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Post subject: Jazzmaster Bass?
Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 10:00 pm
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Well, since Fender adopted the Jaguar as a bass, why not doing the same for the Jazzmaster?

We already know the first Jazz Bass prototypes built in 1959 employed Jazzmaster pickups.

Image

Take a Jazzmaster body, a Jazz Bass neck, throw in a set of those early J-Bass pickups and get a Jazzmaster Bass!

Image

(pictured bass is not mine).


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Post subject: Re: Jazzmaster Bass?
Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:27 am
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Hmmmm... Very interesting. Single soapbar style bass pick up in the middle of the body? I cna see why he didn't go with that. Since that's what initially developed the split coil P. Being able to cancel hum. (for the record, I'm a huge fan of single coil P basses and think abandoning the single coil design was a mistake) However, with modern advances like the S-1 switching between series and parallel. Could this pick up actually hide two single coils run in series and then switched to parallel? That would give you the purity of the design with the ability to switch to the more punchy humbucking tone when needed for hum purposes, or just to fatten things up.

I've often wondered why no one I have heard of yet has done that with this style pick up.

Image

Cool looking bass.

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Post subject: Re: Jazzmaster Bass?
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 8:41 am
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Just to clarify- The Jazz bass prototype that you pictured is equipped with a 5 pole piece pickup not a four pole piece PU as pictured on the green bass.

I always wondered what that fat Jazz PU sounded like but it obviously wasn't as good as the 8 pole piece pick ups that ended up on the Jazz bass.

I think Speedy West had one of those prototype basses with the large holes and conventional Jazz Pickups installed.

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Post subject: Re: Jazzmaster Bass?
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:47 am
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The more I think about this the more I wonder what would have happened had Leo instead of doubling up on poles went the SD 1/4lb way and fattened up the poles. I ever hit the lottery after I order a handful of Single Coil P basses I might find out what a 4 pole 1/4 pound style Jazz pup with the S-1 configuration might sound and behave like. It's a pretty neat bass design.

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2014 Fender Super Bassman and Bassman 100T/410 Neo


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Post subject: Re: Jazzmaster Bass?
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 12:41 pm
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You may not be aware of this but the reason Leo went away from single pole pieces is that basses were blowing speakers in bass amps left and right in the 1950s. I am sure he had plenty of warranty headaches as bass speakers were blown in his amps while players were trying out the new electric bass!

The double pole pieces in the Precision bass split PU helped to cut the attack of the bass on the Low E string and evened out the response to what we all love today.

It took a while for speaker manuf. to catch up to where the bass guitar was demanding they go.

I maintain that bass amps didn't really start getting good for live performance until the 1980s. Before that you had to haul a refrigerator sized cabinet and a massive tube amp or multiple cabinets to get any kind of volume and tone live.

Today's bassists have it incredibly easy compared to the old days and huge amps.
New bass amps are designed with efficient amps and small 10" speakers w neodynium magnets. Light weight cabinets make filling a big room with great bass tone easier than ever. Now amps can handle low B strings, single pole pickups and whatever you throw at them.

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Post subject: Re: Jazzmaster Bass?
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 5:09 pm
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No doubt speaker cabs are much, much better. I LOOOOOOVVVEEE my Neo Bassman 410. LOOOOVE it. However, the thing I love most about my Bassman 100t? The fact that the vintage circuit and tubes are identical to my 74 Bassman 100. Nails it. Dead to rights. The only downside to my 74 100 was that it only had a two prong plug. Which never bothered me. As a matter of fact. It was kind of fun watching people set their hands on it now and then without thinking. :wink:

I think the Bassman was plenty great by the late 60's and 70's. The SVT. Even though I don't care for Ampeg. Was great for the guys who needed the earsplitting power to keep up with ridiculous guitarists. From what I remember amps started going solid state in the 80's. That was definitely NOT good!

I'm with you on the cabs, though. I held out for a looooonnnggg time on the Neo cab. Man, it's great to have finally taken that plunge. It's like a bold beautiful new world. A 410 cab with casters that weighs in at 45lbs. Like a gift from the heavens. :D

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2012 Fender American Vintage 57 Precision Bass RI
2014 Fender Super Bassman and Bassman 100T/410 Neo


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