NBD: American Vintage II 1966 Jazz

[wateroftyne]

Hey gang

 

For a while now I've been on the hunt for a J to use on my Eagles tribute gig. I picked this up a few days ago, and - ever-wary that you don't quite know what a bass really sounds like until you've gigged it - after a couple of shows I've happily torn the plastic film off the pickguard. It's absolutely lovely.

 

Light, resonant, even across the neck, and sits perfectly in the mix. A nice smooth top, with a lovely growl when you slide and dig in. Happy days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[risingson]

Really lovely. The subtle binding and lollipop tuners make it pop in an under the radar kind of way. 

[Lozz196]

Yep, great looking bass

[bubinga5]

Love these American RI basses. They play and sound amazing 🤩 

[wateroftyne]

12 minutes ago, bubinga5 said:

Love these American RI basses. They play and sound amazing 🤩 

They do. My only gripe is the near-invisible dot markers front-and-side on the others - thankfully not a thing on the ‘66.

[King Tut]

Nice!

[AlexDelores]

That is rather lovely! You’ve got a very, very nice collection of Jazzes now haven’t you? 
 

 

[Misdee]

That is indeed a very nice Jazz Bass. The sunburst on it is beautiful, nice and dark contrast with just the right amount of red. May you have a lot of fun playing it.

[spongebob]

Amazing basses. 👍 I’ve got the Sea Foam Green (bought from BC), and it’s lush. First Jazz I’ve ever really bonded with, and use the array of tones it has. 

[HeadlessBassist]

Didn't you buy a lovely looking Japanese Jazz in the Summer, WoT?

 

Lovely looking example of an AVII you have there! If you get a good one, the American Vintage/Original/Vintage II Jazzes are some of the very best around. I know what people mean about the side dot markers - the ones on my American Original just about disappear on a dark stage, but it's no real issue usually. It looks like yours has a single piece back, too. That always improves resonance. I've been very impressed by the '66 pickups (used a set in a custom build bass earlier this year and just bought some more for my MGCS/Aurok Walnut/Graphite Jazz build. Oh, and Lollipop tuners for the win! Congrats   

[danhkr]

Lovely pics! I have the same bass same colour - looks pretty much identical other than my case is dark red inside.

 

Mine is also light, just over 8lb. I wonder if that’s intentional on this model? By far the lightest Jazz I’ve played.  The unusual dot and bound look specific to 66 is very cool also. Hope you enjoy it 👍

[wateroftyne]

41 minutes ago, danhkr said:

Lovely pics! I have the same bass same colour - looks pretty much identical other than my case is dark red inside.

 

Mine is also light, just over 8lb. I wonder if that’s intentional on this model? By far the lightest Jazz I’ve played.  The unusual dot and bound look specific to 66 is very cool also. Hope you enjoy it 👍

Thanks! Re: the weight - possibly, but there’s one in a shop locally that (from memory) doesn’t feel particularly light.

 

incidentally, that same bass is virtually unplayable, and feel acoustically dead. It nearly put me off taking a chance on buying mine online, but I’m glad I did. The honeymoon period is over, and it’s still incredible.

 

it’s nice when that happens..:

[snorkie635]

Feel compelled to say that you've nabbed a beauty there my friend. I bet it sounds just wonderful (wipes drool off the i-Pad).

[Chienmortbb]

Randy And Timothy both used a variety of basses over the years but despite personally preferring a Precision bass to a Jazz, that does look lovely. 

[Linus27]

Gorgeous bass, I can see me getting one of these at some point.