Fender Jazz '62 AV RI club

[toniwonkanobi]

Reversing the tones as you suggested will sound the same. Keep listening closely and you might see that... That has been my experience and also the experience of many with the stacked knob setup (as configured in the reissue jazz). Read some posts here about it...

I thought the same as you until i *really* listened (and recorded a couple quick clips) and there is no difference. If you really want there to be a difference, you can make yourself think it's there. Same thing happened to me. But do a little research into how the wiring is setup, and i think all of this will make sense Trying not to sound condescending, since i HATE it when people do that to me on TB...

The tones ALWAYS bleed w/o resistors when they are wired in such a way as the stacked knob setup is. The way to think of it simply is that whatever volume you're favoring, THAT's the tone control that will have the most effect (most all for that matter). With both volumes maxed, you'll find (with some more experimentation i think) that the resulting effect is the same -- no matter which tone you roll off completely.

And i'm not trying to do a "vs" thread, just more encouraging everyone to try and wire it up with the resistors, and then 1) you'll be in pre-62 jazz bass land ala Fender's original wiring and 2) you'll see the real benefit of having two tone controls over VVT (as far as versatility goes). It'll be darker tho...

Regardless of the tone interaction with the stack knobs minus the resistors, there are still more options than with the VVT. How can there not be. A selection I use often when playing with a pick is both volumes full up, bridge tone full up and neck tone rolled off completely. This does not sound the same as reversing the tone settings, nor does it sound the same as tone full up on both. How could you get the same variation out of the VVT?

FWIW I am not making an argument for one over the other, in fact I have considered going VVT to simplify things (and to see if I miss the options.....).

 

[Chuck King]

Dude...how tall are you? That Jazz looks like a toy on you. Nice bass, though!!!!

That's what I thought. Looks like he's playing a ukelele.

I'm 6'1" tall . . . but rather wide, I must admit.

What strings do ya'll use? I liked DR Lo-Rider nickel's myself... Sunbeams were a little too low tension, like the [stainless] Hi beams.

I've got D'Addario Chromes flats on mine. I haven't really played flats much, so this is a bit of a voyage of exploration. I have been noticing a really thick "pop" (sort of) under the pick attack when I use a pick on them. My band recorded some demos recently and it really jumped out.

 

[MattyH]

Where'd you get the cool Abe Lincoln shirt?

You know I'm not sure. My GF got it for me, and I don't remember what tag it has. Probably American Eagle, Old Navy, or one of those places that have silly graphic tees that make noooo sense at all. It has a speech bubble that says "Party in the U.S.A.". Abe also owns a 62 Jazz.

 

[SJLee]

Gotta' love the 62 jazz RI!

 

[bassman_al]

I wonder if the pick attack problem is the string hitting the magnet on the pickup. I had that problem once, had to raise the action and problem solved.

 

[JB36]

to the OP: I hear you on wanting ONLY stock AV62's here, but i personally wouldn't exclude guys who have modded theirs, as it makes for some good conversation.

Consider this:

The first thing i did with my AV62 jazz when i got it was switch to VVT. I liked that a lot better than the [rather useless] stacked knob setup (which is/was largely just a way to make the reissue jazz different than the regular old MIA jazz since, by '62, most jazz basses had VVT anyways). Now iF you stack-knobbers out there would wire in a couple 220K resistors, THEN, at least the stack knob setup would have more than just a cosmetic difference -- it would be slightly darker than a VVT jazz, have slightly less output than a VVT jazz, and the tone controls would NOT interact To be quite fair, however, i did go back and forth with the stacked setup and the VVT, both with and without the resistors in place. I settled eventually on the stock 'no resistor' setup as it sounded the same as the VVT, but had a unique look (the darker tones are nice for most supportive stuff, but I liked having a brighter jazz since i had an AV62 w/flats to fulfill the 'dark' role).

I'm trying to get another AV62, this time either with VBT (has to be 500K blend by the way, in order to sound the same as three 250K pots in a VVT setup), or V, rotary switch (ala Dingwall), tone.

