 when I bought my first US Jazz Deluxe.

So, having a Sunday afternoon string changeover, I decided to do a little A/B test on my 2012 US Jazz Standard, using a nearly-new set of DR Sunbeams (45-105).

In theory, there should be little if any difference in tension, because the strings are free to move at the saddles. There is a potential, if slight difference to tone, as the strings are coupled more directly to the resonant mass of the body when strung through it.

There is room for quite a bit of optimism bias here. But the difference seems quite marked.The string tension is palpably lower when strung through the bridge, while the sound is slightly, but noticeably more like a traditional Jazz - a bit more hollowed out and clanky. The string to string balance has changed slightly as well, for the worse.

I'm not sure which I ultimately prefer, but have left it strung through the bridge for now...

If I'd had the wherewithal, I'd have recorded the difference, as it certainly seems noticeable.

Sounds good, thanks. PM'd!

Seems to me there's a minor YT industry of attractive women who are also pretty good bass players. Some of them are better than others (and some of them play on their physicality a little too much). Isn't it time we stopped finding the idea of female bassists novel?

She could have saved herself a lot of work by dropping her tuning a semitone on this, like Nate Watts did when he played it.

Can't believe this is still here, etc.

Just out of interest, where's the truss rod cover? Is it the maple bulge at the body end of the neck?

I'm looking for someone to supply, fit and lightly relic a Jazz body for my US '78. I asked a local tech to have a try a few years ago, but he couldn't even find an undrilled or three bolt body (the former might be preferable for a good fit).

The original body is a near-write off. It weighs a ton, and the finish is completely knackered.

Do Limelight or anyone similar provide such a service? The neck and pups are lovely, and I don't want to write the bass off.

Thanks.

The drummer is amazing. I'd like to like it above and beyond that, but after a while it sounds like Focus with a horn section...

I swear I remember playing this at the Bass Centre in the early nineties. Think I walked out with a Sadowsky. Bumping for a great bass.

I recently put active original-version EMGs in my 2012 Jazz and am loving them to bits. They have audibly greater dynamic range and frequency response than the 60s Custom Shop pups they replaced. I'm not sure where this compression idea comes from - like to understand that a bit better, as there's no obvious reason that should be the case.

The fit is tight, but do-able, although can't comment on Ps. It all depends on space for the battery, which I managed to accommodate by taking the spacer washers off the tone pot.

I really like the modular idea EMG have now. If I want a different, more traditional sound it would be a 5 minute job to replace my L-Js with JV-Xs.

These are great combos. I had one when I was a student in Leeds in the eighties. Compared to the combo £90 would buy anyone new, it's a total no-brainer.

I've owned three post-2001 US Jazzes (a four string Deluxe, a five string Deluxe, and the 2012 Standard which is currently my main squeeze).

Each has had exemplary build quality (I've owned Sadowskys too) and a lot of newer features (graphite rods in the neck, body stringing option, better bridges, better pups) that I really like. Compared to a lot of 70s Js, they've been better built, better equipped and more consistent.

Basses very rarely sound good through headphones.

Chris is right though - making a P sound good solo is tough.