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Swapping out Fender Jazz for something cheep and cheerful

What should I replace the Fender bass with?

  • Keep it you fool!

    Votes: 75 56.8%

  • Get the Sterling SUB

    Votes: 24 18.2%

  • Get a different inexpensive bass (leave comment!)

    Votes: 33 25.0%
  • Total voters
    132
#81
ChrisBowsman said:
This also seems like a good idea.
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Always a possibility. I've had two basses for several years now. I don't do a lot of gigs. Maybe 5-6 a year, tops. And only one or two are big out of town shows. But when I do get that big stage, I think it's just more professional to have a second bass ready to go should I pop a string or encounter some other problem.
 
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#84
scottfeldstein said:
The more you say it... I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for a bargain.
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I've seen German Corvettes listed on CL and FB locally for as low as $500, but usually not that low. Lots of Rockbasses for $350-ish.

If it were me, I'd go the trade route. It takes some patience, but I usually end up swapping what I have for what I want, occasionally taking a hit, occasionally making out, but completely avoiding the no-shows and tire kickers.
 
#86
Update on the Fender Jazz bass. I just had another look at the setup. The neck relief was at about 12 thou (at the 8th fret, capo 1, holding at body joint). The string heights were about 6/64s on the B down to about 4.5 on the G. Playability is at about the limit for buzz, especially on the B and E strings. Play too hard and it'll buzz.

But I decided to see what would happen if I straightened the neck just a tiny bit more. So I loosened the strings, put in the wrench, and gave her a tiny crack. Maybe an eighth of a turn. I tuned her back up and measured the neck relief. It's now at 8 thou. The string heights are 5/64s on the B and a steady lowering to about 3.5 on the G. It seems that there is no additional buzz anywhere on the fingerboard. That's about where the Warwick is, but the Warwick does it easily with no risk of buzz.

If this proves a stable adjustment and it passes the rehearsal test, maybe I'll keep it a while after all. It's still heavier than I'd like, the B is kinda floppy, and I have to see about that low output. (I think the pickups need to be raised but there's nothing under them pushing them up after 18 years.) Other than that, it's still sounds pretty great.
 
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#89
scottfeldstein said:
Sure, if I planned to make an afternoon of it. I bet Cream City has a few nice ones. Other than that I wouldn't know where to go. Maybe folks here have suggestions.
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I'd probably be better off ordering stuff to be delivered to my local GC and trying stuff out there. At least I'd know they had 2-3 items I was interested in. And if I didn't like them I'd only be out the shipping. I think that's how it works.
 
#91
scottfeldstein said:
I bought a 2002 Fender Deluxe Active Jazz V (MIM) a couple of months ago. It was my intention to use it as my daily driver, my "best bass." I was going to knock my Warwick Rockbass Corvette $$ down to "backup bass" status.

Problem is, I did some work and setups on both of them, and now I definitely like the Warwick better than the Fender. That's good news for my Warwick, which now plays like a dream. Not so good for the Fender, which is now too good to just have sit around as a secondary instrument. That's not how I intended to use that money.

So...I just put the Fender up for sale on Craig's List for $500 with a hard Fender case and some extras.

If it sells quick (and I think it probably will) maybe I'll go cheap and cheerful and pick up a used Sterling SUB5. I see used ones going for under $300 and they're supposedly pretty good. That or something like it. Good but inexpensive.

Am I nuts?
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Yes.
 
#93
You make a valid argument IMO. If that's your situation then there's nothing wrong with selling it.

"but also one that does not fit me as a player very well in some ways."

I did something similar. Sold my Gibson Thunderbird and replaced it with an Indonesian made Epiphone T-bird Vintage PRO. It just fit me better.
 
#95
I voted for the S.U.B 5. I play one and I absolutely LOVE it. My 4 string is the American Made Stingray 4. The Indonesian made 5 is not the same, but it gets you pretty dang close for a FRACTION of the cost. I purchased mine used from a Bay Area GC for $169.00. It needed some small repair work which I did myself, but the neck, pickups, preamp, everything else was perfect. A well loved and used instrument. BTW, I find that these days, I prefer the neck profile of the Sterling SUB 5 over the EBMM Stingray 4. I take whichever instrument is needed for the gig. But yes, I swap equally between a $169.00 bass and a $2,000.00 bass without feeling that I am losing any quality. Now... what is also nice about the SUB is that I plan to modify it at some point, and I will not feel bad about it, as it was a relatively cheap purchase. Mine is transparent blue satin, BTW. Cheers!
 
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#96
If you're set on getting another bass, make it an upgrade.

If you like the Corvette $$, invest in a German one.

This is far better than buying and trying several cheap basses in my opinion. Trust me, I made this mistake in the past.

And honestly, if you're not playing pro, you only need one bass.
 
#97
scottfeldstein said:
I bought a 2002 Fender Deluxe Active Jazz V (MIM) a couple of months ago. It was my intention to use it as my daily driver, my "best bass." I was going to knock my Warwick Rockbass Corvette $$ down to "backup bass" status.

Problem is, I did some work and setups on both of them, and now I definitely like the Warwick better than the Fender. That's good news for my Warwick, which now plays like a dream. Not so good for the Fender, which is now too good to just have sit around as a secondary instrument. That's not how I intended to use that money.

So...I just put the Fender up for sale on Craig's List for $500 with a hard Fender case and some extras.

If it sells quick (and I think it probably will) maybe I'll go cheap and cheerful and pick up a used Sterling SUB5. I see used ones going for under $300 and they're supposedly pretty good. That or something like it. Good but inexpensive.

Am I nuts?
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What s the issue with the Fender? If it's sound, try different pickups or preamps.
 
#99
Tekkers said:
There are some that'll insist you have to have a Jazz, or keep it because it's a Fender, or whatever. I wouldn't worry about that, do what you want but don't just follow trends for no reason. There are loads of good choices out there.
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Good piece of advice here, some people may believe that there's something wrong with you for wanting to get rid of a Fender because of that name on the headstock. Hey, I love me a good Fender jazz bass but it's not going to be for everyone, and only one person is going to have the right answer to this. There are perhaps better options out there maybe more inexpensive ones as well that just work out better. The bass is a 2002 Jazz so it was bought USED not new, there is little to no loss of money if sold used. There's nothing wrong with moving on and finding a bass you will use more, if it's cheaper, you pocket the rest of the money or if you find a better, but more expensive bass, put the funds towards that. To answer the post above, I've been playing bass for over 30 years, no amount of extra playing or practice will convince me a Fender V is going to be any better of an option for me in time, my time is well...more limited these days.

scottfeldstein said:
Think about this. I live in city of 35,000 people. There aren't that may bass guitars to try here. And what would it hurt me to sell the Jazz bass for $500? I won't have lost any money on it. Unless you count the new strings, my time doing a setup, and the aftermarket pickguard. My take: Pfffft. Let my loss be someone else's gain for a few bucks. I need it gone. It's just not "me."
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No, there's no loss for selling a used bass and putting it back on the market for someone who may want it more than you do, everyone wins - what you gain is the knowledge that it wasn't right for you and go look for something else that would work for you. I had a MIM Fender Jazz V a few years ago, I too found the B rather on the floppy side, I love 4 string Jazz basses mind you, just not the fivers - I found better five string options not branded "Fender" one of which was the TRBX305.
 
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