What strings do ya'll use? I liked DR Lo-Rider nickel's myself... Sunbeams were a little too low tension, like the [stainless] Hi beams.

Ok, here's AC3320's old bass. I bought a couple of months ago from the classifieds and love it. The vintage touches on these basses make the great looking bass even better. This is essentially stock except the pick guard (tort looks more vintage, but I just like the black and white thing) and the pickups which are custom wound Novaks. I don't know really know how to describe how they sound, but they seem vintage like, but a little punchy in a good way.

The OP mentioned truss rod adjustment. I adjusted mine not long after I got it and it seems like it needs to be adjusted again. I'm not that experienced with setups. I'm going to try one more adjustment and then I might lower the strings a bit because the action is a bit high. I probably should just have it done professionally.

As far as the tone controls go I found them useful. I usually roll the tone on either pickup and leave the volume full on which keeps them quiet. To my ears, it seems like it like the same affect as adjusting volume on a VVT jazz. Maybe it's deceiving me.

As far as strings go, I'm using DR High Beams and I'm going to try Fat Beams at some point. The Sunbeams that came on it were a bit mellow for my taste on the jazz. I prefer the edgier sound of stainless on a passive jazz.

My only two grips with the bass are the decal on the head stock and the Nitro Oly white. The decal looks a sloppy when it was placed on and it has flaked off a bit. As long as it doesn't get worse I'm fine with it. Secondly, when I changed out the pick guard, I was surprised how much the paint has started to change to a banana cream color. I realize older nitro oly finishes will do this, but the bass is only three years old or less. I was just surprised in the difference under the guard.

Anyways, here she is:
Invalid Link Removed

 

[toniwonkanobi]

Ok, here's AC3320's old bass. I bought a couple of months ago from the classifieds and love. The vintage touches on these basses, make the great looking bass even better looking. This is essentially stock except the pick guard ( tort looks more vintage, but just like the black and white thing) and the pickups which are custom wound Novaks. I don't know really know how to describe how they sound, but seems vintage like, but a little punchy in a good way.

The OP mentioned truss rod adjustment. I adjusted mine not long after I got it and it seems like it needs to be adjusted again. I'm not that experience with setups. I'm just try one more adjustment and then might try lower the string a bit because the action is a bit high. I probably should just have it done professionally.

As far as the tone controls go I found them useful. I usually roll the tone on either pickup and leave the volume full on which keeps them quiet. to my ears it seems like it like the same affect a adjust volume on a VVT jazz. Maybe it's deceiving me.

As far as strings go, I'm using DR High Beams and I'm going to try Fat Beams at some point. The Sunbeams that came on it were a bit mellow for my taste on the jazz. I prefer the edgier sound of stainless on a passive jazz.

My only two grips with the bass are the decal on the head stock and the Nitro Oly white. The decal looks a sloppy when it was placed on and it has flaked off a bit. As long as it doesn't get worse I'm fine with it. Secondly, when I changed out the pick guard, I was surprised how much the paint has started to change to a banana cream color. I realize older nitro oly finishes will do this, but the bass is only three years old or less. I was just surprised in the difference under the guard.

Anyways, here she is.

I always liked how quickly it aged Otherwise it's too bright for me

 

[JB36]

I always liked how quickly it aged Otherwise it's too bright for me

True, they are bright when new. I guess it's not really a complaint. I just didn't expect to see a difference in color.

 

[JMacBass65]

I always liked how quickly it aged Otherwise it's too bright for me

Exactly, it's the only way I like 'em.

 

[bassman_al]

JB, nice bass. That aging process with the finish will give it a nice authentic look.

As far as setups go, my neck requires several tweaks a year. You will find that if you do it yourself a few times, you'll really get a feel for how to get that action that you are looking for. I had my frets leveled and dressed due to some fretboard inconsistencies. Luthier said it could happen to any bass, but seems to me like the ultra thin neck would have a more difficult time holding a truss rod setting, but what do I know...

