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NBD Jackson Kelly Bird

godofthunder59

godofthunder59

Life is short, buy the bass.
Feb 19, 2006
9,059
38,415
Rochester NY USA
Disclosures
Endorsing Cataldo Basses, Whirlwind products, Thunderbucker pickups
#1
Holy crap I can't believe how nice this bass is. Made in India, my first bass to have come from there. Excellent QC, very, very well made, I don't think I am over the top in saying it's comparable to basses costing 3x as much. Way better than the Waterstone Mod bass or the V8 at half the price for the Mod and less than half for the V8, no comparison really. Compared to a Epi bolt on Thunderbird this is head and shoulders above. I can't believe it cost only $299.00! I just gave it a quick set up and plugged it in wow! Nice powerful pickups with a bit of grit to them. The fret work is excellent no fret sprout or sharp edges. The finish is even more beautiful than in the pictures.................. a very understated pointy bass. Highly recommended.
NHJ1205969-body-l.jpg
 
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#3
godofthunder59 said:
Holy crap I can't believe how nice this bass is. Made in India, my first bass to have come from there. Excellent QC, very, very well made, I don't think I am over the top in saying it's comparable to basses costing 3x as much. Way better than the Waterstone Mod bass or the V8 at half the price for the Mod and less than half for the V8, no comparison really. Compared to a Epi bolt on Thunderbird this is head and shoulders above. I can't believe it cost only $299.00! I just gave it a quick set up and plugged it in wow! Nice powerful pickups with a bit of grit to them. The fret work is excellent no fret sprout or sharp edges. The finish is even more beautiful than in the pictures.................. a very understated pointy bass. Highly recommended.
NHJ1205969-body-l.jpg
Click to expand...



Gee whiz, what would make me think that particular body-style would suit you? :D Did a King Cobra pop out of the case when you opened it? Uh, never mind. Probably nobody got that little joke....... Get it? India? Cobras? You playin' T-birds? Dammit, forget it. I've always wanted a BC Rich Ironbird, but don't have the balls to play a bass like that in a top 40/originals band. I guess I'm a puss.........
 
#4
Hi, I've been looking at the Kelly Birds for a while but I'm a bit unsure about the size. I'm of a really small build haha I'm really short, quite skinny, I'm a girl bassist by the way and I am in love with this bass but I fear it would be too big for me to handle, it might affect my playing. Currently I own a rather small bass that is just right but still gives me some pain in my shoulder as I dislocated it a few years back. Do you think this would be alright for me, or too big, too heavy?
Cheers.
 
#6
I've never really given any Jackson basses a second look but I played one the other day in Sam Ash and was really impressed. It felt solid and well constructed and sounded great. The looks don't appeal me, but they seem to be good basses.
 
#7
Mine is close to nine pounds so it might be on the heavy side for you, the other one on Sweetwaters site was almost a pound lighter so they can vary a bit. The neck is slim and fast, maybe a good fit for you, is your present bass full ( 34") scale?
Also the Kellybird seems more compact than a real Thunderbird that may be a plus for you
I think the only way to determine if it is for you is to play one. Btw my daughter is 15 (soon to be 16) and plays bass both upright and electric, she is petite also and can handle a full scale bass.
Hope that helps!
skateandbass said:
Hi, I've been looking at the Kelly Birds for a while but I'm a bit unsure about the size. I'm of a really small build haha I'm really short, quite skinny, I'm a girl bassist by the way and I am in love with this bass but I fear it would be too big for me to handle, it might affect my playing. Currently I own a rather small bass that is just right but still gives me some pain in my shoulder as I dislocated it a few years back. Do you think this would be alright for me, or too big, too heavy?
Cheers.
Click to expand...
 
#9
Body is basswood with a flamed maple top. Neck is maple with rosewood fingerboard. Love the neck and the upper register access!
jason the fox said:
Kind of looks like a Thunderbird and Mockingbird (BC Rich) melted together lol.

Really aggressive lines, pretty cool. What are the woods/construction? I've never heard of those before, looks interesting though.
Click to expand...
 
#10
Nice Bass! I am enamored with these basses. So much so that if I had the money I'd have every color/model that Jackson has manufactured!

Unfortunately I only have one, the quilted transparent blue one. I started playing bass seriously back in November and had one of these by December. I really dig the Thunderbird aesthetic, but really didn't like how any of the Epiphone models played. I saw these Kellybirds and loved the idea and bought one from Sweetwater.

Wasn't digging it at first because of the neck dive. But once I moved the strap button to the top of the neck heel it now hangs perfectly and I don't like playing anything else.

I'd love to get one like yours, and then get the red/black model with the maple fretboard and swap the necks, and make a black pickguard for it to make it resemble a 70's jazz fender, and use it in my Judas Priest tribute band!
 
#13
godofthunder59 said:
Holy crap I can't believe how nice this bass is. Made in India, my first bass to have come from there. Excellent QC, very, very well made, I don't think I am over the top in saying it's comparable to basses costing 3x as much. Way better than the Waterstone Mod bass or the V8 at half the price for the Mod and less than half for the V8, no comparison really. Compared to a Epi bolt on Thunderbird this is head and shoulders above. I can't believe it cost only $299.00! I just gave it a quick set up and plugged it in wow! Nice powerful pickups with a bit of grit to them. The fret work is excellent no fret sprout or sharp edges. The finish is even more beautiful than in the pictures.................. a very understated pointy bass. Highly recommended.
NHJ1205969-body-l.jpg
Click to expand...


Man!! You are not helping my gas for a Jackson...LOL!! Are you able to get the action pretty low?
 
#15
Yeah, this is giving me GAS too.

Scott and/or jasojohns, any comments on the compound radius fretboard? Once you've played this one awhile, is it much of an adjustment going back to your other basses?

I know this could be different for everybody, but I am curious to know how you find it.

Thanks
 
#17
While the compound radius neck feels nice I don't notice any difference switching between bass it's pretty subtle.
VerryBerry said:
Yeah, this is giving me GAS too.

Scott and/or jasojohns, any comments on the compound radius fretboard? Once you've played this one awhile, is it much of an adjustment going back to your other basses?

I know this could be different for everybody, but I am curious to know how you find it.

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
#18
VerryBerry said:
Yeah, this is giving me GAS too.

Scott and/or jasojohns, any comments on the compound radius fretboard? Once you've played this one awhile, is it much of an adjustment going back to your other basses?

I know this could be different for everybody, but I am curious to know how you find it.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Funny you asked, I didn't even realize this bass had a compound radius fretboard! I doubt I would notice any difference anyway, I haven't played bass for very long, and I am in no way a finesse kind of player and my action is pretty high right now. The only other bass I have is a cheap Spector and just eyeballing it seems to have a very similar compound radius.
 
#19
darkstorm said:
Nice but how bad is neckdive with it?
Click to expand...

The neck dive wasn't so bad. Way better than on some of the lower end Epiphone birds that I tried (I almost let one smash it's headstock into the floor it fell so fast when I let it go to see precisely how bad it was).

I expected some, and it was certainly there, but it mostly hung exactly level with the ground if I let it hang where it wanted. Since the bass is rather heavy overall that was a bit uncomfortable for me so I put the strap button on the top of the neck heel and now it hangs exactly where I want it and doesn't dive at all (the pic shows the new strap button location in relation to the stock location, I totally recommend doing this)...

apOqCcI.jpg
 
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#20
I really wish they would have stuck with the thunderbird body. I'd have at least one of them maybe 2. I love the JS3 concert bass I have. It's preamp seems eq'ed a little different than a lot of stuff. I think its excellent for rock and metal.
 

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