NBD -> VM-Jaguar

Got it at GC this morning.





BEFORE wax-job::





Stock everything - even strings (yet - ugh!)





They had it reserved for me - and this is the first/only one my GC has gotten so far. I was even the first to open the box and I saw it 'born' into SoCal daylight.

So I guess you can say they have sold 100% of the VM-Jags they had so far. That's pretty good for a bass that never was!



With his cousins and buddies:::





The Ibanez AEB10 isn't in here but is sleeping in his case for a while.

 

The P p'up is so close to the P-sound on a real P that I don't think anyone can tell the difference. The J-p'up is a lot clearer than I thought it would be - it rings nicely for harmonics and picks up a little too much string 'zing' for me - so some Elixirs will be on it soon.

The pots are clean, feel like they are 'loaded' with just the right amount of effort needed to turn them and the tone pots are nicely notched to hold the setting wherever you put it. That's nice - I don't know that it's necessary - but it's a nice addition to the bass.

The fretboard feels flat - but it certainly is not, it's radiuused.

The neck is a dull satin finish but I'll wax the thing until is gets nice and glossy, as I like them.

The rosewood f-board itself is so perfect - I looked to see if it was artificial! It has the tightest grain and the best color of any of the rosewood boards I have so far.

The inlays are tight to the wood and I see no filler at all around them for a 'fudge-zone' by poor craftsmanship.

NO fret sprout or rough edges. Smooth crowns and what looks to be very close to perfect height all the way up the board.

The tuning machines are the same as on my VM-J bass and they are fine and work/hold well - no complaints.

The screws on the bass - and these can be buggered up from the builder - are all very clean and no roughness which tells me they aren't using a worn-out Phillips head screw driver.

This is my first P/J combo bass and I like it very much so far.

It's also quite a bit lighter than I expected too. I would guess by about 1.5 / 1.75 lbs lighter than my Squier P. I'll weigh it later on for you.

When we opened the box at GC - there were a few 'oohs' and 'ahhs', and it really stopped me in my place as I expected it to be badly set up - it wasn't, or the neck to be twisted - it wasn't.

Out of the box - and this WAS in a sealed box - it was right-on and sweet.

So much for poo-heads who say they come from the factory with QC catch-as-catch-can.

 

I haven't weighed it yet - and it feels a good 1½lbs lighter than even my older P-Squier.

Well - I thought it was a shorter scale - but I can't notice it when I play it though. Measuring as I did right now - it's the same 34¼" - so that's also nice.

I'll get all the dimensions tomorrow - I have a jam in about ½ hour and I gotta get loaded out into my Isuzu.

Just one more pix::

 

Yeah - when my guy at GC called and told me it was in and he had squirreled it away from other salesmen - I was chomping at the bit to get it into my own hands.

It's here now and in the AM:Early I have to pick up a new chainsaw, so I won't get too much morning practice - but in the afternoon --------

That matching scheme was kinda an inside joke that MAYBE my wife would think they were both the same bass if she didn't see them in the same room at the same time. But she's on to me instantly. Maybe the box and the smell of wax in my room gave it away.

The matching Jazz is a Deluxe Active whereas the VM-Jazz is passive and they have totally different voices so----> yeah, I'll keep them all for now.

The Deluxe J has Elixir Nanos, and so does the VM-J - so this one might get some different strings - I dunnow.

I put ROTO 77s on the red/white Squire P and love them - but right now I'll play these 'Fender" red-silked things for a bit.

One thing I found out is that the ROTO 45s are almost the same voice as whatever Squier has on here at the mo, and I DID like them for a while on the VM-J, so maybe I can learn to like them or the ROTO 45s after a bit.

But they are pretty 'zing-y' and they may not last long, if you get my meaning.

Somehow in the back of this huge brain, I am thinking more along the lines of some ROTO Swings or so.

I read a link on this site that said that Fender was winding their own strings in Mexico, but then again the new 7250 NPSs all sound bad. THESE 7250s are with the red silks though and MAY be NOS - I dunnow. I DO know they are rough as a hacksaw blade - and noisy.

I'm impressed by everything I see and touch so far. That feeling may not diminish much or soon either since the novelty of a P/J to me is so new too.

The weight was perhaps the biggest surprise. It sincerely weighs less than any of the other basses I have except for the SR500 Ibanez.

I went and printed a couple of 8x10" glossy pixs of one of those pixs I posted up there (http://lh3.ggpht.com/_cRmowvPKcq4/TJK9LYZvpYI/AAAAAAAAE-A/GD5MNQnOESU/s640/100_6834.JPG) and I took it to the jam tonight and everybody saw that there was a new kid in the choir. They made me promise to bring it next jam.

First about 20 coats of Meguire's Carnauba and then hard pressure-wax the neck to gloss it up for me.

I also slip a business card under the PG for future identification and to settle any possession problems. I shouldn't say 'business card' as I am retired, but I have a calling-card instead.

When I pull off the PG and chrome plate I'll take some pixs to show what sort of shielding it has too.

One thing I noticed was that if I shut down one or the other p'ups, there is NO hum or noise at all! I saw another post saying that this Jag had a lot of noise issues when they got theirs - but not this one.

Last impression: I think the body is a little thinner than my other basses - but it's late and I'll check it out tomorrow after I get back with my new chainsaw.

 

You post came in at 6:29 AM, Friday my time - what time is it in Amsterdam?

 

Good idea - I nominate you to start it off with a bang.

Ik benoem u voor voorzitter. Welk aantal ben I?

So - you're 9 hours ahead of me here in SoCal. Tomorrow here will be Saturday too.

I have a lot of friends in New Zealand and I'm up while they are sleeping.

They are also on the other side of the International Dateline too, so it's tomorrow there (I think).

Kinda rough to keep an IM going with them. They are getting up when it's 11PM, my time.