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NBD: J&D JB Mini (shortscale jazz bass)

dunic

dunic

Aug 9, 2006
104
136
#1
26557987100_e5467f7690_b.jpg


Always regretted sending my Fender Modern Player Short Scale Jazz back to the store because of faulty electronics, but by then it was sold out and I never found another comfortable shortscale bass like it since. I bought an Epiphone 'Allen Woody' Rumblekat instead and I like that bass for its raw powerful sound but ergonomics-wise I prefered the Fender. I also bought a Ibanez Mikro bass recently but felt it was too small for me and a bit toy-like.

This JB Mini, sold at Musicstore in Germany, plays and feels very much like the Fender MP shorty although the J&D has a satin feel on the back of the neck. It's roughly the same size as your typical Stratocaster. The neck profile feels like a normal sized jazz bass. Routing under the pickguard is nicely done so you can take it of for a jaco-jazz bass style look. There is very little neck dive when playing it seated but it's not noticable with a strap.
This particulair JB mini weighs 3.2 kilo. Rehearsing with it for 3 hours yesterday was no problem! My back really likes this bass. ;). Because of that I bought another one (the one on the picture) which strangely is more turquoise then the other one I bought, which is way more blue.

Not much to be found on the Jack & Danny JB Mini other then a review in German with soundsamples, which can be found here: Invalid Link Removed. To me the stock pickups (which measure 90mm for the neck and 94mm for the bridge in width) sound fine but I guess they're standard size so maybe I'll change them for something with a bit more note clarity and/or seperation.
Also, I've done nothing to it other then tune it when I unpacked it but I feel that the A string lacks a little punch. Maybe it's the strings?
 
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#7
A while back I started playing a friend's Gear4Music P-bass, which I love but I'm a J-bass guy, so I started hunting for a similar size J-bass and the J&D was the only one I could find in production. They were cheap enough so I bought the light blue one... And fell in love! I love the way it plays, I love the weight (surprisingly heavy, but more solid than heavy), and the sound was really good. I did buy it as a mod bass, so put on a Hipshot A-style Fender-fit (no drilling), a GraphTech nut (a cheap mod that works wonders for tone) and new D'Addario strings. With the stock pickups, I think it sounds great.

Then I got thinking... Seeing as they're fairly cheap, how about attempting my first fretless? So got another, started taking frets out... And discovered the rosewood on the fretboard is pretty cheap and nasty, and splintered so badly and deeply on every single fret removal that the fretboard was toast. So... Got an ebony fingerboard from StewMac (for a regular guitar), carefully planed and sanded the old fretboard off and glued on the new board (it came so well planed it could be glued straight on). Two hours of sanding for a 20 inch radius later, I had a smooth, shiny fingerboard. It was a great project, more time-consuming than hard, but now have a true fretless J&D...

20200530_122220.jpg


Both have now been cavity shielded and fitted with CTS pots, 47 microfarad caps (though I'm tempted to go lower to make the tone a little darker)... But I truly love these basses. They feel so comfy, are perfect for modifying without fear (ok, the brass bridges cost more than the bass, but they help with the great sustain and mean there's no chance of neck dive, and tuning and intonation are rock solid), and because their tone is a little different, they cut through really well, so much so my drummer said it's the only had be can hear over the drums when he plays!

Out of the box, these are good, might need a little fret sanding...but after mods, they're awesome, and surprisingly well put together.
 
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#8
@AG42 Are those Hipshot bridges the FM1 or FM2 ? Going by the layout diagram it looks like one of them has 5 holes and the other 3.

I have the same bass in minty fresh green on the way. Should be here in a week and a half. Just got notified to pay duty on it. I'll be going with the same hipshot bridge and all black hardware.

Btw... those basses look ultra fine. :thumbsup:
 
#9
Rainbird said:
@AG42 Are those Hipshot bridges the FM1 or FM2 ? Going by the layout diagram it looks like one of them has 5 holes and the other 3.

I have the same bass in minty fresh green on the way. Should be here in a week and a half. Just got notified to pay duty on it. I'll be going with the same hipshot bridge and all black hardware.

Btw... those basses look ultra fine. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Hi Rainbird...I think I put the FM1 bridges on both basses, I'm on holiday at the moment so can't check the basses themselves, but hopefully zooming in on this picture should help...

20191128_143401.jpg


They're still my favourite basses, amazing value and good for modding. You'll love yours, just ping me if there are any mods you need any advise on! :) I would advise doing the Graphtech nut mod along with the Hipshot bridge, you'll have great sustain with it!
 
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#10
Thanks for this AG42. Just looking at the diagrams on Hipshot website... it looks like the FM1. Did you change the string spacing at all from the standard 19mm? I was really wanting to go a bit tighter, like the 18 or 17.5 bridge and adjust from there to my preference, but those ones have a 4 hole mount. The bass I have now(and have had since we built it in 87) has an original Badass bridge, and the spacings are all around 19-20mm. Have always wanted to try a tighter spacing, which is what drew me to these hipshots. I suppose i could fill and re-drill. Haven't decided yet. Will see what we have when the bass arrives. I'm definitely getting the Graphtech nut.

Thanks for your help... have a great holiday! :)
 
#11
Rainbird said:
Thanks for this AG42. Just looking at the diagrams on Hipshot website... it looks like the FM1. Did you change the string spacing at all from the standard 19mm? I was really wanting to go a bit tighter, like the 18 or 17.5 bridge and adjust from there to my preference, but those ones have a 4 hole mount. The bass I have now(and have had since we built it in 87) has an original Badass bridge, and the spacings are all around 19-20mm. Have always wanted to try a tighter spacing, which is what drew me to these hipshots. I suppose i could fill and re-drill. Haven't decided yet. Will see what we have when the bass arrives. I'm definitely getting the Graphtech nut.

Thanks for your help... have a great holiday! :)
Click to expand...

Ooo, it's been a while since I set them up, but I have vague recollection of changing the spacing a little, maybe to 18mm.The FM1 should still have +-1.5mm adjustment on each string according to the tech diagram of the bridge; I can see on my pictures of the bridge that the same grub screw adjusters are there, so there should be some wiggle room for you. I'm back home on Tuesday so I'll measure and confirm my settings for you. :)
 
#12
Did some figurin' on that today. You can essentially get plus or minus 1mm on all strings with that 1.5mm each way. All centered is 19mm. If you move the E and G strings completely "out" (1.5mm), and the A and D strings out 0.5mm ... you'd have 20mm spacing across all strings. ...or 18mm if you move those "in" the same amount.
 

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