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Post subject: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 4:45 pm
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Hey all,

I have been playing guitar for several years, mainly as a hobbyist due to work schedules, families, and such it is a pain to consistently get my drummer pal, another guitarist, and bassist together at same time regularly, and I was considering snagging up a bass just to mix it up.

Background:

In regards to electric guitars, I have no issues with tabs of the bands I like (mainly in the hard rock, metal, alt, religious, pop rock, rock, etc genres), chords, chord progressions, and techs such as bends, hammer ons, pull offs, scales, keeping good metronome timing and such. I tend to stick with things, so I doubt I would just quit bass if I bought one and found it hard to learn. Bass tabs for the bands I like look fairly easy, though I would like to fancy up some stuff.

I am also at slightly above noob level on keyboard, as I would rather spend time with my Les Paul or Telecaster.

Regarding Basses:
I am looking for a Jazz bass, as I am not a fan of the sound of a schecter one friend has, and Jazz seems have a wider genre coverage.

While that new squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass '70s posted in the announcements looks nice in white with black pick guard (not in stock locally or at sweetwater), I am weary of Squier brand due to the following (in addition to low resale value, should I choose to upgrade later):

My first guitar was a squier affinity strat bundle which had some defective hardware 1.5-2 years in and another of my friends that plays bass sold his squier VMJ that he had issues with quality wise. Due to these instances I am not too keen on squires (maybe it is just bad luck).

Thus was leaning towards a either Geddy Lee MIM or a black MIM Jazz, plus that summer promotion is nice should I go new.

I was under the impression the pickups, resale value (should I decide to upgrade to a MIA in a few years), and materials were better on the MIM Geddy Lee than the standard MIM jazz, in addition to the inlays which look great.

Local stores and craigslist in reasonable driving range did not have the MIM GL in stock and the only black standards I found had abusive owners, and are not worth what was being asked.

I do not mind paying a bit more for the GL if it the quality and resale value is really better than standard, as it would prevent me from upgrading to a MIA like I did with my squier strat to Les Paul or Telecaster.

Regarding Amps:
- If I were to play it outside of a home alone, friends, or home recording setting, it would be through a sound system at a church or someplace like that, so a live performance amp is not really needed.
- I do live in an apartment, so a based big or wall blasting amp is not desirable.
- I own iRig, Amplitude, and an iPad, which could be used
- I own Gargageband on mac and some sony stuff on PC, which could be used if I snagged a digital pedal.

Does any one have any experience with headphones and a Digitech BP90 or BP355?

I was looking at the fender rumble amps as an option, but I was throwing around the idea of just using headphones and one of those two pedals instead of headphones and an amp, since it would be more living area friendly and at least the BP355 allows for some recording ability to the mac or pc (since I have some amazon gift cards that could be used on a pedal).


So, what thoughts and recommendations do you vets have on basses and amps, since I would probably end up snagging on sweetwater at this point due lack of local selections.

Thanks!


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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 5:05 pm
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From what I have been led to understand, Fender's Geddy Lee Jazz Bass is Fender's best selling jazz bass hands down - Bar None. It's a great choice.

It all depends upon what you can afford. I have the left-handed American Standard Jazz with Custon Shop pups that I would put up against any bass anywhere at any price. Yes, it sounds that good. Best sounding Jazz Bass That I Have Ever Heard.

It's your money/credit = You Choose

When You Choose Fender, You Have Chosen Wisely.

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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 8:47 pm
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linnin wrote:
From what I have been led to understand, Fender's Geddy Lee Jazz Bass is Fender's best selling jazz bass hands down - Bar None. It's a great choice.
Definitly go with the Geddy Lee Jazz Bass...... :)


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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Sat Aug 10, 2013 10:53 pm
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I had a Geddy Lee Jazz for a spell. It's a great bass. The old lady wanted it when we split, so I don't have it anymore. Haven't seen her since but I'll bet dollars to doughnuts she never learned to play the bass.
:lol:

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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 8:01 am
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BMW-KTM wrote:
I had a Geddy Lee Jazz for a spell. It's a great bass. The old lady wanted it when we split, so I don't have it anymore. Haven't seen her since but I'll bet dollars to doughnuts she never learned to play the bass.


Too funny !! :lol: :lol: that being said I'd never part with my Geddy Lee Jazz bass :)
or my current arsenal of Fender Basses..


