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Non ADA Gear => Basses => Topic started by: rnolan on March 02, 2014, 04:37:04 AM

Title: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: rnolan on March 02, 2014, 04:37:04 AM
Here's one for you bass dudes, my bass player (Matt) who's only been playing for 6 months or so now (he's learning fast!  :whoohoo!: ) bought a Fender Squire Jaguar bass (30" jazz bass neck).  Nice guitar for the money ($280 AUD). Anyway today (after last nights jam/rehearsal) we started chatting about doing it up a bit (and also he wants to buy a 5 string now (he's got the bug  :thumb-up: )).
So any ideas what would be best bang for buck for the squire (obviously new PUs come to mind, any recommendations ? (it's got a split single coil precision and a single coil jazz PUs)).  Great sounding guitar (so maybe we should leave it alone ? I put a set of DR short scale lights on it and set it up (finger board took a big drink..)).

Also any recommendations for a 5 string, he's got small hands so a 34" may be a bit long for him.

We also talked about various bass amp possibilities (I'm spruking MB1/poweramp/cabs but it may be a bit premature).  He's got a fender rumble 30w (this amp punches well above its weight) to start off.  I mic it up (as no line out) but don't need to add much at all (and that's with drums miked and 2 loud (particularly me  ;D ) guitars).  So he's also thinking about bass head/cab scenarios, after a quick check online, there are so many different possibilities these days, (Ampeg, Fender, TC, Ashdown, Eaton, Gallien Kruger, it goes on), so, if you didn't have an MB1, what would be your fancy ?
Cheers Richard
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: Peter H. Boer on March 02, 2014, 07:47:06 AM
Nice bass :thumb-up:
I'm not one for short scale though, as I'm 6'3" and love tight B-strings So most of my basses are 36" scale.

For a 5-string I would not go shorter than 34", as the B would be nothing but floppy on short and medium scale.
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: rnolan on March 02, 2014, 07:21:21 PM
Hey Peter, thanks for the tips
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: rnolan on March 08, 2014, 06:53:42 AM
Update (Peter, and other bass dudes), today he bought a SUB (Indonesian) music man lice stingray 34" 5 string and a Carvin BR510 500w combo. He's got the bug  ;) The Carvin seems like a good amp (well optioned and stacks of grunt), later he'll add a Carvin 18", next is MB1 rig  >:D
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: Peter H. Boer on March 08, 2014, 01:12:07 PM
 :banana-guitar: :metal: :banana-guitar:
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: BrokeDownSouth on March 13, 2014, 10:14:01 AM
I hear good things about the Carvin amps as far as bang for your buck, is the BR510 a 2x10" combo?
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: Peter H. Boer on March 13, 2014, 01:22:20 PM
is the BR510 a 2x10" combo?

Yup http://www.carvinworld.com/products/BR510 (http://www.carvinworld.com/products/BR510)
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: BrokeDownSouth on March 13, 2014, 02:43:10 PM
is the BR510 a 2x10" combo?

Yup http://www.carvinworld.com/products/BR510 (http://www.carvinworld.com/products/BR510)

And, YES, I was too lazy to Google that myself.  :homer:
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: BrokeDownSouth on March 13, 2014, 02:47:48 PM
I know he already got a bass, but that new Fender Dimension looks cool, and they offer it at several price points.  I would've opted for the Stingray too. 8)  How is he liking the SUB?
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: rnolan on March 14, 2014, 03:58:38 AM
SUB is on order (they only had the 4 string variants in stock (which seemed good, albeit needing a decent set up)).  The 5 string SUBs look a bit better also (to me) with the slightly carved top.  Will let you know as soon as I've done the setup on it, should arrive next week.  It will be a bit of a chalange for him at first as he's been getting used to the 30" scale of the squire jag, but after the 7 months or so he's been playing, he's improving rapidly  :thumb-up:   He's also got small hands but he's getting better at sliding around which seems part an parcel of the longer scales >= 34" I was telling him about Peter and his 36" basses, (response was holy crap, how  :facepalm: )
He used the Carvin at rehearsal this week (we played acoustics, he played (very) softly) and I could here it's quality, we'd already run up a starting sound, had to back the tweeter off a bit and basically turned the bass up a bit and low mids down a bit (this was with the squire jaguar).

I wondering if it's a good idea to get a US music man pickup (are they buyable ?) for the SUB when it comes, seems most say the SUB PU is good but not quite as good as the US MM stingray PUs.

I'm also noticing the squire jaguar (30") lacks definition on low E, F, F#, G.  Currently running DR lights on it, maybe going to a heavier low E would help ? as it's such a short scale length.

