suggestions for cheap J bass?

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suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by øøøøøøø » Sat Jan 22, 2022 12:46 pm

I need a J-with-roundwounds type of sound a few times per year... not enough to justify investing in a high-end instrument.

But I might be able to ask the good people at Lollar for help with some decent pickups, so a cheap-but-solid J style bass with inferior electronics would fit the bill for me.

For clarity: this is not a WTB post (I might be a few weeks away from that), but is more for purposes of information gathering.

A decent older Tokai was my first thought, but those seem to go for more than I'd be interested in paying at the moment.

Older CIJ/MIJ or MIM Fenders would also be cool... but I haven't kept pace with the entry-level market in some time, and it's gotten a lot more complex since the 90s.... many different model names, variants, etc. Squier even had/has some decent basses at one point... right?

Who wants to break it down for me?

THE GOAL: a great value J style bass that prioritizes body/neck/frets quality
  • awful pickups and electronics OK
  • marginal hardware OK
  • thick poly finish OK
  • maple neck preferred, rosewood OK
  • doesn't look stupid. With pickguard. No bad fake relics or ugly finishes, but any normal Fender-esque color and any reasonable condition is fine
  • Tokai or Fender branding preferred, but others considered
  • new or used OK
TARGET BUDGET: About $400-600 street, but if this is out of step with reality for anything reasonable, let me know.

Any ideas?

I have no clue about the distinctions between the "classic player," "vintera" "artist" "player" etc series. Last time I was shopping for an entry-level instrument there were just MIA, MIM and MIJ. I could google, but I want your opinions

Thanks in advance!

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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Jan 22, 2022 12:55 pm

Fernandes

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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by Larry Mal » Sat Jan 22, 2022 1:11 pm

Look into a G&L JB Tribute.

That would be my first choice (I own an American made model). The pickups are something you can replace, but that bridge on there is much better than the stuff Fender uses at this price point. It won't be as well put together as an American made one, but nothing you wouldn't be able to handle yourself.

I also own a fretless Player series Jazz Bass, and it's a good guitar. The body and neck on it are good, I replaced everything else, though.

But the G&L would be a stronger choice, you get a better guitar out of the box.
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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by øøøøøøø » Sat Jan 22, 2022 1:20 pm

Interesting thoughts. Is it weird that the lack of neck plate on that G&L is really bothersome to me?

Why are guitar players so conservative? And why am I one of them sometimes?

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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by Larry Mal » Sat Jan 22, 2022 1:30 pm

øøøøøøø wrote:
Sat Jan 22, 2022 1:20 pm
Interesting thoughts. Is it weird that the lack of neck plate on that G&L is really bothersome to me?

Why are guitar players so conservative? And why am I one of them sometimes?
Well, it's not a neck plate, it's that there are four cups/collets sunk into the body and the screws thread into that.

It's not a bad look in real life.
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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by øøøøøøø » Sat Jan 22, 2022 1:34 pm

yeah, I figured it was that, but...

I'm just accustomed to seeing a neck plate there, and to see an otherwise-normal looking jazz bass without it is kind of like looking at a person who has shaved their eyebrows off. It's like an "uncanny valley" thing where it's deeply unsettling on almost a primal level.

I think I need some kind of help.

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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by Larry Mal » Sat Jan 22, 2022 3:27 pm

øøøøøøø wrote:
Sat Jan 22, 2022 1:34 pm


I think I need some kind of help.
No, we're all that way. You know how sometimes when you look at a design and the dimensions are off just slightly from what your mind is telling you is ideal? Even if you've never seen such a thing before and should technically have no preconceptions about what you are seeing?

That's what you are doing here.

I bet you'd get over it, though. It's a little more classy than the neck plate, although let me tell you that it is not anywhere near as good: one of the screws stripped on my JB and since it is recessed into the body, I never could get it off. I had to pay someone to do it.
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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Jan 22, 2022 4:18 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Jan 22, 2022 12:55 pm
Fernandes
This looks pretty fun.

https://reverb.com/item/49068876-fernan ... ass-guitar

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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by øøøøøøø » Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:05 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Jan 22, 2022 4:18 pm
marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Jan 22, 2022 12:55 pm
Fernandes
This looks pretty fun.

https://reverb.com/item/49068876-fernan ... ass-guitar
It does!

There were a few on Reverb that I was just about ready to pull the trigger on until I saw the shipping cost... usually in the range of $130-240 (coming from Japan in most cases).

When you factor in sales tax on top of that, it makes me tempted to just keep refreshing craigslist.

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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by øøøøøøø » Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:06 pm

This is one of the ones I almost popped for, but shipping of $160... nah.

https://reverb.com/item/40711301-fender ... -1999-2002

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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:24 pm

I’m pretty into this. Can’t find anything about scale length though.

https://www.ishibashi-music.jp/category ... /pid/48954

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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by øøøøøøø » Sat Jan 22, 2022 7:12 pm

marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:24 pm
I’m pretty into this. Can’t find anything about scale length though.

https://www.ishibashi-music.jp/category ... /pid/48954
That does look cool!

Some deep Googling led me to find the scale is 860mm, which is basically full scale (33.8")

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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by jthomas » Sat Jan 22, 2022 7:17 pm

I bought a Jazz clone Agile for my bass-curious daughter awhile back. It was fine and might be what is needed. Something like this:
https://www.rondomusic.com/SX_Ursa_2_LT_MN_CAR.html

Alternately:
https://www.guitarfetish.com/Xaviere-Ba ... c_362.html

Obviously, equivalent to Agile. Ive gotten 4 gfs guitars over the years. Generally not great, but passable.

Happy hunting

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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Jan 22, 2022 7:25 pm

øøøøøøø wrote:
Sat Jan 22, 2022 7:12 pm
marqueemoon wrote:
Sat Jan 22, 2022 6:24 pm
I’m pretty into this. Can’t find anything about scale length though.

https://www.ishibashi-music.jp/category ... /pid/48954
That does look cool!

Some deep Googling led me to find the scale is 860mm, which is basically full scale (33.8")
Well damn.

I suppose some mods might be needed to be a good recording bass, and it might be a little awkward to play seated.

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Re: suggestions for cheap J bass?

Post by mizbiz » Sat Jan 22, 2022 8:00 pm

Larry Mal wrote:
Sat Jan 22, 2022 1:11 pm
Look into a G&L JB Tribute.

That would be my first choice (I own an American made model). The pickups are something you can replace, but that bridge on there is much better than the stuff Fender uses at this price point. It won't be as well put together as an American made one, but nothing you wouldn't be able to handle yourself.

I also own a fretless Player series Jazz Bass, and it's a good guitar. The body and neck on it are good, I replaced everything else, though.

But the G&L would be a stronger choice, you get a better guitar out of the box.
To piggyback on Larry's suggestion, G&L often has some pretty cool basses on clearance: https://g-l-online-store.myshopify.com/ ... nstruments

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