Brother Jones

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.

That Rhythm Stick YT video is missing a note from the verse part btw - the little chromatic run up from the F is played against a C# pedal note. Took me five years to figure that out - before t'internet.

He could have dropped to a D and played the main line with more oomph. It's more fun that way...

There was a point in the vey late eighties/early nineties, when I definitely remember Wal customs being advertised in Loot, or the back pages of Sounds for around £400. Perhaps this thread needs its mirror - "Basses you seriously should have bought"....

Quick update on this for owners of recent US Jazzes. The EMG pots, wiring and a 9V battery will fit the cavity - [i]just[/i]. I had to take the lock washers off the tone pot and experiment quite a bit with the wiring placement and pot orientation to do it though.

In 1998 I had a 1970 (my YoB) American Jazz. It was a lovely bass - very well put together, and possibly the best Jazz I've ever played. I sold it because the woman I was pursuing at the time wanted me to go on holiday with her.. At one point a few years ago I had my ideal collection - a Sadowsky Metro 5, a Sadowsky UV70 four string, a Zon Sonus fretless four, and a Sonus fretted four.I just gradually let them all go.

Thanks chaps. The attractions of the EMGs for me are (a) the self-install thing and ( the option of self-installing at a later date their BTC preamp with a pan pot. I do like Nords and Ags though. Tony - that's a very interesting idea. Mind you, it would mean soldering, which I've never done before. Hey, how hard can it be? PS BassBod your WT300 is still going strong.

I'm thinking of putting EMGs (either regular ones or JV-Xs) in my 2012 US Standard Jazz. I do like the sound of the CS pups that it has now, but the room where I practice is beset with RFI and electrical noise, and I'm keen to be hum free. You can guess what's coming next. The control cavity rout is 3cm deep. A 9V battery is 2cm deep. The existing pots are 1.5cm. So I'm short by 0.5cm. Can anyone tell me how deep the pots that EMG supply with their pups are, before I start routing? Thanks.

It may be that the string is just a bit twisted. Have you tried taking it off, and putting it back on, ensuring that it's twist-free? Alternatively, try dropping it in a pan of simmering water for 10 mins.

Long ago in the late eighties I would drive myself nuts about this. I'm a lot more accommodating about it these days. It partly depends on the neck. Graphite/CF does make a big difference The two Zons I've owned in the past had the lowest actions of any bass I've ever played - probably around 1.5mm at the 12th. It's not really possible to do that on a regular wood neck. And I'm not sure I'd want to anyway - preferring a bit of fight and bounce on my Jazzes.

I do think it's a bit unfair for people to rate amps based on their rehearsal room experience of them. Those amps are abused almost every day for years on end, so small wonder they sound rubbish.

Yes of course. The purists/luddites have a thing about hearing the preamp, rather than the player and the instrument itself, which is an interesting point. Some preamps are very well engineered. Musicman use the same capacitors as Naim put in their hifi amps, for example. However, others have a certain sizzle which can really impose itself, which is why I dislike the Sadowsky boost-only circuit.

I think there's some confusion here between an active OBP and active pups. The latter are there because the response curve of most passive pups is pretty bad. A passive pup uses a lot of coil windings to generate a useable signal, and the more windings there are, the more the treble response drops off. Active pups have many fewer coil windings so as to get a flatter response, and use on board power and a mini preamp to boost the output. That doesn't require an OBP. There's been something of a move against active OBP basses from purists like Paul Weller (who banned Yolanda from using them). Personally I like them for live work, as they help Jazzes cut through more, but prefer passive, or active pups for recording.

One of these things was also my first bass - in about 1984. Mine was a kind of terrible attempt at a sunburst finish. I remember the 'V' and the 'T' on the knobs, the machine heads and that string retainer very distinctly. Mine had a bronze coloured 'Kay' logo on the pickguard. Three months later my Dad took pity on me and bought me a Hohner Jazz copy for Xmas. Still the best present I ever received...