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Scarf
Jun 24, 2005

On sight

Bobby_Wokkerfella posted:

Is there a huge difference in the playability/tone between an otherwise equal Jazz Bass and a Jaguar Bass? From my understanding the Jag is basically a Jazz with a fancy body and a bit more versatility in what you can do with the pickups.

Yeah, the Jag is active, standard Jazz isn't. Of course you can always get an active Jazz, but personally I've never really cared for them.

The Jag does use the "Vintage Jazz Bass" pickups, as for their position on the body, I can't find the actual measurements, but I'm pretty certain they're similar to the standard Jazz spacing. They have the same nut width, fingerboard radius, etc. The only thing slightly different is the neck profile. The Jazz has a "Modern C" while the Jag has a "Thin C."

So yeah, for all intents and purposes, the Jag is basically an Active Jazz with more tonal tweakability and a slightly different neck profile.

It's a tough choice though, I've played both pretty extensively and while I love the vintage passive thump of the Jazz, the active preamp on the Jag cranked out some serious low-end. No mid adjustment though...

Scarf fucked around with this message at 15:24 on Nov 11, 2009

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Scarf
Jun 24, 2005

On sight
Oh poo poo I just realized I have a show on Friday the 13th, and it's at a loving SUMMER CAMP! :wth:





Schatten
Jul 7, 2002

Das ist nicht meine
schnellen Rennwagen

Bobby_Wokkerfella posted:

Is there a huge difference in the playability/tone between an otherwise equal Jazz Bass and a Jaguar Bass? From my understanding the Jag is basically a Jazz with a fancy body and a bit more versatility in what you can do with the pickups.

Like Scarf, I've had extensive experience with these as well. Only somewhat with the Jag, because it didn't feel right for me. Very cool bass, just not for me and I'll get to that in a bit.

Body - the Jag body feels smaller than a normal Jazz body.
Neck - Jag is slimmer, feels much better, and has also a vintage orange tint. (note orange tint here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/whoapower/3956079231/in/set-72157604159710697/)
Electronics - On the Jag - active or passive, there's a switch for it, but the bass and treble controls should be set and then not messed with. Great punchy bass and not so tingy highs, but how these are controlled is not quickly adjustable IMO. I prefer standard knobs.

On the Jazz - passive, unless you opt for an active deluxe model. Either sounds great, but they are very different in sounds. Passive J's give that classic J growl to it. Active J's can be a little more refined and modern sounding. If you use pedals, some active bass sounds aren't effected much. (i.e. - Electronix Submarine doesn't do much on my active basses)

Playability - both play great. The Jag feels better with fingers or a pick. Neck is much faster and feels better. However, even if I don't play slap in a band, I'll still want to on my own. In those cases, the Jag doesn't work for my right hand. The back of my hand will hit the controls, or turn a pickup off accidentally. This isn't typical though and is probably due to my long term poor playing technique.

I've had a few Jazz basses in the past, but ever since I picked up a Warmoth in a dinky-J configuration, the body feels much more comfortable for my body size. If a different body is desired in the future, you can always swap that out. And that should also help you determine the color you desire as well. Like the Hot Rod Red Jag pictured above, it has a matching headstock which I do love. But I'm unable to swap out the body for a different color and leave the headstock red. (cause I'm picky or just vain like that)

Scarf
Jun 24, 2005

On sight
While on the subject of Jazz-style basses with smaller bodies, check out the Lakland Darryl Jones model. It's been discontinued but you can still get remaining stock at MusiciansFriend and there's usually some used ones floating around on Talkbass.

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Lakland-Darryl-Jones-Signature-Model-4String-Bass?sku=517705

Hard to tell in the pics, but the body is a good bit smaller and more streamlined/modern feeling than a standard Jazz.



Edit: And the white one is pimpin ;)

Scarf fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Nov 11, 2009

Schatten
Jul 7, 2002

Das ist nicht meine
schnellen Rennwagen
drat. Stop that Scarf! I'm GAS free right now! Stop... stop I say!

scuz
Aug 29, 2003

You can't be angry ALL the time!




