gjones

Received a VVT loom for my Jazz Bass, from John. Sounds great and easy peasy to fit Definitely recommended. Gareth

I own a US Fender Deluxe Jazz Bass, a US 75 Reissue, a Mex 70s reissue, and have owned a MIJ Geddy Lee and a Mex Roadworn. My favourite is my MIJ 60s style reissue, that I put together from parts off Ebay. It's got a lot of character, plays great and is fitted with a John East Retro pre amp.

Exploring music genres was an expensive habit back in the 'good old days', which meant many people stuck to what they knew and didn't explore different types of music. These days the whole world is our oyster and we can listen to anything our heart desires. I used to be into Heavy Rock, back in my teens and twenties, these days I barely listen to it and I've developed a taste for 'Yacht Rock' (look up Young Gun and Silver Fox).

I've used The Stratosphere a few times https://stratosphereparts.com/

I have a Rumble 100, which is a great little combo, it struggles with loud drummers though. I bought a Markbass CMD 121 P recently, which is about the same size but is significantly louder. If you want a loud but small combo I recommend it.

Oooops! Reminds me of a gig my band did where the night before the gig (which was a Xmas party for checkout ladies from Asda and Tesco) our female singer advised us she had flu and couldn't perform. The guitarist said he could do the singing himself, so me and the drummer said we were ok to do the gig, with him as the frontman. Unfortunately the only songs he knew were Clash and Iggy pop stuff, along with some Johnny Cash numbers done in a punk like style. It did not go down well with the checkout ladies, and they asked for their money back from the agency that had booked us. The guitarist managed to plead our case with the agency (he said if we'd have cancelled they wouldn't have had time to book another band - so we'd done them a favour) and we got our money.

Sitting in a silent, empty, shop demoing basses is not for the faint hearted. The last time I did that was in my local Guitar, Guitar on a wet Wednesday afternoon. I was playing my usual bluesy, jazzy stuff and just for a laugh started to play the sailors hornpipe (it's actually a good warm up routine). At which point all the shop assistants burst out laughing. They listen to you, you know..... Every note. They probably have score cards n all.

True

Ed Friedland can make anything sound good but people should be aware he's paid by manufacturers to review their products and he gets freebies. So people should take that into account when he gives glowing reviews.

In Soviet Russia there used to be a saying 'We pretend to work and they pretend to pay us'. Your postie obviously feels no loyalty to his employer, because his employer feels no loyalty to him.

Well I paid just under £2000 for a Fender Elite a few years ago. I'd never bought a bass of that quality new before, as I was well aware that as soon as you step outside the shop it's worth half of what you bought it for, but I couldn't find one secondhand and ran out of patience looking. I've got some lovely basses that would have cost me thousands new, but I bought them at half the new price (or less) because they had a few years on the clock, which in my opinion, is the smart thing to do..

Hmmm....my Elite 4 string Precision cost over £1900 in 2018.

A Sue Ryder? Edit: some other smarty pants suggested that one before me. ......Oh well, I'll get me coat.

I've signed up but they don't expect any cash from Fender anytime soon. The website says these type of things can drag through the courts for years.

Hmmm....... I bought a Fender Elite Precision on 14/4/18. Everywhere I looked it was exactly the same price. I thought to myself 'That's a bit suspicious'. I'm in.

I think you're right. Here's a Highway One for sale on reverb https://reverb.com/uk/p/fender-highway-one-jazz-bass-2003-2011?hfid=58217551&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=18354914807&utm_content=campaignid=18354914807_adgroupid=_productpartitionid==merchantid=604163176_productid=58217551_keyword=_device=c_adposition=_matchtype=_creative=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIosmktKX2-wIVlu3tCh3wbwzDEAQYASABEgJE0fD_BwE

No, but I know a guy who probably does https://www.basschat.co.uk/profile/7835-kiogon/

The thing that does irritate me about Stingrays is the sharp corner, on the compensated nut, on the G string side. I might have to file that end of the nut down to take away the edge on mine.

My 2 EQ USA Stingray SUB was the same. It sounded very FAT and punchy. like a Precision with a kickdrum behind it. My 3 EQ Stingray doesn't have the same sound but has it's own 'aggressive' character.

Buy something with a bit of quality, like a secondhand Squier vintage modified, or something similar. It can always be sold for the price you bought it if your son's interest fades. Nothing more discouraging than a nasty guitar, that wont stay in tune and has an action like a bow and arrow. I went looking for a guitar as a gift and the cheapos, that you buy new, are truly horrible (an Epiphone Les Paul for £89 that I tried was absolutely horrible sounding and wouldn't stay in tune). I ended up buying a secondhand Yamaha Pacifica, for £20 less, that sounded and played really great in comparison.

What about violin/fiddle players? Bassists embraced frets in the 50s. It takes the first 5 years, after taking up the instrument, to figure out how to play a violin/fiddle in tune. If they came with frets as standard people would be knocking out symphonies in no time.

I really did like the sound from my two USA SUBs, as they had a 2 band EQ which gave a really good thump. I wasn't too keen on the painted necks which seemed a bit on the chunky side. I have a 3 band EQ, 2014 USA Stingray now and the neck seems a bit less chunky but, to tell the truth, I think I preferred the sound of the 2 band EQ on the SUB.

The necks on 70 type Jazzes, with inlays, are usually significantly chunkier front to back. I have a USA 75 reissue and a Mex 70s reissue, both with inlays, and they are pretty chunky compared to a standard Jazz.

Has anyone ever bought one of his abominations? Own up.....

There's no reason to buy a Fender unless you really want Fender on the headstock. They are iconic instruments, as they have been played on millions of albums and have been owned by our musical heroes and heroines, over the decades but there are better playing and sounding basses out there. I own a lot of Fenders, some of them are better than others, but I'm a sucker for nostalgia.