Joined the Jacksters finally (and rejoined the Beaststers?)

Hey Y'all,

If it's Thursday then any music equipment I'm waiting for must have been delivered while I'm at work - since I go directly from work to band practice. Yesterday was one of those Thursdays.

My wife gave me a call and said that not one, but two large boxes arrived (actually she now knows that large boxes are basses - no telling her "it's just a mic stand"). So I ducked out of work a little early, ran (OK, drove) home, unpacked my boxes and headed off to band practice with new basses in hand.

Box #1 - Epiphone Jack Casady Sig bass from ebay
Black finish, second, has a spot on the black that looks like someone applied flat black housepaint with a brush. But you know what? You don't notice it unless you know it's there. It does have a crack in the finish where the fingerboard meets the neck on the bass side ~ 1 inch long. I emailed the seller and will try and get it checked out this weekend to see if it's the start of the dreaded fingerboard lifting or what.

This was the first one plugged in at practice. Output is really low - the strings are bronze-looking things that really look like acoustic strings. But the sound is awesome. Warm, warm, warm. And clear. You can hear all the notes. Playing with the band even being lower in the mix than I like this bass provided a warm, pillowy foundation that just supported the songs. I couldn't really get much out the impedance switch because I was down too low (going through the PA) and didn't fight my way through the clutter to turn up. I've got lots of time to experiment. The neck was very good for me. Nice width, slim but not too slim. Just a really good fit.

Jack questions:

Are the bronze-looking strings the original equipment? I see that Dean Markley Blue Steels (nickel) are a favorite type - I'll have to try those.

Where I would like to hang the bass my belly allows a drastic top-away-from-me lean. So while I did not have a headstock dive problem I do have a lean problem. I either held it in with my right forearm or leaned it back with my right leg. Neither is particularly comfortable. I think I will get one of those acoustic guitar headstock strap things so I can attach the strap there. I had a full acoustic bass guitar for a while and had no problems with it standing using one of those. Anybody else have any other suggestions?

Box #2 - MTD Beast new from closeout
The blue pearl is striking - it's almost a blue-green (or teal) pearl. With the maple fretboard it looks great. As I had two of these before I knew it would fit like a glove. I had to tweak the truss rod so this was the first time I had the cover off - it moved smoothly and was set up in no time. With the maple board (my previous ones were wenge) the steel strings didn't seem as annoying to me so I may keep them a while. This is the first maple board I've had in a while and I think I may actually like them better (than rosewood). Playing it was like coming home - the neck is just perfect for me. I'm not selling this one and am sorry I had to go through my last couple bass gyrations.

So with the Jack for warm sounds and the Beast for snappy, growly sounds I think I've got things covered. Now I just need to sell the last two "other" basses I still have and convert my head/cab into a combo and I can stop the madness.

Maybe not.

I'll try to get some pics of the Beast this weekend to show the bright (some might say obnoxious) color. All the MTD Beast/Kingston pictures of Blue Pearl I found on the web do not match what my bass ended up looking like.

 

Hey Funky,

Yep, it was another one new direct from the distributer on closeout. The deal that Adrian was kind enough to hook me up on. Of the 3 I've had (including this one) one was new from a dealer on ebay (actually the cheapest of the 3) and the other two were direct from the distributer. I rolled the dice on the blue pearl since the only other combinations available in 4-strings were ivory/wenge and red/wenge. I like the pearls and in general I like blue. I haven't had a bass this brightly colored in a long time (my translucent teal stingray was probably the last one that was close). I'll do some pics this weekend (got to be home when there's natural light to get a half-decent shot with my digital camera).

 

Life sucks, then you die. I'm in the "life sucks" portion now.

I tried playing the Jack again when I got home from work. I tried attaching the strap at the headstock. I tried the strap on strap button on the heel of the neck. I tried everything I could think of. You know, I'm just too fat to play a Jack - I cannot get it to hang in a comfortable position. It's wide body and my wide body are just not compatible. Then I strap on the Beast and ooooh baby - now that's a comfortable bass (for me).

So to what will be the dismay of my wife, bandmates, child (and myself) I'm going to be parting with the Jack. I wish I had been able to find one locally to try out - I could have saved myself the grief.

My new mantra: I will not buy a bass that I have not been able to actually try the same model.

That sucks.

 

The picture doesn't do the real color justice. I need a better digital camera. The color is more teal and has the pearl/metallic depth to it. Very nice if a bit bright.

 

Just got home from a gig. Played the Beast exclusively. Set it up with my favorite sound (neck pickup on full, bridge pickup rolled back until the sound "opens up"). Very comfortable to play, very clear/deep/growly sound. I don't think I'll get a second one (I think I'd rather have another sound at my disposal - an American Fender P probably) but they are a super deal. And I think they are almost all gone, too.

I sold my amp while at the gig too (head & cab) so I'm definitely bass shopping (and will be combo shopping after I sell the two basses I have up).