NGD Fender Modern Player Jazz Bass
 

Yeah yeah... here's a crummy online photo and I'll give you another when I get home.



I had been jonesing for a Jazz for a long time but was concerned about ordering blind. I started with the American Standard J with the custom shop pickups and bounced around from one to the next. I tried 3 or 4 Americans, a MIM, a 70s, a few Squiers and two MPs

I ended up trying about 15 different basses and my head was spinning.

Eventually, I settled on the MP because:

1) I actually liked the noiseless bassier pickups, which I think will work well for real jazz walking lines

2) It was one of the lighter instruments I played

3) I liked the stained aged finish -- even though I never thought I'd be a big fan of heavy coated necks, it seems to work for me

4) The neck felt a bit slimmer to my hand than the other basses I played

5) It didn't have a Squier logo (haha...!)

6) If I decided that I wanted to move toward a traditional Jazz pickup setup, swapping a pickguard and pickups is relatively cheap and then I'm looking at a better "sounding" setup than just about anything if I need it

Overall, I was really pleased with the fine instrument. I ended up walking out at $400 + tax, which was a screaming deal in my view for such a fine instrument.

I would add that I am consistently amazed at how poorly setup many basses are at GC -- it's a dreadful shame as it makes it very challenging to actually test an instrument.

So onto a broader topic, having played all those basses and become really pleased with the end result, I find it increasingly challenging to spend more than $1000 on an instrument. Even when I am luckily able to drop $1-3k on a bass, I find the stuff at the lower end to be of fantastic quality these days. I also deeply appreciate the ability to not sweat scratches or upgrades because you're dealing with a much cheaper bass.

I think we're all very lucky to be able to get such fine instruments for such low amounts. I had the same experience two years ago when I was ready to buy a $2k custom shop and walked out with a Schecter.

What a nut case!!!

PS -- not that I intend it, but what kind of replacement pickups fit into the pickguard here?

$400 + tax was a sweet deal, yeah. But how swappable are those pickups? Are there any aftermarket pickups that will drop in?

I really didn't think much about it.

My view is that if I can't STAND the pickups, I can buy a new pickguard and a whole new set up -- worst case.

What about the bridge pickup? there's going to be a big gap with normal jazz pickups.

I have a MP Jazz. I enjoy the way it feels on the neck and I like the versatility of the tone. I've not been playing it since I got a Thumb this month, however, but that's not because there's anything wrong with the MP. I think you can't beat it for the price.

There are a couple of pick ups that seem they would fit, though I never went so far as to actually try to fit them in.

This one maybe: http://www.sgd-lutherie.com/pages/ND3-DLX.html

He's got a few others that size with different characteristics.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Truth is that I've never expected a lot from my pickups other than a workable bassy neutral tone. I play with flatwounds and a mute in jazz settings so I just need something workable through the amp. My fingers/pick do the hard work.

The pickups sounded great to me through the various stuff they had on the floor at GC and I doubt this'll be an issue -- look forward to gigging it!

Build a rail that the new pickup can sit on & be adjustable as to where it sits in relation to the bridge. ^_^

If you really need to replace the pickups there are a number of pickup makers out there. SGD Lutherie makes replacement pups in shells like those.