BTW thanks for the comments/help guys cheers Richard
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: Peter H. Boer on March 14, 2014, 05:05:11 AM
I wondering if it's a good idea to get a US music man pickup (are they buyable ?) for the SUB when it comes, seems most say the SUB PU is good but not quite as good as the US MM stingray PUs.

I'm also noticing the squire jaguar (30") lacks definition on low E, F, F#, G.  Currently running DR lights on it, maybe going to a heavier low E would help ? as it's such a short scale length.

These are nice replacement pups for Stingray style http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/bass-pickups/music-man/5string/ (http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/bass-pickups/music-man/5string/)

As for the low definition on the low string, this is inherent to the short scale :o, The longer the scale, the better the definition down low.
Thicker strings help a bit, but not nearly as much as longer scale.
36"scale plus .141 B-string equals thundering lows WITH definition  :banana:
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: BrokeDownSouth on March 14, 2014, 06:58:51 AM
Stick with the stock pickup until he figures out what his tastes are.  If he's like me he'll go through 2 or 3 basses before he finds one he can dig.  When I was 17, I worked all summer and saved up for a new American Fender Jazz 5.  I never liked that bass.  :dunno:

Also; buy used - save money!

Here's a pic of my '92 Stingray 5:
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: rnolan on March 14, 2014, 08:39:07 AM
Ahh BDS, nice bass, it's got the same (ish) carving on the top as the SUB 5 strings.
Peter thanks for the tips, I'll pass them on and check out the pick up, and I agree BDS, little steps.  The SUB will be a little bit harder for him to play at first no doubt, but he'll get the hang of it.

Here's an aside, what do you guys think about Status basses ?  They seem to have gone very carbon fiber when I looked recently.
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: BrokeDownSouth on March 14, 2014, 10:09:46 AM
http://www.bassshop.be/bassguitars.html (http://www.bassshop.be/bassguitars.html)

There's a MM Status if you scroll about halfway down, looks cool but I'm pretty ignorant as to the story behind them.  If you're referring to the bass manufacturer called Status, I really don't know anything about them.

That OLP for 350 Euros looks cool, about 1/3 of the way down.
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: Peter H. Boer on March 14, 2014, 01:42:45 PM
Here's an aside, what do you guys think about Status basses ?  They seem to have gone very carbon fiber when I looked recently.
Status basses started out in the eighties with headless carbon necks, then followed carbon necks with headstock, and pretty soon after all carbon basses.

They have been off the market (or at least of the radar) for 10-15 years before making a comeback.
Quote
S2-CLASSIC
Headed and Headless

The S2-Classic, as the name suggests, is truly the Classic Status Bass.

Originally designed in 1981, the fundamental range has expanded to include through-neck, bolt-on and left handed models.
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: kawai2g4b on March 16, 2014, 12:27:24 AM
In addition to that, Washburn built a few headless, Status-designed carbon-fiber neck-thru basses in the late 80's that typically go for $500US.  I played a couple before and I really liked them...but by then I had gotten on my Kawai bass kick, one of which happens to have a bolt on carbon fiber neck.

I definitely support the MM SUB choice.  Its a great, affordable bass that does sound good with the stock pickups and the Carvin should translate it well. 

I can say that the MM will be quite the different beast from the Jaguar.  I would suggest throwing thicker strings on the Jaguar in the meantime to help adjust to the string tension that he will find on the MM, especially if he plays aggressive fingerstyle.

Here is the Washburn Status bass

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/dfd/wstatbs5.jpg)


Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: rnolan on March 16, 2014, 06:38:32 AM
Mmm that Washburne looks very nice (and I'm a guitar player  >:D ), good advice kawai2g4b, thanks for that, if we go for thicker strings on the Jag it will help his transition to the SUB and I suspect help with the lack of very low definition on the Jag (a bit).  SUBs coming this week, stay tuned.  If any of you come across a MDRT MB-1 in good nick let me know, that's where I want to take him .... eventually....
BTW the Carvin is doing very well so far (particularly for the price point), I like his Fender Rumble 30 though, (this is a really good entry level bass amp, IMHO, punches well above its weight and sounds great micked up), but the Carvin (well I tweaked it a bit) has "a nice ""sound"" pedigree", my take so far. next test is at volume....and hopefully with the SUB  :whoohoo!:
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: BrokeDownSouth on March 17, 2014, 09:42:36 PM
Yeah, I'm officially on the lookout for a Washburn status now.
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: rnolan on March 21, 2014, 09:04:18 PM
Started a new topic just for the SUB ray5, this bass sets up so well (although the truss rod adjust is very tight, I had to take the neck off to get at it well enough to get it to budge).
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: kawai2g4b on June 17, 2014, 10:36:07 PM
Hey, Richard.  I have to ask, were you ever able to load thicker strings onto the Squier Jaguar?  I just so happened to stumble upon a $60 Kingston short scale J bass copy with 1 pickup (Its almost like a Fender Music Master but with a bigger body).  After I brought it back, I screwed on a Fender-style bridge to overcome the original bridge's lack of string grooves on the saddles.

