Super Jazz advice?.. sadowsky, xotic, coda etc

[brianrost]

It's really unfortunate that few of us live near brick and mortar dealers that stock high end basses. I remember many years ago going into a local GC and trying out various Alembic, Tobias, Pedulla and Modulus basses (turned out none of them floated my boat, which was useful to find out). Forget about that today.

Trying to pick a super J for me is a nearly hopeless quest. When do you know you have "the one" and stop looking?

 

[joebar]

lately there have been some beauty Coda's for sale here. they seem to fly under the radar and are good value used.
might be due to the questionable headstock-I dunno.
may be worth checking out.

 

[wvbass]

When do you know you have "the one" and stop looking?

Guessing you are single?

Good point, though. There is always a better bass out there, IMO. I think the best thing to do is to quit looking and second-guessing once you find one you like. I just wish I could take my own advice.

 

[obimark]

The Carvin SB4000 I played was really nice.
G&L also have the JB4 (passive) and MJ4 (active) and those are sweet.

I LOVE my Carvin SB4000, to me it punches at double it's price- so much so that I ordered a JB from them as well.

 

[The Wiz]

Id go with nordy, i havnt owned one but got a chance to play one and i loved it.

 

[LanEvo]

Jazz Basses are a funny thing. In many ways, simpler can be better.

I've got a mid-'70s Fender Jazz (ash body, bound/blocked maple fingerboard). Totally stock. Sounds amazing. Very light and resonant, too. Didn't cost a fortune.

I've played a few Hamer Cruise basses from the '90s with 2Tek bridge. Awesome, USA-made Jazz for under $1k. Can't go wrong.

Finally, I've got a Pedulla Buzz Bass that was custom-ordered with J-J pickups and passive V-V-T controls. Sounds like a great '60s Jazz ... but with added definition.

I can't see spending $3k on a "super Jazz" when there are so many great options for less than half that.

 

[Chef]

Can you expand on this? What makes a Sadowsky with a VTC in passive mode any different from any other jazz bass? Sadowsky is still on my "don't have one yet..." list.

Ask this in the sadowsky mega thread. You'll get a jillion responses.

Just my devalued .02:
I don't like the sadowsky in passive mode, and consider that more a "limp home option."
Whereas the Nord and Alleva sound pretty good in passive mode

 

[sifi76]

It's really unfortunate that few of us live near brick and mortar dealers that stock high end basses. I remember many years ago going into a local GC and trying out various Alembic, Tobias, Pedulla and Modulus basses (turned out none of them floated my boat, which was useful to find out). Forget about that today.

Trying to pick a super J for me is a nearly hopeless quest. When do you know you have "the one" and stop looking?

And this is exactly my problem.. haha I know what I need, just nobody here has it.. as for the dingwall, they look cool but I'm not a fan (ha!) of the novax fret system.. especially as I play a lot of chords. Still, they look and sound great

 

[LM Bass]

Don't forget to try out the Fender Marcus Miller 5. It's like a great 70's Jazz with a B string.

 

[ulasengin]

Hi fellow tb'er's, I'm looking for a 'super j' or at least a jazz bass that can run the gamut of both active and passive needs as I play several genre's in a few bands, I usually gig with an active bass, and also do session recording so the studio guys always insist I go fully passive in that instance. I'm looking for j's that are a bit more of the 'swiss army knife' style, as I don't like lugging around more than one bass at a time if I can swing it. Here are a few I have been looking at, they all have good active/passive options.

Sadowsky Metro Ultra Vintage 60 4 (has traditional two vol and one tone when in passive mode)
Xotic XJ-IT 4
Spector Coda 4
Nordy VJ4

Okay so any advice from owners or previous owners of any of these would be great, especially given that al these models are stocked locally so it would rob be a sight unseen import. Oh and if you have any other j bass suggestions that would be helpful too (except for fender j active deluxe - played a few, but those n3 pups are a bit too sterile and stale to my ears)

Cheers

Hi Please. If you like a transparent electronic, you should try the Glockenklang 2 band EQ.
Transitions between active and passive is very transparent .
You will only hear their tone of the bass guitar .
The wood you feel its sound. Many electronics in bass boost would have been so much more . If you want to use electronic with single coil pickups,
You can be exposed to too much noise and hum especially on recordings. Glockenklang has a balanced output.
If you want to use a different brand of fabrication also pickups, you can go to hand made pickups like Haeussel, Bass Culture.
All you will find them in one and the same time very comfortable , but also affordable basses are also Maruszczyk basses. These basses are hand made from Poland.
Please check the photos, If you want to learn anything about these basses, please don't hesitate to ask me.

