Hi all!
I just picked up my newest bass, the Jazzborghini!
The specs are the following:
Neck- Status Graphite 4 String Jazz Neck w/ no dots
Hipshot Ultralight Tuners
Body- Warmoth Jazz Body (Alder) painted Lamborghini Arancio Atlas
Delano Pickups with giant pole pieces
Badass III Bridge string-thru
J-Retro Preamp in black/black
Now I had always beaten around the bush trying to find the perfect bass. I would oogle at all these custom creations with crazy exotic woods, pickup placement, and a lot of frets. I have owned a variety of basses, (USA fender jazz, rickenbacker 4001/3, alembic series 1, custom roscoe made for me, among many others). Many of these basses were great to look at, but I couldn't get the tone I was looking for. The bass that I enjoyed the most out of all of the ones I've owned was the good ole' USA jazz. The one I had came equipped with a J-retro preamp, and after playing this thing once I was a complete convert. I got rid of the bass a while after because I was looking to get into 5-ers. I never came close to getting the tones I was looking for with all the other basses.
When this past new year rolled around, I decided that if I wanted a bass that would suit my needs, might as well get something that was exactly to my specs. I knew that if I didn't get a jazz bass, I wouldn't be happy.
I went onto warmoth and pulled the trigger on a jazz body, then I ordered a status graphite neck. Let me just say that both the people at Warmoth and Status-graphite are amazing people who provide top quality products and customer service. Fast forward a month and I have an unfinished bass body and a graphite neck chillin' in my basement. I didn't know if I should paint it myself, get it painted, keep it wood and do an oil finish, or perhaps even a vinyl wrap. So, in order to speed up the decision process I smoked some pot and used my imagination.
I am a big car nut, and have always enjoyed high end exotics with their ridiculous factory colors. I started to remember how Fender paints some guitars and basses with racing stripes, which gives the guitar a car theme. I wasn't going to be that lame. I began thinking about what automotive colors would look not just good, but unique on a bass. I looked at porsche, ferrari, bmw colors, but none stood out. Then I remembered the beautiful orange that the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera and Murcielago SV are painted. The color looks great, and in the sunlight it is a real eye catcher!
I did some research and looked at various auto body shops and guitar painters that could do this. I stumbled across Patrick Sims, of Sims Custom Shop. I read up very briefly and checked out his site, and he seemed legit. I contacted him, he said he could do it, and I sent the body over. After a few weeks I sent him an email asking for an update and did not hear back. I sent a few more emails a few days after and still had no response. I began to freak out and read up online. Apparently this guy has one of the worst track records imaginable and I guess no one really likes him around here. I began to think the worst, that I would never see my money or my bass body again. Turns out he was in the middle of the tornado fiasco that hit the middle of the country, which wasn't even on my mind seeing as I live in new england. He finally got back to me and had the bass shipped out within the time period promised. Overall, Pat was very pleasant to deal with. I guess his customer service record is pretty shoddy, but he did an EXCELLENT job painting the guitar. My only complaint was that the neck cavity did not have any paint around the edges so you can see a little wood if you look under the neck at an angle.
Once I got the body back, I sourced all my hardware and electronics. I was totally going J-Retro again, as I couldn't have been happier with my last J-retro equipped bass. I went on bestbassgear.com and shopped for pickups. I noticed Delano (a german company I had never heard of) produced these pickups with GIANT pole pieces. They had many positive reviews so I snatched up a pair. I bought a Badass III bridge off of a fellow TB'er debo 006, and got it to my doorstep two days later!
Now I also ordered a gloss black pickguard from Warmoth. Sadly, the warmoth jazz pickguards are not the same size as the fender jazz pickguards. The holes line up, but the cut is slightly different in certain areas including around the control plate. The result is poor fitment unless one has a warmoth control plate. I contacted them and without a hassle they sent me the return code so I could send it back and get a refund. Thanks guys!
Once I had all the parts together, I contacted Busy Pete's Guitar Repair in Middleton, MA, and the very next day my bass was assembled, setup, and ready to ROCK!.
I am speechless as to the quality of the finished product. This bass is the best sounding, most easy playing, most rockin bass I have ever owned. The combination of the j-retro and the Delano pickups is one for the ages! The range of tones available and the sheer POWER of this instrument is unbelievable. This thing sounds STRONG and will cut through any mix with shimmering highs that will pierce the heavens, and furious thunderous lows that will make the earth tremble! Some people say that graphite necks can make a bass sound hollow, empty, or lacking in the tone department. Not with Status Graphtie necks... this thing WAILS. Plus, I think it's kind of neat that the neck and preamp are from England, the pickups are from Germany, and the body, bridge, and hardware are from the US of A!
Overall, this is hands down one of the best basses I have ever played. The craftsmanship put into each of the parts as well as the assembly is amazing!
