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Jack Casady Bass Review

#21
Regarding how I got my Casady; I guess it was just luck.
I've wanted the Casady for about a year now, but, I really
wanted to get a 5 string first. About Dec. 15 or so, I was
just cruising through Musiciansfriend.com, looking through
all the basses. Then I spotted the Casady in the 5 string
category. Why it was there(it still is) God only knows.
Anyway it said: Price: $449.00 to $719.00. I checked, and the Vintage Sunburst ones were $449.00, the black ones
were $719.00, which is more in line with the prices I've
seen for this bass. I hesitated, went back on Dec. 20th, and it said: Discontinued next to the $449.00 basses.
I went home, threw my head onto my pillow, and just cried
myself to sleep.(Going to the bar and drinking Irish Whiskey for 3 hours also helped) Then, I went back on Dec.
22nd, and there they were back at $449.00 ~ as if nothing
happened! This time I called their 800 number and spoke
to a real person and asked them if it was a joke? Were they
seconds? Were they demos? The guy replied " No, they're
brand new in the box, but, we just found 9 sunburst ones
in our warehouse, and, we want to move them out." Now I've
been known to procrastinate, but, just like when you meet
a gorgeous lady at a party, and she takes a strong interest
in you, and, about 1:30am says "I'm so drunk, I'm so drunk,
how am I going to get home?" You stop thinking, and start
acting! ...back to the bass... I charged it. I didn't want
to, but, I pretended the bass was telling me she was drunk.
My main concern was that I didn't want a guitar shipped on
a cold truck for days in the middle of winter; but when I
opened the box, all was well. So that's how I got my Casady
at an obscene price. Hey notduane, you got a pretty good
price on your's, as I said, it was all luck/timing with me.
Thanks for the info on the case. I'd better get moving on
that soon.

To VictorLe Monte... The cheapest I've seen American
Precisions for was $700.00, so you made out like a bandit
too! Good luck with it.

Too everyone else, stay cool. Talk to you guys later

Mike J.
 
#22
Mike:
A few days ago, after reading this thread, I went to the Musician's Friend site and checked on the Casady bass, only to find as someone noted above that the sunburst models for $449 were all gone. A few minutes ago, after reading the story of how you got yours, I suppressed my jealousy long enough to surf back to the MF site and checked again. To my surprise, the Casady sunburst is now listed as in-stock! I just ordered one over the web, and I'd advise anyone interested to book over to the MF site now. It could be a mistake, but if it isn't, this deal's too good to miss.
 
#23
Whoa! Right you are Muggsy! I just went there now, and they're back in stock! I don't believe this. I just checked
a few days ago, and it said DISCONTINUED next to the vintage sunburst and gold mettalic models. This is like the Twilight Zone. That story I told above is true, and now, it's happening again. Do you think maybe it's some kind of
ploy like what Coca~cola pulled about 15 years ago, when
they said "We're not making coke anymore", then the whole
world went berzerk and demanded to have coke back, then
they called it Coke Classic? I'm starting to raise an eye-
brow.

Anyway, Muggsy, if you've ordered one, Congratulations!
You won't be disappointed. It's truly a great bass. O.K.
Now, let's all try to think together. Why would a giant
music retailer offer the same bass $270.00 cheaper just
because it's a different color? Maybe some people like
black better than sunburst, but, believe me the sunburst
this bass comes in is a really nice one. The photo at M/F
does not due the bass justice. It looks yellowish on your
computer. In real life it's the color of Sam Adams beer!
Anyway, whatever the reason, if that good lookin' girl is
tellin' you she's drunk, Take her home!

Mike J.

I really can't believe this.
 
#24
This morning the sunburst is again listed as discontinued and out of stock at MF. Weird. They appear to have accepted my order for processing, and I've received confirmation e-mails, so I'll just have to wait and see if it shows up. By the way, I asked a friend of mine who knows Casady and has the bass if he'd heard anything about Epiphone discontinuing production of this model. He didn't know, but he spoke to Jack yesterday and Jack said the rumor is untrue. He did say that they may be discontinuing production of some colors (i.e., sunburst) but the model will continue to be available.
 
