NBD - Yes, I bought a JacksonBacker

[yberwaffe]

I bought the orange neon 4 string version 18 months ago. It was light, easy to play. Well built. Thought it could cop a bit of a Ric-ish sound. I like the looks of the headstock. Has a Jazz feel to the neck to me. Super skinny necks and I don't get along well. I took it to practice a couple of times. Then did what I usually do. Went back to my Rics. At this point in my life I don't fight that anymore. Overall, nice basses for not a ridiculous price. Especially if you got a deal.

I tried a real Rick once. I never touch one again.
The neck was so thick it felt like a 3" pipe.
The looks of a real Ric is fantastic and so is the sound but I never want to play one again.
The JackenBacker might be the bass for me.
Thin neck and sounds a bit on the edgy side and the design has a touch of Ric in it.

 

[stingray69]

I tried a real Rick once. I never touch one again.
The neck was so thick it felt like a 3" pipe.
The looks of a real Ric is fantastic and so is the sound but I never want to play one again.
The JackenBacker might be the bass for me.
Thin neck and sounds a bit on the edgy side and the design has a touch of Ric in it.

Thanks for the info, I've never played a real Ric so I'm unfamiliar with the neck profile. But I'm thrilled with the Jackson - I plan on getting another. Torn between the Snow White or Fireburst. It's a fantastic bass with a killer tone regardless of the whole Ric discussion. Taking out on another gig tomorrow night, large venue & can't wait to run it through my full rig!

Sorry to keep harping on the tone, but it really has taken over the #1 spot of all the bass I currently own. One online reviewer said the tone was dry, yet bright and is outstanding in anything remotely resembling a rock style of music & I whole heartedly agree. Plus it can do more vintage/mellow stuff no problem with some adusting of the EQ. But it always sits perfectly in a mix and can always be easily heard without being overbearing. It's a just a wonderful instrument.

Another quick demo recording - a simple rock-style song.

 

[yberwaffe]

Was that played with the P pickup ?

 

[stingray69]

Was that played with the P pickup ?

No - that was both pickups.

 

[Auer]

I'm strangely attracted to the Absinth Frost Green one.
If it ever goes on a good sale, I'm grabbing one.
have no need for it, but yeah..

 

[yberwaffe]

Does anybody know what it looks like in the control cavity ?
Are the pots mounted directly on the PCB or are they connected via wires ?

 

[BobbyPoulton]

No - that was both pickups.

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread.

Was wondering about the pickup placement of this bass. Can you play the harmonics over the pickups, and let me know what notes they are?

On a Ric, the pickups sit directly below the 2 octave up and 3 octave up harmonics. Obviously they're not going to sit there, because it's a 24 fret bass, and on the Ric, the neck pickup would sit right underneath where the 24th fret is on the Jackson.

 

[stingray69]

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread.

Was wondering about the pickup placement of this bass. Can you play the harmonics over the pickups, and let me know what notes they are?

On a Ric, the pickups sit directly below the 2 octave up and 3 octave up harmonics. Obviously they're not going to sit there, because it's a 24 fret bass, and on the Ric, the neck pickup would sit right underneath where the 24th fret is on the Jackson.

I'm sorry, I wish I could answer that for you, but I no longer own the instrument. Hopefully someone else might chime in with an answer.

 

[Sharko]

I'm sorry, I wish I could answer that for you, but I no longer own the instrument. Hopefully someone else might chime in with an answer.

You went from “this is my best sounding bass” to “I’m selling this” in under a year? What happened?

 

[stingray69]

You went from “this is my best sounding bass” to “I’m selling this” in under a year? What happened?

Well, it was the best sounding bass I was playing at the time, but along came another bass, then another (an ATK active & a Yamaha BB passive) that suit me better.

The Jackson is a fantastic sounding bass - I still highly recommend it to anyone, but with 2 incoming basses, something had to go.

 

[smeet]

with 2 incoming basses, something had to go.

does not compute

 

[stingray69]

does not compute

I know - I'm risking a TB ban for sure with this heretic thinking.

 

[BobbyPoulton]

Ok then. Well, does anyone else here have this bass currently?

 

[Cryogenic]

I have one. Picked up a 5er a few weeks ago. It's a killer player. And it does the metal thing well!

P pickup harmonic is an E on the G string. On the A string it's E an octave higher than on the G.

