I cannot help you with your decision; however, I can provide you with this piece of information. Fender prices are apparently going to increase by 10 to 15% in 2023 in Australia. This is being promoted on the website of one of the major bass guitar retailers in Australia. I do not know if the price increase applies anywhere else in the world other than Australia. If it applies to your country, then best bass you can buy is the one that comes before the price increase.
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Advice on Fender Jazz decision
- Thread starter sharkbarf
- Start date
Aha! That would describe my left hand technique. Maybe that why I much prefer Modern C over all other shapes.
My hands are huge so I don't mind tbh, I guess I'd feel It on 5+ strings. I'm just nerd to know this stuff and tried them all
Really appreciating all the feedback and info from you all. Very interesting neck profile discussion. Maybe I'm more on the "schooled/classical/technical" end of the technique spectrum because I find the modern C on my Player really comfortable. My thumb position changes a lot based on where on the neck/strings I'm playing, but it always feels pretty natural with the Player. I used to play an Ibanez BTB 4 string, which feels wider and flatter, maybe like a Fender D, and it felt a lot harder for me to play. Seems like all except the really expensive new Jazz basses have C necks? Also makes me really want to try the "slim C" on the Pro II before biting that bullet. Anyone have thoughts on the slim-c vs modern c? How noticeable is the slimming?
So far what I'm gleaming from all this is that the individual instrument usually matters more than whatever model it is: many people seem to be happy with all the models I mentioned (personal preferences). And if I can't find a local instrument to get in person, Sweetwater seems like a good alternative with their customer service and individual photos. Also - way more votes for the Am Pro II so far.
After all that, the Highway One on Reverb is still calling to me. I messaged the seller and they said there are no issues besides some small dings on the body and some minor fret sprout on the upper frets. Thinking I could maybe offer $900 (asking $980). Then with shipping it'd be under $1K. If I ended up swapping the pickups at some point, I'd still be pretty far under a new instrument. But then again it feels like a gamble on a 14 year old bass from the internet.
Thanks everyone! I may be slow to reply, but I'll definitely post with the end result whenever that happens.
So far what I'm gleaming from all this is that the individual instrument usually matters more than whatever model it is: many people seem to be happy with all the models I mentioned (personal preferences). And if I can't find a local instrument to get in person, Sweetwater seems like a good alternative with their customer service and individual photos. Also - way more votes for the Am Pro II so far.
After all that, the Highway One on Reverb is still calling to me. I messaged the seller and they said there are no issues besides some small dings on the body and some minor fret sprout on the upper frets. Thinking I could maybe offer $900 (asking $980). Then with shipping it'd be under $1K. If I ended up swapping the pickups at some point, I'd still be pretty far under a new instrument. But then again it feels like a gamble on a 14 year old bass from the internet.
Thanks everyone! I may be slow to reply, but I'll definitely post with the end result whenever that happens.
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I'd like to think that I can play a lot of basses comfortably. My Squier VM Jazz 4 has a narrow nut and relatively thin neck. MIM Jazz 5 has a wider flatter neck, but is still super comfortable. My Ibanez BTB 675, as you would expect from Ibanez has a relatively flat neck as does my Gio 206b 6er...and Yamaha TRBX605 is somewhere inbetween the Jazz 5 and BTB, but not as wide a fingerboard. I can play all day with them. As for guitars, I have a '72 Martin D35 and its Epiphone copy with "soft V" (as well as one Alvarez Yairi) and a couple of Taylors with their standard NT necks. Fender MIA Deluxe Strat, '96MIM Tele. Epi dot, Gibson LP... All have somewhat different neck shapes. The only two necks that I hated were ones with the "Modern C" in both bass and electric, or Epi's new LP "Modern" with ultra flat neck.
But again... Everyone has different ergonomics. I suppose I should feel lucky that I'm ok on most neck shapes.
@ClusterFlux - I was just looking through this thread again and was thinking about your post. This does seem true: my beginner Yamaha bass from 20 years ago is actually a solid instrument (maybe $100 bucks at the time), and my Player from a few years ago is solid and doesn't have any real issues. To get the color and neck I want now in a new bass (j-body, sunburst, rosewood fretboard), seems like the Am Perf is the cheapest, but still $1500. I guess I'd be paying $700 for a rosewood fretboard (instead of a Player with Pau Ferro). I could go used, but seems like more of a gamble, and still pretty pricey. What are you playing? Or do you have a favorite bass that's under $500? Thanks for your input.