I just took a 2nd look at the Invalid Link Removed. The neck radius for our bass is 7.25", and Fender sets the action height at a recommended 2.8mm at the 17th fret, which I am able to do without a problem. maybe a little higher, like 3 mm, but pretty darn close. And the action feels really good at that height.

Good luck!

 

[toniwonkanobi]

Yeah it's an 'older' style neck, without stabilizing bars, so that *may* make it more likely to need tweaking here and there, but it should be a seasonal thing with Fender basses anyways.

I wouldn't put too much into Fender's "specs" for their guitars/basses however -- just go with what feels/plays best to you. +1 on doing your own setups. You'll save so much money if you can do things yourself on your bass..

JB, nice bass. That aging process with the finish will give it a nice authentic look.

As far as setups go, my neck requires several tweaks a year. You will find that if you do it yourself a few times, you'll really get a feel for how to get that action that you are looking for. I had my frets leveled and dressed due to some fretboard inconsistencies. Luthier said it could happen to any bass, but seems to me like the ultra thin neck would have a more difficult time holding a truss rod setting, but what do I know...

I just took a 2nd look at the Invalid Link Removed. The neck radius for our bass is 7.25", and Fender sets the action height at a recommended 2.8mm at the 17th fret, which I am able to do without a problem. maybe a little higher, like 3 mm, but pretty darn close. And the action feels really good at that height.

Good luck!

 

[bassman_al]

Yeah, I now take the specs as a reference point more than anything. I like lower action, which means less relief in the neck than a lot of guys seem to like, judging from some of the basses I played at our local TB Get-Togethers that I have been to.

And yes, I have saved a ton of money by doing my own set-ups, plus I get the bass to feel more like I want it to. Sometimes hard to describe to a tech exactly how much relief/how high the action, etc... And the tweaks are seasonal, which means at most 3-4 times a year here in the DC area.

 

[Chuck King]

I wonder if the pick attack problem is the string hitting the magnet on the pickup. I had that problem once, had to raise the action and problem solved.

I know the effect you're talking about, but it's not that.

Here's the recording.

That's the '62 AVRI Jazz, both pickups, with D'Addario Chromes and played with a pick. The effect I'm talking about doesn't jump out at you all the time, but there are a couple spots in the intro, and occasionally in the body of the song, where it feels like it's a bit much. Or am I just being paranoid?

 

[zorza]

Hi!
Nice to hear from guys who have the same instrument as me!
Did anyone have luck on trying to cancel the hum from the pickups?

Cheers

 

[bassman_al]

I find that the amount of hum greatly depends on the circuit that I am plugged in to. Flourescent lights and dimmer switches cause a lot of hum. Sometimes on gigs, or at home if all the dimmers and florrescents are off, I get no hum at all.

 

[Precisionb87]

Hey guys,
If you notice that your action starts to get high in the upper register with your bolt-on neck basses, try adding a shim between the neck and the body towards the bridge side. If your not sure, ask your guitar tech about it. I had this issue, and after the shim was put in, it played like a whole new bass.

 

[zorza]

I find that the amount of hum greatly depends on the circuit that I am plugged in to. Flourescent lights and dimmer switches cause a lot of hum. Sometimes on gigs, or at home if all the dimmers and florrescents are off, I get no hum at all.

Thanks, _al!
Actually I meant how to cancel the hum forever... Like shielding.
For recording purposes Im using the old string in the pocket trick. But I would love to kill the hum definitely.
Thanks!

 

[bassman_al]

Bump for more members

Jazz by alanpachter, on Flickr

 

[bassist4dalord]

Hey Al, your threads have been popping up when I search (Fretless Passive Jazz club, Passive Fretless w/ Flats club, this one), and I think it says something. Big GAS inducers. I'm on a Jazz kick at the moment- really hoping to get a good Fender Jazz sometime soon-ish.

 

[bassman_al]

Yeah