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The Official Charvel/Jackson Club!

#1,761
Yeah, I don't know that I agree with #1 either. The bridge looks to be basically in the same position as my Thunderbird, or my Ibanez Destroyer, or the similar Schecter model. The body shape and size is very close to a Thunderbird, so I'm just not seeing it. To make the neck "feel longer" they would have to move the bridge towards the neck pocket and mount the neck farther out from the body. But if you lay images of the Kellybird and Thunderbird over each other, they are basically in the same position. So I don't know that I agree that it will feel longer.

Neck dive is a thing on any bass with no upper horn, not just the Kellybird. But there's a whole "club" of players who love Thunderbirds, and the neck dive doesn't seem to bother them. The headstock is smaller than a Thunderbird, so that should help get rid of some neck dive.

#2 and #3 are personal preference. Fender has been selling Telecasters for eons and they don't have either of those carves, but it's an insanely popular model.

I can see #4 being slightly annoying if you're a player who constantly fiddles with knobs.

As for the case, Jackson sells a gig bag for the Kellybird, and there are some used HSC out there for the Kellybird, before Jackson stopped selling those cases.

Pickups and tone are personal preference too. Pretty sure it's a standard soapbar size so they could be swapped out for about anything you like. Or just run it thru effects and make it sound how you want.

It's all subjective if you ask me. I like them and have considered buying one for quite some time, but the right deal hasn't come along yet. :thumbsup:
 
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#1,762
Thanks @TerribleTim68. You've expressed my thoughts well! I've turned a lot of "bad" basses into good ones over the last few years. The neck dive i expected and i know of a way to combat that. If the pickups are OK but the preamp questionable, that an easy and relatively inexpensive fix. Things to consider...
 
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#1,766
Hi!
I was wondering if anyone has any information about this JP charvel bass?
Was told Japanese made but can't find anything about it serial number 373977
Thanks!
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#1,767
So the serial numbers from that era are pretty tough to decipher, there's not much info on them. But what I did find through internet searching was that the serial numbers started at 000000 in 1986 and the first digit went up by one for each following year. So 1987 would be 100000 and 1988 would be 200000 and then your bass would have fallen in the 1989 model year as a 300000 serial number. Import Charvels during that era were built at the Chushin Gakki factory. That's about all the info I could find.
My best guess is, it's a 1989 model built in Japan, but beyond that, I can't help you much.
 
#1,769
This is my first time posting on the Jackson club. I just picked up a demo model of a Jackson Spectra SBX IV from Sweetwater. Overall it's a nice bass, but needed some TLC. The fret ends were sharp and needed some attention. A file fixed that in about 10 minutes. Almost every screw was stripped and freely spinning, so I fixed that as well. The hardware on this bass is terrible! Some of the worst that I've come across. The tuners were trash so I replaced them with a set of Gotoh GB707 tuners. I also replaced the strap buttons with oversized ones and replaced the knobs. The bridge will be next to go. Now the bass looks and plays better imo. It's definitely a keeper and may even take over my #1 spot! I love the sounds you can get out of this bass. The neck is also very stable with the reinforcement rods. This bass is leaps and bounds better than the Ibanez SR300E that it replaced.
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#1,770
Kind of new here, 2/3 of my basses are a Charvel and Jackson (3rd Jan fretless so totally different anyway). A San Dimas P style and a Jackenbacker. It may be obvious from the pic but I like a nice colorful 80s sort of look.

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Was trying to sell my Jackenbacker because I thought it might be a little too samey to have what is essentially 2 PJs, even if the pickup positioning and electronics are different.

But now I am second guessing that, they don't sound that similar (Charvel = lowermids, Jackson = Higher mids) and I am thinking if I swap in some EMGs in the Jackson and use different strings they might be different enough to justify both. While still similar enough to use as backups for one another.
 
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#1,772
I am normally not a sonic blue person, but I think it looks really nice on the San Dimas. Maybe it's because the color pops better with no pickguard, but it also kind of blends nicely with the cream pickups and roasted maple fretboard.

Nice 80s pastel vibes rather than just looking faded like a sonic blue strat or something would.

Not a big fan of the other two new colors, but different colors for different tastes and all.
 
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