gjones

This is where you'll find the experts

I agree. I decided to take a punt and I was surprised, as the neck is pretty good. No sharp fret ends or anything. The action is not bad but could probably do with a bit of a tweak by a guitar tech to make it 'really' good.

The seller for my neck no longer has any for sale. I suspect they may be made by a Fender/Squier manufacturer in China and one or two of them disappear out the back door. But these look like the exact same ones https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?item=177280017838&rt=nc&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l170197&_ssn=ningbohante20231205

Recently I bought a very good Chinese, Jazz Bass neck, off Ebay, for £76 including postage. It arrived within about 10 days, all the way from China. I wasn't expecting much but it really is excellent. Even has a cheeky Fender decal on it. I've also spent a lot more from a company in the States, called Stratosphere, for a used, Japanese Fender Jazz Bass neck. It was also very good but it would cost you about £400/£500 these days with the cost of postage and duty. I'd go for the Chinese option if I were you.

I was at a jam, a few years ago, and a trio got up to play three U2 songs. The bassist proceeded to play slap bass over all three of them. It would have been hilarious if it wasn't so tragic.....

The other day I bought a Chinese Jazz Bass neck, on Ebay, for just over £70. It's a perfect replica of a Fender Jazz neck and has both a 70s style Decal and a made up USA serial number on the back. I seriously think it has made its way out the back door of a factory that makes necks for Fender in China. It looks and feels like it could have been taken straight off a Fender Player. Of course I have no plans to sell it, or any bass its connected, to as the real thing.

A Ping Ray?

Why didn't you tell me that before I sold my estate and bought a saloon. Double bass and Saloon car are not a good mix.

Setlist is always a very good idea. I tend to put the key next to the song title too.

I've owned 5 Japanese Fenders and all of them have been excellent. (including a Japanese Squier from 1992). They have a reputation as having excellent quality control. Whichever one you choose I'm pretty sure it will be excellent. I never needed to change the pickups, as the ones installed were pretty good.

In Scotland it's called 'Fur coat and nae knickers' .

At that price they'll be flying off the shelf 😁

I have an L2500 Tribute and it is the most versatile bass I've ever played. Enjoy the gig.

I'd try experimenting with the pre amp and see if you can shape the sound to your liking, before fitting new pickups.

I have friend who was a Bbc engineer and is also a bassist. He says the same thing about the shortage of engineers with live music experience within the BBC.

I imagine it must be difficult to judge what is coming from your headphones and what is coming from the stage. I also assume that it's difficult for the BBC to get the numbers of experienced engineers required to deal with so many live acts. I would guess they're mostly contractors, as this is not something the BBC does very often and I doubt there are many BBC employees who are used to engineering live music. When I listen to Chic in a few weeks I'm hoping the sound will have been remixed and the bass will magically appear.

I only listened to a couple of bands and the bass wasn't there. The band I watched first was Chic and I couldn't hear any bass whatsoever. I mean a sound engineer that mixes Chic with no bass, should hang their head in shame. And I was playing it through hi fi speakers.

It doesn't help that the sound, from the BBC, always sounds weak. I assume it's because they're just taking the live feed from the desk. I have noticed that the sound of many of the videos does get 'tweaked' and remixed at a later date. Which can restore stuff, like the missing bass and bring down the ridiculously prominent bass drum. Interesting discussion on reddit about the subject

I've owned three American basses. A 75 reissue American Vintage, a Deluxe Jazz (both now sold) and a Precision Elite. I bought the first two second hand and the Elite new. The RRP of the 75 reissue was about £2.5 k, when bought new, and the Elite cost me £1.9k. The two Jazzes played beautifully with very low action. Were they worth the money, if bought new? Well you can buy a less expensive bass and take it to a guitar tech who will get it to play fantastically. I have a parts Jazz, with a Korean Squier neck, and a vintage modified body, which has been set up really nicely and plays as good as my American Jazzes did. I own a Japanese Fender that also plays beautifully. So logically, buying American doesn't buy you a bass that plays better than a much cheaper instrument, so you may ask 'what's the point in spending so much more money?' . Is it kudos? Peer pressure? The American dream? I bought my American basses because I wanted a 'Real' Fender, not one of those copies from overseas (however good they might be). Ironically, when I bought my brand new Fender Elite it didn't have 'Made in the USA' on it, because, legally it isn't actually an American bass, as too many components are made overseas. These days Fender instruments have 'Corona California' stamped on them instead.

She used to have a band. I know her old drummer Debbie, who now plays with James and my niece's band . The all female band was drummer, electric guitarist and bass player which, visually, looked a lot better on stage. The last time I saw Charlie XCX, at Glastonbury, her stage show looked even worse, as she was on earlier in the day in daylight, so she didn't even have a light show - just her gyrating on the stage to pre-recorded tracks.

They missed out the shewee.....

Hmmm...... I put a set of Elixirs on a Jazz bass I have. I was practising some slap (a very rare thing for me) and noticed that the G string was very dull sounding. As the action wasn't great I took the neck off and inserted a shim in the neck pocket. When I put everything back together the G string sounded fine. I'm not sure what changed, possible something to do with string tension over the nut?

I have a John East J-Retro fitted to my Jazz Bass. I love a bit of low mid, which I feel gives punch and definition. When I go through a, front of house, PA I will turn up the low mids on my Jazz to prevent the sound engineer giving me a muddy sound out front. Of course I could change the whole character of my bass, with various options available with the J-Retro, but I mostly keep things pretty simple. I also like the ability to walk out into the room, while the band is playing, and change my tone to suit the room, without touching my amp controls.

I always feel an imminent gig usually concentrates players minds and gets them learning the set. That is, assuming they have a professional mindset in the first place and don't want to look like a fool and let everybody else down on the night.