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Most versatile type of Jazz bass

#141
OK, I'll play...

About a year ago I set out to put together the "perfect Jazz bass", about as subjective a topic as you can imagine.

For me that meant there were several "must haves" :

- Lightweight body in a cool color
- Rosewood board
- Passive but noiseless pickups
- Controls changed to Master Volume, Blend, Tone

Took a long time, but I ended up with a Fender Standard body in Candy Apple Red, an American Standard neck with the most beautiful dark chocolate RW I've seen, DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pups, and the wiring noted above.

Also had the pups wired in series, and Gotoh Resolite vintage tuners, which made the balance perfect and total weight 9 pounds.

Best Jazz I've ever played!
 
#142
Sparkdog said:
OK, I'll play...

About a year ago I set out to put together the "perfect Jazz bass", about as subjective a topic as you can imagine.

For me that meant there were several "must haves" :

- Lightweight body in a cool color
- Rosewood board
- Passive but noiseless pickups
- Controls changed to Master Volume, Blend, Tone

Took a long time, but I ended up with a Fender Standard body in Candy Apple Red, an American Standard neck with the most beautiful dark chocolate RW I've seen, DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pups, and the wiring noted above.

Also had the pups wired in series, and Gotoh Resolite vintage tuners, which made the balance perfect and total weight 9 pounds.

Best Jazz I've ever played!
Click to expand...

Four or five string?
 
#143
:cool:

Hope to have my dream Jazz soon.

Having Marco Cortes of Marco Bass build me one of his 5-string jazz basses.

It will have his own passive pickups.
Which are big, fat, and defined.
They almost sound like there is a pre-amp. (in a good way)
Scale is 34.5"
With a tight B-string.
Marco will chose the wood for tone I like.

Nothing like a good Jazz Bass growl.
 
#144
narud said:
why not put his pre in your bass anyway? the cost on that is super minimal.

are you getting singles or humcanelling in your new bass? if youre doing singles are you looking for a different sound than your fender?
Click to expand...

I may have to get his preamp spec'd for my bass, although it seems a bit awkward to have two basses almost exactly alike.
That and the fact I'm going to find as many pennies as I can to put towards a Nordy P5. I'm in love!

Oh. The pickups are the stock NJ5's. I've not heard any noise from these basses with single coils. I did however play an Ash/Maple 5 with either Big splits or Big singles. I forget which.
Holy bjeezez! Wow! They rocked my world. If I weren't getting the Classic Nordy 5, I think I might want them. They were fat, warm, and punchy as hell. See? too many options for me.
 
#145
Mojo-Man said:
:cool:

Hope to have my dream Jazz soon.

Having Marco Cortes of Marco Bass build me one of his 5-string jazz basses.

It will have his own passive pickups.
Which are big, fat, and defined.
They almost sound like there is a pre-amp. (in a good way)
Scale is 34.5"
With a tight B-string.
Marco will chose the wood for tone I like.

Nothing like a good Jazz Bass growl.
Click to expand...

Marco makes some very nice basses. Nice specs. Good luck
 
#147
B String said:
I just wanted to resurrect this thread to inform everyone (anyone) of my findings so far. Poor Carey Nordstrand has had to endure my flopping back and forth between options while I try to end my quest for the most versatile Jazz bass.
A few of my findings.

One of the most important parts of this puzzle has not been the wood as much as four or five strings. If I were looking for a four string bass, my choice would be Alder/Rosewood. Low mid fullness and a sweet top end. But adding a B string to the mix changes things. I've consistently found the B string to be more articulate with an Ash/Maple combination. And as both Peterpalmieri and Kjung have stated in their opinions, with a 60's spaced Ash/Maple, with active pre and passive tone control, its easier to tame the upper end and clank than to try and make the Alder/RW B string more articulate. This is NOT a universal truth! Just what I've found with the basses I've played so far.

This experience is also giving me a great bass building education too. I really wanted a Rosewood board because of the feel until Carey Nordstrand showed me different options for finish on both the front and back of the neck. I now love the feel of the slightly rough satin finish on the front and back. It almost feels like an unfinished neck.

Again, none of this is set in stone, just my experience so far. And if I may add, its a really fun journey!
Click to expand...

Interesting! I don't know that I 'wood' choose differently based on going with a 4 vs. 5:) The low B does sound different but not better or worse so I guess your preference is all that matters.

The overall tonal impact of the wood choice would seem to be the overriding factor to me, top to bottom. The feel of a rosewood board vs. maple to me in and of itself would not be that big of a deal. My hands notice but don't seem to have a preference.

