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Post subject: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 11:35 am
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Location: Hill Country, Texas
Just got this one from a friend, 06'-07' MIM. Not sure what the "Fender 60" decal means. Not sure what all the knobs are for (four of them) and was wondering if anyone has a suggestion on good knob positions. Strings are D'Addario flatwounds .50,.70,.85,105.

Thanks

I've got the pictures loaded in my computer, but I can't figure out how to attach them to this post?


Last edited by impicker2 on Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:22 pm
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1- Join Photobucket.
2- Upload your pics there.
3- Link to those pics here.

Photobucket

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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:45 pm
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$250 is a great bargin for MIM in any kind of good condition even if it's a 'parts bass'.

The knobs on your amp all have names, so you can't possibly serious. :?

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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:52 pm
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Thanks BMW-KTM

I've joined photobucket, uploaded my pictures there, can't get them here! I hit the ctrl v key and my whole account shows up.
I just got to figure this out, this bass is in perfect condition!


linnin, first knob is volume, second knob is pu's, third knob is stacked one on top of the other one, fourth knob is small. Too much naval gunfire a long time ago, need younger, less damaged ears to give me a hint of what might be a pleasant sound.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:04 pm
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impicker2, please post a link to your photobucket album, we'll go there and take a peek and I'll help you post a few of the best.

60th anni for a Jazz won't be until 2021-22, so your little sticker is a rather curious time traveler.

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2017 Lefty American Professional Precision
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2016 Rumble 200 Combo
One day they shall name a GREAT city after me, and they shall call it LINNINGRAD


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:16 pm
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Put all your knobs on 11.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:51 pm
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thanks pfox14, that's where I wound up but with all the adjustments I figured there had to be something better, anything less than wide open seems to increase the treble sound and that seemed in the wrong direction for what I'm playing. Nothing ever sounds the same in the studio or with headphones as it does where we play.


Last edited by impicker2 on Wed Feb 05, 2014 7:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 11:14 pm
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impicker2 wrote:
thanks pfox14, that's where I wound up but with all the adjustments I figured there had to be something better, anything less than wide open seems to increase the treble sound and that seemed in the wrong direction for what I'm playing. My amp has an effects setting 1-5 and with it on #1 with the acoustic/electric bass I have been playing it almost sounds like an upright bass, very cool, especially on the "Orange Blossom Special".
and a couple bluegrass tunes we do. This week will be my first time with the Fender, and nothing ever sounds the same in the studio or with headphones as it does where we play.

linnin, still having trouble, I can't even post a link!



Knob-wize it almost sounds like you are describing the knobs on a USA Deluxe model of some sort. Pics pics pics.

I do sit in gigs with Country bands and I use the exact same settings as when I play heavy rock music- the country guys love the sound of my bass- they tell me to turn it up!!! Nice!!!! I use a GK RB-800 and an AMpeg HLf 4-10 cab with a horn for the Country bands. . It honks. I think they like how they can feel the bass. OH YEAH- FEEL THE BASS!!!!!!


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 2:21 am
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Hi Impicker2! Welcome to the Fender Forum.

Is this bass active, meaning it has a 9 volt battery in it? The control setup sounds sure does sound like the control setup on the Deluxe Active Jazz to me They made those in 2006. Not that much different from the current Deluxe Active Jazz. However the color offerings may have changed for all I know, but the control setup nor the other specs has changed much since 2006. If yours is the Deluxe Active Jazz it has a DELUXE SERIES decal toward the tip of the headstock front, and has a single 9 volt battery along with the 4 knobs including the one stacked knob you described. There is a black cover with 2 screws on the back of the body where the battery goes.

2006 was the "60th Anniversary of Fender." Starting the week of the actual 60th Anniversary all full blown Fender branded guitars and basses made for the rest of the model year got a round medallion inset on the reverse of the headstock. This medallion is NOT present on some 2006 calendar year models made prior to the anniversary run. The medallions went on all MIM and USA Fender instruments made during the anniversary year run. It doesn't make them anniversary commemorative models though even though they are often represented as "Anniversary" models by sellers. The actually limited edition USA commemorative instruments have a special front of the headstock treatment near the tip with a diamond inset in the center of a ribbon decal and come with a special diamond anniversary G&G case having a big diamond logo embroidered into the lid lining and the cases were platinum colored outside. They are real easy to spot and sort of scarce now. The MIM commemorative models had engraved neck plates but no diamond on the headstock front and came in a platinum colored bag. The regular production models during the Anniversary run didn't have anything extra except the medallion inset onto the back of the headstock. It isn't really a decal, but a metal inset. Both the USA and MIM commemorative models are mostly held by collectors and seldom come up for resale.

