I've been considering a new jazz bass, but after reading i hear the jag. is also pretty good. any suggestions if i should get a jazz or jag?
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Jag vs Jazz
- Thread starter jlo95
- Start date
If you're used to a Jazz, like I am, you won't even notice it's a different bass when playing it. I wish I had enough to buy one.
What particular Jazz are you considering? The Jaguar is nice, but has some flaws out of the box. It will need to be shielded, all the switches might get in your way depending on your playing style (I can't slap my Jag because I always end up flipping switches in the process). It is a little neck heavy. The preamp is not the best, but it is a very versatile bass.
The MIM 70s Jazz is about the same price now that they are both being discontinued. If I could do it all over, I would get the 70s Jazz. It's a less is more kind of thing.
The MIM 70s Jazz is about the same price now that they are both being discontinued. If I could do it all over, I would get the 70s Jazz. It's a less is more kind of thing.
To be accurate, the Jag is already shielded, Fender just didn't connect the shielded cavities together and haven't rectified the situation yet (idiots). Easy fix with a bit of copper tape placed under the pick guard that connects each cavity to the bottom pickguard.
Most of the noise is due to oxidation on the battery connector from sitting for two years in stock. The battery compartment arrangement is not brilliant.
Grounding the upper switch cavity took me about five minutes. All the other cavities had continuity with each other.
Other than that, I like the Jaguar better than my '08 AS Jazz.
Grounding the upper switch cavity took me about five minutes. All the other cavities had continuity with each other.
Other than that, I like the Jaguar better than my '08 AS Jazz.
I would get a std jazz because it's passive. IMO, Jags look cooler and the series/parallel switch is awesome but yeah... I prefer to not have an active bass.
If you don't dig the active, just don't put in the battery. It's an active preamp as opposed to active pickups, so if you don't use the preamp, you can use the bass passively...
i rewired mine so it's only has passive mode...less chance of something going wrong with the electronics plus less noise
i also added a stacked dual volume so i can blend pickups
i also added a stacked dual volume so i can blend pickups
I used mine on a New Years gig and was trying out all kinds of configurations, and I must say that it sounded best (for my money) in passive mode. That is when I realized I should have bought the MIM 70s Jazz.
There's a passive switch on the Jaguar. Just turn it off.
It's also inconceivable to me that anyone would get an MIM over a MIJ anything.
It's also inconceivable to me that anyone would get an MIM over a MIJ anything.
The MIMs have really stepped things up over the last couple of years (70s Jazz, Road Worn) and the MIJ, well, they just ain't what they used to be. I can not imagine that if the Jaguar was realeased in the 80s, the MIJ prime, that it would have the problems that it does. Anyone feeling this?
But yes, just turn the switch to passive.
Every MIM I've played in the last few months was worse than its Squier CV counterpart. You must get good Fenders in Detroit.
My thoughts on the Jag:
Pro's:
- Fantastic feel. Totally loved it. I dig skinny necks.
- Great range of tones.
- Looks cool (IMO).
Con's:
- Switches can get in the way when slapping.
- No pickup blend control <-- This is the reason I sold mine.
- Glossy neck - not my preference.
I never had an issue with noise or neck-dive.
FYI The active passive switch is true bypass. I've read posts about people modding the pre out of it and it sounded "much better". This is pure myth. I've traced the schem. OFF means out of signal path. Totally.
Personally I'd go a Marcus Miller.
Pro's:
- Fantastic feel. Totally loved it. I dig skinny necks.
- Great range of tones.
- Looks cool (IMO).
Con's:
- Switches can get in the way when slapping.
- No pickup blend control <-- This is the reason I sold mine.
- Glossy neck - not my preference.
I never had an issue with noise or neck-dive.
FYI The active passive switch is true bypass. I've read posts about people modding the pre out of it and it sounded "much better". This is pure myth. I've traced the schem. OFF means out of signal path. Totally.
Personally I'd go a Marcus Miller.
Had appalling noise out of the box, traceable to the battery contact, of all things. Quick fix. Did a slight amount of shielding ground correction (top cavity) after extensive checking on the bench with a meter. I don't know if it changed much. I think this problem is exaggerated.
Biggest problem was the HUGE amounts of buffing compound dust left in the cavities, and this stuff kills pots.
Getting that crap out of there was a bit of work and should have been done at Dyna.
Neither have I, though I feel mine's a little neck-heavy.
Likewise the imaginary "improvement" of at least 80% of the "mods" done by gristleheads here.
Incredible that someone would wire a bypass without checking the wiring diagram first. Well...no...it's predictable, really.
Lots of hate for the MM for some reason. Haven't really followed it. It doesn't have a lot of appeal to me because it's supposedly very heavy and pretty overpriced. I'm also no fan of the "Artist Model" concept.
I find it odd that there's no blend on the Jaguar, what with all those knobs, but I never would have noticed it if you hadn't mentioned it. Blending pots is not something with which I normally bother, nor find particularly successful when I do. Generally, things are dimed or on/off around here.
while i agree just turning the active mode off is the easiest solution you still have really long wires going all over the place in the cavities. this is why i disconnected it completely and just wired the pickups straight to the volume/tone knobs.
Not me.
I think the Jaguar's "problems" are wildly exaggerated in the first place. The lack of continuity in shielding is a chronic problem with instruments at all price points, and is also misunderstood and misdiagnosed by non-pros. I see shielding continuity faults in nearly every instrument that comes through here and nobody makes a big deal about it or notices any drastic "problem." I think the Jaguar's "problem" with this is largely a misattribution of the battery contact noise that got accidentally rectified while the screwing around in the cavities was being done.
As far as MIM v MIJ, I see lots and lots and lots of instruments, and evaluating build and production trends is what I do and who I am. Judging from what I've read here for many years, less than 5% of TB users seem to have a clue about build and the rest are not particularly troubled by that fact.
I have never seen a MIM anything that approaches the build quality of the particular Jaguar I have (though I think the hardware on the Jag was downsourced for the export models, as it usually is on FMIC contract to Dyna-Gakki relative to their production for domestic FJ). For FMIC to change this would require a total overhaul of Ensenada management and policies, which I've always thought were ridiculous and the direct cause of MIM sub-quality.
