Sure. What do you want to sound like?
I use the following basses with my Rumble 500 combo:
MIM Jazz (with Fender reissue '62 pickups)
MIM Geddy Lee Jazz (stock)
MIM Nate Mendel Precision (stock, comes with Duncan SPB-3 pickup)
I can get all of these basses to sound fantastic through the Rumble, but they all require different EQ settings, especially when going from the Jazz basses to the Precision. Anyway, I wouldn't count out that MIM Jazz just yet, you might get some more mileage out of it with new strings or even a pickup upgrade. Are you looking for something along the lines of the Jazz bass or a different tone altogether?
Yeah, if you like the Jazz, pickups are cheaper than a new bass. Not that anyone on TB will stop you buying a new bass, lol.
Guess it depends on what your looking for sound wise.
Thanks for the responses guys! I bought the bass used in a music shop and got it for quite cheap. I played it in store and aside from the two holes in the body ,where the previous owner must have had a bridge cover, and ultra low pickups, which I could have just raised, I thought it cosmetically was fine and sounded fine and it was kind of an impulse buy as this was the first time I've scraped up enough of my own money to buy a really nice bass and this was nearly £200 cheaper than buying it new, so I went ahead and got it.
Get home and try it through my V1 Rumble 15, and in comparison to my Squier VM Jazz Bass it sounded really thin and weak. So I went to raise the pickups and I couldn't get them to raise. So I lifted up the pickguard and noticed there was no pickup foam or anything and some very shoddy soldering. This leads me to believe that a previous owner replaced the pickups or just took the stock pickups and put in some cheap ones and sold it on. Other minor issues which do annoy, like horrible nut filing which leads to the A String popping out of place if its bent at all and the pickup pole pieces for the A and D being extensively raised which upsets my fingerstyle. When I got the Rumble 500 I was initally disappointed because I used the Mexican, but it sounds far better with the Squier.
Long story short, im quite dissapointed in it and expected it to be an upgrade from my Squier Jazz Bass, which sounds great and is a dream to play. I could upragde the pickups and sort out the cosmetic issues but really since it was an impulse buy and I never really wanted a Jazz bass that much, im thinking of just selling it on to someone who is willing to fix it up a bit and my lack of experience in things like uprgading pickups makes me not want to try. If I make my money back on it Im just going to buy myself a new Standard Fender, as its only another £100 that I spent on the Jazz bass and the used market here in Northern Ireland is quite poor.
Anyway, since I play mostly hard rock/punk rock, I'm going to go for a precision, since its tried and true and aesthetically a white P-Bass, maple neck and tortoisehell is pleasing. But I also like the look of the Standard Jaguar Bass which is a similar price and has the precsion pickup, so im split. I can also keep a look out for a great deal on eBay or Used sites but like I said, the options arent great.
Thanks guys!
