Hey whats up? Im a smaller guy and I play a fender jazz. When I watch the guitarist mess around on my bass he looks tiny compared to it (and he's a few inches taller than me). So when I start looking for a new bass I want something with a small body (for looks and comfort) with a neck and tone similar to my trusty jazz. Any info? thanks!
Take a look at an Alembic Essence if you get the opportunity, they have particularly small bodies. They also make some really nice basses in 32" scale that are relatively common on the used market at reasonable prices. -Bob
Hi! Alot of the Fender like basses(Sadowsky, etc) are downsized bodies. Not quite as large as what you have but close Rob
My thumb is quite light.. And it can nail the traditional jazz sound with the EMGs Ah! And Brian! The Kazoo might be done after NAMM! WOO!
Not sure about tone, but the Schecter Stiletto line is very light, comfortable, and smaller than a Fender Jazz. If you want good tone it'll be necessary to get new pickups. I got the EMG 35Js for my Stiletto Elite-4 and it doesn't necessarily NAIL the Fender Jazz tone, but it's very good. Might be worth a look since they resale very cheaply on Ebay all the time. -Eric.
if you're handy at all, you can get a warmoth dinky j body and just put all your jazz bass parts on it--smaller body, same familiar neck. My friend had a dinky j warmoth parts bass and it was very nice.
If you want to see just how small a good sounding bass can get, blow $110 on a Rondo Music SX shortscale Jazz Bass clone. Seriously, this 30" scale bass (normal short scale) is a lark to play and it is actually smaller than a Stratocaster (the body is). Not only that, but it sounds really good for traditional bass parts.
Why not stay with Fender and try the American Deluxe Jazz? You get a smaller body, same neck but with 22 frets. I have an ash bodied model and it has a superb sound and action. If you want to get a bit more exotic, try the Victor Bailey Jazz. Same size and electrics, exotic koa wood top and a slightly thinner neck (at least mine feels as if it has - I haven't measured it). If you want to stay passive, try the G&L JB-2. This has roughly the same size body as the American Deluxe (but no offset), a jazz-style neck, is finished to perfection, and has loads of character from its pickups. I would be happy with any one of the above as my main bass, although I suppose the VB wins out overall by a small margin IMHO (thanks, eBay!).