Paulhauser

That is a great video, love that white M265 By the way, how does the Atelier DAL5 with the chambered alder body compares to the M265 in terms of sound and feel?

Hi Pierre, thanks for your insights. I was looking at your page www.bassfreaks.net for some info on Ateliers and its a great thing that you carry them. I'm very impressed by this bass so far and would be glad if they had a greater European presence.

Thank you! This one is 4.33 kgs and balances really well. I was aware of Atelier Z's reputation of being heavy but that must have been a thing of the past to a certain extent as most of their basses I was considering buying were under 4,5 kgs. I happen to like 18mm, this was actually one of the features I was looking for in my 'perfect' 5 string jazz.

Yes, these Jerry Barnes models are killer. It has all the things I like in a '70 jazz and some more. Knowing now from experience how good Atelier Z basses are if I was on the market for a 4 string jazz, these would be high on my list (and the chambered Atelier DAL models, too)

Seems like Atelier Z basses are a bit rare occurence on this forum so I thought about writing a bit about my recent purchase Having owned quite a few Japaneese basses over the years, mainly ones from the Fujigen factory like Yamaha TRB, Ibanez Prestiges, FGN basses, Fenders but others like a Sadowsky Metro as well, I have long been an admirer of the quality of the craftmanship that is put into these instruments over there. There is a bunch of smaller 'boutique' workshops like Atelier, Sugi, Devise that produce basses of the highst quality and standards - with prices to match. I've been long eyeing Atelier basses as I like their take on the classic Fender jazz design and they seem to carry everything that I like in these modern 'superjazz' basses. There are so many brands to choose from if one is heading into this direction and the options are almost endless, but I wanted to have something which is a bit unique here in Europe and wanted to know the next level of CIJ basses. So after months of checking out Ikebe's website (one of Japans biggest instrument store) this bass came up, I had the funds, the stars aligned and I made the purchase and imported this home. This was my second time dealing with Ikebe and I have to say they are top notch in customer service. It was a seamless transaction. Anyway, on to the most important thing. The bass is a Atelier Z M265 custom model. The M265 is basically their '70 5 string jazz bass. Ash body, one piece maple neck/board with block inlays and binding. they use in-house Atelier pickups and a selection of 2 band preamps. Hadware is a high mass Atelier bridge and Gotoh tuners. This custom M265 is a bit different, most notably in that it has a 3 band EQ (Bartonlini) and abalone inlays plus a brown red burst finish (which is more like amber in real life, the pics show this a bit more red that actually is) It is quite light and is a joy to play, the neck is really comfortable. It balances really well, that was one of my concerns as I was not able to try and see. I especially like the clean pickguard, it lets the grain shine through. The sound is a bit of a tipical '70 ash/maple, quite clean, sweet deeps with great highs and the slap is like Miller, only I don't have the chops.... It can get gritty if I dig in and it reacts very well to the different dinamics. The mid cut/boost is a nice addition, can't remember every having a jazz with a mid control but certainly helps at certain situations with the slightly scooped ash/maple sound. I bougth this bass untried and without ever trying an Atelier bass but it delivered on its promise big time. These above are my initial observations and for the time being I am very happy and a bit relieved as this distance purchase turned out great. Of course just like with other basses only time will tell how we are going to be in the long run. And now the pics (taken by Ikebe)

I really liked my FGN Neo Classic jazzes.

I'd be extremly cautious to sell a bass that has been owned for so long and fits so well. As said above, try as many basses as you can. Or, if finances permit, keep the Wal and set aside a grand or two and go through a couple of used basses one after another. If you buy and sell wisely it may no cost you much in losses but lets you have a lot deeper experience with a number of basses than a casual music store visit can reveal. If you choose to stay with the Wal after all, this above is merely a cash flow question (if, again, finances permit) If you find another holy grail in the process, you can sell the Wal and free up funds in the end.

As said above, there are many variables other than the wood and it is hard to predict how much and what contributions the wood would bring to the end result. I'd personally choose alder with a fancy top FYI, Roger Sadowsky has a great article about his experiences with the main tonewoods and their combinations. https://www.sadowsky.com/wood-and-sound-in-amplified-guitars-and-basses/

While what you have in mind could be a fun project if one's doing it oneself, but paying for a luthier to do it will cost some dough. I'd forgone that cost and save the up and buy a 5 string Overwater with the specs you liked on the 6 string.

EMG has a P/J set in the 35 housing, I have this in one of my Spectors and sounds great, I love it. Also the EMG 35TWX is a great pickup, the coil tap function gives it some variety and it is nice, round sounding pickup.

You know you have to have one. It is inevitable. Don't fight SAS, resisting it is futile, we all know it.

With all due respect to Alembic (one time owner myself) these are just not right for me especially on the pickup placement department. Both the JJ and the PJ is really off for me. Wonderful woodwork though (as pretty much always from Alembic)

Not only one, but two Spectors.... Sir you certainly have a fine taste :-) These are great basses, I'm still on the look for a 35" version (and would tune BEAD) Have fun with them!

Spector Euro5 LX, made in the Czech Republic. You can score one used around 1000GBP. They sound great, very well built, great B string and has some great ergonomical features that you will like (based on the SR305) Also korean Spectors, called the Legend series has some very high price/value basses.

Rickenbacker comes to my mind.

1. Cort 2. MM SR

Congrats! Lovely Spector, those NS-2As have a very good reputation. (Haven't tried one myself as of yet though.)