My NJS5 in black landed today. I had a little trepidation but I needn't have worried exterior quality wise. It's quite light (not sure of the exact weight but it's definitely no boat anchor). The fretwork is good, very smooth board edges with no tangs sticking out and a lovely low action. It won't be needing the fret dress I had half expected it would.
The neck feels good being quite shallow and it balances well both on the strap and seating. I like the tuners, not too sensitive.
Fit and finish are superb. It's really classy looking in black and maple.
Not so good:
The bass EQ +/- isn't working. It was initially methinks so I removed the plastic film. The treble EQ doesn't seem to be as effective as it should either. It doesn't boost to any sort of extent.
The tone overall is just a little dull for my liking. It doesn't jump out at me like my modified MTD Kingston LK5 with a similar Bartolini (The Cort is better built than the Kingston by some degree) or my 2 Zoots with a John East (J, Uni-pre)and a Noll (P) preamp. This might well be down to a defective preamp methinks.
One of the 6 neck screws seemed to be stripping in the wood. I used some wood filler strips and glue to remedy that and they are all now secure.
Bartolini pre-amps in my experience have a limited +/- range (that can be a good thing as it's all useable) compared to an East pre and this is much like that.
It needs to be played at 'war volume' to see what it really sounds like.
The dealer have offered to take it back. I've suggested that they offer me some cash back and I'll replace the preamp and fully shield the cavities. I probably would have done anyway. I'll see what they say on Monday.
I do like everything about the bass I'm thinking of replacing the preamp with the Glockenklang 5 knob 3 band. The big bonus is that it provides a passive tone control. My preferred option would be an East Uni-pre but they are very expensive, nearly double the price of the Glockenklang.
The neck feels good being quite shallow and it balances well both on the strap and seating. I like the tuners, not too sensitive.
Fit and finish are superb. It's really classy looking in black and maple.
Not so good:
The bass EQ +/- isn't working. It was initially methinks so I removed the plastic film. The treble EQ doesn't seem to be as effective as it should either. It doesn't boost to any sort of extent.
The tone overall is just a little dull for my liking. It doesn't jump out at me like my modified MTD Kingston LK5 with a similar Bartolini (The Cort is better built than the Kingston by some degree) or my 2 Zoots with a John East (J, Uni-pre)and a Noll (P) preamp. This might well be down to a defective preamp methinks.
One of the 6 neck screws seemed to be stripping in the wood. I used some wood filler strips and glue to remedy that and they are all now secure.
Bartolini pre-amps in my experience have a limited +/- range (that can be a good thing as it's all useable) compared to an East pre and this is much like that.
It needs to be played at 'war volume' to see what it really sounds like.
The dealer have offered to take it back. I've suggested that they offer me some cash back and I'll replace the preamp and fully shield the cavities. I probably would have done anyway. I'll see what they say on Monday.
I do like everything about the bass I'm thinking of replacing the preamp with the Glockenklang 5 knob 3 band. The big bonus is that it provides a passive tone control. My preferred option would be an East Uni-pre but they are very expensive, nearly double the price of the Glockenklang.