I bring this up because I had mentioned earlier about the necessity of placing thicker strings on short scale basses due to the floppiness of normal 45 sets.  I threw GHS short scale 50's on it and now I can play aggressively while enjoying a fuller fundamental tone.  You may also want to throw a set of Ground-wounds on there.  I would have thrown them on my bass had it not had the up-bow which I am trying to prevent from happening again.

Aside from that, how is your buddy taking to the Music Man and the Jaguar?  Does he favor one over the other at the moment?
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: rnolan on June 18, 2014, 05:11:35 AM
Had a look for some thicker short scale strings, given the popularity of the short scales you'd think there'd be a few offerings, but alas not so far, DR seem to only do the one set.  Moot point though for Matt, he plays the sub now and the Jag is the spare.  Served it's purpose well though, longer scales are harder to start, I'm quite blown out by his progress, and the sub sounds so good.
I'll tell him about the GHS 50's that sounds like the perfect gauge, though I'm not a fan of ground wounds (but who knows, he may be if he tries them?) or even worse flat wounds, loose all the nice tops...

A bass player in another band I was in bought a Mexican Fender Jazz, sounded lovely, almost like a piano (ala the OX Entwistle), then he got me to put a set of flat wounds on it (I offered to set it up for him), Fu$$ed it completely, sounded dead although he liked it (easy to play), oh I'll just turn the treb up.. sorry doesn't work like that..

So your up bow, is the truss rod not working ? (had more than my fill of that over time...)
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: kawai2g4b on June 18, 2014, 09:21:58 AM
No, it worked, had to turn it a bit quite a bit more than what is considered normal. I am wary about screwing with the truss rods too much on a pre-70s Japanese instrument as, guyatone and Kingston aside, are normally inoperable or fragile. I managed to get some natural relief and let it be.  I think the previous owner just didn't want to fudge with it. Just needed a couple tweaks.

Good to hear he is diggin' the MM!  And for flat wounds, you are only going to get an old school sound on passive basses.  I threw some on my ice pick bright Kawai F2B Alembic clones and it balanced the tone out, a lot more full but still with treble afforded by the construction and preamp. To sum up, I like the way flatwounds work with bright active basses. Same goes for my Ibamez ATK.  Especially into a tube head.  Given that, my normal preference is for round wounds.
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: rnolan on June 19, 2014, 04:29:37 AM
The sub truss rod was very tight, scared me a little so I went loosen then tighten and it worked out well.  I know what you mean about pre 70's Japanese guitars, my 3rd ever guitar is a Jap Anson strat, bought it new 40 years ago, the truss rod never worked, eventually I routed it out, it was a 1/2" wide box U piece of aluminium with a rod down the centre but no curve, just straight, don't know why they bothered putting it in the neck.  Now it's got the thinest neck ever, and a 1/2" wide sugar maple inlay where the truss rod was... I think I posted some pictures of it IIRC.
Title: -
Post by: Peterdauff on September 07, 2023, 09:49:06 PM
If you can use a 4 string bass - I highly recommend the Fender Geddy Lee Jazz model. The maple neck is so comfortable - very thin - with good action. The pickups are 62 reissue.
 
I know that this bass plays great sounds wonderful - and it is a passive bass - but do not let that deter you - it is a steal. Besides you can always make it active with one of those pop-in active preamps on the market - aka J-Retro, Audere.
 
This model new sells for about 800 - used between 500 and 650. Be careful - the tone is catching.
Title: Re: Fender Squire Jaguar Bass et al
Post by: rnolan on September 08, 2023, 01:40:49 AM
Hey Peterdauff, wow you've resurrected a very old thread (2014), brings back memories.  Along the way I started playing bass a bit so bought an Alembic SC Brown.  The Fender Geddy Lee Jazz looks like a nice bass, albeit long scale (being a guitarist short scale suits me better).  I've always liked the Jazz necks, nice and skinny.  I'm not a fan of the block inlays though, they just look wrong an a guitar (to me).  Here in Australia the Fender Geddy Lee Jazz are a bit over $2000.