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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:43 am
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Bladescorpion wrote:
... Bass tabs for the bands I like look fairly easy, though I would like to fancy up some stuff.
... Thus was leaning towards a either Geddy Lee MIM or a black MIM Jazz, plus that summer promotion is nice should I go new.

I was under the impression the pickups, resale value (should I decide to upgrade to a MIA in a few years), and materials were better on the MIM Geddy Lee than the standard MIM jazz, in addition to the inlays which look great.

Regarding Amps:
- If I were to play it outside of a home alone, friends, or home recording setting, it would be through a sound system at a church or someplace like that, so a live performance amp is not really needed.
- I do live in an apartment, so a based big or wall blasting amp is not desirable.
- I own iRig, Amplitude, and an iPad, which could be used
- I own Gargageband on mac and some sony stuff on PC, which could be used if I snagged a digital pedal.

Does any one have any experience with headphones....


So, what thoughts and recommendations do you vets have on basses and amps, since I would probably end up snagging on sweetwater at this point due lack of local selections.

Thanks!


Bass should be a piece of cake since you are a master of everything else. Still, I would not get too fancy right away. There are different schools of thought about what makes a great bass player, but to me in most pieces bass is a rhythm instrument, not lead. Holding down a groove and staying in the pocket (especially while singing too) isn't as easy as you might think. When the bass goes off the reservation it will almost always throw everyone else off to the point that you may find yourself ending every song by playing a bass solo.

My thoughts on the Geddy Lee are this. First, it is a Jazz Bass which is good. Second, it is Geddy Lee's Jazz Bass which makes it less desirable to me because it is Mr. Lee's bass. I want my own bass. I do not own any signature/artist basses for that reason and probably never will. When Fender comes out with a bass with my name on it, I'll play one of those then. (It is more likely that I will win a Grammy and get elected to the R&R HOF first! LOL!

Geddy Lee's a fine player but I do not aspire to play covers in a Rush tribute act or copy him. The Geddy Lee Jazz has features some players want, but other than the 70's style neck there is nothing there really that you can't do yourself on another Jazz and possibly do it better. I'm not a fan of the bridge on the Geddy Lee Jazz and prefer the Fender bridge or any bridge other than the Leo Quan on the Geddy Lee model. I don't personally care for block inlays or for plastic binding on necks, too fancy-schmanzy looking. I have a real vibe that block inlays negatively impact tone. A lot of tone comes from the neck wood in my opinion. There's always discussion about body wood quality, but many overlook that neck wood contributes just as much to the tonal voicing. I have no documented scientific evidence of any negative impact from the plastic inlays and binding, but I've owned a 71, a 73 and a 75 Jazz (all bought new and one ordered in custom color) with inlays and binding and not one stayed around long. They were lovely to look at which was why I bought those beauty queens.

The body (alder) and neck (maple) wood is the same in both a MIM Standard and a MIM Geddy, but what they do to the wood on a Geddy costs more. Tone comes from the strings, wood and pickup/electronics. Tone does not come not from plastic inlays and binding. The pickups on the Geddy are vintage voiced and sound different than the ceramic Standard pickups however you can put a set of Original USA Jazz Alnico pickups in a Standard and be better off than with the stock ones in the Geddy. Seymour Duncans work great too.

Jazz Bass neck profiles are often favored by guitar players doubling on bass so the Jazz neck might just be your thing. I'm gonna throw a wild card in here and suggest you also look at the MIM P-Bass Special which is a remarkable active bass with both Precision and Jazz pickups that also has a Jazz neck profile. It costs less than the Geddy but is far more versatile. The P-Bass Special is one of Fender's best bass values for money spent from my viewpoint. The only thing I don't like about them is the color selection, but there is a black one I could live with.

I wouldn't be concerned with resale value, just figure resale value is half what you paid for a new one. So yes the Geddy Lee will bring more in a resale, but it cost more initially too. Apples versus oranges and limes versus cocoanuts.

As far as what to do about the amp, if depending on a church PA as your bass rig you might not be happy with the outcome. Anytime you patch bass into a PA you need subwoofers and bass capable floor monitors, otherwise you'll not hear yourself well enough to actually know what you are playing and few church PA's will have adequate subs if they have any subs at all. Ideally you'd want a small combo with an XLR output jack to use as a personal monitor pointed right at your head and patch the XLR out into a PA with subs. Many if not most church PA's are not electric bass capable though. Even some house PA's in clubs won't have subs.