On the J pickup , the G string sounds like an E another octave up.

 

[WarmToneWank]

Picked up one of these for 300 in the US, thought I would sell it when I get back to Japan but the sound is just so good I don't think I can part with it. Like I do not think I can get that sound out of any of my others basses.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

And I love it!!

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!

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).

Congrats! Sharp looking bass. Glad you found a bass that checks all your boxes. Some bassists spend their life looking for this. Enjoy.

 

[HubbardsFate]

I finally saw one in the wild when I went into my local Long & McQuade a few months ago.

I must say, I kind of rolled my eyes when I first saw pics of these basses, but seeing one up close/in person was a different story...I went "WHOOOOAAAHHH...yew sure is purty, Missus Jacksonbacker..."

I never did take it for a spin. I was/currently am not in a position to be buying a new bass. But if I wander in there again some day and try it out, and if it plays as sweet as my Ellefson Kellybird V (the only Jackson I currently own, and pretty much my #1, as much as a bedroom bassist can have a #1), I'm gonna be sorely tempted!

 

[HaphAsSard]

A handful other threads about the Jacksonbacker:
What in the world?
New Rickenbacker Inspired Jackson Bass
Jacksonbacker?
New Jacksonbacker CBXNT colorway.... whoa!

The general TB attitude toward this bass model has been, well, you already know it if you hang around here.

@gt96g's observation about pickup positioning
Jackson-backer: I'm Impressed! (quick demo video)

was recently validated by this video

^ (not mine, nor are the "loud" title and thumbnail my responsibility)
which I leave here, rather than on the aforelinked threads, precisely because of the aforementioned attitude displayed there.

There are a couple other, probably pertinent videos I haven't watched.

 

[GIBrat51]

And I love it!!

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!

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).

Ver nice - congratulations! I looked at them when they first came out, but, as usual; no leftys. And, as a 3-Rickenbacker owner, I don't really care if it cops the Rick look - or if it sounds anything like a Rick. Besides, I have a Carvin LB-20 that was purpose-built to be a "Rickenfaker" - and it's a damn good one, too. What strings are you using on that very nice bass?

So true and it's always been like that with Rickenbacker. The infamous *warranty void if not using Rickenbacker strings* comes to mind. They act like they're doing you a favor by letting you pay them your hard earned money for one of their instruments. I once owned a music store and we were a Rickenbacker dealer. They treated us the same way.

I won't argue about RIC - and especially John Hall, the former CEO - being a PITA. All 3 of my Ricks were long out of warranty when I bought them, so I never had to deal with them. But, the string thing? Originally, it was because of the way RIC messed up the neck pickup rout in the early basses. Which, if you used anything but the low tension, light gauge factory flats, could - and did - cause the bass to start folding in half at the rout. I have a lefty '73 4001; ask me how I know... Back in 2012 or so, Rick owners got John Hall to modify the string policy. As long as your Rick bass had strings that were "the equivalent" of the then- Rick factory round wounds, RIC would honor your warranty. I know, because I was one of the Rick owners bugging him about it. But, I wouldn't send them your bass if it was wearing a set of Roto RS77LD bridge cable flats...

 

[stingray69]

It's been a minute since I started this thread. Yes, I eventually I sold off the first Jackson CBXNT 5 string. At the time, it was to make room for 2 more incoming bass, an ATK805e and another Yamaha bass. However, in relatively short order, I came to realize that those 2 new basses weren't serving me as well as the Jackson Concert bass. Tone is subjective, so dare I say that while they didn't sound bad, they just didn't sound nearly as good (to me) as the Jackson. I quickly realized that selling off the Jacksonbacker was a huge mistake. One of the rare times I've ever experienced Sellers remorse.

I'm not above admitting my mistakes, especially to myself, and have since course corrected. I've been gigging the Jackson as my #1 main bass for a few months now and I've never been happier. It's got such a great growly tone. No other P/J bass I've owned (or currently own) can match the deep and growly tone and has such strong mids. Probably due to the placement of the P pickup so close to the neck. Sure it's not a toaster pickup, but it sounds amazing there & the reverse-P on the 5-string models is just the icing on the cake . Although there may be be some, off hand, I cannot think of any other bass on the market that has a P pickup this close to the neck.

So anyway, here's my current situation and these are here to stay!

My newest Jacksonbacker:

The one I re-purchased:

My current gigging basses: