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NBD- Literally THE nicest jazz I have ever played.

tb-player

tb-player

Why so serious?
Mar 6, 2019
6,720
30,013
East Coast, USA
#1
Suhr Classic J in lovely Piano Black.

A luthier friend of mine was recently joking about how much money he makes from Fender because they have so many problems in their guitar and basses. I asked him which brand gave the classic feel of a solid Jazz Bass without all the issues. He immediately said, "Anything made by John Suhr."

And boy! He wasn't wrong. This bass is the loudest and punchiest Jazz Bass I've ever played. Tone for days! And the neck is smoother than my old Stingray (and that's saying a lot!).

This one's a keeper for sure!!
25296A44-E545-4DEB-A2DB-EBA9AE25847D.jpeg
 
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#3
Congrats. Always wondered about these.
How does the tone and feel compare to an upper level J bass?
(I realize you like it better but curious about the details)
 
#4
I'm more of P style guy but I have played a Suhr J and I can certainly vouch for tb-player's sentiments on this one. It was certainly the nicest J style bass that I have ever played and it certainly got me rethinking my feelings on the subject. A very nice instrument with great tone and craftsmanship. But priced accordingly!
 
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#5
Jim C said:
Congrats. Always wondered about these.
How does the tone and feel compare to an upper level J bass?
(I realize you like it better but curious about the details)
Click to expand...
I've owned a Fender Elite Jazz, an American 60's Original Jazz, and a late 90's American Standard Jazz. This one is closest in tone to the American 60's Original Jazz, only punchier. It really rings out. It's noticeably louder than my other passive basses. The tone is clear and precise.

The other big difference is the neck. The fretwork is immaculate. I have almost no relief in the neck and the action is better than my stratocaster (seriously). The back of the neck is a thin-C shape and finished with a satin urethane that feels like the sanded/oiled neck on my Nash p-bass, only better protected.

If you ever get a chance to play one, I highly recommend.
 
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#6
Chrisenbacker69 said:
I'm more of P style guy but I have played a Suhr J and I can certainly vouch for tb-player's sentiments on this one. It was certainly the nicest J style bass that I have ever played and it certainly got me rethinking my feelings on the subject. A very nice instrument with great tone and craftsmanship. But priced accordingly!
Click to expand...
I also have a Nash PB57, which is probably my favorite of all the precisions I've owned over the years. Still, I had been wanting a nice passive jazz & this one fit the bill perfectly. With regard to price, these typically sell for $2999. I bought this (online) at Pitbull Audio near San Diego. They gave me right around 20% off + free shipping. So basically about $450 more than I spent for my Nash. Pretty good deal, IMO.
 
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#7
tb-player said:
I've owned a Fender Elite Jazz, an American 60's Original Jazz, and a late 90's American Standard Jazz. This one is closest in tone to the American 60's Original Jazz, only punchier. It really rings out. It's noticeably louder than my other passive basses. The tone is clear and precise.

The other big difference is the neck. The fretwork is immaculate. I have almost no relief in the neck and the action is better than my stratocaster (seriously). The back of the neck is a thin-C shape and finished with a satin urethane that feels like the sanded/oiled neck on my Nash p-bass, only better protected.

If you ever get a chance to play one, I highly recommend.
Click to expand...

This is how I feel about my Sandberg.
The set up and fret work are just perfect; so much easier to play than every other bass I've tried.
 
#9
Congrats on the Bass. I like the black w/Tort color combo.
I've played a few Suhr's over the years, and the necks on them are amazing.

Pitbull Audio is about a half mile from where I work. Too much cool stuff there.
(I should probably be accompanied by a responsible adult whenever I go in there.)
 
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#12
tb-player said:
I've owned a Fender Elite Jazz, an American 60's Original Jazz, and a late 90's American Standard Jazz. This one is closest in tone to the American 60's Original Jazz, only punchier. It really rings out. It's noticeably louder than my other passive basses. The tone is clear and precise.
Click to expand...

Interresting... I own a AO60 too, and it's definitely the loudest and clearest/brightest JBass I've had (and I've had plenty!)... Do you know what kind of pickups are in your Suhr?
 
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#17
Beautiful bass OP. Id love to try one some day. Id love a FSO (fender shaped object) that has the playability that I get from my Ibanezs..Ibanezs' ? Ibaneze?.. Ibanese? .. Ibanezz…..Ibanai?.. *** is the plural of Ibanez?

"from my Ibanez basses". (there we go).



flat said:
I don't think its fair to compare a $1550 bass to a $3000 bass.
Click to expand...

Yea, for that money it BETTER play better than a Fender J.

Now, when you get an equally priced, or cheaper bass that's waay nicer playin/feeling/sounding (which happens quite a bit sadly).. is when I'm impressed.

Of course, that said, any brand new $1500 bass (fender or other) I expect ZERO issues with. I think this has been an "occasional" issue w fender over the years. In fact, for that money, it should come with a reasonable, playable setup as well.

But hey.
 
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