I absolutely love my Squier Jag SS however with my playing progressing so much, and the fact that i'm now officially addicted to bass, i've been thinking of trying some higher-end basses to see what I might like.
On a flying visit to the big smoke the other day I first tried a full scale P bass. I like the higher tension of the E string but everything else made me like my SS even more so i'm thinking I need to try some other short scale basses.
The only one I could get my hands on that wasn't a budget bass was a Gibson SG. Now, to be fair it obviously wasn't a top-of-the-line SG being a bit over $1000 Oz dollars (marked down from $1400 or so) but was a 120th anniversary special.
First impression, the neck felt very wide to me. The jag is 1.5" the SG 1.695" but the SG felt even wider. Didn't like it at all. I know that this is purely a subjective thing and some people love it. Each to their own.
The thing that really struck me though was that the fret dressing was woeful. Basically every fret was poking out from both sides of the neck and running my hand up either side of the neck i was feeling sharp ends all the way up and down. My $250 Squier Jag SS has a better finished fret job.
If it really felt good to play and then sounded good it would still have most likely been a deal breaker as there's no way i'm going to spend $1000 on something that then needs work done. It also makes me think what else have they not done as well as they should have. I'm gobsmacked that they would put out an anniversary edition instrument that was not really built as well as I would expect from the Gibson reputation.
So, what else is out there that might be good in the Short Scale range. It seems that there is budget basses and then the higher end ones are usually in the stratospheric price range. I'm starting to think that i'm better off buying something lower-end and then mod it to taste. As long as the neck is well made and fitted (like my Jag) then everything else can possibly be improved upon. My only other criteria is a horn with strap button that is around the 12th fret to avoid neck dive.
On a flying visit to the big smoke the other day I first tried a full scale P bass. I like the higher tension of the E string but everything else made me like my SS even more so i'm thinking I need to try some other short scale basses.
The only one I could get my hands on that wasn't a budget bass was a Gibson SG. Now, to be fair it obviously wasn't a top-of-the-line SG being a bit over $1000 Oz dollars (marked down from $1400 or so) but was a 120th anniversary special.
First impression, the neck felt very wide to me. The jag is 1.5" the SG 1.695" but the SG felt even wider. Didn't like it at all. I know that this is purely a subjective thing and some people love it. Each to their own.
The thing that really struck me though was that the fret dressing was woeful. Basically every fret was poking out from both sides of the neck and running my hand up either side of the neck i was feeling sharp ends all the way up and down. My $250 Squier Jag SS has a better finished fret job.
If it really felt good to play and then sounded good it would still have most likely been a deal breaker as there's no way i'm going to spend $1000 on something that then needs work done. It also makes me think what else have they not done as well as they should have. I'm gobsmacked that they would put out an anniversary edition instrument that was not really built as well as I would expect from the Gibson reputation.
So, what else is out there that might be good in the Short Scale range. It seems that there is budget basses and then the higher end ones are usually in the stratospheric price range. I'm starting to think that i'm better off buying something lower-end and then mod it to taste. As long as the neck is well made and fitted (like my Jag) then everything else can possibly be improved upon. My only other criteria is a horn with strap button that is around the 12th fret to avoid neck dive.
