Good enough reason to pick one up that felt good. Just a matter if the truss rod turns and aren't faulty like the rest of the other ones I've tried in the past!
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Good enough reason to pick one up that felt good. Just a matter if the truss rod turns and aren't faulty like the rest of the other ones I've tried in the past!
I mean, that's always the lottery ticket you buy when shopping for cheaper/budget instruments. It would seem there is plenty of anecdotal evidence either way with these Indos, on whether the necks are good, or problematic. I happen to have a great one, but that's hardly a proper sample size.
And FWIW, even though I think the solo'd pickup sounds even worse on a 70s J than a 60s (and I don't particularly care for the solo'd sound on those either!), I don't think I'll ever own a 60s-style Jazz. Especially considering I was looking for a bass to sound vaguely like my 4003; I've yet to play a 60s-spaced J that has the same throaty, raw aggression that seems so much more inherent in the 70s-spaced models.
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Love all my Squiers
Picked up same bass while Fender was having a 50% off labor day sell. Couldn't pass it up. I do prefer the neck on my VM 77 but overall it's a great instrument.View attachment 4827904
Well that didn't take long to happen!
I considered selling my loaded body (lord have mercy) but decided I like the bass too much.
Only experience with that tonal character was when a guy I bought a Squier from (VM Jazz Bass) upgraded the pickups to the PV '74s. Might want to give that a try on another Jazz bass laying around with 60s spacing.
What's under the stacked knobs?? Also, I probably missed this the first time around, but what happened to the original neck? Just clocked that it's a 70s bass with rosewood, which doesn't track (the Squiers only have maple). But then I read the headstock...
the knobs are part of an East J-Retro preamp.
i tried to like the CV neck that came with the bass, i even sanded the back.
it was OK.
then it hit me to mash up my 2013 FSR Jazz neck (Plek'd) with the CV body.
the original FSR was over 10 pounds.
this mashup is around 8.6 pounds - the neck dropped right in.
glorious!
oh and the hum cancelling DiMarzio Ultra Jazz pups top everything off nicely.
I bought one almost as an after thought because it's almost identical to my very first Fender Bass which was a '66 LPB Jazz Bass. I guess now that I think about it if I'd bought three and sold two the one I kept would have cost me little or nothing. Wait a bit and they should bring up to $400 in the marketplace.
In my case I already had a set of Bill & Becky Lawrence/Wilde J45s and a Babicz FCH Bridge sitting around needing a Jazz Bass to install them so maybe I left some potential money on the table but it's gotten to the point where selling gear on line takes up time I already don't have enough of. I'll leave that for others.
Early promo/poster pic of that band and that bass.
This looks incredible. I bet it sounds incredible as well. Nice job on what it now a legit Frankenbass extraordinaire!
How do you like those PV74 jazz bass pickups? I was thinking of trying them in the Labor Day bass.
Well Fender sent me this bridge as an "oops, sorry bout that" gesture to make up for the busted tuner on my Labor Day jazz bass. They told me I could pick an accessory "up to $50" and that was the only thing I wanted/needed that fit the criteria.
I am slowly building a P bass that I may or may not cannibalize my CIC black 70's precision bass for parts. If not, I'll have to sell the 70's P
If I use the 70's P in my build, it will be something like this. Not sure what I want to do yet.
I tried a set in a build using a Classic '70s Jazz body, so same pickup placement at the CV70s. Personally, I was expecting something with a lot more "funk-tastic growl". Instead, I thought they were rather tame, especially when held up against other offerings like Custom Shop '60s, SCN's and even a set from a Highway One Jazz, which I believe were also the American Standard pickups from the early 2000's. Others seem to like them, though, so what can I say? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thanks for the insight. They are definitely affordable, so that's cool, but if they aren't spectacular then I'll just stay with the stock CV pickups because they already sound pretty dang good!
I would second agree with that cause from my experience, not all basses sound equal paired with a PV '74. They do the 70s Jazz sound well however I find myself favoring 60s pickups than 70s. This video may help you decide what you're looking for
EDIT: If I find myself wanting that 70s Marcus Miller sound, I just slap on a set of Steel Strings
I should've mentioned the strings I was using alongside the Pure Vintage '74s. They're Rotosound 55 Solo Bass stainless steel pressure wounds. While the "clang-clang-clang" is slightly tamed, they are still have plenty of brightness. Despite that, I expected more mids and highs from pickups meant to echo the Disco-Funk era.
Usable? Sure. Did they knock my socks off? Not quite.
Something else I forgot to mention, I did have some pretty good results with a set of Bartolini B-Axis pickups in a 60's-style build. No shortage of punch and growl there. They're dual-coil humbuckers, so they're pretty quiet. Also, I dig the look of the offset pole pieces.
