J-bass on a $600 budget

[scottfeldstein]

Early to Mid 2000s Made In Mexico, Fender Jazz Bass

A couple of years ago I had a 2002 MIM Active Jazz Deluxe fiver. It even had Suhr pickups on it. But it was a dang boat anchor. I had to flip it for that reason alone.

 

[Yahboy]

Let's say you're in the market for a used four string j-style bass with two single coil pickups. Your budget is $600 (plus reasonable shipping). And you do not want anything with Squier on the headstock. What are you looking for? What would you jump on if you saw it in your price range?

MIM Fender Jazz?
PRS?
Sire?
G&L?

Bacchus BJB1RSM ( less than 300 bucks)
https://www.deviser.co.jp/en/products/bjb-1-rsm-m

I own one since Oct 2021 , and this bass is Squier killer to me , on pair build quality and factory fretwork to Yamaha TRBX504 ,Fender Performer J and my current Vintera 50s P. The "Real" medium roasted maple neck are rock solid and hold the neck relief better than 5pcs laminated neck on TRBX504. Stock cheap looking tuning machines work very well without issue compare to my indo Squier CV50P (suxk tuner).
Meanwhile the cheap alpha pot on it has no single scratching noise until current day, unlike the CV50P, both pot start notice some scratching noise after 3 months, i just replace those suxk pot couple months ago with Alpha premium pot.

The stock ceramic pup on BJB1RSM sound beefy than mt previous Squier indo VM70J/77J, VM STD J and CIC CV60J. But i swap with my personal prefer hum cancelling j pup ~ Cort VTB-ST (you can found this set on current Cort Elrick NJS J bass ). This pup combine with EB Cobalt flatwound give me Vintage-Modern J tone i looking for.

Bridge swap just for look, no sound different to stock bridge. But i swap it with indo Squier CV60J bridge currently.

Those chrome neck pup cover and thumb rest are not stock, add just for classic look. I also swap the stock knobs set with Fender J knobs and need brass insert on smaller diameter alpha pot shaft.

I am totally satisfied everything on this cheap but great build j bass, except the weight 9.2lbs....... .

Oh, the Sadowsky-like headstock look cool and no neck dive issue.

Here is the sound sample.

 

[scottfeldstein]

Bacchus BJB1RSM ( less than 300 bucks)
https://www.deviser.co.jp/en/products/bjb-1-rsm-m

I own one since Oct 2021 , and this bass is Squier killer to me , on pair build quality and factory fretwork to Yamaha TRBX504 ,Fender Performer J and my current Vintera 50s P. The "Real" medium roasted maple neck are rock solid and hold the neck relief better than 5pcs laminated neck on TRBX504. Stock cheap looking tuning machines work very well without issue compare to my indo Squier CV50P (suxk tuner).
Meanwhile the cheap alpha pot on it has no single scratching noise until current day, unlike the CV50P, both pot start notice some scratching noise after 3 months, i just replace those suxk pot couple months ago with Alpha premium pot.

The stock ceramic pup on BJB1RSM sound beefy than mt previous Squier indo VM70J/77J, VM STD J and CIC CV60J. But i swap with my personal prefer hum cancelling j pup ~ Cort VTB-ST (you can found this set on current Cort Elrick NJS J bass ). This pup combine with EB Cobalt flatwound give me Vintage-Modern J tone i looking for.

Bridge swap just for look, no sound different to stock bridge. But i swap it with indo Squier CV60J bridge currently.

Those chrome neck pup cover and thumb rest are not stock, add just for classic look. I also swap the stock knobs set with Fender J knobs and need brass insert on smaller diameter alpha pot shaft.

I am totally satisfied everything on this cheap but great build j bass. The Sadowsky-like headstock look cool too.

Here is the sound sample.


View attachment 4759708 View attachment 4759709 View attachment 4759710

Love it. And even the Daphne blue works for me.

 

[Marcoantarba]

I was skeptical of the Sire basses until I bought one recently. Everything they say about those is totally true, found one used for $550 and have enjoy it live for the last month.

