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IBANEZ Jet King Bass, New?

#61
I played it for almost an hour at GC. This bass is awesome, IMO. Looks to kill, and the neck (middle?) pickup is GREAT, nice and punchy, very responsive, the bridge seemed to lack some of the "meat" of better pickups, but when blended with the neck pickup it was a very nice sound. The neck and frets feel cheap, but the bass sounds like a million bucks, even through cruddy amps. A setup and a fret leveling/filing would make this bass a gigging instrument.

Yes it's 34" scale, and it's about 10 lbs. There's no front contour either so playing it sitting down can be painful. It's vol vol tone setup. Very cool bass, I would buy one if I had the cash.
 
#62
I finally had a chance to play one at GC last weekend. I really liked it. I didn't find the neck to feel cheap at all, unless it's the plastic neck binding that someone is not used to feeing on the neck edge. On the contrary, I really liked the p-bass width (1.75 I assume) and the 3 piece neck. I have a similar neck no my arcore, and it's rock solid. The frets are, as was mentioned, nothing amazing.

I think it will be a touch neck heavy, but not alot. Also, it seemed had a range of usefull vintage-ish tones and I found that it's overall quality was just right for it's price point. On par with the Vintage squire stuff, but not quite MIM fender.

Finally, I really like the fact that it is so distincitve looking. The vintage logo is a nice touch, the bridge seems to be of good quality, and the pickguards are nice, in a love-it or-leave it kind of way. In a world where all basses in that range seem to be a Squire or a Soundgear, it's a great alternative to the norm. At the price point, I'll stick with my T-40's, but if I had $350 in my pocket, I would be very tempted.
 
#63
I cant' believe it... I'm a new guy, and I'm the first to own a Jet King!

Ok, some background... I play in a three-piece punk outfit where the bass is just as much of a lead instrument as the guitar is. My main bass is a Jag bass (probably not a suprise). The only reason I ever considered buying another was as a backup for gigs, since I play very hard. I went shopping at the nearest guitar center for an inexpensive bass; I just naturally gravitate towards vintage looking gear. I tried out a Epi T-Bird, but they're umplayable. I always try out with a strap, cuz I never play sitting. The neck dive was ridiculous! I can't be using my left hand to hold the damn thing up. The body shape was all wrong for picking too; my right wrist was chafed in minutes.

Then I spotted the Jet King. My buddy who works there said they just got it in, and nobody had even played it since it hit the floor earlier that day. I strapped it on and started to play. Now, playing a Jag has spoiled me, but for about half what I paid for the Jag, the King seemed like a reasonable instrument. I liked the split pickguard and short horn, cuz I wear my basses as low as I can go. The mini tuners and big fat bridge mean it holds level, which is where I like it.

As far as tone goes, it was suprisingly bright, with very long sustain. I play exclusively out of the bridge pup, but its nice to be able to get an even blend. The tone knob didn't make much difference, but it didn't have to. The neck is fairly thick, with a well-defined heel that really filled my hand. The nut seemed as wide or maybe even wider than a P-bass, but it seemed a lot faster than any P, which are never fast enough for me. I guess Ibanez has always made amazing necks.

I grabbed a Proco Rat 2 and plugged into an Ampeg 6x10 stack. I got a great Death From Above 1979 sound out of it that I hadn't been able to get out of my Jag.

I've only used it once live so far, when I did a cover of Iggy Pop's "Search and Destroy" with some musician friends in between our sets. It captured that sound perfectly.

Now, I should say, I might be prejudiced. My first bass was a cheap Ibby, and the two guitars I own are an Artcore semihollow and a GXR. But feel free to disagree with me. I'll be happy to be the only guy who ever plays a Jet King. It'll get me an endorsement deal that much faster :bassist:
 
#66
Sorry Godbody, seems you're not the only one here now playing a jet king. Picked mine up yesterday and i gotta say i'm really impressed. It was replacing, but now joins a Warwick rock bass streamer blackhawk and knocks spots off it. (keeping the other as it's got such a different sound, much crisper and more modern kinda sound)

The neck feels so much better to play. It's a lot slimmer than the fender squier and the warwick were and so plays nicer and seems easier to play quicker. The tone and sustain are fantastic for a reasonably priced bass. I plugged into a 300w ashdown evo head with a 4x10 cab in the shop and it sounded great. even though i've only played it for about 3 hours or so, it's won me over..
 
#69
Wife wanted to buy me a bass for Christmas (God bless her) and I put together a list of a few basses that were 1) neat looking 2) inexpensive (didn't want her to go bananas) 3) easy to find..... and she used that to track down a few.

The 3) option was not to be, as some of the basses I listed were not easy to find - a Dano 63 was one of them.. Neat looking, inexpensive but a bioooootcccch to find from what she told me. But that was ok 'cause...

However (point to the story) she did find a Jet King and a hard shell case that is not perfect but works.... And I was plesantly surprised. Neck felt nice, tone was mmmm, and the looks I go for. I am not a "cookie-cutter" type body style fan, so I always lean towards something "different". (Yes, I have a Bongo... LOL :smug: )

I was more than pleased. Of course, she could have bought me a '82 Cort copy and I would have loved it as it is the thought that counts, but he picked a winnah with the Jet King IMHO.

My .02 :ninja:
 
#74
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Here's mine. New, replaced white pick guards with tortoiseshell. It neck dives like crazy, put a new strap pin on the back where the neck joins the body (like thunderbirds), and no more neck dive. Still getting the kinks out of the neck at the shop though. Had to special order a hard case through GC at list price $159. Case is JTKB100C.
 
#78
millsbass5 said:
It reminds me of the Lakland Decade Bass.HANDS DOWN!!!They got as close as they could w/out a lawsuit.That is Ibanez' niche.Go ahead flame me.Look at their history.Heck,they are still doing it,in a more subtle way.
Click to expand...

Actually, The "Jet King" is a reissue of an old guitar, the Ibanez "Rhythm Maker".

Aside from that, the Jet King was released well BEFORE the Lakland, so if anyone was copying the look, it would be Lakland.

The Lakland was released at NAMM 2005, and the Ibanez was at NAMM 2003.

http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM03/Content/Ibanez/PR/JTK-1.html

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#79
millsbass5 said:
It reminds me of the Lakland Decade Bass.HANDS DOWN!!!They got as close as they could w/out a lawsuit.That is Ibanez' niche.Go ahead flame me.Look at their history.Heck,they are still doing it,in a more subtle way.
Click to expand...

No flame intended, but as dark horse says, you're definitely way off base. Check the pic that I posted two pages and 10 months ago to see the bass from the 60s that the jetking is based on.

On the subject of originality..I love the decade, but take a look at early Wal basses, and suddenly it doesn't seem so original anymore.
 

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