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#261600 - 27/08/09 03:22 AM Cheapish Jazz Bass
Annoying Twit Annoying Twit Forum Council Member Old Timer Registered: 05/05/08 Posts: 3144 Loc: East Midlands, UK	What bass would be a good option for someone who wants a generic "Jazz Bass", but doesn't want to pay much for one. I'd like a four string bass, to go with my 5 and 6 string ones. That was a historical accident, sortof, I'd be face-palming myself if I had done that on purpose. I've heard good things about the Vintage Modified Squier basses. Looking at completed listings on Ebay, the fretless four string seems to go for quite modest prices second hand, e.g. £109 + £20 p&p. But I'm guessing that the fretted version is probably more expensive, and it's a fretted version I want. I don't need to buy in a hurry. So, I can sit and watch for bargains. The sort of level I'm interested in is something that's reasonable quality for a modest price. E.g. my electrics are a Yamaha Pacifica 112v and a Vintage V100. Something in that sort of area would be nice. Are the other Squiers, the cheaper Affinity series etc., worthwhile? I've noted that they can be quite cheap. Possibly, if I'm lucky and one comes up locally on gumtree or where-ever, cheap enough to allow a full setup and fret dressing. Any other brands/models worth looking at?
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#261601 - 27/08/09 03:46 AM Re: Cheapish Jazz Bass [Re: Annoying Twit]
DaveBass DaveBass Old Timer Registered: 30/10/02 Posts: 6415 Loc: The wilds of Surrey	First, I'd better say I'm rather ignorant about basses as I tend to buy an instrument and stick with it. My main bass is a 1980 Fender Jazz bass (the real thing). That said, you could have a look at the Aria range. The only experience I have of them is that I also have an Aria 5-string de-fretted bass (bought from a forumite). It plays very nicely and has a good punchy tone. It's much lighter than my 1980 Fender Jazz, and has higher output pickups. If it has a fault, it's that the neck is rather too thin for a 5-string: when you play a low B, the neck vibrates almost as much as the string! But it should be fine in a 4-string version. It's very similar to the Fender in that I've swapped between them at gigs (using the fretless with chorus for slow numbers) and not had any difficulty adjusting. I don't suppose they're made any more but there should be equivalent models. Dave
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#261604 - 27/08/09 04:35 AM Re: Cheapish Jazz Bass [Re: DaveBass]
Annoying Twit Annoying Twit Forum Council Member Old Timer Registered: 05/05/08 Posts: 3144 Loc: East Midlands, UK	Thank you. There's this Aria bass, though the shop has them as out of stock. But at £99 for a new guitar, surely something has to give. http://www.hartnollguitars.co.uk/products.asp?id=134 I'm guessing that this is not an equivalent model to what you have. Do you know the model number for yours? I definitely wouldn't be looking for a five string $\:D$ Not this time. I could eventually, sometime in the distant future, imagine myself getting a fretless, in which case the VM would seem to be a bargain for the prices it's going for. But I don't want yet another "non-standard" bass now!!!! This pops up in my local gumtree just as I'm writing these posts. http://leicester.gumtree.com/leicester/34/44456734.html But I'd prefer to pay less than this, if I can get away with it. And I'm not looking for something perfect. I think the MIM Jazz basses can be cheaper than this second hand, too.
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#261608 - 27/08/09 05:53 AM Re: Cheapish Jazz Bass [Re: Annoying Twit]
DaveBass DaveBass Old Timer Registered: 30/10/02 Posts: 6415 Loc: The wilds of Surrey	The one you linked to looks superficially quite similar to mine. (NB: White discolours with age. Mine used to be white but is now a sort of yellowy cream colour. I don't really care about looks but if it bothers you, a darker colour would age better!) Mine claims to be an Aria Pro II MAGNA series MAB 20/50. I think I paid £120 for it secondhand a few years back, so it's probably more upmarket than a £99 bass! Dave
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#261609 - 27/08/09 06:12 AM Re: Cheapish Jazz Bass [Re: DaveBass]
Annoying Twit Annoying Twit Forum Council Member Old Timer Registered: 05/05/08 Posts: 3144 Loc: East Midlands, UK	Thanks Dave. Is yours the same model as this one? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-Pro-II-Magna-...=item5882cb163d
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#261611 - 27/08/09 06:46 AM Re: Cheapish Jazz Bass [Re: Annoying Twit]
DaveBass DaveBass Old Timer Registered: 30/10/02 Posts: 6415 Loc: The wilds of Surrey	Very similar, but not identical. Dave
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#261621 - 27/08/09 12:50 PM Re: Cheapish Jazz Bass [Re: DaveBass]
Annoying Twit Annoying Twit Forum Council Member Old Timer Registered: 05/05/08 Posts: 3144 Loc: East Midlands, UK	This Aria is a musicman style bass, but sold for £67. I did vaguely think of it, but am in no hurry, and the seller isn't in central Derby (not a bad journey) but more out on the outskirts a bit. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130325459386
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#261665 - 29/08/09 02:47 AM Re: Cheapish Jazz Bass [Re: Annoying Twit]
Annoying Twit Annoying Twit Forum Council Member Old Timer Registered: 05/05/08 Posts: 3144 Loc: East Midlands, UK	Here's a report where someone bought an Aria STB Jazz bass for £45 on Ebay, and found they quite like it. That's the model for sale for £99 new as described above. http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=54724 Also, the Squier Classic Vibe Jazz Bass also has a good reputation, it seems. But it seems that they don't turn up on Ebay frequently, and sell for quite a high proportion of the new price when they do. Warning to anyone reading this: I usually start thinking about purchases a LONG time ahead, and it could easily be a year or so before I get around to buying anything. Seeing what turns up in the meantime etc.
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#262013 - 04/09/09 04:21 AM Re: Cheapish Jazz Bass [Re: Annoying Twit]
Annoying Twit Annoying Twit Forum Council Member Old Timer Registered: 05/05/08 Posts: 3144 Loc: East Midlands, UK	Apart from the lengthy and boring World Wrestling Federation pastiche, I think this is the best online review of any instrument or instruments that I have ever seen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Cd98DH__U
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#266562 - 02/11/09 06:25 AM Re: Cheapish Jazz Bass [Re: Annoying Twit]
Annoying Twit Annoying Twit Forum Council Member Old Timer Registered: 05/05/08 Posts: 3144 Loc: East Midlands, UK	How good are the "standard" Squier jazz basses? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Squier-Jazz-bass-g...=item27acbc543b
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