Looking at new "Jazz" basses - I am not impressed...

[moten33]

Originally Posted by ShowLow

I would humbly suggest getting your hands on a MIM FSR Natural Ash J Bass from GC or MF, or any MIJ Fender jazz. Could be challenging from Europe to get MIM product, so perhaps MIJ is easier?

My little super-inexpensive MIM FSR natural ash Jazz really sings even with the stock Fender strings. Sustain is incredibly long. Ditto my MIJ '70s Jazz with La Bella rounds.

Don't give up! "The One" is out there...and finding her is half the fun. Though it does distract from practicing.

I love my MIM FSR Natural Ash Jazz. I have bought many other basses since I got it and always come back to this one.

[ksandvik]

Sometimes I think a good bass could even handle bad strings when you initially test it.... I was looking around for a new Fender MIA jazz bass a year ago and I was neither that impressed. They were OK but not 'wow, here's my credit card I need to run home with this one' purchases. Think even with all the automation in place, bass guitars are still hit-and-miss, some are great, some not. And you always need to go out and try various similar bass guitars.

[unclejane]

Originally Posted by AlexanderB

What I want is a traditional four string, two passive single coils....
...
They all sound "dead" - no resonanse, no "life" to the tone, many with pronounced dead spot issues to boot.

Well duh... You're restricted yourself to just single-coil jazz bass style pickups, then complain that all those basses sound dead... Coulda told you that before you started!

But seriously, if you lift the single-coil restriction, your chances of getting something that sounds better is going to be much higher. I.e. don't rule out humbuckers, etc. Just try them all and see which gives the sound you need.

It could be a big old musicman style humbucker might do the job.

I've also found single-coil jazz style pickups to be pretty thin and dead sounding, so you're not alone...

Or will a current, dead-ish Jazz develop into a more resonant instrument by use and time?

There's a saying: "a leopard never changes his spots". A dead jazz bass will always sound like a dead jazz bass forever until its death...

LS

[smeet]

Have you tried the 2012 MIA Fenders? My 2012 Am Std P5 is so resonant it was startling at first, and it is even all over the neck, both with rounds and flats. It is MUCH MUCH nicer than the 2008 P5 I had previously. And it has a great sounding and feeling low B string. It has a (apparently) one-piece body, and the new thinner finish might help with the resonance.

That said, I have a 2000 '62 RI Jazz that has a midrange focus that is very different than the modern basses, and maybe that's what you are missing. Carey Nordstrand took a look at the pickups and said they are way overwound, to the point where it wouldn't even fit in the casings of most modern pickups.

[ChadPaulJones]

AlexanderB - The 2012 American Standard Jazz with Custom 60's pickups are fantastic. I've owned a number of basses over the years (some much more expensive) and this one blows them away. I never thought I'd be off the pre-amp bandwagon, but passive is the way to go. Do yourself a favor and try a couple more 2012's and I'm sure you'll find one that resonates with you.

[Mike M.]

Each to thier own and that's fine. But in my VERY humble opinion....my patience and persistance must have paid off for me with my two American Standard Jazz basses. I've got a 5 string string I bought in December 2011 and a 4 string that I bought a few weeks ago. Spent a long time looking, playing and comparing before making each purchase. Can't tell you how many basses I tried out that were in all price ranges. Yes, there's a lot of good ones out there, some not so good and like anything else, you know when you've found the one.

But who knows....as much as these basses agree with me some of you could play my basses and not like them at all and that's fair. What works for one person may not work for the other.

[TomB]

Have you looked at G&L basses? IME they excel in the aspects you mention, and overall quality & value is high. I know some parts of Europe have lots, not sure about your part. For instance, in your price range:

FS: G&L JB bass-custom color

[coldwar1977]

+1 for Lakland !

True story: some time ago, I went out to buy me a new "real" Precision bass and tried 5(!) different USA Fenders side by side in my local music store...
I was disappointed as imho not a single one of them sounded that great to me...
Eventually I left with a Lakland Skyline 44-64 "vintage P" because I liked it so much better!! Nicer tone with more balls, great neck, beautiful wood grain, flawless fretwork, same price (over here in Belgium that is).

[Wally Malone]

Originally Posted by ChadPaulJones

AlexanderB - The 2012 American Standard Jazz with Custom 60's pickups are fantastic. I've owned a number of basses over the years (some much more expensive) and this one blows them away. I never thought I'd be off the pre-amp bandwagon, but passive is the way to go. Do yourself a favor and try a couple more 2012's and I'm sure you'll find one that resonates with you.

