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Upgrade or Sell my Jazz?
- Thread starter tonymcbony
- Start date
These two statements relating to the neck on your Jazz seem to contradict each other?
If it is the feel/neck and electronics/sound, I voted for sell. With having to make so many adjustments to get a bass you like, I'd say start hunting for something that works for you.
In my experience, Sunbeams are very mid forward and warm (many would equate "warmth" with "mud.")
I'd consider experimenting with strings before doing surgery. If you like the feel of the DR strings, Hi Beams have the same tension with more bottom and less mids, imho.
I have a mid 90s Jazz Bass plus with Bartolini J pickups and Bartolini pre-amp that was installed by a previous owner. I've had other Jazz basses with DiMarzio pickups, and to me the Bart setup is the top of the stack.
Sell the bass. You have a P & and Ray already - the P works for almost all genres and your Ray is what you should be using for variable tones. A "No." for upgrades since it seems like you just need to adjust your EQ - and even then - you don't need a jazz bass to get the sound you're looking for when you already have 2 basses that can (probably) cover it.
Seems to me that's the whole story. Even if you get the sound, you're not going to like the feel. I love Jazz Basses, but I say Move on, brother...
+1000!!
As an owner of both preamps and using them on Fender Jazz basses the Sadowsky is hands down the better sounding preamp.
I'm so pleased with my Sadowsky outboard I use my active Sadowsky in passive mode and run it through the outboard (seriously, I do... I know it sounds crazy) because it does such a great job.
maybe this is why you have "too many mids" - why are you cranking your mids and complaing you have too many mids
Set your amp FLAT - do a soundcheck and see where you need to EQ to get the sound you want.
+1!
And of course, here are the carrots:
I don't get it... You quite like the feel of it but it is probably the least favourite of the bunch due to the different neck. ???
If you like the feel of it mod it, if you got basses that feels more playable to you sell it.
If you like the feel of it mod it, if you got basses that feels more playable to you sell it.
I just upgraded my MIA jazz 5 with Audere pre. It's night and day. The low shakes the floor, the mid and high are well defined. I am not done yet. I am looking to tighten up the sound. The stock pups has gotta go. I just can't decide on the pups yet, Duncan Quarter Pound, Fralin, or Nordstrand. Sorry for hijacking your post.
These two statements relating to the neck on your Jazz seem to contradict each other?
If it is the feel/neck and electronics/sound, I voted for sell. With having to make so many adjustments to get a bass you like, I'd say start hunting for something that works for you.
They don't because it's not like I hate the neck on the Jazz. It's quite a nice neck BUT I *really* like the necks on the P and Ray. Jazz is nice but the other two are even better!
maybe this is why you have "too many mids" - why are you cranking your mids and complaing you have too many mids
Set your amp FLAT - do a soundcheck and see where you need to EQ to get the sound you want.
I see what you're saying, it's not quite the issue I meant to point at.
It's on the bass itself with those amp settings, when I'm playing I'll go "Ok, I need more bottom end here" and roll the Bridge down or off. All the punchy mids go. I then go "Hmm, punchy mids are gone, better roll back to the bridge." I roll the neck down or off and the mids are there but the bottom has fallen off. I do the neck on 20%, bridge on full and vice versa but I don't get the tone that I'm after. I then tweak the amp eq to compensate but it never quite sorts it out.
I've put a Series/Parallel Switch in but then it gets so close to a P Bass I might as well just be playing my P Bass. If I'm playing a Jazz, I'd still want some Jazz character.
You couldn't be more correct!
One of my main motivations of putting the poll up was that I know I'd just keep fiddling with it and maybe that's not what I should be doing, maybe I should pass it on to someone who loves Jazz basses and 'gets' their tone. I'm just thinking that it's very possible that by the time I was happy it'd either sound like a P Bass or Ray and that's a bit stupid.