In case someone on this thread is interested, someone on Reverb is currently selling a new B-Axis Jazz set for about below retail. (And if anyone is wondering, I am not the seller.
)Relevant to the thread, that's the 2019 CV70's neck I harvested.
I should've mentioned the strings I was using alongside the Pure Vintage '74s. They're Rotosound 55 Solo Bass stainless steel pressure wounds. While the "clang-clang-clang" is slightly tamed, they are still have plenty of brightness. Despite that, I expected more mids and highs from pickups meant to echo the Disco-Funk era.
Usable? Sure. Did they knock my socks off? Not quite.
Something else I forgot to mention, I did have some pretty good results with a set of Bartolini B-Axis pickups in a 60's-style build. No shortage of punch and growl there. They're dual-coil humbuckers, so they're pretty quiet. Also, I dig the look of the offset pole pieces.
In case someone on this thread is interested, someone on Reverb is currently selling a new B-Axis Jazz set for about below retail. (And if anyone is wondering, I am not the seller.
Relevant to the thread, that's the 2019 CV70's neck I harvested.
Stainless steel strings don't give you as much mids compared to nickel strings. So that's also a factor in that situation. However we have EQs on our amps to compensate for that.
Thanks for the lead on those Bart pickups. They look similar to the Nordstrand Jazz pickups and holy cow that bass!! Where did you get the body from?
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You think the nickel imparts that gives it a bump to the mids? Interesting. The more I think about that, it kinda makes sense. I have a double-P Fender Blacktop Jazz that I'd like to get a good mix of growl and thump with. To that effect, I've been considering setting it up with some nickel-plated steel strings, possibly Rotosounds or Fenders.
I scored it in the TalkBass Classifieds in early 2020. It was my "Lockdown Projekt" that spring.Thanks for the lead on those Bart pickups. They look similar to the Nordstrand Jazz pickups and holy cow that bass!! Where did you get the body from?
I've since moved the neck to another old Projekt of mine, but no pics until the weather is better. As flippin' gorgeous as it is, I've been considering selling off the semi-loaded body (you can bet yer sweet patootie I'm keeping the pickups and fancy-schmancy bridge!
), along with other bits of hardware and electronics, to thin the herd and pay off a little bit o' debt.
Kind of an interesting direction this thread took. Players debating which budget level bass is the best? Is this some kind of pleasant relief from the which better a CV Squier or a MIM Bass? I have both a CIC Matt Freeman and I just bought one of the new Jazz Basses Fender offered at 50% off on the Labor Day Sale. I also sold a CIC Jazz Bass a few years ago when I began buying G&Ls. FWIW here's my take on them.
When Fender discontinued the CIC production in favor of elevating some of the old VM line to become the new CV Series we already new that VM models weren't quite as good as the CV models. But they were still very good playable basses that could also be modified or upgraded as I did with all of my CV models. IMHO debating which is best is really spitting a fine hair isn't it. Does it really matter? Both have their strong points and weaknesses.
I've been playing bass for over 50 years and have owned a '63 PBass and a '66 Jazz Bass. Both are pretty highly sought after by collectors now but back then one was just a used bass I bought from a buddy who needed cash to buy car. IIRC I paid around $225 for it and of course I sold it long ago. Same with the Jazz Bass and with that one I never got paid all of what I was owed. It was around $300 IIRC. Today they'd be worth as much as many new cars. LOL Seems car prices have gone up even more than gear prices huh?
Those basses weren't all that special. The PBass had a huge neck and was hard to play so I played the Jazz Bass a lot more but neither one was any better than most of what we can buy today without spending $2000 for one.
These Squier Basses are probably more playable out of the box than either of those two were but back then music stores actually did setups on their inventory so any issues were fixed before a bass went out the door. I'm glad for that because my 16 year old self knew jack about properly setting up a guitar or a bass. I just played 'em.
So I guess what I'm saying is these are actually very good basses and not just for the money. Yeah, they lack some of the features and finery of pricier basses but they're also helluva easy to modify and upgrade if anyone really want to do it. I did but not because I couldn't tolerate them stock. I did because what I did made then a little bit better and more to my liking. That's it. I wasn't trying to make them into a Fender. There wasn't any reason to do that. The Matt Freeman is probably the best PBass out of the 5 I've ever owned.
Both Jazz Basses are probably as good as that old '66 I had at least as far as playability goes and if someone doesn't care for the pickups or the electronics swap them out for what you do like. You'll still have far less into one than even an MIM Fender would run and more than likely have a good or better a bass. If I really believed that FSR Indo model was a crappy bass I would even have bought it at half price and bothered to upgrade it. It's not so there really nothing to debate or at least that's my 2 cents about it all. Just play 'em and enjoy 'em.
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