discreet

If you want power, get a set of Alan Entwistle JBXN. Very punchy, supremely articulate and at around £42, not ludicrously expensive. I love mine.

19 hours ago, Marc S said:

I know Entwistle pickups are great... But what did you think of the original Squier pickups, in comparison?

Sorry, I didn't make it clear - the Entwistles are in my Bitsa Jazz, this Squier retains its stock pickups, which are good, and I won't be replacing them.

24 minutes ago, ahpook said:

You've given me GAS, you fiend !

Sorry about that. If you wait a few weeks it'll probably be up for sale, knowing me. 

20 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

Always thought these were a prime candidate for a status graphite neck.

I like the idea, but the stock neck and board are really good. A Status neck would surely be an upgrade, but would represent something of an investment... especially at this time of year what with the Festival of Madness in the offing... 

Just now, Billy Apple said:

I bet she wasn't even looking at the bass, but staring wistfully into the distance.. or something

She was actually 'watching' Eastenders  with earbuds in while looking at Instagram on her phone. 

6 minutes ago, Billy Apple said:

It looks very nice

Mrs Discreet said, 'That's nice, dear...'

7 hours ago, Marc S said:

I've had a couple of passive VM Squiers, and the stock pickups are OK - but I wondered how the active version of the pickups fared?

OH, and happy NBD by the way

Thank you sir... I didn't say much about the stock pickups - I have little information. I'm not sure the pickups themselves are active - just the 3-band EQ. However, they're more than up to the job. They don't seem to cancel each other out with the blend control in the centre position and there's very little extraneous noise. They're powerful enough and have that big, open single-coil punch and warmth. I won't be changing them.

I like the plain covers too, they obviate any possible OCD relating to having the strings exactly in line with the pole pieces...

It changes over time. Sometimes I'll listen only to classical, sometimes only to Americana, etc. At the moment I'm listening to a lot of stock/advertising music, mainly because I'm composing it. Last year I listened to a big shed full of Trance. Year before that, progressive and other 70s rock styles... on it goes.

PS: There seems to be an 'us' missing from the thread title.

NBD - Squier Deluxe Active Jazz IV *Revisited*

I had been very smug and pleased with myself for getting down to just the one bass, a Bitsa Jazz that I assembled from parts and finished myself. Hipshot, Gotoh, KiOgon… all proper premium components, no tat! Very happy with it and its powerful Entwistle JBXNs, which sounds really killer through my 1997 Trace GP7 715 150W combo.

BUT… dangerously, I allowed my mind to wander in an idle moment. What was the bass I most missed and most regretted moving on? Being absolutely honest with myself, it turned out to be (weirdly) a Squier Deluxe Active Jazz IV - which I bought and reviewed on this very board some four years ago and then sold, for a reason I can’t now remember. GAS, probably. So, as they’re not the world’s most expensive bass and as I was curious, I ordered one - an end-of-line display/demo model from Andertons.

Notable features include a three-band active EQ circuit and an Ebonol fingerboard. As I understand it, Ebonol is a phenolic polymer that mimics the qualities of ebony in that it is hard and dense…but is synthetic and thus completely impermeable. I like it a lot. It’s a slab board basically and renders the underlying maple neck very stable indeed. The neck plays well with practically no relief in it and allows a lower (and more buzz-free) action than I would otherwise entertain with a more conventional wooden board. The neck is arrow-straight and the fretwork is superb. And I mean £1000+ superb. Completely level frets and not even a hint of an edge anywhere. To find this quality on a bass that cost less than £300 is truly remarkable. This board is smooth and fast and this neck alone is worth the price of admission.

The controls comprise volume, pickup blend, stacked treble/bass and mid. There is also the so-called 'slap switch', essentially a mid-cut which boosts the lows and top end, ostensibly for slapping… I won’t be doing any of that, but it’s useful to have at your fingertips and in conjunction with the EQ allows for more tone-shaping options. The board radius is 12”, a little flat for me but I don't mind so much as the nut width and shallow neck are (unsurprisingly) very Jazz-like, so a flatter board suits me here. The bass feels good in the hand, isn't overly heavy (around 9lb) on the shoulder and balances well on the strap. It's effortless to play and after a few minutes the controls become completely intuitive and very easy to use. This bass punches WAY above its weight.

