Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Geddy Lee Jazz - MIM vs. MIJ
- Thread starter Corevalay
- Start date
I've got a 2018 MIM GL as well, bought it new. Was planning on swapping the tuners for Hipshot's and changing the pickups; after spending a bit of time with it I never felt a real need to do so. Did you keep your MIM stock as well?
The only thing I changed was putting on a cream pearl pickguard instead of the black.
Was for me as well. Had a MIJ for a long time. When I started playing gigs again after many many years, I realized that slim neck made my hand hurt after playing for 2-3 hours. Moved to the MIA with the thicker neck and it worked wonderfully. I now have the Ultra Jazz with the thicker D shaped neck and it is my favorite neck I have ever played.
I never played a MIM so I can't comment on those. Though the MIJ caused me some pain after a few hours, it was a fast neck to play and I'm sure for a lot of people this is a plus.
I went on the same journey, and also ended up with an Ultra Jazz. Really like the Modern D.
The pickups are not the issue. The bridge thins out the sound. Put a bent plate on and see.
In my opinion, MIM-MIJ ity doesn't matter! Every single person I know, and I know a lot of Bass players, The necks on both are TERRIBLE. So unless you like adjusting your truss rod , at least onece every 1-2 weeks , good luck. If you're gonna get a Geddy Jazz, go to the Custom Shop... This is a pix of my pain in the ass. Truss Rod adj, every other week.
Attachments
Well, I was just going to ignore this comment, but I just don't want to. I am not a huge fan of Bad Ass bridges, I have some, I have changed some to bent plate for whatever reason. But the idea that it "thins out the sound" is pretty preposterous.
When the Japanese Geddy Lee Jazz first came out, I compared it extensively to the Classic 70's and found the Classic much fuller in the bottom end. I attributed it to the pickups. I bought the Classic. When the U.S. Geddy Lee Jazz came out, I compared it extensively to the American Originals 70's and again found the AO much fuller and deeper. I began to wonder. I purchased the AO. I installed a Fender BadAss bridge and the bottom end dropped out. I put back the bent plate and all was restored. I'm not claiming the BadAss and other high mass bridges always have this effect but this particular bridge had this effect on these particular basses. I've had much better experiences with other high mass bridges like the Gotoh which had me thinking it might be related to the difference in the saddle shapes. BadAss come to a point whereas the Gotoh saddles are round. Even the feel of the bass changes quite a bit. You can tell the difference without even plugging in. In all the cases where I've experienced this, the body was a nice solid piece of alder or ash but when I've tried them on lighter bodies like poplar or basswood, I've often found the high mass bridge to be a noticeable improvement. Before you deem something preposterous, try both bridges on the same bass. I'd think you'd at least agree that the mass of the bridge or the saddle geometry is likely to contribute to the way vibrations are transmitted from the strings to the body, whether positively or negatively.
