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Jon Hill Basses - need info

H

honkylips

Aug 20, 2010
30
17
Cleveland, Ohio
#1
I have an opportunity to purchase a beautiful 5-string Jon Hill custom neck through bass for (what appears to be) a good price. I played the bass on Saturday and it plays and sounds terrific. Since this isn't a brand I'm familiar with, I tried searching for info online. I found that Stefan Lessard from the Dave Matthews Band plays Jon Hill basses. Other than that, I really can't find any good information. The build quality appears to be top notch. It has Bartolini active P/J pickups and exotic woods. The quality is certainly on the level of any Alembic I've played, and the asking price (used) is under $1900. To make things even more odd, I found that Jon Hill basses were/are made in Cleveland, and I live about 20 minutes from downtown Cleveland and have never heard of them. I'm on the fence about buying this bass, leaning toward getting it, but would like to know if anyone has experience with them that could be passed along. Thanks in advance.
 
#4
Thanks for the responses. My opinion of the instrument was based on spending 10 minutes with it. In that short time, it seemed like a really nice instrument and in the league of Alembics and other high end makers. I'm just wondering what opinions are out there regarding these basses from those who have more experience with them. As an example, some people like a certain bass in terms of quality, sound, feel, etc, but say that x-brand has awful customer service or to watch out for signs of clearcoat issues, etc. Things of that nature. I did find the website for bootleg guitars, which appears to be the most recent site for Hill, but it doesn't appear to be much other than an address and phone number. I'm looking for responses based on the experience that only you TB-ers seem to have. Thanks again for the feedback.
 
#5
I could be wrong but I thought I heard or read the Hill took a job in a custom shop and is not making Hill bassses or guitars anymore. A local shop in Akron had one and it was real nice and a local player grabbed it pretty quick. It wasnt my thing but they are nice.
 
#6
I read that too, he took a job to make basses and guitars for another company.

Info about him here is limited, search the classifieds ive seen a few sell here and send a pm to the person who was selling it and ask him his oppinion on it, you will get an honest answer.

Ive done this int the past with, and TB's give me great advice.
 
#7
I've played 8 or 9 of them and owned one. They're very nice basses- the fit and finish on them was generally excellent. My six-string was a bit neck heavy due to the woods and the fairly large headstock, but you won't have to worry about that on the bass you're looking at. IIRC, the style of the one you're looking at originally sold for $2200-
$2400. I lived outside of Cleveland back when they were producing there and got to try out a few at his shop and others at local Cleveland stores that were carrying his basses for a while.
 
#9
When most of them started becoming available, it was mid-late 2003. I don't know how long after that point he kept producing those models though- I moved back to Connecticut at the beginning of 2004.
 
#10
I presently own 3 Jon Hill basses, one 4 string neck thru Elite, a 5 string bolt on Elite and a 4 string bolt on Elite.
They are great basses, neck width is a little wider than most on the 5, but once you play for a few minutes there are really no issues. The basses are very well balance. The basses with the bart humbuckers and bart preamp are better sounding. Shoot me a pm if you need more info, was just talking with Jon last week about the upcoming NAMM show
 
#11
Exactly the kind of info I've been looking for. Thank you very much. jphilauren- just one other question you might know the answer to: is Jon still producing instruments and/or accepting any repair work on his instruments? The bass I'm interested in has LED markers on the side, but only the light at the 5th fret appears to be functional. Not a huge issue to me from a playability standpoint (I own an Alembic with this function and rarely use it), but for the asking price I want to know it is right, or can be fixed and the price negotiated accordingly.
 
#16
"Wider" is a relative term. I have a Huntington 4, which I would say is probably the width of a Fender P bass ( maybe a smidge narrower). I bought a Huntington 5 for a buddy of mine and did a set up on it and played it a bit. The neck profile is nice... Flatter than most (definitely a "D" vs a "C" profile) but you're right... Definitely felt wide at the nut ( and all the way up the neck)..
I have a couple of 5's that are narrower ( Warwick FNA Jazzman) and Brian Moore i5 that are more comfortable because of their narrower necks. Disclaimer: I lay 4's almost exclusively, so most 5's don't feel comfortable except maybe the Brian Moore. If you absolutely need to know nut width, I can get my buddy to measure and forward on to you.
Cheers!
 
#17
jphilauren said:
I presently own 3 Jon Hill basses, one 4 string neck thru Elite, a 5 string bolt on Elite and a 4 string bolt on Elite.
They are great basses, neck width is a little wider than most on the 5, but once you play for a few minutes there are really no issues. The basses are very well balance. The basses with the bart humbuckers and bart preamp are better sounding. Shoot me a pm if you need more info, was just talking with Jon last week about the upcoming NAMM show
Click to expand...
Hey there! How is the string spacing on the 5’s? 19mm? 17mm? Thanks.
 

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