Please help... buying my first Fender bass

rk.cu.000

I'm going to buy my first bass guitar soon and am trying to decide between a standard jazz bass and a deluxe active jazz bass. But before I make my decision there are a few questions I'd like answered:

1. What is a 'fast-action neck'?

2. The standard jazz bass has volume controls for mid and bridge and a master tone control. However it doesn't have a master volume control. Is this a problem?

3. I've heard a lot of negative things about Fender bridges. I play regular fingerstyle plucking and not slap or anything like that. Will the bridge still buzz and be a pain in the *Horse's Patoot*? Would you recommend replacing it with a BadAss?

4. I've heard that Fender jazz basses often have poor factory setups such as high action and incorrect neck relief? Is this repairable?

I'd really appreciate it if someone could answer these questions. I just want to make sure I know what I'm buying. Don't want to spend $$$ on a crappy bass.

Rd_Artist · Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 4:17 am Post subject:

Both Basses will have the same bridge, I replace all of mine with a Gotoh bridge it is less expensive than the BadAss ones and have a heavy mass for increased sustain they are definately more solid than the standard bridges.
the difference between the deluxe and the standard is that the deluxe has Active electronics with EQ controls the "master volume" is actually a pickup panning knob so that you can control which pickup is louder ect...
I own the standard Jazz both have the fast slim neck,which means it won't feel like a club in your hands, the deluxe uses a 9 volt battery to run the active electronics. on the deluxe you have more tonal control on the instrument but a good rig will give you pretty much the same control.
The Deluxe is more expensive than the Standard but either choice will be good.
As for the setup that is easily corrected every new instrument I buy goes directly to the guitar tech for a setup and intonation, this usually runs around $50, although most of the time the setup from the factory is just fine, this is something that you will want to do to keep your bass playing in top notch form.

I hope this helps. Smile

_________________
"I'm not a man who likes to swear, but I never cared for the sound of being alone."

rk.cu.000 · Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 6:32 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the info. About the standard jazz bass, how versatile is its sound? I am concerned by the passive electronics which mean little tonal control.. there isn't even a master volume control on this bass. But are there any ways to get more out of it? Because it's a beautiful bass, with the classic Fender j-bass sound.. and I can't afford any of the fender jazz basses that have active electronics.. so I want to make sure I know everything about the standard jazz bass before I buy it so I can get more out of it..

Rd_Artist · Posted: Mon Aug 14, 2006 4:49 am Post subject:

Your sounds tend to be in the midrange to bright area, but if your turn the tone all the way off you can get a muddy sound if you want.
on my Jazz bass I have done several mods to it let me list them.
1. I installed Dimarzio model J dp123, these are humbucking pickups but they still keep the overall Jazz bass soud.
2. I had a baritonestylerpot installed to replace the normal tone pot, you can read about them here http://www.stellartone.com/ I really like results
of this mod.
3. I installed the Gotoh bridge

I looked at both the standard and the deluxe basses I chose the standard more because of price, I do like the versatility the Deluxe offers but like I stated before you can shape your tone with an eq or a effects processor just as well, what ever your choice pick the one that YOU like best.
_________________
"I'm not a man who likes to swear, but I never cared for the sound of being alone."