Regarding your Ampeg BA115, I had one of the old USA made ones for a while. I liked the "STYLE SWITCH" which is essentially an EQ enhancement or "short-cut." There are 5 style settings. This Style Switch messes with the EQ big time so that in all but ONE Style Switch position when you set all the EQ controls flat the amp is actually NOT flat at all. A brief description of what each style switch setting does with all other rotary tone knobs set to FLAT (flat being 12 o'clock):

Position 1- Cuts 25dB from the 500hz frequency band, that is the MIDS. 25dB is a LOT. (When cranked WIDE OPEN the MIDRANGE tone control only boosts 30dB at the most. So with the Style switch in position 1 turning the rotary mids knob wide open becomes only a 5dB boost instead of 30dB!) I never used this setting much at all. It was too severe for me.

Position 2- Also cuts the 500hz band but about half as much at 12dB so it is not as dramatic a mid kill. This was one favorite setting of mine on my USA made version of this amp. Sounded good for Motown stuff with a first generation P-Bass or playing with a pick for more modern things.

Position 3- NO EFFECT! No frequencies are cut or boosted. This was another favorite setting when I needed punchy mids I would switch from 2 to 3 and really change nothing else. It added punch when I wanted to sound like I was playing harder.

Position 4- Boosts the 2khz and above frequency range by 5dB. In otherwords, it will boost the upper midrange a bit. If you are a Jaco or Flea wannabee here is where you should go. Never used it much as I'm not a slapper or fusion guy.

Position 5- This cuts 6 dB from the 50 hz and down bandwidth. Why cut bass on a bass? Maybe you want to do the upright tone with an acoustic bass, this tames the low end boomy tones allowing woodiness from an acoustic to come through. It is also useful if using the amp for anything other than a solid body electric bass like a 6 string electric Spanish guitar. This setting can be useful for stage rumble reduction also, but is not recommended on a 5 string bass as it will cut the level of the low B string substantially. I do not ever remember using this setting at all for bass.

My favorite Style Switch settings were 2 and 3. I found #1 too drastic a mid scoop for a single 15. If anything I boosted mids usually on this thing to get it to cut through more.

Anyway, my best advice with an ACTIVE bass like the one I think you have is always start out by setting all the amp settings to FLAT. Set the style switch to "3" which is flat. Set the Bass, Mid and Treble rotary controls to 12 o'clock. Then use the active EQ on the INSTRUMENT to control the tone instead of the amp. You can get a boatload of good tones that way with an active bass. If you find you need more bass than the instrument preamp can deliver only then should you turn up the amp's bass knob a bit, likewise the treble or mid knobs. But I really would not stray too far from flat on either the bass or treble knobs on the amp's EQ. With the amp's mid control you've got more latitude.

Be sure to use the ACTIVE input jack which is the one marked "-15dB" under the jack. If you use the "0dB" jack intended for passive basses with an active bass then you'll overdrive the preamp way too soon when adjusting the GAIN.

GAIN controls how much the preamp boosts the signal. I suggest here starting around 12 O'clock on this knob. If you hear distortion back off bit by bit until the distortion is gone. Adjust the MASTER to turn the actual volume UP and DOWN, not the GAIN knob. Once the Gain knob is set, make a note of where it is and pretty much keep it in whatever you determine is the optimum spot for the loudest yet also the cleanest tone. On some active instruments you may find the preamp sounds better with the GAIN at 10 O'clock or 2 or 3 O'clock. You want to avoid any distortion that setting the GAIN too high can generate. The preamp stage does have limitations in any bass amp and overdriving a solid state preamp causes all sorts of bad things to happen.

