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Jack Casady Bass Review

#83
Here are a few photos of Jack that I recently took.

Enjoy.

Mike

Jack_1.jpg
Jack_2.jpg
Jack_4.jpg
 
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#84
Your last shot on the stairway is an absolute perfect portrait of this bass’ character.

An alignment story from today: I’ve been looking for a hollow body bass for awhile now. The idea of having one has creeped under my skin. A Guild Starfire II really got me but its a bit out of my cost range. Looked at Eastwood, Chowney... used to own a Hofner Icon Club which was beautiful but too tiny for me and string height off the body and blocky pups just felt all wrong (and what’s with Hofners big rectangle control knob panel just nailed on the body like that? Do they try to make it as anti-aestheticly backward as they can?), Rumblkat... same. Floating bridge is definitely out. So I kinda gave up.

Walk into my local trade-in/pawn type shop this afternoon and there, glistening on the wall with a freakin’ aura around it, is a gold Jack Casady. Who woulda thought... great when the universe aligns like that. I knew this bass of course but it had slipped my mind. Guy says it had been there for months without much interest. Looks new, super price with hsc included. The vari-tone switch slips around a bit though (no biggy to tighten some way). Needed a neck adjustment, then I played the heck out of it.

Pretty sure I’ve had the buffer time to consider it long enough, and’ll go back tomorrow for it. Thanks for this thread.
 
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#88
After seeing this post, I took off the pickguard on mine. It looks great. More modern. It doesn't matter to me that much but it is a bit better.

This is a great sounding bass. The feel of the neck fits me very well it reminds me of an old Precision bass neck in thickness but the fretboard does not feel as wide. The fretwork is great. It is a mahogany neck with a rosewood fretboard. They are now using a different wood for the fretboard. I cannot imagine that it will make a difference. The body is maple laminate. The pickup is a low-impedence design. Mine is 4 years old so I cannot comment on the complaints about the strings that came on the guitar. Mine were great. I kept them on for 3 years and only changed them because I wanted to use a lighter guage. Jack Casady uses Dean Markley Blue Steels on his. I do not think they are delivered with Blue Steels. No way!
I changed the stock bridge to a Babicz bridge. I did not like the adjustment capability of the standard Gibson 3-point bridge. The sound of the Gibson bridge is great though. Sustain for days! The Babicz changes the sound but it is very slight and there is no loss in sustain. It has enabled me to lower the action to a ridiculously low level. It was an easy bolt-on. The archtop body makes it necessary to use the included spacer plate. I highly recommend this upgrade. BUT, if you have no real desire to make the change, it is not necessary. The bass is amazing as delivered.
 

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#89
I also removed the plastic disc under the impedance switch. Its stuck with a non permanent type stickum, so you just unscrew the collar and gently/firmly work it off. No need for it and looks better without.

Changing the bridge is still a consideration, but since this is the only Gibson I own, the super-tone is unique, and keeps the bass with its own vibe. I don’t mind the adjustment. So far… those Babs bridges are really great though and still looks good on the Jack.
 
#96
Hey there… keeping this thread alive! Has anyone tried Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats on their JC’s?

bit of background… I’m from the dark side (double bass)… play 50/50 arco Pizz (bowed/plucked) Haven’t owned an electric bass guitar for years but based on the reviews here I jumped on a JC at a great price sight unseen! I need the bass for a new project. What drew me to this bass is the comments re tone… i have a very flat rig that I use for my double bass that I’ll be using with this bass too. I use Thomastic Infeld Spirocore on my double bass and Thomastic Infelds on my fretless acoustic and love both sets on those instruments… I haven’t actually received the JC bass yet and have a feeling that the factory strings will be the first thing to go… so yeah, anyone tried the TI’s on their bass…. Any comments? I’ll play mainly with my fingers not with a plectrum…

cheers
 

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