One pedal type device that works well patched into a PA or recording setup or even a bass amp is a Tech 21 Bass Driver. They come in several variations. I use the Bass Driver Deluxe model, but they are all good. Behringer makes a budget minded copy and I have one of those too, it is called the Behringer BDI-21 and for about 1/4th the price of a Tech 21 Bass Driver it does many of the same things, only not as well. Both have an XLR out and phone jack out.

I use the Behringer knockoff for home practice and gig with the real Bass Driver. I have the Behringer pedal patched into a little mixer which feeds the sound card input on my computer and use headphones in the computer speaker output to practice. I live in an apt also. Using this setup into my computer I can play along to recorded tracks or record my own tracks or record me playing along to recorded tracks and no bass amp as such is required. The neighbors have no idea I'm jamming away.

Another pedal that is very useful for bass is a compressor pedal. I use two different ones for different things. The Aphex Punch Factory optical compressor (old original orange model) and the MarkBass Compressore tube compressor pedal. I like the sound of the optical Aphex better and the build quality of the MarkBass better for gigging but both work great with bass. You can't use just any compressor pedal with a bass rig as most of them kill low end. Those two that I use do not kill the lows. Some bassists like the Keeley compressor but I tried it and prefer the Aphex or MarkBass. The compressor goes FIRST in the pedal chain with a bass. The Aphex has an XLR out for PA feed, recording, etc but the MarkBass does not have an XLR out. Aphex just revamped the Punch Factory and it is now more durable and gig worthy but I'm still using the old original orange one.

I'd for sure PLAY whatever you buy FIRST.

Two final wildcards! The 50's Classic Vibe Squier or an active Squier Jaguar Bass are two models to check out in the Squier line also. Squier has made lots of progress in basses in the past few years and they can no longer be written off as strictly second rate beginner instruments. The Squier Jaguar Special P/J 34" scale one is so cheap as to be disposable, yet plays great and sounds really lush all stock with the active preamp. The pickguard is flimsy, but it is very playable and unbeatable for the money. The 50's Classic Vibe is a recreation of a first generation P-Bass and the Lake Placid Blue ones are stunning, however they are sort of a pricey Squier but really nice and sound totally amazing even next to a Fender 54 P-Bass. Those are my two favorite Squier basses right now.

Good luck and let us know how it comes out.


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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 9:46 pm
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I agree with Brother Dave in that what he nicely says basically is that the Geddy Lee sells a ton- granted, but it is not the end all and beat all Jazz bass. To me the one and only thing about a Geddy bass that I believe that makes it sell the best is not the sound of it but is the fact that is has a very skinny neck with blocks that you can not find anywhere else. The neck plays fast . Okay that's good but the pickups are questionable and so is the BA bridge BUT I will understand why others like and love the Geddy Lee bass. Everyone likes what they like and it's all good. I happen to have owned 2 Geddy basses. If someone copied that neck and sold it seperate- they would sell a ton of them.


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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:38 pm
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I think it's rare to see a guitarist really understand the percussive nature of the bass.

You should check out a Mark Hoppus signature. They're made with better ash wood..and have duncan pickups.


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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:26 am
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Benny Hill wrote:
I think it's rare to see a guitarist really understand the percussive nature of the bass.

You should check out a Mark Hoppus signature. They're made with better ash wood..and have duncan pickups.



I have to agree but it is beyond rare that guitarists I"VE ever been in bands with understand anything what so ever about bass other than it's there. If you ever try to understand this- just have a conversation with your guitarist about how you set up your bass today and had to leave .0015 gap at the 5th and how you had to tweek the saddle sideways a little to get it to line up right and that most dimarzios are 11k and how that Ibanez has the P reversed. At best you will get a smile. Or they may ask you if you can order them a hamburger when you go to the bar.
Now if you tell them you blocked your Strat and left the bridge plate up about 3/32nds and you switched from 9's to 10's- you are likely to have a 15 minute conversation about Music Man guitars. :D


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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2013 5:32 pm
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Benny Hill wrote:
I think it's rare to see a guitarist really understand the percussive nature of the bass.

You should check out a Mark Hoppus signature. They're made with better ash wood..and have duncan pickups.


Well there are a few guitarists that make good bassists. A few.

Funny that I like Hoppus' bass more than his music. Not saying he's a bad player, just not my musical bag. That is a nice instrument for sure though. One thing I like about it is how the colors have changed on it over the years. That doesn't happen with many Artist basses. Still I wouldn't have one because it has someone else's name on it! It's Hoppus' bass, not mine. One thing about an Artist Series instrument is that you really shouldn't modify it at all or it then becomes something else than it was intended to be. You are pretty much locked into it always being what it is on day one. I like buying one stock and then making a few changes to make it my own. You can't really do that with a signature bass or you destroy what it was intended to be.

I'm a HUGE fan of certain players who do NOT have signature basses at present. I wouldn't buy one of theirs either if they came out. I can see someone in a tribute band buying an Artist Series replica and then dressing the part, such as in a Beatles, Pink Floyd, whatever tribute band. That makes sense.

Yes the Geddy Lee neck is fast. I'm not fast or fancy. But to each his own baby! "Different strokes for different folks and so on and so on and scoobie doobie doobie." (Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart)


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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 9:39 pm
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I've played some Les Pauls (guitars) that sounded great and others that didn't sound so wonderful. My AD Jazz sounds pretty awesome. That and a great many years of experience with a miriad of other guitars and basses with varying fret markers tell me that block inlays have little to do with tone or the lack thereof. That's my opinion of course. People are quite naturally free to differ. They're so shallow and make up such a small percentage of the mass of the guitar ....

I do agree that I don't particularly like having someone's name on my guitar, besides Clarence's surname of course but at least with Geddy's model the signature is hidden on the back and there are no other written indications of it being an artist model.

In 1999 I had a windfall of cash and hoped to buy a Custom Shop Tele. I had my eye on Merle's Tuf Dog semi-thinline Tele but the Tuf Dog logo and his signature both being right on the front put me off of it. I priced out doing something almost the same but without his logo and signature but the difference between team build and master built was prohibitive and I eventually abandoned the idea altogether and bought an AD Strat and a (non-Fender) amp instead. I especially would not buy an SRV model with that huge set of initials right in your face. In my view it screams "Wannabe-Wanker". For the Geddy bass I make an exception because the signature is unobtrusive on the back and completely indiscernable from the front .... and it's a great bass.


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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 10:05 pm
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Thanks for info.

The 3 local shops in a 1 hour radius had a pretty weak bass selection (I live in a rural area). No P or p/j, and only had 1 VM 70s squier or 1 77 vm squier with maple fretboard, and 1 american standard with rosewood each, since they sell more band equipment and guitars than bass (none even carried gibson). Other local shop is prs exclusive, so no fender basses there.

The VM squiers are the new model and did not have duncan pickups in them, and had the fender made ones, which I though the duncan was the big deal about the VM model, though I may be mistaken.

I think I have narrowed it down to a fender standard, since American standard is more than I wish to spend. I guess I will have to snag online at sweetwater for a rosewood fb or musicians friend for a maple fb, in order to not miss out on the summer savings stuff, as guitar center is a 7 hour round trip, which work does not allow for this week.


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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 12:47 am
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This thread has inspired me - I've been considering getting a bass for a while now, and had no clue what to look for. I only knew that it was going to be a US made Fender. I've always played Fenders, and I didn't feel comfortable with anything else - especially considering that bass is 'the great unknown' to me.

After having read this thread, I went and tried a few today (felt like a clumsy idiot, too, as a six string player trying to get to grips with a bass). The American Standard Jazz Bass is the one for me. It'll be a few more months before I actually get the cash together, but after trying some different Precisions, a Mexican Jazz standard, a Blacktop Jazz, and even a Jaguar one, the American Standard Jazz just seemed to be the one that felt 'right'.

They didn't have the Geddy Lee one or the Mark Hoppus model, so maybe I'll give them a go if I manage to find them. But, at this stage, I've already got a front runner in mind. 8)


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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 5:00 am
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I'd go with the Am. Std. Jazz. It's a no name, well made, kick azz bass. It's set right out of the case. And it comes with a case.

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Post subject: Re: Considering a jazz bass purchase
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 7:21 am
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Mr. Nylon wrote:
I'd go with the Am. Std. Jazz. It's a no name, well made, kick azz bass. It's set right out of the case. And it comes with a case.



Darn near impossible to beat that one, at any price.

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