Fun Shoe
I know I can get a jazz bass body with a musicman-pickup route from warmoth, but they don't have a musicman pickup route option for their jazz bass pickguards. Does it not matter since the "sweet spot" is lower than where the pickguard will be? I want a surf-green MusicMan but they don't goddamned have that color in the Ernie Ball factory :argh:

Scarf
Jun 24, 2005

On sight

Schatten posted:

drat. Stop that Scarf! I'm GAS free right now! Stop... stop I say!

Haha well given that I'm an endorsing artist for Lakland, you can take my attempts at promoting them however you will ;)

Scarf
Jun 24, 2005

On sight

scuz posted:

I know I can get a jazz bass body with a musicman-pickup route from warmoth, but they don't have a musicman pickup route option for their jazz bass pickguards. Does it not matter since the "sweet spot" is lower than where the pickguard will be? I want a surf-green MusicMan but they don't goddamned have that color in the Ernie Ball factory :argh:

Talk to the folks at Warmoth. They're super nice and will likely work with you on that.

Schatten
Jul 7, 2002

Das ist nicht meine
schnellen Rennwagen

scuz posted:

I know I can get a jazz bass body with a musicman-pickup route from warmoth, but they don't have a musicman pickup route option for their jazz bass pickguards. Does it not matter since the "sweet spot" is lower than where the pickguard will be? I want a surf-green MusicMan but they don't goddamned have that color in the Ernie Ball factory :argh:

Hmmm... I know a few people over at Ernie Ball. I'm sure with dollars, they'd make you anything you'd want.

Scarf
Jun 24, 2005

On sight
How about Sonic Blue?



Part of the upcoming Deluxe Classic Stingrays.

scuz
Aug 29, 2003

You can't be angry ALL the time!




Fun Shoe
Thanks for the tips, guys :3: I'll probably end up going with Warmoth since they're more used to custom orders than the MusicMan guys, and I don't have MusicMan-level cash.

Scarf posted:

Haha well given that I'm an endorsing artist for Lakland, you can take my attempts at promoting them however you will ;)
Grats, dude! When did you get the endorsement?

...you're trolling us aren't you?

scuz
Aug 29, 2003

You can't be angry ALL the time!




Fun Shoe

Scarf posted:

How about Sonic Blue?



Part of the upcoming Deluxe Classic Stingrays.
Mayyyyyyyybe. I really like my ugly green colors, but we'll see. Were those at NAMM?

Bourbon
Sep 17, 2006

Scarf posted:



I swear I've seen the bassist for the Tonight Show Band playing one of these.

Scarf
Jun 24, 2005

On sight

scuz posted:

Thanks for the tips, guys :3: I'll probably end up going with Warmoth since they're more used to custom orders than the MusicMan guys, and I don't have MusicMan-level cash.
Grats, dude! When did you get the endorsement?

...you're trolling us aren't you?

http://www.lakland.com/jake_stoudenmire.htm

Edit: but if you click on the band name within that link, I'm not on the recorded tracks. I'm a relatively new addition for them.

Scarf fucked around with this message at 00:14 on Nov 12, 2009

Scarf
Jun 24, 2005

On sight

Bourbon posted:

I swear I've seen the bassist for the Tonight Show Band playing one of these.

Yeah, Mike Merritt. I'm pretty sure he has some Laklands.

scuz
Aug 29, 2003

You can't be angry ALL the time!




Fun Shoe
Went to my first TalkBass meet last night and holy cow was it fun. Someone had a 7 string with a 60" scale and a low F# :aaa:. It was also interesting to see how my $600 stack (800RB + Avatar 212) measured up against all the Epiphanis, Bergantinos, LittleMarks and SVTs. It was a surprising way to cure me of all my GAS since my po' boy stack sounded just as good to my untrained ears as the rest of the stuff.

Also my OSHA bass turned a few heads and got almost as much attention as the Wal :smug:

CmdrSmirnoff
Oct 27, 2005
happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy
I have a decade-old P+J Squire that's a miserable piece of poo poo. I want to replace, at the very least, all of the electronics and pickups, maybe the pickguard, and maybe the bridge + tuners. I also want to defret it.

