Okay - so I've been doing extensive research for awhile now and am almost ready (not quite) to purchase my lifetime bass.
I wanted to get everyones opinions on the best options that I've found that I'm looking at, to see what your opinions are. I value everyone's opinons here greatly, and appreciate everyone reading through.
The situation:
I've got a Mexican Jazz, w/ Seymour Duncan Bassline Pups. It gives me a solid Jazz tone, tone is a little aggressive, but the bass feels awesome. I am very partial to the feel of the Jazz neck. However, the Mexican wood is not premium, and at the end of the day it's not fully a pro level bass - although it is as close as you can get for the value. I also prefer Rosewood necks, for the feel.
Most importantly, I need to have the flexibility of having a P-bass tone, which is essential and I currently have no option for, but again - I do love the tone of the jazz, and the comfort of the Jazz neck. Whichever bass I get, I need to have the flexibility to dial up whatever kind of tone I want / need - vintage, modern, jazz, p-bass, combo. Thus, pan pot is crucial.
The nice to have:
It would also be nice to have the flexibility to get a really modern tone if I needed it as well, such as a Music Man, but this is not absolutely necessary. Brand also matters to me, and while I'm not intending on selling it, I want to ensure that it retains its value over the long term.
I want to know if you guys agree w/ my assessment below and your opinions. Let me know if you disagree w/ my POV on any point of the below.
The options
Option 1: Sadowsky NYC Vintage P/J
Pros:
-The whole thing is made by Sadowsky, which does not make anything bad. Ensures continuity of tone, and will not need any mods. Boutique - yes - and definitely awesome.
-It's also surely going to retain its value over time
-Familiar feel of a jazz neck
-Will give me a great P-tone, and a reliable jazz tone
Cons:
-Price tag. This baby is over $3k, which is way out of my price range.
-Less likely to be able to replicate Music Man tone, without bridge humbucker
-Likely have to wait to get one in 3-tone sunburst, unless I find a used...but I prefer to go new
- 4 bolt neck
Option 2: Fender American Precision Deluxe, w/ mods
Pros:
-Value - this is the best value out of all of these in my opinion. Including all mods, I should be able to get this done for around $1500-$1600
-Brand - It's a Fender, so I know it will retain its value over time. Although due to the mods, it won't be as 'vintage' in 20 years
-Flexibility - Will definitely allow me to dial up Music Man tone, as well as P-bass tone.
- 5 bolt neck - Sadowsky does not have this. It's one of the only Fenders to have a 5-bolt neck
Cons:
-Not a Jazz feel - The neck on this is a P-neck, which is thicker and is rounded. I prefer the feel of a jazz neck, as the P requires a slightly different technique (which is fine, just takes getting used to, and makes transitioning between that and my backup bass a little bit of a hassle.)
- Not a Jazz tone - Unsure of how well this would be able to replicate a good jazz tone, considering it will have 2 humbucking pickups (albeit, 1 will be like a MM, but 1 is a P-bass pup). I'll definitely have my Mexican if I want that Jazz tone...but would be awesome to know I have it on this, especially for the money. What will this sound like w/ 2 humbuckers fully panned up? Def modern, but how jazz?
- Mods - it will need mods. I'll need to rip out all the electronics and Pups. Will replace with Aguilar OBP-3 Pre, and Nordstrand pups. Will also be able to put in built-in tuner, pan pot and passive/active switch (same as like the Sadowsky). Kind of cool to have this awesome equipment on it though. Could be considered a Pro too.
- Aguilar - I plan on eventually using an Aguilar rig, and this bass will allow me to put in the Aguilar Pre - which is nice to pair w/ the amp. The OBP is an awesome, premium tone - a little more modern than the VTC on the Sadowsky. Definitely a different Pre, but increasingly used more widely than the Sadowsky so a little less unique in the long term. Could also be considered a Pro.
- This model is currently not made in 3-tone sunburst w/ a Rosewood neck, so it's gonna have to be a Maple neck (which I'm slightly less familiar with)
Option 3: Sandberg California PM
Pros:
-Good value, but slightly more expensive than the Fender, at around $1800. I'd need to order this from a Canadian distributor, as you can't really get them in the states, which is fine
-All the tonal flexibility of Option 2, the Fender
-Six bolt neck - this is the only bass I've seen with a six bolt neck other than a G&L
- 0 fret - pretty cool, but arguably unnecessary feature
- Feel - it felt awesome when I played it.
