I picked this up about two months ago. I demoed a Blacktop Precision and wasn't completely impressed. It had a very modern scooped sound and the one I was checking out had a wiring issue. The guy at the store said he could have a Blacktop Jazz in the store in a couple hours so I told him to go for it. The bass has a very traditional Jazz feel to it. Classic thin Jazz neck (with the thick glossy finish that most don't like) and a middle-weight feel overall. The black finish is very well done but the pickguard is prone to scratches. Soundwise, it is rather unique. Both pickups even yields a very Jazz-like tone. The neck pickup solo is neither Jazz nor Precision, but definitely closer in tone to a Precision. The bridge solo is very nasal. There is a wide variety of tones available by mixing and matching the pickup volumes. My only gripe is that the tone control has little effect for about the first two-thirds of travel. I'm debating either putting a stacked control plate or Audere in for more tonal control. Then I play it through my Ashdown Little Bastard 30/Peavey 410TVX rig and think "Who needs a tone control?
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Kevin Johnson
"The music does not exist to serve you; you exist to serve the music."
Picked mine up a month ago and played it exclusively until a Lakland 55-01 arrived on my doorstep last Wednesday. Still plan on using it with my classic rock band. It really sits well in the mix and provides a nice variety of tones for a $500 off the rack bass.
