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Hunting a quality J

Discussion in 'Basses [BG]' started by friendlybass, Dec 31, 2014.

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  1. Dec 31, 2014 #1
    friendlybass

    friendlybass

    Jul 19, 2012
    Colorado
    Love the J bass sound, love the versatility, love the look.
    The question is, what out there is like the fender American deluxe J? Active/passive with 3band eq and passive tone and a pickup fader is what Im looking for.

    Thanks!
     
  2. Dec 31, 2014 #2
    OutToPlayJazz

    OutToPlayJazz

    Dec 30, 2007
    Gloucestershire, UK
    The real options are going to be the "super jazzes" like the Mike Lull basses and Sadowsky Metros. There's the soon to arrive Marcus Miller V7, but that's at a much lower price point, so don't expect too much of the electronics. The active Sandberg Californias are worth a look, too. I loved the P&J model.
     
    Phalex and friendlybass like this.
  3. Dec 31, 2014 #3
    Qlanq

    Qlanq

    Jul 9, 2007
    Swansea
    That Elwood is beautiful. One of the best sounding basses I've ever heard. Love the tone with neck pup and active on. No more basses.......no more basses..Argh.
     
    friendlybass and ulasengin like this.
  4. Dec 31, 2014 #4
    Gorn

    Gorn Supporting Member

    Dec 15, 2011
    Queens, NY
    How about a Fender American deluxe j?
     
    Smallmouth_Bass, Phalex, BioWeapon and 5 others like this.
  5. Dec 31, 2014 #5
    wvbass

    wvbass Supporting Member

    Mar 1, 2004
    West Virginia
    There are so many great aftermarket preamps that I would just find the right J and not worry about whether it is active or not.
     
    joebar likes this.
  6. Dec 31, 2014 #6
    friendlybass

    friendlybass

    Jul 19, 2012
    Colorado
    That is a beautiful peace of work. What's the price point?
     
  7. Dec 31, 2014 #7
    friendlybass

    friendlybass

    Jul 19, 2012
    Colorado
    I'll get some research going on them
     
  8. Dec 31, 2014 #8
    friendlybass

    friendlybass

    Jul 19, 2012
    Colorado
    Haha I'm gonna need you to stop all that forward thinking. What it is is my hunt for a good P bass led me away from fender with crazy good results (and prices) and I was curious if id have similar results with a jazz bass
     
  9. Dec 31, 2014 #9
    NWB

    NWB

    Apr 30, 2008
    Kirkland, WA
    Carvin JB.
     
    obimark and friendlybass like this.
  10. Dec 31, 2014 #10
    Scarey Larry

    Scarey Larry Supporting Member

    Apr 28, 2014
    Look up, no...way, way up.
    There are tons of options. Only solution is to try some. Depends on which feels best and your tolerance for price.
     
    friendlybass likes this.
  11. Dec 31, 2014 #11
    friendlybass

    friendlybass

    Jul 19, 2012
    Colorado
    Love my car in lb50 ill check these out
     
  12. Dec 31, 2014 #12
    NWB

    NWB

    Apr 30, 2008
    Kirkland, WA
    I just got a JB5 and it's a very sweet bass. No mid control, although you can get that as an option though it doesn't allow for a passive tone when configured that way.
     
  13. Dec 31, 2014 #13
    friendlybass

    friendlybass

    Jul 19, 2012
    Colorado
    Seeing as on my 3 bands I usually cut the mids I think i can live with that
     
  14. Dec 31, 2014 #14
    KaseOfBass

    KaseOfBass Put some stank on it... Supporting Member

    Jan 8, 2007
    Austin, Texas
    The Lakland Skyline Darryl Jones basses are very nice. I have a DJ5 that has been my favorite even over several Sadowsky basses I had. I added an Audere 4-band pre (that I have ended up leaving set flat 99% of the time).

    If I were going to look at a higher price point, I'd steer in the direction of Mike Lull or Valenti.
     
    fender68 likes this.
  15. Dec 31, 2014 #15
    mmbongo

    mmbongo I have too many basses. Supporting Member

    Aug 5, 2009
    Upstate, South Carolina
    Spector Coda would be my first choice.

    mtd535_2896.jpg


    Or G&L JB if you want to save a few bucks.

    jb-763-2.jpg
     
    NWB and fender68 like this.
  16. Dec 31, 2014 #16
    nerkoids

    nerkoids

    Jan 3, 2014
    Montreal
    Shhhh.... I'm huntwing Wazzes...
    Elmer_fudd.jpg
     
    Malak the Mad, gidbass, friendlybass and 1 other person like this.
  17. Dec 31, 2014 #17
    tg42

    tg42

    Mar 29, 2013
    Ordu, Turkey
    Get a Squier Classic Vibe Jazz Bass and get a J-retro.
     
  18. Dec 31, 2014 #18
    GBassNorth

    GBassNorth Supporting Member

    Dec 23, 2006
    SoCal
    As MMBongo noted - Spector Coda if you're set on buying a new or used jazz is the best bang for the buck. Will run you anywhere between $1000 and $4000 depending on the model, options and used vs new.

    However, if it were me and I had an already nice Fender or Squire Jazz laying around I'd just simply drop a John East Jazz Retro Deluxe preamp in for the win! Will run you about $350 or so from http://www.bestbassgear.com/j-retro-preamp.htm
    and is guaranteed to make any jazz a passive/active tone monster. I did exactly this with my Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass 5 a few years back and couldn't be happier.
    Here's a pic...
    34e6db3b-dcdd-4e94-a641-9d52506b9888_zpsc5353fb1.jpg
     
    friendlybass likes this.
  19. Dec 31, 2014 #19
    progrockbass

    progrockbass

    Feb 14, 2008
    Toronto, ON Canada
    This is a very nice jazz Lakland 44-AJ as well as the aforementioned Darryl Jones.... Screen Shot 2014-12-31 at 3.39.20 PM.png
     
    friendlybass and nerkoids like this.
  20. Dec 31, 2014 #20
    NWB

    NWB

    Apr 30, 2008
    Kirkland, WA
    The JB is an incredibly nice jazz bass, but not active as the OP was looking for.

    OTOH, it does sound so good that I doubt many people would even miss an active pre with it.
     
    friendlybass likes this.
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