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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 7:20 pm
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There's been 3 different factories that have made the Geddy Lee Jazz Bass.... 1998-2007 CIJ, 2008 - late 2011/early 2012 MIJ, & currently MIM.......I've jammed on many Geddy Basses over the yrs to see if the quality was consistant & these basses overall have always seemed consistant......Hmmm it would be interesting to get the inside scoop & see how production & quality varied from factory to factory......that being said I doubt there were many changes from CIJ to MIJ...........it's just a thought as I don't have any complaints regarding my CIJ Geddy Bass...it looks & sounds great....maybe I got lucky.


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:15 pm
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I'd say that there are great sounding Geddy Lee basses out there for sure. It's just like anything else. I have an Ibanez TRB 100 I bought in 1995. It has to be one of the if not the best sounding TRB 100 ever made. Try and find one of those anywhere BTW. The last one I saw was hanging in a Pawn Shop window downtown for $100 in the late 90's. They quit making them right around the time I got mine. Also I have a Dean Zone Nitro Green bass that really has good sound. It was $200. So what I'm saying is that it's all hit or miss or get lucky or get in on a regular "median" sounding bass. Every company has made a dud and every company has made a killer sounding bass except maybe Brownsville-- HA!!! Now that's funny I say boy! ( Road Island Red)


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:30 pm
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I am thinking it may be a lost cause here, as you have experienced Stroker V. I mean if I changed pickups etc would I trade the cool high end this bass gives? Is it a trade off then?
Many questions here still.
And James I am really glad to hear you are happy with the GL. I would love to hear them side by side. You live near Vegas?!?! Kidding! Again there is a lot of unique high freq snarl. Just an emptiness to the low end IMO.

Trying to post pics of the neck and bridge pickups next..still figuring out how...be right back!


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:43 pm
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Definately!! it's all hit & miss (how many times have I said this on the Fender forum) Ibanez does make some great sounding basses, I've owned 2 sound gear basses with P/J set ups (one in 1990 & the other in 2006) that kicked $@!! the first well made bass I owned (bought it in January 1980) was an Ibanez Musician bass, it was the single pick up version & it was neck through body..........I traded it in 1987 for a Guild Pilot bass & in 1999 I sold the Guild Pilot bass....... now being older & somewhat wiser (it depends who you talk too....LOL) I wish I still had these two basses...... :)


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 9:56 pm
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HAAH!! good one Jazzbassjo......... Vancouver is a 2 day drive to Vegas...... I'd like to hear them side by side too......I'd also like to hear my Geddy bass next to a Geddy bass thats older than mine (just for comparison) back in 2006 the pick ups in the CIJ Geddy Lee bass we made in the USA...I'm not sure what the deal is with them now other than the bass is advertised as still having Vintage Jazz pick ups....but are they American made?.............did you know that the pick ups in Geddy Lee's actual Jazz bass have been modified & rewound by The Fender Custom Shop (this was done prior to the Time Machine tour in 2009/2010) so in other words Geddy's Bass doesn't even sound like Geddy's Bass............. uh er??? if ya know what I mean :?


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:27 pm
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James Coderre wrote:
HAAH!! good one Jazzbassjo......... Vancouver is a 2 day drive to Vegas...... I'd like to hear them side by side too......I'd also like to hear my Geddy bass next to a Geddy bass thats older than mine (just for comparison) back in 2006 the pick ups in the CIJ Geddy Lee bass we made in the USA...I'm not sure what the deal is with them now other than the bass is advertised as still having Vintage Jazz pick ups....but are they American made?.............did you know that the pick ups in Geddy Lee's actual Jazz bass have been modified & rewound by The Fender Custom Shop (this was done prior to the Time Machine tour in 2009/2010) so in other words Geddy's Bass doesn't even sound like Geddy's Bass............. uh er??? if ya know what I mean :?

Yes I do James.
He seems to have a somewhat consistant tone going on there. And it kind of hung with him from Rickenbacker to Jazz bass. I had a Rickenbacker 4001 back in the day (why O why did I sell that!) and as sweet as it was just couldn't get his tone exactly.

So what year GL do you have? Man that baby plays fantastic! That is why I want to get the tone right. I sure understand what Stroker V was going through!

Guess I am not posting pics tonight. I can only hyper-link to them but I wanted to embed them in the post somehow. Try again tomorrow.

Funny though....looked at them again and the pole pieces on neck position pups have a bigger diameter as well as being flush with the pickup plastic. The bridge pickups look so much more traditional.

