Who makes a great J right now?

[Ric5]

The only Jazz basses that I own and play are parts basses …

 

[Obese Chess]

Of the brands you listed, Lull, with the caveat that I've never played a Sadowsky.

Would have also recommended Pensa but apparently those are approaching Fodera prices now (seeing two used on Reverb for $7,350???)

 

[sgtpepper]

I agree on the DIY thing. Currently I only have two J's and are pretty much parts basses. I "built" them to my own specs and didn't spend a million bucks on them. And I'm really happy with them.

MIM Deluxe body
Allparts Japan 70's neck
Am Std pickups
John Suhr preamp
Badass Bass II bridge

VM Jazz Body and Neck
SD Quarter Pound pickups
Custom paint job
Am Std bridge

 

[600 Ohms]

How about a used Lakland JO4? I've got an older 4 string that is the best 4 string J bass I've played.
Lull and Sadowsky both make killer J's as well.

I've had them all and I'd be happy with any of them.

I like the J04, but in this instance, I'm firm on the 70's spacing and timber choice. That said, I will ultimately have a 60's-style Alder/Rosewood J as well.

 

[600 Ohms]

Get a Lakland Skyline. Great bank for the buck and not too heavy. Like others have said earlier they have a great neck and are PLEK'd at the factory. Play like a dream any I have tried -- whether J or P style...

Yes, my Glaub is my most-used bass—and my least expensive by far.

 

[600 Ohms]

Of the brands you listed, Lull, with the caveat that I've never played a Sadowsky.

Would have also recommended Pensa but apparently those are approaching Fodera prices now (seeing two used on Reverb for $7,350???)

I kinda feel like over $4500 is silly. I already own an Alembic Series bass... don't need to keep up with the Joneses!

 

[600 Ohms]

Hokey Smokes! Will you look at that thing! If you doesn't motivate you to put something awesome together yourself, nothing will.

Agreed—it's a sexy beast.

 

[b_carville]

Bacchus.
Someone else mentioned them. I've played the Craft series(made in Japan), the Global (made in the Phillipines) & theUniverse (Made in China).Prices are reasonable for what you get.A bit hard to find. VSN guitars in Canada is the only North American dealer. The Craft was amazing and was under $800. I thought the Global could give an American Standard a run for the money.(I liked it better). The Universe I felt was better than an MIM.The Craft was on a par with custom Fenders. The one I played had an Aguilar preamp & ash body.
I don't own one yet, but I'm going to!

 

[Obese Chess]

I kinda feel like over $4500 is silly. I already own an Alembic Series bass... don't need to keep up with the Joneses!

I remember last time I played a Pensa it was in the $2300-3000 range new.

Of course you could also get a Ritter for $3000 in those days, so............

 

[600 Ohms]

Loving the Lull look (LLL). I prefer the no-frills and general loyalty to the body shape. Between Lull and Sadowsky, there's a trip to Mesa Boogie Hollywood in my future.

 

[mark beem]

Loving the Lull look (LLL). I prefer the no-frills and general loyalty to the body shape. Between Lull and Sadowsky, there's a trip to Mesa Boogie Hollywood in my future.

Lulls are great as well. I love my M5V.

 

[Altitude]

I'm definitely in the Valenti camp on personal experience. Especially if you like slightly downsized bodies. Mine is great.

But I would throw a small caution to anybody venturing into the custom or build-to-spec world. Most of us don't know what we're really getting when we piece together an order based on stuff that sounds good to us. I can say "I want a swamp ash body with an ebony neck, Nordstrand pickups with suchandsuch preamp" and everything else. And this could all be based on good things we've read about all those products here and elsewhere. But you can't really know what the resulting instrument is going to sound like until it's bought, paid for, and in your hands. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. At minimum, try to find a builder who will walk through those decisions with you and not just take your order.

Otherwise...when you buy a bass from Fender, Sadowsky, G&L, or whomever...it's a design that makes sense based on what a larg(er) number of people want, and you're less likely to be surprised.

 

[InhumanResource]

My choice would be sadowsky. Lakland is pretty awesome too (as long as there's no barts installed). I have never heard any jazz as good as a sadowsky that someone brought to my house once to check out an amp I was selling.

 

[Freez]

I can roll a pretty mean J if I do say so myself! Oh, that's not what you meant is it?

 

[warwicktor]

I can roll a pretty mean J if I do say so myself! Oh, that's not what you meant is it?

Nice! LOL!!!

 

[BassIsFun17]

Kiesel makes a great everything

 

[808P123]

Please, nobody should think I mean "the best," I simply mean, "whose J should I be trying out?".

Looking for a (potentially new) Jazz (could be Fender, could be someone else) in the following configuration:

Ash body
Maple neck
wider 70's pickup spacing
Not necessary, but active EQ could be nice.

My son owns the Sire Marcus Miller J (60's style) and I'm pretty amazed how great that bass plays and sounds, particularly for the $$. I'd be happy with one of those, but I'm looking for something with a higher level of craftsmanship that will age well.

How are Laklands in the post-Dan Lakin era? I have an older Skyline Glaub that's just the best.

Thanks for suggestions.

Marc Rutters. Completely custom from wood choices,neck profiles, thickness, radius, ect.... He uses Peter Florance pickups in his J basses. I have a few from him and couldn't be happier

 

[Cuzzie]

Did I hear Sandberg mentioned again......?!

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

I love my used custom shop ‘60. The truss is maxed but the action is perfect. It sounds like JPJ. And it’s a Fender. I would look for a used CS with the specs you want.

 

[TjMetalhead]

I'm all for custom built stuff. When I get the fiances I'm going to be assembling a Jazz bass with a PJ configuration. The parts I will be using though will be coming from Fender. I like their options the best since I can get everything I need as separate parts.