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Great jazz basses besides fender?
- Thread starter JustinTheKnight
- Start date
For a little more than your price range you could get a Nash, Bluesman or Ben Lindsey jazz bass. All good basses, but I've found the Lindsey basses have a little more tonal range.
The best deals are going to be a '90s Hamer Cruise with 2Tek bridge or '80s Guild Pilot Bass (the 5-strings were J-J).
Also consider the Pedulla Buzz/MVP. I've got one with J-J and passive tone controls. Sounds like a good modern Jazz.
Also consider the Pedulla Buzz/MVP. I've got one with J-J and passive tone controls. Sounds like a good modern Jazz.
A "Jazz bass" is really a pickup design and configuration. So apart from the trad look of a Jazz bass, it can be any bass with those pickup parameters.
I have a Jazz bass clone, which is a 6 string. I have other Jazz basses which look nothing like a Jazz or play like one, but sound like a Jazz.
These days most makers have P, PJ, J, MM, Humbucker options. So the first question is how much like a jazz clone are you looking for? The next question is how modern to you want it to interpret the theme? Are you looking for a bass which looks like a Jazz but are modern interpretations of it (Mike Lul, Shadowski, G&L come to mind). Are you looking for something very modern (Warwick, Status, MTD) come to mind. They won't look like a Jazz, but have Jazz pickups and sound like one (with their own added DNA). Then there's the whole bespoke / custom route...such as Scott basses (love his stuff) Sei etc. Really it's your choice, your budget and your bass wishes. None of these route is right or wrong. The market exists for all budgets at needs.
I have a Jazz bass clone, which is a 6 string. I have other Jazz basses which look nothing like a Jazz or play like one, but sound like a Jazz.
These days most makers have P, PJ, J, MM, Humbucker options. So the first question is how much like a jazz clone are you looking for? The next question is how modern to you want it to interpret the theme? Are you looking for a bass which looks like a Jazz but are modern interpretations of it (Mike Lul, Shadowski, G&L come to mind). Are you looking for something very modern (Warwick, Status, MTD) come to mind. They won't look like a Jazz, but have Jazz pickups and sound like one (with their own added DNA). Then there's the whole bespoke / custom route...such as Scott basses (love his stuff) Sei etc. Really it's your choice, your budget and your bass wishes. None of these route is right or wrong. The market exists for all budgets at needs.
The irony is that the pickup choice is probably the biggest factor in how a bass will sound. There's not actually a lot of choice in the Jazz bass pickup market. Really it's down to OEM (fender), EMG, Bartolini, Aguiliar, Nordstrand, Dimarzio, Delano, Seymour Duncan and the like. Out of this list, Bartolini's and Nordstrand are probably the most popular.
Is there a reason you specifically want something that's not a Fender? Do you have one and want something different? They're pretty good with jazz basses.
+ 1 on a German Warwick Corvette Bubinga/Ovangkol. They are beastly and built like a tank. Used they are in the $700 range.
Another vote for the G&L jazz basses!
I owned Fender mex, deluxe, squier, currently own sadowsky and a G&L.
The g&l is by far the best jazz i had the pleasure to play. Besides the weight and playability, excellent, it's the tone...not all jazzes have been created equal!
I owned Fender mex, deluxe, squier, currently own sadowsky and a G&L.
The g&l is by far the best jazz i had the pleasure to play. Besides the weight and playability, excellent, it's the tone...not all jazzes have been created equal!
Marcus Miller V7 , by Sire Guitars. Killer bass, killer sound , killer price!
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
Great jazz basses besides fender?
Frankensteined parts basses
Frankensteined parts basses
Yeah, get those criticisms in early. No sense waiting for an actual problem!