Cons:
- Electronics / Tone: Glockenklang pre, Delano Pups. These are all super premium, but they're not my preference. The Glock is known to be super super clear pass-thru tone, and I prefer the sound of the Aguilar pre. Delanos are great, but I prefer Nordstrands after extensive research.
- Brand - it's a much lesser known brand, they make great stuff, but for the money I kind of prefer to go with a brand that is better known. They do some really awesome finish options though.
- Pickup spacing - I don't like the spacing of the pups, too close together, as opposed to the Fender, which has them placed differently.
Option 4: G&L USA SB-2 with Mods
Pros:
- Good value - around $1200 w/ no mods
- Feel - I've played G&L jazz's and they felt awesome. I'd expect the same here...
- Brand - The brand is great, although not my 1st choice
- Sound - I know this bass will sound great. G&L makes great stuff. And I KNOW it will give me a great Jazz tone, and probably a great P-tone after the mod...although it was not built to be intended to be used this way
Cons:
- Mods / Passive / Flexibility - It's not active, and the wiring is pretty simple (2 volume knobs - 1 for each pup, and no tone pot). In order to have the flexibility of any of the above, I'd need to put in an active pre (aguilar), do some re-wiring and add pots which will require a route, which i'd like to avoid if possible (decreases value, increases cost of mods).
- Brand - G&L is awesome but not my first choice brand. Prefer the brand over Sandberg, but not to Sadowsky or Fender... thoughts?
- Look - I hate the way the Pickups look on this bass
- 4 bolt neck
- Pain in the ass to have to do mods to a boutique brand after dropping the money, and the mods might include a route. This is the only bass where that may be needed.
Option 5 (picture not shown): Go completely Custom
-If I went with not a brand name manufacturer, not a boutique, but went to a reliable luthier. I might be able to get all the features I want for a good value... but no brand name, and definitely a lot of money to put on one persons skill. Trust is an issue here mainly.
I wanted to get everyones opinions on the best options that I've found that I'm looking at, to see what your opinions are. I value everyone's opinons here greatly, and appreciate everyone reading through.
The situation:
I've got a Mexican Jazz, w/ Seymour Duncan Bassline Pups. It gives me a solid Jazz tone, tone is a little aggressive, but the bass feels awesome. I am very partial to the feel of the Jazz neck. However, the Mexican wood is not premium, and at the end of the day it's not fully a pro level bass - although it is as close as you can get for the value. I also prefer Rosewood necks, for the feel.
Most importantly, I need to have the flexibility of having a P-bass tone, which is essential and I currently have no option for, but again - I do love the tone of the jazz, and the comfort of the Jazz neck. Whichever bass I get, I need to have the flexibility to dial up whatever kind of tone I want / need - vintage, modern, jazz, p-bass, combo. Thus, pan pot is crucial.
The nice to have:
It would also be nice to have the flexibility to get a really modern tone if I needed it as well, such as a Music Man, but this is not absolutely necessary. Brand also matters to me, and while I'm not intending on selling it, I want to ensure that it retains its value over the long term.
I want to know if you guys agree w/ my assessment below and your opinions. Let me know if you disagree w/ my POV on any point of the below.
The options
Option 1: Sadowsky NYC Vintage P/J
Pros:
-The whole thing is made by Sadowsky, which does not make anything bad. Ensures continuity of tone, and will not need any mods. Boutique - yes - and definitely awesome.
-It's also surely going to retain its value over time
-Familiar feel of a jazz neck
-Will give me a great P-tone, and a reliable jazz tone
Cons:
-Price tag. This baby is over $3k, which is way out of my price range.
-Less likely to be able to replicate Music Man tone, without bridge humbucker
-Likely have to wait to get one in 3-tone sunburst, unless I find a used...but I prefer to go new
- 4 bolt neck
Option 2: Fender American Precision Deluxe, w/ mods
Pros:
-Value - this is the best value out of all of these in my opinion. Including all mods, I should be able to get this done for around $1500-$1600
-Brand - It's a Fender, so I know it will retain its value over time. Although due to the mods, it won't be as 'vintage' in 20 years
-Flexibility - Will definitely allow me to dial up Music Man tone, as well as P-bass tone.