Not just on this bass model combo amp, but about all bass amps and especially combos when you set the MASTER at 12 O'clock that is really more like 80 to 90% of the amps CLEAN power and not 50% as you might think. I do not suggest turning the GAIN or the MASTER much past 12 O'clock (halfway up) on bass amps. This becomes even more true if you boost the bass knob much past the flat 12 o'clock position. Low frequencies take a lot of power and while cranking a tube guitar amp can yield some pleasing bluesy tones, on a solid state bass amp it causes clipping which not only sounds very bad, but will also cause speaker damage if allowed to go on long enough.

This amp has a built in tilt back design, use it indoors. It reduces standing waves and can improve the apparent loudness of the amp INDOORS. If using this outdoors you'll almost have to augment it by feeding the PA direct via the XLR output so that you point it at your head and let the PA people control the volume to the crowd. The only bad thing about my Ampeg BA115 was a tendency of the horn tweeter to hiss like a snake pit if you cranked the treble up too high. 12 o'clock was no real problem. I often would turn it up till I heard hiss start then turn it down till it stopped to find the maximum reasonably noise free treble setting. That hiss that showed up when boosting treble was the only thing I didn't like about it really. It was a good rehearsal amp and kept up with an acoustic drummer ok in a rehearsal environment. I don't think the preamp and EQ is quiet enough for recording use, but it is passable live.

As for the EQ settings on the instrument itself, start out with them flat and adjust from there. If you are having trouble hearing the quality of the tone, ask for input from people you are playing with. Often when I think I'm just right, actually I'm way too loud.

The control knobs on the Deluxe Active Jazz work like this as described from closest to the neck to closest to the bridge.
1. MASTER VOLUME. Turns overall output up and down. (Set this WIDE OPEN to play loud, cut back a bit to play softer. Most people just play wide open all the time and use force control to alter volume.)
2. PAN POT. Rotated fully toward the neck it solos the pickup closest to the neck, rotated fully toward the bridge it solos the bridge pickup. In between the two extremes is an endless variety of mixes, or blends between the signals from the two pickups. The two pickups will sound different from each other because of their position if nothing else. The neck one should sound fuller with a bigger low end, the bridge one will sound thinner and brighter. In between the two lie some really good tones.
3. DUAL FUNCTION STACKED POT. The TOP portion adjusts TREBLE output while the LOWER portion adjusts BASS output.
4. MID POT. Adjusts the midrange. (Boosting this beyond flat can help the instrument cut through the mix better and reduces muddiness.)

To set the instrument's EQ flat as a starting point set both the top and bottom of knob 3 and knob 4 at exactly HALF WAY between full clockwise and full counter-clockwise. Depending on year model you may feel a detent at the "flat" halfway point which sort of stops the knob from turning without a little extra torque. This "half way point" is flat and where you should start out. When you start at flat you can make tonal adjustments on knobs 3 and 4 until you find something that works well for most of the songs you play, the style you play, your strings, your band, the room acoustics, etc. Ask for and accept input from others. Can they hear you? Do you need more bass, less bass, more treble or less?

in closing, may I offer two tips? 1. If the feedback says you need to be louder, try increasing the mids before reaching for the amp's Master volume control. Adding mids adds punch and often will help you cut through without touching the master volume control on the amp. 2. Always setup next to the drummer and have the amp placed so it is slightly behind him so he can hear it. It is vitally important that the drummer and bassist hear each other well. If you are setting up say with a guitar amp in between you and the drummer he's not going to hear you as well nor you the drummer.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:44 am
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Thanks, brotherdave, yes it's an "active" it has the 9V battery behind the black plastic cover on the back. It also has the silver medallion on the back of the headstock with the "Fender 60" on it and it has Deluxe Series decal on the front. It doesn't have anything on the neck plate so it's not the commemorative model. The case is black ABS and has Fender USA on it.

Well, I've got to get busy checking out all the knob positions, you should have written the Owners Manual which I don't have and couldn't find.

Thanks for all your time and expertise, I really appreciate it!

Thanks, stroker vance and RIGHT-ON!!


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:09 am
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Finally figured out how to post pics, Thanks to Impulse7 over in the Telecaster Section. Image


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:12 am
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I still haven't figured out how to post more than one pic per post, so here's another one.Image


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:14 am
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And another one. Image


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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:15 am
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Nice looking Jazz! :D

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Post subject: Re: Fender Jazz Bass Questions?
Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:16 am
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And last one. Image


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