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NBD - Yes, I bought a JacksonBacker

When these first came out a few years ago I laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more. I thought they were a joke by Jackson jabbing Rickenbacker playfully in the side. They looked like a complete eyesore to me and something I would never buy. Well, you know what? They have kind of grown on me and I really don't mind them so much now. In fact, they have gotten pretty good reviews for what they are and I think the army drab olive green ones could actually look super bad@ss with a military theme customized on them. Just goes to show that sometimes first impressions aren't always what they seem.
 
To me, the 4-string red looks orange in most pictures. For the 5-string version, they have the Fireburst, which is a semi-transparent take on the Ric FireGlo finish.
Oh I had one and it is orange, traffic cone orange! I liked it, got a good deal in store at GC but something was screwy with the electronics and their tech couldn't fix it so it went back.
I was gonna do a Ricky Rudd Tide kinda thing to it if it had worked out.
But the orange may not be everyone's cup of tea.
 
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The B string is great - tension is very good, the tone is not disjointed from the other strings. Punchy too!

There's some misinformation floating around on some sites - this is a 34" scale instrument, not 35".

I would have sworn it was a 35" scale, but I actually measured...it's 34".
Awesome! Thanks for the advice.

That's certainly tipping me over the edge. Love the reverse P pickup on the 5 string too!
 
I just listened to the sound samples. Im personally not really into that type of 1970s-era styled mix but, yeah, it does sound very good in that blend if thats what youre aiming for, especially considering that Ventura Highway was one of the songs
 
I just listened to the sound samples. Im personally not really into that type of 1970s-era styled mix but, yeah, it does sound very good in that blend if thats what youre aiming for, especially considering that Ventura Highway was one of the songs

Just giving an example of one type of P tone hiding in the instrument. With the preamp set flat, the P tone is more in your face & a lot less polite - a more woody tone. I guess what you heard would be a mellow P setting. The preamp covers a lot of ground, I'm sure one can find any suitable flavor of P that would work for a preferred style of music.
 
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Ah yes -can it Ric? :laugh:

Depends on who you ask. From comments I saw here on TB & YT from actual Ric owners - they say yes. At least one commentor stated they feel it cops about 75-80% of a Ric tone. From the TalkBass pearl-clutching crowd who would rather throw rocks at it because of the headstock, I've seen comments saying "the one I played in GC sounds nothing like a Ric". Yeah. :meh: So there's that.

I tend to value the opinions of actual Ric owners who have either played it or own it, of course. I have no direct point of reference as I've never owned a Ric - so I have to lean heavily on the Ric owners comments & the A/B clips I've seen from Ric owners tells my ears it's not far off at all. Identical twins...maybe not. Our resident Lobster did a review - I liked his analogy that the Jackson is what a lot of Ric owners will often dial in their Rics to sound like for a more rock type tone anyway. I take that to mean it's easier to dial in more treble & clank with the Jackson than perhaps it is with a true Ric.

Anyway...was curious myself when I got, it so I threw on some dirt & chorus and played along to a couple of Yes tunes.

Regardless of whether one thinks it does or doesn't Ric - I love the tone of the Jackson. It's a great sounding bass on it's own merits! :bassist:

Overdrive

Chorus
:headphone: Sounds good to me!!! That’s a great complementary bass to your Yamaha BB collection .
 
Forgot a couple more random pics.

Jackson-CBXNT.jpg
It would be nice if they offered one in white with black pickguard and binding.
 
:headphone: Sounds good to me!!! That’s a great complementary bass to your Yamaha BB collection .

Thank you very much!

The crazy thing is, the P pickup reminds me very much of my BB2025x p tone. So much so that I had to take the Yamaha out of its case and play them side by side. It sure does sound super close. The Yamaha P is slightly louder but they are darn close. They both have a slightly less traditional P tone. Kinda loud and a little rowdy but man does it shine in a loud mix and sound great. :thumbsup:
 
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Jackson-CBXNT-D-V.jpg





And I love it!! :laugh::bassist:

I'll try to keep it very brief instead of a rambling review. I've had it on 3 gigs now and many practices. It sounds FANTASTIC - especially in a live mix! One of the best sounding basses I currently own. Wasn't expecting that from a sight-unseen purchase. It plays effortlessly - and it's an extremely well built instrument. The fret work is very good - I can get a very low action and the fret ends are well done & do not protrude past the binding. Super smooth along the neck.

The tone is fantastic - it's growly & punchy! Which is my cup-o-tea. I LOVE the fact that the designers at Jackson decided to make the 5 string version a reverse P at the neck pickup! :bassist:

The neck is very thin & fast playing - on par with Ibanez SR series, but also re-inforced with graphite support rods & dual action truss rod. It's solid but it's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea. I like it a lot, but I also own other necks with the same feel.

The bridge is definitely high mass - I'm guessing this might also help contribute to the wonderful sustain this instrument has too. The preamp IMO is outstanding - can coax just about any kind of tone you're looking for from it. Very warm/smooth to growly/punchy, clank/bite, it's all in there.

Couple quick play-along bass tracks to give a general idea of a couple tones.

Both pickups (preamp flat).

P-only (with cut mids & treble).

First off, congrats on the bass. It sounds great!

As for the recordings, your bass parts are really solid. Nice playing. The recordings as a whole were done very well.
 
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Is there a pickup under the chrome cover? what kind is it?

Yes, a jazz pickup. It's a P/J configuration. The pickups are vaguely described as just a Jackson P & a Jackson J pickup. Not much info about them.

I thought the pickup cover would cause me some trouble playing, but actually it's not bad at all. I think I'll leave it on for a while.
 
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I've had my eye on that Kellybird V for a long time, but I tend to struggle with the way a T-Bird body shifts the neck off to the left of the player's body. As much as I've wanted one, I don't think I could get used to that aspect. :(
Here's something interesting: I was finding my Kellybird V a bit uncomfortable/"shifty" at times too. Then, about ten days ago, I grabbed myself a new set of strings and a new strap at a local brick n' mortar. I threw the strap on the 'bird thinking "Eeehhh, that strap is way longer than the old one was...the bass is gonna sit way lower...I'm gonna have to adjust..."

Happy accident: Yes, the bass DOES sit significantly lower...but man oh MAN, I love where it's at now! So if you can get your hands on a Kellybird V, I would strongly suggest some simple experimenting with strap length to address any shifting issues...it might be a quick and easy remedy for that problem...:cool: