Fazley bargain

[HeadlessBassist]

12 hours ago, soulstar89 said:

Oh sweet. 
 

genuinely you should. They are  both £2200 though, pit of my price range atm.  Sold as new as the seller left them in the box. I went for the ash body maple neck but the rosewood fretboard and ash body played miles  better in the hand and was so dynamic which confused me. The maple fretboard one didn’t play well imo. It was like I was fighting the neck. 
 

 

Ah yes, the Dave Swift owned one. Very nice basses, they were.

 

I had the Jazz version with the FSR hand oil stained finish. They were based on the American Standard 2012, but had the 2008 pickups, which were better sounding. I shouldn't have sold mine earlier this year. It had a hugely focused modern punch, quite unlike most other Jazzes.

[Mudpup]

18 hours ago, soulstar89 said:

Great find. Need to find a shop with great deals on strings. This site has some on Dunlop and sadowsky, looking for ghs and la bella also 

They've got Warwick Red 5 string sets for £3.84 as well. They're actually ok too. And rumour has it that the Sadowskys are just rebranded Warwicks.

 

If you want DR strings try Strings and Beyond. They have 25% off until the New Year and they're cheaper than over here to start with. Even with shipping it's a chunk less.

Edited December 30, 2025 by Mudpup

[soulstar89]

32 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

They've got Warwick Red 5 string sets for £3.84 as well. They're actually ok too. And rumour has it that the Sadowskys are just rebranded Warwicks.

 

If you want DR strings try Strings and Beyond. They have 25% off until the New Year and they're cheaper than over here to start with. Even with shipping it's a chunk less.

 Cheers for the heads up bud. I did see the sadowsky strings. They have silver, blue and black label. I’ll check the Warwick also.  

[soulstar89]

4 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

Ah yes, the Dave Swift owned one. Very nice basses, they were.

 

I had the Jazz version with the FSR hand oil stained finish. They were based on the American Standard 2012, but had the 2008 pickups, which were better sounding. I shouldn't have sold mine earlier this year. It had a hugely focused modern punch, quite unlike most other Jazzes.

Interesting. I wonder if the oil finish rather than paint plays a role.  Started on a p bass and have just stuck with them. Now when I improvise what comes out is more chordal melodic phases. Maybe now a slimmer neck and a warm sounding bridge pick-up is needed. 

Edited December 30, 2025 by soulstar89

[HeadlessBassist]

21 minutes ago, soulstar89 said:

Interesting. I wonder if the oil finish rather than paint plays a role.  Started on a p bass and have just stuck with them. Now when I improvise what comes out is more chordal melodic phases. Maybe now a slimmer neck and a warm sounding bridge pick-up is needed. 

 

Yes, the open pore hand stained oil finish may have an impact, similar to how the Nitro Cellulose finish basses always sound more open and alive, as it were.

[MichaelDean]

Shipped! Fingers crossed for Friday!

[HeadlessBassist]

9 minutes ago, MichaelDean said:

Shipped! Fingers crossed for Friday!

 

Hopefully mine will arrive tomorrow - depends on how efficient Royal Mail are... 🤔

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, MichaelDean said:

Shipped! Fingers crossed for Friday!

 

1 hour ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

Hopefully mine will arrive tomorrow - depends on how efficient Royal Mail are... 🤔

🤞

[MichaelDean]

I saw on Instagram that @Goliath_FX has had one arrive! Any first impressions? It looked cool!

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DS5j34ODfAm/?igsh=MmxnbHZuMnJlN3Fr

[MichaelDean]

On 30/12/2025 at 16:46, HeadlessBassist said:

 

Hopefully mine will arrive tomorrow - depends on how efficient Royal Mail are... 🤔

How efficient have they been?

[HeadlessBassist]

6 hours ago, MichaelDean said:

How efficient have they been?

 

As good as their word. It came this afternoon while I was doing a NYE Cello Duo Gig with an ex-pupil, so I'm just home...

 

Okay, first I need to introduce The Judge from the Fazley Outlaw Series, aka "Kermit The Bass".

 

So the hand oiled finish is about the worst shade of green you could possibly imagine, more like Ford Signal Green that you used to get on Escort Mk2s. But hey, it's only £63. About that £63... Look at the neck pocket fit and finish. I have £2k Fenders that aren't as well finished as this bass. I've a good mind to phone Bax and ask them if I owe them any more money?! Fit and finish is amazing for the money, even at the near £300 they should normally be. The roasted maple fingerboard is finished very well too. Frets are all properly seated with no sharp edges whatsoever, and the fingerboard edges are totally smooth, if not actually rolled. The ash body is a little lacking in grain, but hey, £63. Setup is almost bang on as well. It'll just need a slight tweak of the truss rod tomorrow. I haven't plugged it in yet, but so far I can't see any penny pinching as such. Even the tuners are the same quality as a Sire. Watch this space...

[Geek99]

On 29/12/2025 at 16:36, police squad said:

oops, bought one of these too

experiment you understand

A perverted one, you closet guitard  

[HeadlessBassist]

Well, it's now all set up and the only thing I have to complain about is the strings. They're supposedly D'addario sets, but they were pretty lifeless and the E was a dud with a nasty overtone. No problem! I bought a couple of Warwick Red Label 35-95 sets in the Black Friday sales for £8 each, so I've put those on it, and it sings. The pickups (whatever they are) produce a deep and toneful bottom end, and a clear, but in no way nasty top end. It's a low and fast funk machine now. This will make someone a fine bass. Total spend, £71. 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by HeadlessBassist

[Woodinblack]

On 30/12/2025 at 20:34, MichaelDean said:

I saw on Instagram that @Goliath_FX has had one arrive! Any first impressions? It looked cool!

 

£69? He was done!

[MichaelDean]

1 hour ago, HeadlessBassist said:

Well, it's now all set up and the only thing I have to complain about is the strings. They're supposedly D'addario sets, but they were pretty lifeless and the E was a dud with a nasty overtone. No problem! I bought a couple of Warwick Red Label 35-95 sets in the Black Friday sales for £8 each, so I've put those on it, and it sings. The pickups (whatever they are) produce a deep and toneful bottom end, and a clear, but in no way nasty top end. It's a low and fast funk machine now. This will make someone a fine bass. Total spend, £71. 

 

Well, it's a good job I added a new set of string to the order then! Looks great!

[BTops]

2 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

Well, it's now all set up and the only thing I have to complain about is the strings. They're supposedly D'addario sets, but they were pretty lifeless and the E was a dud with a nasty overtone. No problem! I bought a couple of Warwick Red Label 35-95 sets in the Black Friday sales for £8 each, so I've put those on it, and it sings. The pickups (whatever they are) produce a deep and toneful bottom end, and a clear, but in no way nasty top end. It's a low and fast funk machine now. This will make someone a fine bass. Total spend, £71. 

 

Hows it compare to the fender? As they're side by side there. Feel, weight, sound etc.

[HeadlessBassist]

20 minutes ago, BTops said:

Hows it compare to the fender? As they're side by side there. Feel, weight, sound etc.

 

Comparing it to the American Elite was never going to be a fair comparison, as the Elite is the best of the Fender American Deluxe lineage with an 18V preamp onboard. But I have compared it to a prototype Nitro Okoume Jazz with roasted maple neck/fingerboard that Silky999 built, which has Fender Pure Vintage 66 pickups in it, and it's not far behind. Obviously the cheap Fazley pickups aren't going to be as rich sounding as the Fender ones, but it has a nice Jazz bass scooped sound and it's very nice to play.

Edited 47 minutes ago by HeadlessBassist