I just picked up my newest bass, the Jazzborghini!
The specs are the following:
Neck- Status Graphite 4 String Jazz Neck w/ no dots
Hipshot Ultralight Tuners
Body- Warmoth Jazz Body (Alder) painted Lamborghini Arancio Atlas
Delano Pickups with giant pole pieces
Badass III Bridge string-thru
J-Retro Preamp in black/black
Now I had always beaten around the bush trying to find the perfect bass. I would oogle at all these custom creations with crazy exotic woods, pickup placement, and a lot of frets. I have owned a variety of basses, (USA fender jazz, rickenbacker 4001/3, alembic series 1, custom roscoe made for me, among many others). Many of these basses were great to look at, but I couldn't get the tone I was looking for. The bass that I enjoyed the most out of all of the ones I've owned was the good ole' USA jazz. The one I had came equipped with a J-retro preamp, and after playing this thing once I was a complete convert. I got rid of the bass a while after because I was looking to get into 5-ers. I never came close to getting the tones I was looking for with all the other basses.
When this past new year rolled around, I decided that if I wanted a bass that would suit my needs, might as well get something that was exactly to my specs. I knew that if I didn't get a jazz bass, I wouldn't be happy.
I went onto warmoth and pulled the trigger on a jazz body, then I ordered a status graphite neck. Let me just say that both the people at Warmoth and Status-graphite are amazing people who provide top quality products and customer service. Fast forward a month and I have an unfinished bass body and a graphite neck chillin' in my basement. I didn't know if I should paint it myself, get it painted, keep it wood and do an oil finish, or perhaps even a vinyl wrap. So, in order to speed up the decision process I smoked some pot and used my imagination.
I am a big car nut, and have always enjoyed high end exotics with their ridiculous factory colors. I started to remember how Fender paints some guitars and basses with racing stripes, which gives the guitar a car theme. I wasn't going to be that lame. I began thinking about what automotive colors would look not just good, but unique on a bass. I looked at porsche, ferrari, bmw colors, but none stood out. Then I remembered the beautiful orange that the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera and Murcielago SV are painted. The color looks great, and in the sunlight it is a real eye catcher!
I did some research and looked at various auto body shops and guitar painters that could do this. I stumbled across Patrick Sims, of Sims Custom Shop. I read up very briefly and checked out his site, and he seemed legit. I contacted him, he said he could do it, and I sent the body over. After a few weeks I sent him an email asking for an update and did not hear back. I sent a few more emails a few days after and still had no response. I began to freak out and read up online. Apparently this guy has one of the worst track records imaginable and I guess no one really likes him around here. I began to think the worst, that I would never see my money or my bass body again. Turns out he was in the middle of the tornado fiasco that hit the middle of the country, which wasn't even on my mind seeing as I live in new england. He finally got back to me and had the bass shipped out within the time period promised. Overall, Pat was very pleasant to deal with. I guess his customer service record is pretty shoddy, but he did an EXCELLENT job painting the guitar. My only complaint was that the neck cavity did not have any paint around the edges so you can see a little wood if you look under the neck at an angle.
Once I got the body back, I sourced all my hardware and electronics. I was totally going J-Retro again, as I couldn't have been happier with my last J-retro equipped bass. I went on bestbassgear.com and shopped for pickups. I noticed Delano (a german company I had never heard of) produced these pickups with GIANT pole pieces. They had many positive reviews so I snatched up a pair. I bought a Badass III bridge off of a fellow TB'er debo 006, and got it to my doorstep two days later!
Now I also ordered a gloss black pickguard from Warmoth. Sadly, the warmoth jazz pickguards are not the same size as the fender jazz pickguards. The holes line up, but the cut is slightly different in certain areas including around the control plate. The result is poor fitment unless one has a warmoth control plate. I contacted them and without a hassle they sent me the return code so I could send it back and get a refund. Thanks guys!
Once I had all the parts together, I contacted Busy Pete's Guitar Repair in Middleton, MA, and the very next day my bass was assembled, setup, and ready to ROCK!.
I am speechless as to the quality of the finished product. This bass is the best sounding, most easy playing, most rockin bass I have ever owned. The combination of the j-retro and the Delano pickups is one for the ages! The range of tones available and the sheer POWER of this instrument is unbelievable. This thing sounds STRONG and will cut through any mix with shimmering highs that will pierce the heavens, and furious thunderous lows that will make the earth tremble! Some people say that graphite necks can make a bass sound hollow, empty, or lacking in the tone department. Not with Status Graphtie necks... this thing WAILS. Plus, I think it's kind of neat that the neck and preamp are from England, the pickups are from Germany, and the body, bridge, and hardware are from the US of A!
Overall, this is hands down one of the best basses I have ever played. The craftsmanship put into each of the parts as well as the assembly is amazing!
