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Difference Between The Geddy Jazz and the US Jazz

cheers thank you.. I will do that.. I have Tom Sawyer.. but I'll put the rest of moving pictures on hold, may I ask do you try and get his tone? ... if so how do you achieve that.. I mean amp/effects wise... like .. technique set aside

:smug: Piece of cake!

Buy a Bass POD XT Live, it comes with a preset named "Tom Sawyer" :D.

:hmm: Of course, as I'm not much of a Rush fan :hiding:, I have no idea how close it actually is!?
 
Geddy tone to me = any nice Jazz(but his sig model will do nicely) + Sansamp for OD. The RBI is what Geddy uses, but you can get that sound on a BDDI as well. Other than that, its in your fingers.

The only basses that come with "Noiseless" or SCN pickups is the American Deluxe or Mexican Deluxe lines (Deluxe Active Jazz, Reggie Hamilton, etc.). All other Js come with passive, standard single-coil pickups.

The main difference between a standard American Jazz and the GL, to me, is versatility. The GL has somewhat thinner-sounding lows than a regular Jazz. Whether that is because of p/u placement or the super thin neck, I am not sure, but I have noticed on every GL Jazz I've played. If all you play is aggressive-styled bass (like Rush, for example), then you will probably be fine. I needed something that I could get a deeper sound out of once in a while, so I bought a Jaguar. The other advantage of the American Jazz is the S-1 switch (a series/parallel switch), which can make the bass sound considerably fatter than a regular Jazz when engaged (the Jaguar has this too though). OTOH, the GL has the BAII bridge, which is widely considered to be a big upgrade over the stock Fender bridge.

The GL is a fine bass, and there are whole threads here on TB full of loyal GL owners. Its not the right bass for me, and I am a HUGE Rush fan. But, if its right for you, go for it. It won't let you down. But, you can get very similar, if not identical, tones out of the American Jazz with a few extra features. The only real advantages of the GL, to me, are that it plays really fast and looks really cool and has an upgraded bridge.
 
cool,,, the GL looks super amazingly sexy!.. it's also several hundred euro cheaper then the US..

And also.. the Geddy would sound a good bit different to the new US jazzes... you are talking about the vintage axes right?

I have taken a bit of a gamble..because i have bought the GL without actually ever playing it (yes..I know big taboo) but there were none in shops around Dublin so I took an educated gamble... reviews are exceptional.

I don't really expect it to be quite at the US quality.. but I expect it to be damn good:)
 
And also.. the Geddy would sound a good bit different to the new US jazzes... you are talking about the vintage axes right?

A brand new USA Jazz with a maple 'board will get similar tones to the GL Jazz. No 2 basses will sound exactly the same, but these two will be very close. If there is a difference, the Geddy will sound more aggressive and the USA will sound a touch warmer. They are both plenty aggressive though.

I wouldn't worry about the quality of the Geddy. All of the CIJ Fenders are consistently good quality, especially for the money.
 
Hey John,

I did the same as you, bought the Geddy without playing it first. Also being as my name is John and I love Rush, I can tell you that I love the bass! Quality is very high on this bass for the money and I can get very close to Geddy's sound without much trouble. I record into GarageBand using my Mac, played with some settings and viola!

Keep in mind that Ive been playing for 20+ years and most of that time its either been my own stuff or Rush, but alot of it is in your fingers. :bassist:

-John
 
yes I know.. technique is soo important

one thing I noticed is this "Mean, mean stride! Our Geddy Lee Jazz Bass guitar is an exact replica of the tonally singular instrument that Rush’s revered bassist/vocalist has riffed away on in front of thousands of devoted fans worldwide and on many a mega-selling album.".. notice the bit... EXACT replica of the tonally singular instrument.. this implies that no other instrument really sounds like the GL.. and if this isn't the case.. which many will say.... isn't that false advertising?
 
Im not sure you can say that about any bass or instrument, really. I can make my Geddy sound like a Ric (or close) or I could probably mimic alot of other basses out there (including the Wal sound...I was messing around with some settings and I was playing and bam, I was like...hey this sounds like the Wal tone)

Again, as much as I would like to think otherwise:

95% how you play
5% your instrument

(with a plus/minus ratio of 100% :D)