 

[sifi76]

Hi Please. If you like a transparent electronic, you should try the Glockenklang 2 band EQ.
Transitions between active and passive is very transparent .
You will only hear their tone of the bass guitar .
The wood you feel its sound. Many electronics in bass boost would have been so much more . If you want to use electronic with single coil pickups,
You can be exposed to too much noise and hum especially on recordings. Glockenklang has a balanced output.
If you want to use a different brand of fabrication also pickups, you can go to hand made pickups like Haeussel, Bass Culture.
All you will find them in one and the same time very comfortable , but also affordable basses are also Maruszczyk basses. These basses are hand made from Poland.
Please check the photos, If you want to learn anything about these basses, please don't hesitate to ask me.

View attachment 538665

View attachment 538666

View attachment 538667

View attachment 538668

Oh yeah adrian's basses! I was thinking about one of the elwoods a while back when checking out euro brands like sandberg, but wasn't sure how they stacked up in terms of quality. I imagine they are in the same ballpark as a standard fender usa? If you have info on these I might look further into it.

 

[ulasengin]

Oh yeah adrian's basses! I was thinking about one of the elwoods a while back when checking out euro brands like sandberg, but wasn't sure how they stacked up in terms of quality. I imagine they are in the same ballpark as a standard fender usa? If you have info on these I might look further into it.

According to me the MARUSZCZYK basses in a higher level of American Fender basses.
There is a huge difference. These are hand made not fabrication.
You can add all the features of the bass you want. There is soo many videos on the youtube page, please check it. If you want to try the basses, you can go to the NAMM show 2015 HALL - E 1385.
Adrian will be there.

 

[ulasengin]

According to me the MARUSZCZYK basses in a higher level of American Fender basses.
There is a huge difference. These are hand made not fabrication.
You can add all the features of the bass you want. There is soo many videos on the youtube page, please check it. If you want to try the basses, you can go to the NAMM show 2015 HALL - E 1385.
Adrian will be there.

This is the Youtube channel.
http://www.youtube.com/user/PublicPeaceMI/videos

 

[stuntbass77]

It seems to be getting harder to find 8-8.5 lbs basses.

Good instrument wood is getting harder to come by. I feel bad for people who are born today as the decent wood will be all but gone. I really believe that those sixties fender's were made from better wood and that has the most to do with their sound ( and the fact that wood dries over time and becomes more resonant ). Mr. Sadowsky himself said he found it harder to get lighter wood and began chambering. Even getting a good piece of alder will be hard. Well, just my opinion anyway.

 

[sifi76]

Sooo a friend of mine is moving overseas and selling his bass gear, in particular a near mint STR 5 with Jazz pups, which I swear is the closest thing I've seen and played to a fodera.. And the passive mode is damn hot, soo yeah spanner in the works lol

I'm thinking I'm gonna pull the trigger on this baby.. spalted Japanese maple top, ash body, ebony board, maple neck with ebony volute, obp3 with passive master tone.. Which is suprisingly quite transperant.. So yeah pretty badass overall

 

[ulasengin]

It seems to be getting harder to find 8-8.5 lbs basses.

You know where to find it. Please check the MARUSZCZYK Elwood Light Series.
Invalid Link Removed

 

[sifi76]

Well so much for the STR bass. My friend who owns it came along for practice, it sounded nice and felt like a pro bass but didn't have the vibe I was looking for. Then he pulled out his 'keeper' a medium relic bluesman 63 El dorado in 3tsb.. And after about 30 seconds playing it my jaw dropped.. Felt well worn in and the hand wound pups responded perfectly to my pedals. Also used his xotic Tri logic pedal which gave me all the active eq I needed. Then he told me you can get the bluesman basses custom finished and I was sold. Thanks for the help guys. Looks like I'm putting a deposit down on a 63 or 67. Going to try and get a recreation of a 66 in custom colour with matching stock and blocks/binding, light relic. Hmm now should I go for shoreline, firemist, burgundy mist or sherwood? Hehe

 

[armybass]

I have A Lull M5V, XOTIC and a Roscoe JJ. They are all excellent. I have had a Bluesman Vintage too. I do not think you could go wrong with any of those!

 

[jim777]

Link Removed

Damn! I would LOVE to take that one for a spin! I love the way those pickups sound in the Marleaux basses I've heard.

 

[jim777]

Sooo a friend of mine is moving overseas and selling his bass gear, in particular a near mint STR 5 with Jazz pups, which I swear is the closest thing I've seen and played to a fodera.. And the passive mode is damn hot, soo yeah spanner in the works lol

I'm thinking I'm gonna pull the trigger on this baby.. spalted Japanese maple top, ash body, ebony board, maple neck with ebony volute, obp3 with passive master tone.. Which is suprisingly quite transperant.. So yeah pretty badass overall

I have 2 STRs, and they are the best basses I've ever played. The stock single coils are simply outstanding as well - if I were you, I would go STR over any of the other options (though I am admittedly biased!). I've got a 6 with their single coils and the OBP3 and it is just silly how amazing it sounds both passive and active.