1998 Marleaux JB-5 Jazz Bass
Built in Germany by world class luthier Gerald Marleaux, early in his career
Tulipwood body
Maple neck
Pau Ferro fingerboard
Seymour Duncan Basslines pickups (huge sound!)
High mass bridge with adjustable saddles
Marleaux 3-band preamp with sweepable midrange center frequency
Weight: 10.0 lbs
Nut width: 1.75"
String spacing: 18mm to 19mm adjustable
If you look up "jazz bass on steroids", you will find a picture of this bass.
I believe this was #41 out of a total of 160 of these that Gerald built, back in his early days before he started coming up with his own unique designs like the Contra, Diva, etc.
Like other boutique jazz basses such as Alleva-Coppolo and Sadowsky who have taken the design as far as it can go, the build quality of this instrument is top shelf.
The plain black matte finish makes it very understated, and is perfect for someone who wants to just hang in the back and lay down a serious groove without all the flash of an exotic top or fancy finish.
The flexibility provided by the sweepable mids is just staggering - the range goes from really high to deep deep, almost sub-bass. With that combined with the massive heft of the Duncan pickups, you could probably blow up some speakers without too much difficulty if you wanted to.
It is always a pleasure to find a 5-string that is suitable for some serious slapping. With its adjustable string spacing, this bass delivers.
I purchased it here on TB back in October. It had clearly been played hard, and was not properly maintained or set up. So it needed about 15 to 20 hours of work to restore it to original condition and specs. I am happy to say that the results of all that work are a bass that now plays great, sounds great, feels great, and looks great.
It has various minor cosmetic imperfections from head to toe from years of gigging, but nothing noteworthy or significant. The worst are probably the scratches on the neck plate and on the upper horn, but luckily both are on the back side of the bass.
The headstock logo is the band logo from the original owner's punk band in Scotland.
I thought that was just too cool, so I left it on.
If you are looking for a serious workhorse of a jazz bass for gigging or recording, and you want great tone and playability, with above average tonal control of a 3-band pre with sweepable mids, and you are OK with double-digit weight (just barely though!), this one is a definite winner.
I will ship it in your choice of three different gig bags that I have currently available.
$1,250 plus ACTUAL shipping via the carrier of your choice.
Sorry, no trades.
Built in Germany by world class luthier Gerald Marleaux, early in his career
Tulipwood body
Maple neck
Pau Ferro fingerboard
Seymour Duncan Basslines pickups (huge sound!)
High mass bridge with adjustable saddles
Marleaux 3-band preamp with sweepable midrange center frequency
Weight: 10.0 lbs
Nut width: 1.75"
String spacing: 18mm to 19mm adjustable
If you look up "jazz bass on steroids", you will find a picture of this bass.
I believe this was #41 out of a total of 160 of these that Gerald built, back in his early days before he started coming up with his own unique designs like the Contra, Diva, etc.
Like other boutique jazz basses such as Alleva-Coppolo and Sadowsky who have taken the design as far as it can go, the build quality of this instrument is top shelf.
The plain black matte finish makes it very understated, and is perfect for someone who wants to just hang in the back and lay down a serious groove without all the flash of an exotic top or fancy finish.
The flexibility provided by the sweepable mids is just staggering - the range goes from really high to deep deep, almost sub-bass. With that combined with the massive heft of the Duncan pickups, you could probably blow up some speakers without too much difficulty if you wanted to.
It is always a pleasure to find a 5-string that is suitable for some serious slapping. With its adjustable string spacing, this bass delivers.
I purchased it here on TB back in October. It had clearly been played hard, and was not properly maintained or set up. So it needed about 15 to 20 hours of work to restore it to original condition and specs. I am happy to say that the results of all that work are a bass that now plays great, sounds great, feels great, and looks great.
It has various minor cosmetic imperfections from head to toe from years of gigging, but nothing noteworthy or significant. The worst are probably the scratches on the neck plate and on the upper horn, but luckily both are on the back side of the bass.
The headstock logo is the band logo from the original owner's punk band in Scotland.
I thought that was just too cool, so I left it on.
If you are looking for a serious workhorse of a jazz bass for gigging or recording, and you want great tone and playability, with above average tonal control of a 3-band pre with sweepable mids, and you are OK with double-digit weight (just barely though!), this one is a definite winner.
I will ship it in your choice of three different gig bags that I have currently available.
$1,250 plus ACTUAL shipping via the carrier of your choice.
Sorry, no trades.
