Had my first practise with my MP Jazz, with a punk/old school hardcore band. First of all, I've got to say, this bass was a pleasure to play. The neck is pretty thin front to back, equivalent to the modern 'C' shape. After two hours of ripping through fast songs non-stop, the gloss didn't become the slightest bit sticky, which was my fear. The instrument feels pretty lightweight, and it sits perfectly with zero neck dive.
Played around with various settings, and finally settled on the middle humbucker & bridge singlecoil, full volume on both and the tone rolled off to about 3/4s. This gave good low end, mids that sat perfectly in the mix and and a real bite from the bridge. It was pretty similar to some PJ basses I've had in the past, really.
Used it with a Darkglass B3K and a Fuzzrocious Rat Tail, and it worked great with both. Had to turn the gain down from my usual settings on both, those pickups seem to have a real high output.
Overall, I've got no concerns at all about gigging this bass, and am going to give it a go at a festival we're playing next week. I can see this being my #1, and I'm already considering picking up another (probably the black/maple).
I can't think of another instrument in the price range I'd choose ahead of it now. The fact its closer to £350 than £400 makes it a bargain, frankly.
I'm sure flaws with materialise over time, but I don't have any complaints for now.
