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Just pulled the trigger

#8
Delivered! I had the bass delivered to my mom's house because she is always home and could sign for it. I'll have it in my hands this evening after work and then will dive into my new Jaco Pastorius Bass Method book. I am on my way to becoming a Jaco clone, sort of. ;-) I am pretty psyched to have a J again. I hope I like it as much as others seem to. I have some fun gigs coming up soon too.

Bob
 
#10
Got it in my hands now and am very happy. Sounds old, looks old, feels old, smells old.
I don't know what strings are on it. Rounds with black silk. They seem a bit old too but I like that in a round wound. I'll probably get a set of D'addario half rounds or yank the Sun Beams off my Squier P. Any other string suggestions for an "old" J?
Thinking about shimming the neck but will wait and see after a week or two. Bob.
 
#11
bassdog said:
Got it in my hands now and am very happy. Sounds old, looks old, feels old, smells old.
I don't know what strings are on it. Rounds with black silk. They seem a bit old too but I like that in a round wound. I'll probably get a set of D'addario half rounds or yank the Sun Beams off my Squier P. Any other string suggestions for an "old" J?
Click to expand...

TI flats.
 
#15
So the saddles were pretty low and the bass was playing a bit higher than I like. I shimmed with a piece of sand paper and got the saddles in a more moderate position but the action is still a tad higher than I would like and there is some buzzing above the 12 fret on the A and D strings mainly. Not sure what to do about it.

This morning I put a 1/8 turn of tension the rod to flatten the neck and find a good starting point for action. Of course the buzzing got a little worse so I raised the saddles a tad to compensate. There is very little relief in the neck at this time. Then it was time to go to work this morning. Can I get some suggestions from the TB world please?
 
#16
bassdog said:
So the saddles were pretty low and the bass was playing a bit higher than I like. I shimmed with a piece of sand paper and got the saddles in a more moderate position but the action is still a tad higher than I would like and there is some buzzing above the 12 fret on the A and D strings mainly. Not sure what to do about it.

This morning I put a 1/8 turn of tension the rod to flatten the neck and find a good starting point for action. Of course the buzzing got a little worse so I raised the saddles a tad to compensate. There is very little relief in the neck at this time. Then it was time to go to work this morning. Can I get some suggestions from the TB world please?
Click to expand...

A little fret work on those above the 12th is not unusual. Just saying... ;)
 
#18
So I had this bass looked at by a luthier and, just as I thought/knew, the neck has issues. There is a hump on the E side and a dip on the G side. Setup that I would be happy with could not be achieved. $50setup charge too! Now begins the process of dealing with the seller and trying to get my money back from a guy who has a no returns policy. Roadworn Jazz gas is over and not for the right reason. Live and learn. :-(

Thing is I want another Jazz bass before I am too old to have fun with it. The lightless and look of the RW was a selling point. Maybe I should be thinking of a used MIM and do pup and tronics upgrade instead.

Bob
 
#19
bassdog said:
So I had this bass looked at by a luthier and, just as I thought/knew, the neck has issues. There is a hump on the E side and a dip on the G side. Setup that I would be happy with could not be achieved. $50setup charge too! Now begins the process of dealing with the seller and trying to get my money back from a guy who has a no returns policy. Roadworn Jazz gas is over and not for the right reason. Live and learn. :-(

Thing is I want another Jazz bass before I am too old to have fun with it. The lightless and look of the RW was a selling point. Maybe I should be thinking of a used MIM and do pup and tronics upgrade instead.

Bob
Click to expand...

Before you just get rid of it, you may want to consider just buying an aftermarket replacement neck. That's the beauty of Fenders, the necks are bolt-ons and every major aftermarket company makes necks that are compatible.

Sure it's a little more money and you just spent a good deal for the bass, but you can buy a Warmoth (and get exactly the wood combination you want) or Allparts neck for around $300 or go a little cheaper and get a Mighty Mite neck for $100 and just use the existing hardware that you have on the current neck.

I'm kind of a "customizer" of my gear and swap necks and electronics all the time, sometimes just to experiment. It makes the instrument feel more like your "signature model", IMO.

Just a thought if you can't return it for a full refund...
 

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