#25
Hey Muggsy, That's good news about the Casady still being
available, because I would like to get another and make it
fretless, but, we will see what the future brings.

You have a friend that actually knows Jack Casady?
Large Cool!

As far as your ordering the bass, your tale sounds like a carbon copy of mine. I ordered it after it was available, then discontinued, then available again, and I jumped on it. Then, a few days later, it was discontinued again.
I don't know if it's some kind of clever marketing game,
or, their inventory control is all screwed up. I wouldn't
worry about getting it though. If they gave you an order#
you can track it after a couple of days. You can actually
see it getting closer and closer to your home town. Ah, the
benefits of technology. Let us know when you get it, and
what you think of it. I'm sure you'll love it.

Talk to you later,
Mike J.
 
#26
MAJOR CONGRATS MIKE!!!Ive had mine for some time now and love it.I also had a hard time finding one to try so i bought it without knowing what i was getting into.From the first note i knew i struck gold!And not just because of the finnish.I got mine from BNW.Great guys by the way.Before i ordered it i had some correspondance with ole Jack himself.He says the build quality and sound is better than any of the 3 Gibsons he has that its based on.Also he told me the neck is mahogany.Id say hes as reliable a source as you could ask for regarding info on this bass.Ive tried a variety of strings on it and so far prefer DM blue steels in nickle.Jack uses the SS version but i like the mellower,richer tone of nickle.DR Low riders in nickle sound real nice on it as well.The only flats ive tried are Labella deep talking flats.Pretty nice but after a few days i start missing the RW sound.I really hope they dont discontinue it.ENJOY!!!!
 
#27
Originally posted by muggsy
This morning the sunburst is again listed as discontinued and out of stock at MF. Weird. They appear to have accepted my order for processing, and I've received confirmation e-mails, so I'll just have to wait and see if it shows up. By the way, I asked a friend of mine who knows Casady and has the bass if he'd heard anything about Epiphone discontinuing production of this model. He didn't know, but he spoke to Jack yesterday and Jack said the rumor is untrue. He did say that they may be discontinuing production of some colors (i.e., sunburst) but the model will continue to be available.
Click to expand...


MF does that a lot, must be a temp worker or something.
a while back i was looking at a spector and it said, 2 weeks, then it said march, then it said discontinued, then back to 2 weeks. all with in about 4 days. 2 weeks when by about 3 weeks ago but it still says 2 weeks. most people on this site seem to have good luck with MF as opposed to someone like music123.com so i never really worry about it, i just wait.:)
 
#31
Thanks, notduane. They're shipping it UPS, so I'll probably start checking the UPS site on Monday. I guess I can make it through the weekend. ;)

Desire is a funny thing. I have absolutely no need for a second bass, and this was totally an impulse purchase, but I know I'm going to be completely preoccupied with the Casady until it gets here. I'm going out of town next Thursday morning, so my guess is it'll show up Thursday afternoon.
 
#32
Originally posted by muggsy
Thanks, notduane. They're shipping it UPS, so I'll probably start checking the UPS site on Monday. I guess I can make it through the weekend. ;)

Desire is a funny thing. I have absolutely no need for a second bass, and this was totally an impulse purchase,...
Click to expand...
Aw hell, buy as many as you want! :p . I thought I could stop at ONE bass and ONE amp.
it's now up to 5 and 3, respectively with no end in sight :D.
To paraphrase Neil Young, "G.A.S. never sleeps".
...but I know I'm going to be completely preoccupied with the Casady until it gets here. I'm going out of town next Thursday morning, so my guess is it'll show up Thursday afternoon.
Click to expand...
Shoot! Long as ya' got yer credit card out, order up a few sets of your favorite strangs
from [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and have `em rush-ordered (`bout 2-3 bid'ness days).
I started with GHS Precision Flats and switched to Thomastik-Infeld JF344's.
Too sweet! :D . The low tension of the T/I flats not only gave a better "feel",
but eased my worryin' regarding the pressure on that mahogany neck.
 
