That Awkward Moment When You Realize The Cheap Bass Sounds Better Than the Expe

I personally like my Squier CV Jazz better than my MIA Fender P bass. It definitely happens lol.

 

My Gretsch Jet Bass and my Allen Woody Epiphone stand up to anything else I have ever owned, imo.

 

I was playing my MIM Jazz Deluxe today, and decided to try my Squier CV Jazz, it pretty much stomped my MIM.

 

My Ibanez RKB is pretty much the best sounding bass I own. I think so and people who listen with no knowledge of headstock status agree. $300.

 

Carvin construction and finish is fine. Plenty of people like their electronics as well. In your case, I'd continue shopping, but only for electronics. I think more people ought to spend time with a soldering iron and screwdrivers- they'd find out that a bass is the sum of its parts and not to be judged as a whole instrument unless you love it immediately and continue to love it throughout your ownership of it.

If you like what's in the Peavey, why not try to put that into your Carvin if it's J + J (AFAIK, you'd have to forego the P but if you're interested in a P sound, Carvin isn't your kind of pickup anyhow) and have the benefit of a better build all told?

 

I recently decided I wanted a Jazz bass for my stable, which, at the time, consisted of an MTD USA 635, Warwick Fortress I Fretless, and a Fender MIA Standard P-Bass (in a killer translucent orange finish that I love!)

I went shopping at the local Guitar Center. They have more Jazz basses than anything, so I got to play everything from Squier Vintage Modified's ($280 brand new) to Fender Standard Jazz, Deluxe Jazz (old and new models, around $2,000-ish) to custom shop 70's re-issues (closer to $3,500).

I wanted to get the one I was most happy with, and I didn't consider price. If I fell in love with a Custom Shop I'd save my pennies and get it.

I got the $280 Vintage Modified. It blew away every other bass there (there was about 20, probably 16 of them Fenders, 10 of those Americans). I now play it almost as much as my MTD.

Case in point: if it feels right, and sounds right (especially in the mix), go with it. If it just doesn't do it for you, pass it by!

Congrats with the cheap find, by the way!

 

To be fair, my Squier Jazz might give my MIA Fender a run for its money, but my EBMM StingRay or Modulus Q5 not so much

Still, there are fantastic budget instruments out there that I would proudly play if I had no other option. But since I do I definitely won't shy away from some of the more expensive brands

 

Last year I bought a beatup 92 Peavey Fury. Fixed it up and put on a badass bridge that was laying around. Thou the stock pickup was really nice I still went and replaced it with a Bill Lawrence P. This is the bass that I play most of the time.

 

SX!

 

Before you replace those barts, you might want to consider replacing the Carvin preamp. There are a lot of great options out there, almost all of them an improvement over the stock pre.

 

My MIA sub ray plays as good as an EBMM.

 

Try the Bartolini pups with passive wiring. Every Bartolini I've played has been thick and powerful, but only when wired passive. All it will cost is a couple of 250K pots and a couple of hours of your time.

 

My MII SUB Ray5 plays as good as an EBMM.

 

That's because your MIA sub ray IS an EBMM. It's a classic stingray before there was such a thing. For those who don't know this secret yet... ;-)

 

Many years ago (late 90s) I played a couple of Fender Js, one MIA and one MIM, in a music store through the same amp. The MIM sounded better to my ears. Guess which one I bought? I played the heck out of that bass for several years until my back couldn't take it anymore (11 lbs.).