stratcat51

After three gigs, I believe this is a keeper. The first gig was with flat-wound strings the owner had put on it:

http://www.fenderpick.com/showthrea...&page=144&pp=10


The second and third gig (last night) was with round-wounds, though not my usual Rotosounds. The guy I bought the bass from gave me two new sets of bass strings that obviously he wasn't gonna use. One was a set of SIT (Stay-In-Tune) flat wounds and a set of Smith roundwounds. The SIT strings will not be used and I suspect that brand may have been on the bass when I bought it. Whatever was on there did sound decent for flat-wounds, but no comparison to round-wounds. The Smith strings (of the Ken Smith bass company) were put on to try out since I'd never used them before and they are quite good. It's gonna be interesting to put Rotos on the thing and compare the sound to the Smiths.

So, the last two gigs was with roundwounds and what a delight this bass is sonically. I put a new battery in the guitar even though the old owner had a new one in it, or so he said. Now I know it is new, and it is a brand I use.

WIth my Jazz, I have a hard time hearing the D and G strings. It might be my fucked-up ears, maybe not. All I know is when the whole band is playing, those strings get lost for me. Not so with the P-bass. I could hear EVERY note very well and NO dead spots in the neck.

With active pups, I knew this bass was gonna be louder than the Jazz, but it even is louder than the 5-string Ibanez which also is active. (Oh, and I replaced THAT battery, too, as it was the one I put in it a year ago in March!) So some volume and gain adjustment was necessary to keep the amp from clipping the soundboard. (I run a direct out of the back of the head.)

Sonically, this is the best bass I own, possibly the best I've ever owned. To say this makes me feel like I'm cheating on my Jazz!

Playability is very good for a Precision. I need to try a new Precision standard to make a comparison. Yes, it has a wider nut than the Jazz, and maybe it is as wide as any P-bass, but it just feels better to me than the last P-bass I owned many years ago. Even if the nut width is the same, the neck is not as thick and maybe that is the difference. All I know is I had absolutely no problems playing anything last night. That said, the neck doesn't hold a candle to the Jazz.







I may have to replace the input jack. With the wireless bug, it is fine, but with my cord, it makes poor contact. I guess after almost twenty years the jack could stand replacing.

It is hard to believe the good condition this bass is in. It does look almost new. The nicks and scratches are few and far between.







The case is Fender, but not the case made for this guitar. It fits, and that is about it. I'm very wary of the molded Fender cases from this era, and since I don't really know what year the case is, it might turn out ok, it might not. I will say I like the latches on it. They are like what you see on flight cases.

To sum it up, it is a great bass bought at a good price. Since I'm notorious for selling and trading, I'm not gonna say it will be here forever, but right now it is staying. The color is growing on me and again, I love the way it sounds. I was asked if my Jazz was for sale and I said no, but again that is NOW. The sad part is only the Ibanez and the P-bass are going to gigs. The Jazz could go for a back-up, I guess, but I doubt it would be used. What a nice problem to have!

__________________
I kissed a squirell and I liked it......


John


http://partywithloosechange.com/



http://www.myspace.com/partywithloosechange

Highway Star

heck there are still people out there that take care of things, few and far between but they're there!

So what's your fear with the molded cases???? Guess I'm not privvy to all the info....

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Rock on!

stratcat51

My strat (Louise) is an '88 and she came with a molded case. It literally fell apart; first the latches and hinges then the plastic molding of the case cracked. Rongtr was a Fender dealer back then and he can testify to the flimsiness of those cases back then, not just mine but a lot of folks.

__________________
I kissed a squirell and I liked it......


John


http://partywithloosechange.com/



http://www.myspace.com/partywithloosechange

Nat Stratcat

Great review of what is a real looker (the bass not you!) and exclusive too. I'm still using my P-Bass for gigging but can't keep the gas pains away much longer.

Highway Star

Good point ... a friend has an early 90's lace sensor strat plus that looks alot like Bytor's old blue tele ...his hinges are broken as well, I'd forgotten about that. My 95 strat came in one of those molded "1/2" cases that they still use ...it's still in great shape!

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Rock on!

Bytor1975

I had the same case as that bass for my old Tele. No issues. However, the bass case for the 2004 J-bass and the one I bought for my Geddy Lee J-Bass sucks. Same ABS plastic, but not the rectangular ones. They suck. When I find a deal on Craigslist or a store on a good tolex J-bass case, that thing is gone!

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~ Jason

Click here for my gear...

Andoni

I've missed something here your not playing the Jazz live any more? I thought it fit the bill perfectly, the way it reads your saying tonally it doesn't compare to the active basses? Congrats on the new bass by the way.

Time Pieces

Nice review!

Even nicer bass ~ and from a very good era, IMO (along side my '93 Strat, lol)

And I learned something new! Never knew SIT strings actually stood for "stay in tune".......never put one and one together I guess.


Nice bass.

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There is so much shit out there I have never heard of, that I can't wait to hear.

stratcat51

No, there's nothing wrong with the Jazz, and it has been my primary bass since I got it. I use the 5 string only on certain songs.

But.......the P-bass just kicks ass tonally. It probably IS the active pups that make the difference. The jazz sounds great, don't misunderstand me, but I'm hearing things so much better with the P-bass and the active pups give me better control.

It's kind of like going from a 4-barrel carbureator to a turbo-charger; they both give you a kick in the pants but the turbo just keeps on kickin'!

__________________
I kissed a squirell and I liked it......


John


http://partywithloosechange.com/



http://www.myspace.com/partywithloosechange