I want to do all of this is a project during Christmas break - any recommendations on cheap parts? I'll probably get the bridge and tuners from GFS, but I have no idea what pickups or other electronics to choose, and can't seem to find a P+J pickguard. I'd like to keep the cost as low as humanly possible while still sounding and playing reasonably well. I'm also not averse to doing something wacky like ripping out the J pickup and routing for a MM, or practicing wiring on-board effects.

DEUCE SLUICE
Feb 6, 2004

I dreamt I was an old dog, stuck in a honeypot. It was horrifying.

Scarf posted:

How about Sonic Blue?



Part of the upcoming Deluxe Classic Stingrays.

Oh poo poo they're bringing back the foam mutes?!

I've only done one Talkbass meet, and probably won't be doing another one any time soon. Fifteen guys, all with some manner of vintage ampeg and vintage fender, then me with my aguilar / stambaugh setup. I don't think anyone even asked to check out my stuff. ; ____ ;

DrChu
May 14, 2002

CmdrSmirnoff posted:

can't seem to find a P+J pickguard
Wouldn't you just use a regular P pickguard?

scuz
Aug 29, 2003

You can't be angry ALL the time!




Fun Shoe

warwick5s posted:

Oh poo poo they're bringing back the foam mutes?!

I've only done one Talkbass meet, and probably won't be doing another one any time soon. Fifteen guys, all with some manner of vintage ampeg and vintage fender, then me with my aguilar / stambaugh setup. I don't think anyone even asked to check out my stuff. ; ____ ;
:aaa: how did I miss that? If I played any manner of bass for jazz bands I could see myself owning one of those.

There wasn't any vintage gear at the one that I attended; maybe I got lucky. The oldest thing there (gear wise, anyway) was my 800RB from like 1990.

CmdrSmirnoff posted:

I have a decade-old P+J Squire that's a miserable piece of poo poo. I want to replace, at the very least, all of the electronics and pickups, maybe the pickguard, and maybe the bridge + tuners. I also want to defret it.

I want to do all of this is a project during Christmas break - any recommendations on cheap parts? I'll probably get the bridge and tuners from GFS, but I have no idea what pickups or other electronics to choose, and can't seem to find a P+J pickguard. I'd like to keep the cost as low as humanly possible while still sounding and playing reasonably well. I'm also not averse to doing something wacky like ripping out the J pickup and routing for a MM, or practicing wiring on-board effects.
Keep your eye on the TalkBass classifieds, otherwise I have no idea. My last half-dozen purchases in the bass realm have been from the TB classifieds; they're an excellent resource.

DrChu posted:

Wouldn't you just use a regular P pickguard?
You sure would!

CmdrSmirnoff
Oct 27, 2005
happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy happy

DrChu posted:

Wouldn't you just use a regular P pickguard?

Hurf blurf I'm retarded (it's also been a while since I saw it because it sits in a corner of the basement).

quote:

Keep your eye on the TalkBass classifieds, otherwise I have no idea. My last half-dozen purchases in the bass realm have been from the TB classifieds; they're an excellent resource.

I never even considered using them for parts, since I never venture outside of the instrument/amp classifieds. Guess it's worth a shot.

Wanh
Aug 15, 2005
wanh
Hey guys,

I currently play in my college's lower-level jazz band. The only bass I have access to right now is my Geddy Jazz Bass which sounds great on the certain songs but weird on stuff intended to be played with a double bass. Unless I can borrow another player's stand-up in the department, I'm usually stuck playing bass guitar on, for example, Duke Ellington charts.

So, as a poor college student, I'm looking to buy a "decent sounding" double bass or EUB in the next 6 months or so. I don't know much about the stand-up bass market because I just played my orchestra's instruments throughout middle and high school. I took a peek over at talkbass.com but couldn't immediately find what I was looking for and search on this thread didn't reveal any discussion. Does anyone know if I can find an instrument for around $600-$800 that will sound okay (mainly playing pizzicato on jazz charts)?



P.S. I saw these two instruments in Musician's Friend catalog:
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/NS-Design-?sku=514435
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Palatino-VE550-Electric-Upright-Bass?sku=512015

Does anyone know how these compare to a plugged-in double bass with a pickup?

DEUCE SLUICE
Feb 6, 2004

I dreamt I was an old dog, stuck in a honeypot. It was horrifying.
The WAV is nice, but NS just came out with an NXT upright, that's basically a WAV with a maple body, ebony board, better hardware, and made in the Czech republic instead of China. It's about $300 more than the WAV is new, and from all accounts it's worth it.