- 5 bolt neck - Sadowsky does not have this. It's one of the only Fenders to have a 5-bolt neck
Cons:
-Not a Jazz feel - The neck on this is a P-neck, which is thicker and is rounded. I prefer the feel of a jazz neck, as the P requires a slightly different technique (which is fine, just takes getting used to, and makes transitioning between that and my backup bass a little bit of a hassle.)
- Not a Jazz tone - Unsure of how well this would be able to replicate a good jazz tone, considering it will have 2 humbucking pickups (albeit, 1 will be like a MM, but 1 is a P-bass pup). I'll definitely have my Mexican if I want that Jazz tone...but would be awesome to know I have it on this, especially for the money. What will this sound like w/ 2 humbuckers fully panned up? Def modern, but how jazz?
- Mods - it will need mods. I'll need to rip out all the electronics and Pups. Will replace with Aguilar OBP-3 Pre, and Nordstrand pups. Will also be able to put in built-in tuner, pan pot and passive/active switch (same as like the Sadowsky). Kind of cool to have this awesome equipment on it though. Could be considered a Pro too.
- Aguilar - I plan on eventually using an Aguilar rig, and this bass will allow me to put in the Aguilar Pre - which is nice to pair w/ the amp. The OBP is an awesome, premium tone - a little more modern than the VTC on the Sadowsky. Definitely a different Pre, but increasingly used more widely than the Sadowsky so a little less unique in the long term. Could also be considered a Pro.
- This model is currently not made in 3-tone sunburst w/ a Rosewood neck, so it's gonna have to be a Maple neck (which I'm slightly less familiar with)
Option 3: Sandberg California PM
Pros:
-Good value, but slightly more expensive than the Fender, at around $1800. I'd need to order this from a Canadian distributor, as you can't really get them in the states, which is fine
-All the tonal flexibility of Option 2, the Fender
-Six bolt neck - this is the only bass I've seen with a six bolt neck other than a G&L
- 0 fret - pretty cool, but arguably unnecessary feature
- Feel - it felt awesome when I played it.
Cons:
- Electronics / Tone: Glockenklang pre, Delano Pups. These are all super premium, but they're not my preference. The Glock is known to be super super clear pass-thru tone, and I prefer the sound of the Aguilar pre. Delanos are great, but I prefer Nordstrands after extensive research.
- Brand - it's a much lesser known brand, they make great stuff, but for the money I kind of prefer to go with a brand that is better known. They do some really awesome finish options though.
- Pickup spacing - I don't like the spacing of the pups, too close together, as opposed to the Fender, which has them placed differently.
Option 4: G&L USA SB-2 with Mods
Pros:
- Good value - around $1200 w/ no mods
- Feel - I've played G&L jazz's and they felt awesome. I'd expect the same here...
- Brand - The brand is great, although not my 1st choice
- Sound - I know this bass will sound great. G&L makes great stuff. And I KNOW it will give me a great Jazz tone, and probably a great P-tone after the mod...although it was not built to be intended to be used this way
Cons:
- Mods / Passive / Flexibility - It's not active, and the wiring is pretty simple (2 volume knobs - 1 for each pup, and no tone pot). In order to have the flexibility of any of the above, I'd need to put in an active pre (aguilar), do some re-wiring and add pots which will require a route, which i'd like to avoid if possible (decreases value, increases cost of mods).
- Brand - G&L is awesome but not my first choice brand. Prefer the brand over Sandberg, but not to Sadowsky or Fender... thoughts?
- Look - I hate the way the Pickups look on this bass
- 4 bolt neck
- Pain in the ass to have to do mods to a boutique brand after dropping the money, and the mods might include a route. This is the only bass where that may be needed.
Option 5 (picture not shown): Go completely Custom
-If I went with not a brand name manufacturer, not a boutique, but went to a reliable luthier. I might be able to get all the features I want for a good value... but no brand name, and definitely a lot of money to put on one persons skill. Trust is an issue here mainly.