While I used to think the oil rubbed type of natural finish like on a Musicman or Lakland were primo. I now own basses with a satin and hi gloss finishes as well. Certainly a different feel but with everything going on during a gig or if I am intently practicing, it doesn't seem to make a big difference. Fiddling with nuances in a shop or at home, I think I've made a bigger deal out of this then necessary. Admitting it was SUPER important to me at one point.:rollno:

All that nonsense aside ash/maple vs. alder/rosewood taking into consideration we tend to accentuate their differences by slapping on bright SS strings on the ash/maple and dead nickels on the alder/rosewood. In many cases we are doing what we can to make these basses sound different rather then similar.

The important thing is you find what you like and enjoy it. This bass you are getting and the sum of it's parts will teach you more and more and possibly point you in a direction you did not anticipate.
 
#148
Kwesi said:
I'll show you the most versatile jazz when I have it in my hands in a few months... maybe, lol
Click to expand...

Kwesi playing some nice Jazz. :cool:
_IGP8626.gif


:eek: :eek: :eek:
 
#149
I've been going back and forth in my head over either a Rosewood/Alder Sadowsky Metro or Maple Ash. I have a Marcus Miller bass that is ash with a sad preamp installed. I love it but I need a 5 for the R&B/gospel I'm going to be playing in the future. Another thing is if I do get a RV5 should I get a PJ. Anyways I'm not trying to hijack the thread.
 
#150
PDK said:
I've been going back and forth in my head over either a Rosewood/Alder Sadowsky Metro or Maple Ash. I have a Marcus Miller bass that is ash with a sad preamp installed. I love it but I need a 5 for the R&B/gospel I'm going to be playing in the future. Another thing is if I do get a RV5 should I get a PJ. Anyways I'm not trying to hijack the thread.
Click to expand...

This is super simple if you want something similar to your MM bass get a UV70.

When I played a PJ5 at the Sadowsky shop I realized just how different one of these sounds when compared to a J or P bass, I think you have to know this is what you want or be willing to take a chance if you have not experienced one.
 
#156
peterpalmieri said:
Kwesi playing some nice Jazz. :cool:
_IGP8626.gif


:eek: :eek: :eek:
Click to expand...

Wow, love the bass and jazz! :) How could I hear your playing?

PS! I just realized that the most versatile jazz bass is ... jazz bass with different outboard preamps! In my case it's a Bravewood 62 Jazz and some pres (Millenia, Ashdown etc.). I'd love to have a Sadowsky outboard pre and Fodera too. Then I'd have all the sounds I can dream of. :)
 
#157
peterpalmieri said:
Kwesi playing some nice Jazz. :cool:
_IGP8626.gif


:eek: :eek: :eek:
Click to expand...

Haha, between that one and your 60s style Alleva I still can't decide which one I liked most! Both are easily in the top 5 jazz basses I've ever touched. If I could own both I would too :). If I do decide to get one made I can only hope that it sounds close!

Margus Alviste said:
Wow, love the bass and jazz! :) How could I hear your playing?

PS! I just realized that the most versatile jazz bass is ... jazz bass with different outboard preamps! In my case it's a Bravewood 62 Jazz and some pres (Millenia, Ashdown etc.). I'd love to have a Sadowsky outboard pre and Fodera too. Then I'd have all the sounds I can dream of. :)
Click to expand...

The bass is actually Peter's but you can check out my Youtube channel if you want. Most of the stuff on there is pretty cheesy but I plan on getting some more challenging stuff up there.

/blatant_plug ;)
 
#158
Just to chime in with my .02c, I'm in the middle of a Jazz bass project that will have a StewMac 5-way superswitch (helped by line6man BTW).

Switching order:
P1 - Neck PU
P2 - Neck+Bridge PU in Parallel
P3 - Neck+Bridge PU in Series
P4 - Bridge PU
P5 - Mute (kill switch)

Then out to a master tone and straight to jack (that's why I put a kill position, no vol pot).

BTW the pickups I'm using have a single conductor (regular ground/hot wires).

You can have so many options with that superswitch, even a phase switch if you want.
 
#159
My preferences:

stable Jazz neck/rosewood fretboard
alder precision body (weight, symmetry)
balanced hum-cancelling Jazz pickups, 60s or 70s spacing
(I do love the sound of single coils, though...)
stable vintage style bridge
vintage style reverse tuners 28:1 gearing
500k volume pots, TBX tone

My second choice is PJ with same specs (other than p/ups).

The JJ is EADG, the PJ is currently BEAD.
 

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