Signing out for now but I will try to post or link tomorrow.

Thanks all


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 7:08 am
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Hey Jazzbassjo my Geddy bass is a 2006 (early 2006 as I bought it the first week of June 2006) I also checked the poles on my pickups & the poles slightly protrude above the pickup cover.
I thought I should mention that Geddy also uses a Sans Amp RPM Preamp & he adds a hint of distortion to the low mids..... I use a SWR Headlite & Amplite with a Goliath Jr. 2'x10' & a Workingpro 4'x10' with an MXR M80 Bass DI ......I've managed to duplicate Geddys sound (or rather get a similar sound).........Mind you this is what works on my Headlight ......I put the Aural enhancer at 2 O'clock & keep it in Classic mode.....on the EQ I have the Bass set at 1 O'clock, the Mids at 3' O'clock, & the Treble at 9 O'clock & the Compressor is dialed in at 1 O'Clock........I then use my M80 Bass DI ...I keep the Bass & Treble at a little past 12 O'clock & the Mids at 1 O'clock & then I add a hint of distortion.......this is what works for me with my set up & I like the sound I get from my Marcus Miller Bass & Geddy Lee Bass.....I should add that on my Geddy Bass I have the volume on my neck pick up at 3/4 full & my bidge pickup goes from 3/4 to full on volume.......Once again this is what works with my set up..
Quick question, when you had your Rickenbacker 4001 did you use the Rick O sound Feature?.....Geddy did, he also found it a little cumbersome with regard to set up & sound checks....& soon after he bought his now famous Jazz bass in a Michigan pawn shop it quickly became his go to bass...(until 1983 when Rush went heavy with the use of keyboards & he started using Stienberger & Wal basses.....this phase lasted until 1989 when Rush backed off & scaled down the Keyboards for the Presto CD & it was at this time Geddy Returned to his Jazz bass & has ever since...... :)


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 12:19 pm
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Hi James
yeah I took advantage of the Rick-O sound. It was such a unique concept but after a while I just got sick of the complexities of it. It was a slight hassle after the novelty wore off. I just wanted to simplify my setup I guess.

Come to think of it, the Rick's neck reminds me of the Geddy's neck in a lot of ways. Just a pleasure to play for sure.

Appreciate hearing your setup specs. If I remember correct, I have played the Marcus at Sam Ash music and it was also very nice. I was considering getting it in place of the Geddy. How does it sound to you?

My plate is full right now plus I am techno-lusting after the Jaco fretless!
I need to focus on my Geddy 1st.

Let me attempt to post pics on the next post to show the difference....

Jo


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 1:08 pm
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I don't know how to post pics in with text but here are links to both pickup pics:


neck position:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51532057@N ... otostream/


bridge position:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/51532057@N ... otostream/


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 1:50 pm
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I have both the Marcus Miller & the Jaco Fretless, I love my Marcus Miller bass, the fretboard radius on the Marcus is 7.25 it also has a 2 band EQ & can be played in active or passive mode......The Jaco has that old school vibe, & a great neck & get this!! ..... all three basses ( the Geddy, Marcus, & Jaco come stock with Vintage Jazz Pickups..) Hmmm interesting isn't it :) LOL


Last edited by James Coderre on Tue Oct 23, 2012 8:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 3:36 pm
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James Coderre wrote:
I have both the Marcus Miller & the Jaco Fretless, I love my Marcus Miller bass, the neck radius on the Marcus is 7.25 it also has a 2 band EQ & can be played in active or passive mode......The Jaco has that old school vibe, & a great neck & get this!! ..... all three basses ( the Geddy, Marcus, & Jaco come stock with Vintage Jazz Pickups..) Hmmm interesting isn't it :) LOL


Wow. Seeing your collection makes me feel so much better! I sometimes think I'm nuts for wanting to own/play so many basses.

I would love to ask you 100's of questions about those instruments but I probably need to stay on topic..uh sort of. Does the 'Marcus' have a ballsier bottom end compared to the Geddy? The 'Marcus' obviously has other things going on under the hood.....but same pickups huh?

And I will have to check your other posts to see what you, if anything, had to say about the Jaco. A fretless, to me, is almost a whole other instrument in itself. So fun to play.

Same pickups in all 3 huh? Makes me wonder for sure. Wood,bridge,electronics...where does the sound of an instrument come from? Combination of all of the above possibly.

Ideally I would like 1 fretted and 1 fretless bass that I love enough to keep me from lusting others out there. I have been there in the past and I will get there again.