I recently got a 2012 American Standard Jazz, the first Fender I've owned in over 25 years, and really liking it. It's also the first passive bass I've had in the long as well. As others have stated, play all you can get your hands on until one speaks to you. This was the same in the 70's when I purchased a P bass and played over a half dozen before making a decision. In those days they actually had that many of the same model in stock.

Wally

[iconic]

all those bass's and an RBX4-A2 that was lifeless.....

Sure it wasn't the amp!

[AlexanderB]

Thanks for all the comments! It seems that some (discriminating) people here know exactly what I mean!

I even brought a couple of the basses home with me and spent more time with then (including a full setup); the Geddy Lee and the RBX4 A2.
The Geddy Lee (MIJ) developed a dead spot in the common position + a truss rod rattle once I set the relief to Fender's spec. (It was way off from the box.) The neck also had a mild case of ski-jump so the strings could not be lowered to spec (where is where I prefer them) without rattling when playing the upper frets. Neck was very unstable and flexed a lot. My JV neck is only slightly thicker but much stiffer in comparison.

RBX4 A2 is a very intresting instrument. Open strings sound very good and sustain well, fretted notes up to fifth, sixth fret still sound good but then the tone gets gradually duller and worse. It is also suffers from dead-ish spots/range in the same style many Fender Jazzes do. Not just at the G-string but the corresponding notes on D and A. In general the bass sounded more and more bland the higher notes one played. Bottom end and low mids were also much less authoritative than any Fender I have heard.

Both the GL and Yamaha had a different voicing of the PU than I prefer. To "throaty" and dark, especially compared to the 2012 Jazzes. Those CS PU are good - I really agree with you on that.

By the way, I did also try the MIM 60s Classic and felt it equally lacking.

I guess I will try to find a second hand G&L or Lakland then. Or to look for a vintage Squier or Fender.

[AlexanderB]

Stingrays are nice, BTW but not the right thing for me now. Spector? Well ir I EVER see one in a shop I can try it...

[unclejane]

Also remember dead spots are normal on any wood bass. You're going to find them usually on the A, B or C positions on the G string on 4 strings and a little further up on 5 and 6's.
Some will be deader than others, but virtually all will have dead spots.

So you're not going to get away from that unless you go with a different material, like composite.

In fact, the only bass I've ever played that didn't have any dead spots at all was the Steinberger XL2. And it was a solid piece of plastic.

Basically, don't worry about it, since there's not much you can do about it without really spending a fortune..

LS

[jlepre]

Originally Posted by AlexanderB

Stingrays are nice, BTW but not the right thing for me now. Spector? Well ir I EVER see one in a shop I can try it...

I was talking about a Sterling, NOT a Stingray. The Sterling has a thinner neck.

[Malak the Mad]

It may not fit what you want as far as pickups go, but have you had a chance to try out an Aerodyne Jazz? I'll admit, I'm very partial to it for many personal reasons, but I won't say "There is no other choice!" when making opinion-based suggestions.

That being said, see if there are any in your area. If so, try one out. In the case of mine, the neck is incredibly smooth and responsive, perhaps due to the tighter fretboard radius (7.25"/18.41cm vs. the standard 9.5"/24.1cm). Also, I get a lot of great variety of tone and sound out of the Precision/Jazz pickup configuration (another personal favorite o' mine). And last, but not least, it is a super-sexy looking bass while still keeping to a minimalist esthetic I love.



Oh, and it's very light, if weight is a consideration. (8.5lbs./3.56kg)

Beyond all that jazz, strings can make an incredible difference in how a bass feels and sounds. I almost sold off a bass because of the weak sound I was getting out of it. But before I committed to that, I tried out a different set of strings first and it made all the difference in the world. However, what kind of strings "work best for you" is entirely up to you and your personal sense of sound and tone.

Happy Hunting! Let us know what you decide on and post some pics!!

[BklynBassman]

Want a new Jazz bass that sings ?
http://johnkvintageguitars.homestead.com/index.html

[Kryptos]

Sandberg makes very nice instrument, take a look at California MarloweDK:

http://www.sandberg-guitars.com/bass...series/calmadk

or California TT:

http://www.sandberg-guitars.com/bass...t-series/caltt

Sandberg has a number of dealers in Sweden:

http://www.sandberg-guitars.com/sandberg-retailer

Good luck.

[BklynBassman]

Want a new Jazz bass that sings ?
http://johnkvintageguitars.homestead.com/index.html

[pocketgroove]

Originally Posted by BklynBassman

Want a new Jazz bass that sings ?
http://johnkvintageguitars.homestead.com/index.html

I'm really curious about the John K instruments and they look really great; I was planning on saving for a Fender American Standard, but I'm really tempted by John K's instruments, even though it would take twice as long to save up for on my meager wage

[jlepre]

can you say SPAM?