There are always negatives of course - the bridge and tuners are not premium quality - especially when juxtaposed with the Hipshot Ultralights and Gotoh 201B fitted to my Bitsa. The bridge is a generic Gotoh-alike high-mass top-load affair with saddle-screw runners - and does its job perfectly well. The ubiquitous budget ‘vintage’ clover-leaf tuners work smoothly enough and adequately hold the bass in tune, which is all you can reasonably expect, so no complaints yet. The treble/bass stacked pot is quite a bit taller than the other controls and I can imagine it taking a knock or two. The pots could be smoother and more positive in their action and the midway detentes could be more obvious. But I’m guessing Squier had to cut costs somewhere. These are minor niggles.

Would I use this as my main bass? With absolutely no hesitation, despite the fact I don’t much care for sunburst and especially not pickguard-free sunburst. But irrelevant cosmetic issues aside, it plays quite differently to my Bitsa Jazz and has WAY more tone options on tap. You can of course produce the generic vintage single-coil Jazz sound if you want it, but you can also quickly dial in more ‘modern’ sounds - and anything else you can think of - from fat, fingerstyle dub tones through clanky, gritty rock via hefty plectrum twang to full-on growl, burpy funk and mid-free hi-fi slap. It’s all in there. And you'd be very hard-pressed to tell the difference between this Indonesian Squier and a MIM Fender (or dare I say it, a MIA Fender) in a blind listening test. The Squier feels right, plays very nicely indeed and sounds fantastic. It’s essentially a wannabe boutique Super Jazz, but aimed at the budget-conscious entry-level buyer. Or those in my position - the seasoned (yet impecunious) overweight senior cheapskate-cynic.

But is it as good as I remember? Very much so, and in some ways it’s better. Four years have passed since I owned one and my priorities have changed, my playing has changed and I see things a little differently now, as I’m sure we all do. But I’m very happy to have this back in the fold. I did have a little fantasy about refinishing it in vintage white (and I may yet do so), tinting the headstock, applying an F-decal and fitting a guard. But I don’t want to drill new guard holes in the body, the decal thing is really only of interest to bass players and other idiots and frankly I’m getting a bit bored with the ‘identity’ thing. Name-band pro players regularly rock up sporting the S-decal and if it’s good enough for them, etc. So for the moment at least it’s going to do its thing completely stock and original as nature (and Squier) intended - apart from the new DR Nickel Lo-Riders I fitted. Hardly a modification, but a very positive improvement on the iffy strings that came with the bass. I can easily see it becoming a bit of a workhorse and it’s already a go-to instrument. It’s one of those basses you just can’t walk past without picking it up and playing it.

You won’t be surprised then if I recommend you add this particular arrow to your quiver - it can currently be got at a silly price, especially if you haggle - even if you’re not a Jazz person (and I'm not), you can’t fail to be impressed by the dead-straight and supremely playable neck, the smooth, hard and fast Ebonol board, the extremely versatile and intuitive EQ and the huge range of tones on offer. In short, it’s a bargain. But if you ARE up for it, get one ASAP - Squier seem to have discontinued this model and when they’re gone, they’re gone.

5 minutes ago, thebrig said:

I put an ad on Join My Band the following day and had two singers message me almost immediately (Friday), both saying how much they loved the sort of stuff we play and would love to audition with us (their words, not mine), so I replied to both of them straight away with a bit more info about the band, I also said we can set up auditions next week if they are still interested. It's now Monday and I've not heard a thing from either of them, I know they both read the messages on Friday because you can see on JMB when they read them, I don't mind if they've decided against it, but why could they not spend a minute or two replying to say they are no longer interested, then we can dismiss them as potential candidates and move on? This has happened so many times over years when seeking musicians, it would seem that courtesy doesn't exist much these days I'm afraid.

Deluded flakes. 1) Some will say they want to be in a band then take it no further; 2) some will join a band and take it no further; 3) some will join a band, rehearse, do the occasional gig and take it no further; 4) some will get fairly close (potential deal, touring, sacrifices and commitments looming) before taking it no further; 5) some will wait until they're actually in a successful band, get FOS (Fear Of Success) then take it no further.

You've experienced 1), which at least has the merit of wasting the least amount of time.

9 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

What could possibly go wrong?

Yes, what if you have to scratch your balls?

Or àrse?

Went along to a start-up originals audition once. The band were pretty good and (along with myself) had largely done their homework - except for the potential singer/guitarist/front man, who clearly was unable to fulfil any of those roles. It became obvious that he had made no effort to listen to any of the material, but this turned out to be irrelevant as he just plain couldn't sing, sounded as if he'd never ever picked up a guitar before and had all the charisma and personality of a canoe.

