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Mass produced or Hand Made Bass?


baseline9
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Hello,
In March I will have enough cash saved up to purchase a 2nd bass (Around £750), my main reasonings for this...

1. I want a 2nd bass on stage in case anything goes t£$%s up!
2. I currently have a classic Music Man which is a great active, punchy, funky sounding bass but would also like a good passive sounding bass for those songs that require more growl and classic tone.
3. The 2nd bass will also give me more versatility in the recording studio

So... up to now i'm really thinking about getting a fender Jazz which having played friends i know it will deliver what I'm after - there a great asset to have.
However I have another option - I know a local Luthier with a very good reputation who for the same price will build me a hand made bass with the straight thru neck and passive electronics.
Basically I was hoping to get other folks opinions, thoughts and experiences before deciding what to do...

Many thanks!
Mikey.

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IMO, I would stick with the Fender. Unless you know what you are getting EXACTLY, and the actual re-sale value of the custom, then stick with the easier option. Just make sure you shop around. As I have experienced, almost all Fender's need a check over for quality. From buying over the past 15 years or so, and in particular the last 3 years with the improved American Standards, its 50:50 roughly as to whether you get a good one with decent paint, not too high a weight, good pickup/string/neck alignment, etc.

Apart from the odd hickup I've experienced (and one of them nothing to do with EBMM), Musicman basses like your Ray are much much higher quality than Fender. I've owned/kept/sold on (all together) around 15 Musicman basses, and when you get a good one they are mindblowing in quality terms compared to a Fender.

Edited by Musicman20
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If your luthier is a friend, and you want to do him a favour or you perhaps think the bass built by him will acquire sentimental value, then fine - go with him.

If you're a practical bass-player, likely to trade and replace kit over time, then just be aware that you will almost certainly lose the great majority of the value if you buy from a relatively unknown luthier.

That's NOT a problem unless you want it to be. I've bought handmade basses here on Basschat knowing that I would lose money when I came to sell ... my decision.

If the local luthier you know happens to be Jon Shuker or someone of that ilk, different ballgame.

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I would stick with the Fender personally unless the luthier is Jon Shuker.

If Jon Shuker then you need to ask the question, do you want a bass that will be a brillaint working bass (Fender) with possibly some imperfections (my Fender's are perfect by the way) and will have a decent re-sale value or do you want a bass (Shuker) that will be beautifully made in every way that wont have as much re-sale value.

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I'm not sure you should be looking at a Fender Jazz as a back-up bass to a Stingray, apples and oranges - fair enough if you just want to take 2 basses along for diversity though... which leads us neatly by default to option B - your luthier. He should be able to build you something that can do both sounds - in this case a J/MM is relatively easy...

... and then you have the 'ray as a back-up to your custom.... at least the for tunes that you want a 'ray sound for. :D

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Must admit, any kind of backup bass to me has to be able to produce a very near sound to the one it is backing up. So for me, in the case above, is a Jazz any good at sounding like a Ray? If not, go for the handmade, and get something which will be unique to you, and that you`ll treasure - and make sure it has a Ray type pickup!

Edited by Lozz196
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I used to live in Macc, whos the luthier?

You could go with both and get him to build you a Fender copy. I personally wouldn't use a Passive Fender Jazz Bass as a backup on stage to an Active Stingray though - they are totally different in sound and volume and you'll have to re-set your amp and any pedals - which if things have just gone t@%ts up on stage is not ideal. I speak from experience here.

I resisted playing Fenders for years and years but now I'm converted. I can get my Jazz bass to sound pretty close to a MM, but not the other way around!

Maybe you could get your luthier to build a hybrid with a MM pickup with coil tap and a Jazz pickup on the neck position. Then you can have both!

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[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1329408068' post='1542054']

If you're a practical bass-player, likely to trade and replace kit over time, then just be aware that you will almost certainly lose the great majority of the value if you buy from a relatively unknown luthier.

[/quote]

That's a valid point. Custom hand made basses from unknown luthiers are very difficult to sell on for a decent price. Just search on eBay and see how many hand made basses done by hobbiests are selling for peanuts.

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[quote name='Mylkinut' timestamp='1329451504' post='1542713']
If you go down the mass-produced route, a Sandberg JM4 might be a better bet than the Fender - Jazz looks but with a J/MM pickup arrangement. It'd cover the 'Ray a bit better at least. Easily bought second hand for less than £750.
[/quote]

Theres one of those on here at present:

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/167738-fsft-sandberg-jm4-natural-with-blocks-l550-price-drop/

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There's this little beastie available at the moment, I can't speak for quality as I've never tried one but it definitely looks the part if you're gassing for a Jazz!

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/64519-buscanti-newport-serial-7014-new-lowered-price-l615/page__pid__635861#entry635861"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/64519-buscanti-newport-serial-7014-new-lowered-price-l615/page__pid__635861#entry635861[/url]

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Excellent - thank you for all the replies - I never thought of things like re-sale value etc.. so def food for thought.

Apologies I prob put the order of reasons wrong at the top - I def want a 2nd bass for a different sound from the music man and a Jazz would really kick ass on some of our newer songs - finally it is a safety net in case anything goes wrong, touch wood but in 15 yrs my music man has never let me down apart from the odd snapped string.

The Luthier is called Warick Stevenson - he is very good.

PS this is a very nice dilema to have, i'm very lucky
Kind Reagrds.

Edited by baseline9
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Hand made may be nice, but it's a bit of an uncertainty, and resale value would make you cry. I'd buy a mass produced bass.


As a back up, purely, I'd go for another Stingray, or a SUB actually... I love those, which would leave a lot of cash untouched from your budget.

But if you want more diversity, and you mention the Jazz and passive sound... it sounds like your idea of a Fender Jazz is a good one. Or maybe consider a G&L? An L2000 should be achievable, certainly a "Tribute series" one. They don't sound like a Jazz, or a Precision, or a Stingray... but it gives you sounds that would not feel out of place if you want a jazzlike or precisionlike sound etc, yet it's a different thing and sounds great (passive, with a switchable preamp option, plus a series/parallel switch).

If it has to be a Jazz, then a Jazz it is. If not, do consider an L2000.

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[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1329507992' post='1543715']
Knew I'd heard that name before...

[url="http://www.classicandcoolguitars.co.uk/basses/warwickstevenson6string.htm"]http://www.classican...nson6string.htm[/url]
[/quote]

That looks like a lot of bass for £800 which shows you should be wary of resale value of custom basses.

On the other hand, that looks like a lot of bass for £800 :)

Edited by Fat Rich
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I've played that bass - I remember when he made it :) For a very short period of time I worked in a music shop in Mac and it was up for sale in there, so on lunch time I could not resist and had a go.

He's a top bloke Warwick - today I always go to him for any setups or repairs, I'm about to ask him to do the internation on my Taylor poohstick.

PS. my mates got one of these cost him around £750 / £800, mmm am not sure about this web site tho - seems too good to be true....

[url="http://oneclickmultimedia.net/product/fender-geddy-lee-jazz-bass/"]http://oneclickmulti...-lee-jazz-bass/[/url]

Cheers.

Edited by baseline9
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