 

[pisces_bass]

Since it's not been suggested yet, I'll put a plug in for Reverend. The Justice in my avatar has been my main player and solid since I bought it in 2018. The pickups aren't standard single coil though, so if that's a deal breaker, look elsewhere. It's a relatively high output instrument with noticeably more lows than a typical jazz bass with the jazz bomb pickups. Reverend discontinued the Justice basses a few years ago but they show up in your budget range on Reverb and other outlets. Mine is right around 8lbs.

 

[scottfeldstein]

The only thing you would need to modify on a Classic Vibe is the headstock logo, since you're too vain to play a Squier.

Others disagree. Or maybe they're just vain, too?



And, yeah. Maybe I do think this song is about me.

 

[scottfeldstein]

Since it's not been suggested yet, I'll put a plug in for Reverend. The Justice in my avatar has been my main player and solid since I bought it in 2018. The pickups aren't standard single coil though, so if that's a deal breaker, look elsewhere. It's a relatively high output instrument with noticeably more lows than a typical jazz bass with the jazz bomb pickups. Reverend discontinued the Justice basses a few years ago but they show up in your budget range on Reverb and other outlets. Mine is right around 8lbs.

I'm in as long as it sounds like a jazz bass. I don't care that much about noise - bonus if there isn't any - but I want it to Jazz bass. Including, but not limited to, Geddy's Tom Sawyer.

 

[pisces_bass]

I'm in as long as it sounds like a jazz bass. I don't care that much about noise - bonus if there isn't any - but I want it to Jazz bass. Including, but not limited to, Geddy's Tom Sawyer.

Well, you might just like it. It's certainly a jazz but with a little "more". I had a MIM Fender for years and the Reverend version is a different take on the concept. It has a pickup pan knob rather than individual volume knobs. Roll it back towards the bridge a little and you're into the jazz growl. Add Geddy drive to taste.

 

[Marko 1]

Vain, shallow, pissed at Fender for not making a MIM P-5... maybe all three. I just rubbed the logo off.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Let's say you're in the market for a used four string j-style bass with two single coil pickups. Your budget is $600 (plus reasonable shipping). And you do not want anything with Squier on the headstock. What are you looking for? What would you jump on if you saw it in your price range?

MIM Fender Jazz?
PRS?
Sire?
G&L?

Kestrel's dope, but it requires upgrades to not dissappear in a mix. Which sucks, because it's a great bass in every other way except that.

I'd probably go with the Tribute. It's great out the box. At least, if you get one without issues. Tributes are notorious for quality control issues. I'm speaking from experience.

 

[bass12]

I borrowed a friend's Squier Jazz for a recent gig. I kind of hate to say it but it sounded better to me than my Fender '62 re-issue Jazz.

 

[rylie]

check with your local pawn shops
my history with pawn is
sometimes lucky
other times not
IME: pawn shops are often the value connection between quality and affordability

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

Check what Harley Benton offers:
https://www.thomann.de/intl/4_strin...Harley Benton&gk=GIEBJ4&cme=false&filter=true

 

[Mosfed]

CIJ: Fender JB-62 Jazz Bass Reissue MIJ 1995-96 3TSB | Reverb

this is absolutely what you should buy. And if You don't, I might. CIJ fenders are among the best Fenders out there and this will appreciate in value

 

[Tom Bomb]

Never had a problem, in this department, from the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. I tend to go the extra step and source these things from fujigen — in these terms, the badge is almost irrelevant yet they don't command the same sort of resale value, which equates, most of the time, to a better deal ​

 

[MrB64]

I have no affiliation with this store, but I think this looks pretty great.

G&L Tribute JB Bass Guitar - 3-tone Sunburst

 

[bordinco90]

Sire or used MIM Fender.

 

[bignote]

 

[Nebadon2000]

Markbass GV Series?

 

[alack]

I don't know if this was already answered, but does the OP prefer 60s or 70s pickup spacing? It matters and Squier offers both.

Here's a few more points in defense of Squier. When I bought my first one about 3 or 4 years ago I was shopping specifically for a Jazz bass. I went to my preferred dealer and tried USA, MIM and a few different Squiers. IMHO the Squier played and sounded better than the others and the price made it a no-brainer. Sure, there are other budget options. But few of them are just hanging in local shops to try before you buy. Several other players have sat in on my gigs and tried my humble Squier J. Everyone of them loved it!

I dig the logo.