#33
To all Epiphone/Casady/bass lovers in general. I just went
over to the Gibson site, and told them to tell Epi marketing
to wake up. This is a great bass and sales should be much,
much higher. Check it out. Also go there and tell them what
a great bass this is, and to get with it. Every one I talk
to has nothing but praise for this axe, so why are we worrying about it being discontinued? We must rise up and make Epi marketing earn their gruel!

1)www.gibson.com
2)go to forums
3)go to Epiphone
4)click on "last 30 messages"
this way you don't have to
wade through the other 400

If anyone gets hungry while they're doing this, just go to
my new website: Mikessausges.com, and
just look for the links!

Have a good weekend all,
Mike J.
 
#34
Muggsy,your friend is right.Some clowns have been trying to raise the value of these by claiming theyve been discontinued or will be soon.Only the ebony and SB fins have been discontinued.As to needing another bass...These are unlike most.You cannot get this sound from a solid body or short scale SH.No way,no how.Its that simple.You my friend are in for a treat.Im certain youll like this bass.Like any other brand/bass/some are better than others.If you get a good one(very likely)it will be the one you reach for most often.Jack tried for some time to find a mfg to go along with his idea for a bass like this.BELIEVE ME!He got it RIGHT!!!!Good luck!
 
#35
Thanks for the encouragement, Bernie. I have played a Casady before (my friend who knows Jack has one) so that's why I jumped on this deal. It is very different from my p-bass, and as my skills improve I expect I'll be better able to appreciate the differences, but for now I'm just hoping I get a good one. Given the tight supply situation (at least in the sunburst finish, which I prefer), I may not be able to exchange it for another if there's a problem.

I'm psyched about having two basses, but I've only been playing for eleven months, so I need to give my fingers and my ears time to catch up to my equipment after this. Other than a case for the Casady, the only other bass-related expense I anticipate in the next six months is a lot of lessons.
 
#36
I just went over to MF and all they have is refurbs for 449, is that what you all bought? 'Cause I have a friend who used to work at Epi in Nashville working on returns of Epis built overseas, Korea I think it was, and he said their main prob was neck warpage on account they cut the wood straight then cured it, where they should have cured it then cut it with a little curve built in--I hope I am remembering this all right, but it was something like this, anyway it was a very fundamental luthiery kind of issue. So anyway his biggest prob was getting back warped necks, which the customer returned because of fret buzz, and he'd just level the frets and send it back out. So it didn't really cure the problem, just the symptom. So I'm not sure if these "refurbs" aren't like the guitars my friend told me about (thinking hard about it). I probably need to call him and see if he can find out somehow.
 
#37
Kurosawa:
No, we're not talking about the refurbs. If you go to MF and do a search under "Cassady" (don't ask me why) you'll find the listing for new Casady basses. The sunburst and gold are listed as discontinued -- out of stock, but Mike J. and I got lucky. I wouldn't buy a refurb for the reasons you mentioned.
 
#39
The UPS tracking info says my Casady arrived in Atlanta today and is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. :) As luck would have it, I'm going out of town Thursday morning, but at least I can make sure it arrives safely and give it the once-over before I leave. If all goes well, I'll post my first impressions tomorrow night. :D Man, it feels like Christmas Eve!
 
#40
The Casady was waiting for me when I got home from work today. :D This is one seriously beautiful bass! I love the sunburst finish -- my buddy who has a Casady has the gold, and I like his a whole lot, but I like the sunburst even more. I've looked it over as thoroughly as I can, and I can't find a single flaw. The neck is straight, the frets and finish are perfect. I hated the strings that came on it, but I had a set of DR Sunbeams lying around, so I put them on and it sounds much better. Next time I change them out I'll probably try the TI Jazz flats, but the DRs should last me a while. Now I'm really pissed that I've got to go out of town tomorrow, but at least I know it'll be waiting for me when I get back. :)

I still love my p-bass, but the Casady is a completely different animal. For $449, it feels like the steal of the century. Now I just need to find a case...
 

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