BUT he thought he was great! The band played the songs while he made a terrible howling noise like an aphasic drunk falling down an escalator with a cutlery drawer, gurning horribly and throwing weird stunted shapes like an arthritic gnome with terminal hemarroids. The band immediately avoided each other's gaze. Rarely have I been so embarrassed yet so wanted to laugh as never before. No-one stepped in to stop it, we just kept going on and on through the set. It was absolutely interminable.

We never met again, but later I heard he had persistently phoned the band leader pleading for the job, claiming he was obviously the best choice! And in the end actually got weird and threatening. Steps had to be taken. I've met some deluded flakes in my time - comes with the territory - but I won't forget this one in a hurry. 

Another day, another wiring kit, this time for my Bitsa Jazz - thus making my terrible soldering a thing of the past, which is where it belongs.

John also included a set of appropriate Jazz knobs, which is above and beyond the call of duty. A very neat job and next-day delivery. Can't recommend John enough. Order in complete confidence.

4 minutes ago, Bob Lord said:

I think blokes have something wired into them that makes them want to gather stuff.

Yes, whether it's eighteenth-century English drinking glasses, Japanese tin robot toys of the 50s and 60s or two-litre plastic bottles filled with our own urine, we do like to collect stuff - there's no doubt about it.

28 minutes ago, 12stringbassist said:

On the other hand, add in rubbish gear into the equation.

What yould you call rubbish gear, though? Back in the day there were definitely rubbish basses and amps that just plain didn't work or were simply unplayable. Just as there were new cars which were undriveable and were rusty before they were delivered to the showroom. Where is the modern equivalent? That is, besides Rickenbacker and Kia? 

16 minutes ago, BassTractor said:

.

Totally agree.

28 minutes ago, MacDaddy said:

We're a 3 piece no keys. It's noticeable! ☺

In that case, it's quite an ambitious choice of song...

Thanks. I won't find that out until the replacement gets here. I'll glue it again if I have to.

2 hours ago, Happy Jack said:

How long will your visit last? 

Yeah, when are you going home? 

4 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

A Trojan horse probably.

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts...

3 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

We are all uniquely different - ultimately we want to be good (or better) bass players. Some of us will get there purely through talent, many through sheer hard work and practise. Some of us like the familiarity of an “old friend” bass, others like the thrill of new kit and different sounds.

So you think I may finally have come to 'the end of gear'? Thank God, I can stop thinking about it!

3 minutes ago, Bridgehouse said:

Epsom, Newmarket, Ascot, Aintree... etc.

Yes yes, but which horse is good for metal??

27 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Turn up to a blues band sounding like JJ Burnell or Chris Squire and you're going to be an ex-bass player pretty quickly. This is why I think there are far more important factors involved than achieving the "sound in your head".

Quite, and in any case 'the sound in your head' is a chimera in most cases. It can't easily be translated, delineated, replicated, easily-achieved or even described. If it were, everyone would agree on what it was and it we would have found the combination of gear that can provide it ages ago!

Enough of this, I'm off to find some more rocking-horse poo and hen's teeth...

On 08/11/2018 at 12:14, MacDaddy said:

Does it matter for the punters? I think so, they may not know why 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' doesn't sound as good played on a normal 4 string - no drop D - but they will notice.

Everything else being equal, i.e. if the band plays that song very close to the original, I'm not so sure they would notice...

On 08/11/2018 at 12:14, MacDaddy said:

Same as the metal solo's I needed a 2 octave neck for. The punters will hear the difference if they are played an octave lower.

That's more understandable... a difference of an octave probably would be noticeable.

1 minute ago, Maude said:

We yes, but apart from buy for yourself, play for the audience, play for the song, the aquaduct and sanitation, what have the Romans ever done for us? 

They brought peace?

17 minutes ago, Deedee said:

They’re real workhorses and built like tanks. Was a shame that they didn’t have a built in DI.

I always carry a BDI-21, so not much of a hindrance. Most sound guys prefer to use their own DI boxes anyway. And IIRC, the TNT160 is really bloody loud for 160W. Maybe Peavey borrowed some 'Trace watts' for it.

Now I want to drag the TNT160 out from under the stairs and check it out. I've given myself GAS for a combo I've already got!