I really dug the WAV I played a while back, and had the NXT not come out I was planning on getting one. I've never really dug the Palatino stuff, it's just kind of cheap and chintzy.

On talkbass, you'll want to check out the stickied megathreads for each brand in the EUB forum.

As for an actual double bass, I had an Englehardt that served me quite well through college. It was a full laminate, which means it sounded great in big band and like dogshit in symphony, but I could smash it into things and open doors with it without worrying about it, which is kind of nice if you're going to be heading from class to class with it. The downside with an Englehardt is that you'll need to have the fingerboard dressed, a new bridge, and a new endpin at the minimum.

Gollihurmusic.com and uptonbass.com are two really good sites to check out.

Doomy
Oct 19, 2004

Have you tried using tapewound strings? I've heard some brands of those can cop a decent upright'ish tone. I'd figure it's worth a try because a pack of strings is maybe $30 and an upright/EUB is much more than that.

Wanh
Aug 15, 2005
wanh

warwick5s posted:

The WAV is nice, but NS just came out with an NXT upright, that's basically a WAV with a maple body, ebony board, better hardware, and made in the Czech republic instead of China. It's about $300 more than the WAV is new, and from all accounts it's worth it.

I really dug the WAV I played a while back, and had the NXT not come out I was planning on getting one. I've never really dug the Palatino stuff, it's just kind of cheap and chintzy.

On talkbass, you'll want to check out the stickied megathreads for each brand in the EUB forum.

As for an actual double bass, I had an Englehardt that served me quite well through college. It was a full laminate, which means it sounded great in big band and like dogshit in symphony, but I could smash it into things and open doors with it without worrying about it, which is kind of nice if you're going to be heading from class to class with it. The downside with an Englehardt is that you'll need to have the fingerboard dressed, a new bridge, and a new endpin at the minimum.

Gollihurmusic.com and uptonbass.com are two really good sites to check out.

Man, that NXT upright looks great after reading more about it. Google does not show the corporate music dealers carrying it though. Would this be a bass the I could find in a store and play before I ordered it?


Doomy posted:

Have you tried using tapewound strings? I've heard some brands of those can cop a decent upright'ish tone. I'd figure it's worth a try because a pack of strings is maybe $30 and an upright/EUB is much more than that.



Well, I'm not really looking to turn my jazz bass into an upright. I play a lot of blues and rock when I'm not playing jazz but thanks for the suggestion.

Doomy
Oct 19, 2004

Plain flatwounds work pretty well for blues and rock as well as more jazzy stuff. In my own experience, they fit under the sound of a band much better than roundwounds, but they don't have that zingy roundwound sound if that's your thing.

scuz
Aug 29, 2003

You can't be angry ALL the time!




Fun Shoe
Okay bassistses! You guys get to help me decide on a grill cloth color to go with my next project.

I'm going to apply tolex to my Avatar B212N since I don't really wanna bust the thing apart into a BFM cabinet. The color that it's going to be is SEAFOAM loving GREEN, but I'm having problems deciding on a grill cloth. The colors are here, and I was thinking of going with the black-n-tan or the gold-stripe oxblood. Thoughts? :3:

combee
Nov 17, 2007

it's the combee's knees!
..

combee fucked around with this message at 13:51 on Jul 23, 2013

scuz
Aug 29, 2003

You can't be angry ALL the time!




Fun Shoe

combee posted:

I'm going to go have a look today at a dedicated bass store just so I can get my hands on a wide variety of bass guitars. Is there anything in particular I should do, or look out for (in terms of good features, design flaws etc)?
Straight necks, flawless finishes, clean-sounding electronics (like no scratchy sounds when you turn things up or down on the bass itself), any grounding issues (if you aren't touching any metal on the bass and you hear a "mmmmmmmmmmm" coming out of the speaker, that's bad but correctable), good fret work (no chips in the fretboard where the frets are, frets aren't sticking out on the sides of the neck), "dead spots" on the neck, that's about all I can think of at the moment.

