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Geddy Lee Bass. What's The Difference?

P

plangentmusic

Inactive
Jun 30, 2010
1,922
45
Manhattan
#1
Search as I may -- I can't tell what makes Geddy Lee Different from a standard J. Everything is essentially the same except the Geddy uses 70's style black bars instead of dots or inlays. (Personally, I don't love the bars).


Is the Geddy Lee sig worth and extra 200 bucks? What am I missing?
 
#3
There's quite a bit different between a Geddy and a standard J. The previous post mentioned most of it, different pickups, bridge, neck profile, pickup spacing, etc.

There's also a big difference in the general feel of the bass. I've had more luck getting a Geddy to play the way I like than a standard J. The whole neck is also very lacquered, which is a negative for me. It can be easily sanded down on the back if you prefer it, though.

The sound is a lot different from a standard J too. I like the sound, but the pickups sound a bit more scooped than I prefer.
 
#6
The Geddy is a very versatile Jazz Bass. It has a super comfy neck, great sounding American pickups, alder body & Badass II bridge, and imho, these features combine to bring a classic design into the modern era for players of all varities of music. A great Jazz Bass, whether you are a Geddy fan or not.

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#12
like it was mentioned there are differences between the GL and a standard, but the most important factor to tell if its worth the extra 200 is if it feels and sounds better to you than the standard. I've played an american P bass and a MIM p bass side by side and even though the american is supposed to be a higher quality the MIM felt and sounded 10x better than the american to me so the MIM was the best choice. so go out to a music store and just try them both out and see which one is best suited to you.
 
#17
As we.ve mentioned before , fenders "vary" so much , bass by bass (each particular instrument) every fender I've every had started out OK , and then evolved into a great instrument (or I just ended up selling )as my tech worked on it , over a couple years , fine tuning and tweaking .sometimes , changing pick ups ,sometime a nut , whatever . My geddy lee didn't start out, but became my fav bass . Other 70's era jazz 's were not. (never found one I liked). I along with some of, you guys here, like a modern mexi jazz better . but my Geddy now is amazing ! The thought of a J-retro is interesting what did it sound like ? in general terms ?
 
#19
I own both basses and here's my take. first let me start by saying I never heard any of Geddy's material before I bought the bass and was not over welmed after I heard it. The Geddy bass like other MIJ/CIJ basses are copies of MIA basses of a past time. It is basically a 70's jazz bass. The neck has been shaved down like Geddy had done to his pawnshop find bass due to his small hands (as I read somewhere, again I'm not a fan). The neck being shaved leaves it vulnerable to neck adjustments depending on the climate where you live, mine gets adjusted a few of times a year while my MIA bass gets adjusted maybe twice. The pups on the Geddy are MIA vintage which is a good thing but even with CTS pots the bass has a noticeably lower output than all other basses. Older Geddy tuners sucked the big one as they tarnished in less than a year but they have since changed those. The badassII makes the bass bright and if thats your thing to have a bass ringing and sustaining this bass is for you, I myself removed the badassII and that restored the low end the bass was lacking. Now it sounds just like a 70's jass bass, just with a lower out put. As for the blocks at first I believe they where plastic (limited addition models) but in the last 7-8 years they are painted on as well as the fret being laid over the binding unlike the MIA basses where the binding covers the fret ends. All in all the Geddy at $600 bucks was a no brainer but now over $1000 bucks I would just get another MIA jazz............
 

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