I saw another post, viewtopic.php?f=10&t=75184&start=30 from 'bernieflyer' who posted pics of his GL. Post is titled "Choosing a Fender Jazz". I noticed both his pickups look like my GL's neck pickup. Still wondering why my GL has 2 different looking pups. Still searching for the answer.....hee-hee!

And by the way good luck with that arsenal you have there. That is a fun bunch to own.
It is a nice rounded collection IMO.

Jo


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 7:34 pm
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Thanks !! I have 7 basses in total ( the Geddy, The Marcus, The Jaco fretless, A Steve Harris P Bass, 2011 American Deluxe Jazz 5 string with natural finish, an Ibanez Acoustic, & a recently purchased Reggie Hamilton Jazz Bass....you can see my basses in my little avitar on the left of my posts) I think a lot of bassists own 4 to 8 basses....& I say hey if thats your passion then why not !......some people collect Cars or bikes, art work....ETC I think Music is a Healthy pass time......back in the day I played music for a living .....these days I play when I can (live with a band that is)

My Marcus Miller Jazz Bass ( with natural finish) has pretty much become my main go to bass, it's basically a replicated & Modified 1977 Jazz Bass & as I said earlier it can be played in active or passive mode..........in passive mode only the volume knobs for each pick up work & in active mode you get an added Bass volume knob & Treble volume knob.....so you can shape your sound & yes it's a ballsy bass........I actually play it in passive mode most of the time..............This bass also has the micro tilt 3 bolt neck plate & a BADASS II bridge............in 1980 Marcus had the active option installed by Sadowsky to give him more control over his sound as he was a session player & would go from gig to gig sometimes 3 or 4 sessions a day & the active option gave his bass some versatility......
I think it's a great live bass too. My Reggie Hamilton bass is quickly rivalling my Marcus bass for Top Dog in the arsenal, I have the 3 tone sunburst model with tortise shell pick guard,......this bass has a P/J set up ( an American series P bass pick up & a custom noiseless Jazz pickup) it has a Hipshot D-tuner with a 9.25 fretboard radius & it can also be played in active or passive mode........the electronics on this bass are similar to the current American Deluxe Basses minus a passive tone knob...........The Reggie Bass is like the Marcus Bass in passive mode, only the volume knobs work.... I think this Bass is one of Fenders best basses in terms of bang for the buck & versatility....& even though it's MIM it has a lot of American parts in it.......I think it's also one of the better basses MIM..... :)
I'm really surprized more people don't own this bass......as I said in another post here This is the Swiss army knife a basses.


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 8:52 pm
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James, your an endless source of cool info. Excellent.

Makes me want to take a trip to the shops to try out a few! I am in Vegas but used to live in the New York area. I was somewhat spoiled by 48th streets multiple music shops in a row. You could almost find anything and actually try it out.

I used to own a '72 P bass, threw a badass on it and painted it sparkle blue. I liked Steve Harris at the time but now cringe a little for what I did to the original beast. The worst part was I sold it for a 'song' due to lack of cash. Starving musician ya know.
Heartbreaking to this day.


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2012 9:41 pm
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Ya... I hear ya I sold a couple of nice basses back in the day just so that I could pay a bill......it truely is heartbreaking.
If you're ever looking for a P Bass check out the Steve Harris P Bass... it's built like a tank, it also has a meaty, thick neck (very different from the neck on the Geddy Lee bass)......based on his mid 70's P Bass this MIJ bass with Blue sparkle finish, chrome pickguard , maple neck & 7.25" radius maple fretboard comes with Seymour Duncan SPB1 vintage split coil pick ups & of course a BADASS II bridge......... it has that awesome low end thump! (in my opinion) & by the way Steve Harris is going to be on the Cover of the Next issue of Bassplayer magazine.......he's also going to be on the cover of Bass guitar Magazine next month.........gonna be some good reading.. :)


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Post subject: Re: Squier sound BEATS Geddy Lee Jazz bass
Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2012 2:55 pm
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Most Squire pickups are wound to be very hot. Kids like loud guitars and they usually want distortion of some kind.

I know I am generalizing here, but that is why the side by side comparison with your Geddy Lee Jazz may leave the Geddy Lee in the dust when you only judge by volume.

The GL bass probably has a more refined tone if you listen carefully.

I know volume is the big first impression when trying an instrument but a quality bass will usually track better across the whole playing spectrum. Try some runs on the GL compared to the Squire and you will prob. find areas of the Squire neck that don't fret as well as your GL. The Geddy Lee is probably a better playing bass.


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