Anything beyond that, at least for me, is personal preference; like weight, neckdive, thick/thin necks, active/passive pickups, blahblahblah.

edit: Holy poo poo, I dunno if it's just IE6 but their website is poo poo. They seem to have a lot of high-end stuff, so all the things that I just listed as potential problems probably won't even matter. Just get your hands on something that you like playing. 9 times out of 10 you'll see something you love the second you step in the store.

scuz fucked around with this message at 22:58 on Nov 17, 2009

combee
Nov 17, 2007

it's the combee's knees!
..

combee fucked around with this message at 13:51 on Jul 23, 2013

scuz
Aug 29, 2003

You can't be angry ALL the time!




Fun Shoe
MIM basses are pretty sweet. I've got one and I don't have any complaints. Post how it went!

combee
Nov 17, 2007

it's the combee's knees!
..

combee fucked around with this message at 13:51 on Jul 23, 2013

scuz
Aug 29, 2003

You can't be angry ALL the time!




Fun Shoe
Your life owns if you've got a bass shop in your town where people are friendly and know what they're talking about.

The Sterling is an awesome instrument, all the MusicMan stuff is. The MiM may be a large step down from the Sterling, but it will certainly be less money! Talk to the Bass People and maybe they'll do some price matching if the difference isn't too great. Also it sounds like they're an awesome group of guys/gals, so it will probably be worth the extra scratch just to build rapport with an awesome bass shop.

black_mastermind
Oct 30, 2008
Oh heck yes, I really dug the feel of the new Sterling line, they are amazingly well-built for the price! If you like the SB14, definitely try the Ray34- it's kind of the difference between a Fender Jazz and Precision. The SB14 (like a Music Man Sterling) is going to be more like a Jazz- slimmer body and neck, and the Ray34 (Stingray, of course) is going to feel a little more like a P bass- a little bigger body, slightly thicker neck.

I am thrilled that the EBMM folks are doing something that is affordable but way nicer than the OLP stuff that was around a few years back. The SUB line was awesome, if you ever run across one check it out for sure.

The ATK feels a little 'chunkier,' more like a Stingray/P bass, but they are really nice as well, Ibanez stuff is usually hard to beat.

DrChu
May 14, 2002

combee posted:

a good $400 off the RRP
As you'll soon find out, RRP/MSRP is meaningless. Every instrument everywhere is like $400 off the MSRP. Find out the MAP (minimum advertised price) and if its less than that then its more of a deal

scuz
Aug 29, 2003

You can't be angry ALL the time!




Fun Shoe

DrChu posted:

As you'll soon find out, RRP/MSRP is meaningless. Every instrument everywhere is like $400 off the MSRP. Find out the MAP (minimum advertised price) and if its less than that then its more of a deal
yeah, this is why you'll see deals like "80% OFF!" when it's just 80% off of the MSRP and brings the price down to something that someone would actually pay.

combee
Nov 17, 2007

it's the combee's knees!
..

combee fucked around with this message at 13:51 on Jul 23, 2013

Dyna Soar
Nov 30, 2006
Does anyone have any experience with the Highway One model p-basses? They're n my pricerange and I really want a p-bass, just not sure if I should save money for a high-end model. I'd rather get a new bass sooner than later.

Schatten
Jul 7, 2002

Das ist nicht meine
schnellen Rennwagen

Dyna Soar posted:

Does anyone have any experience with the Highway One model p-basses? They're n my pricerange and I really want a p-bass, just not sure if I should save money for a high-end model. I'd rather get a new bass sooner than later.

What year? What price range?

I had an 06, which was the updated neck (graphite reinforcement) & BadAss II bridge with slots. Outfitted with LaBella flats, it saw many gigs, recorded an album with it, a great great player.

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Schatten
Jul 7, 2002

Das ist nicht meine
schnellen Rennwagen

combee posted:

...words...

Interesting synopsis, but even as a salesman at a shop, the best product is the one with the largest margin of profit. So take his thoughts, but also compare it to what you want to hear out of your instrument and how it blends in the music you wish to play.

Ibanez does make great stuff, but with some bands, you just need to show up with a Fender to audition in, because anything else just looks too strange or will not lay down that bottom end a band needs.

Fenders more punchy? I guess it depends on the pickups, strings, amp, speakers, and how it is played.

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