20th Anniversary JCS [new pics]

[4stringer77]

Either way you slice it, the Chinese government is an oppressive regime that has killed millions of their own people over the years and still is one of the worst countries regarding human rights in the world. They make enough crap, my bass doesn't need to be another thing from there.
   The other thing with zika and it's associated microcephaly as well as tick born diseases like Lyme disease I have to wonder about is where did they come from in the first place? Perhaps DDT or DEET wouldn't be necessary if it wasn't for botched biological warfare operations that found their way, intentionally or not, into the populations. Fighting mosquito borne illnesses with other genetically modified mosquitos doesn't seem like a wise choice ether. Pretty much the whole military industrial complex and overbearing States are basically the bane of humanity, whichever way they are labelled.
Anyhow, hope any of you guys getting the 20th anni Jack Casady basses enjoy them. 

[Granny Gremlin]

To be fair, you can say the exact same thing about the Us government.  ;P


I agree with you that fighting zika with GMO mosquitos is probably a bad idea; hell, every time we've tried to fight 1 problem organism with some other organism it just created a new problem (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_toads_in_Australia ).  We generally suck at learning our lesson.

[Dave W]

[facepalm]Politics: let's not go there.[/facepalm]

So...how does DEET affect the finish of JCS basses. 

[Alanko]

Heh, I killed the finish on a cheap guitar with bug spray!

[Granny Gremlin]

Yeah, DEET is not ideal; Frauline Rimmel best use alt products because DEET will disolve PVC and a few other synthetics.

Sorry Dave, I couldn't resist that one; was never going to continue with it.

[Pilgrim]

I learned (fortunately without visible damage) that sunblock gel can attack instrument finishes.  Had an outdoor gig and I noticed the finish softening on my old P...changed my technique to keep my forearm off the bass after that.

Wouldn't be surprised if other products such as DEET, or the carrier used for it, might do the same to nitro or lacquer.

[Dave W]

....

Sorry Dave, I couldn't resist that one; was never going to continue with it.

You're not the one who started it. Both of you have valid points, we're just not going to discuss it here.

[gearHed289]

About 30 years ago, the keyboardist I was playing with saw an ant on his DX7. He sprayed it with something, I assume bug spray, and those keys were sticky forever after. 

[uwe]

Typical for a keyboarder, overreaction as a way of life ... As long as they don't exceed a certain size ...

[Alanko]

Frankly, the 250 and 500 settings do nothing for me, but Jack doesn't use them either. They might be interesting for people that want to drive their extreme effects with a beefed up signal, other than that it is hard to see what there is to like about sounds that take all the nuances out of this nuanced bass.

I've been messing around with mine for a bit now, and I'm leaning towards the 250 setting. The 500 setting is almost too nasal and pressure-cooked. It is nice to have the 50 to roll back to, and the 500 setting to boost to. This will work for me live, as I don't like having to dance through effects pedals for different gain settings. If nothing else the design is useful, even if unwittingly so. Rather than just being three volume settings the EQ changes for each setting. The 50 has a nice wide bandwidth, almost scooped in the mids. The 250 setting is fuller and more present in the mids. The 500 setting has that honk to it. Oddly enough I sound like Jack Casady when I play this bass.

I'm quite pleased that mine is a Peerless example. It doesn't have that plastic feel I associate, perhaps unfairly, with Chinese instruments. The rosewood of the fretboard is a nice piece, the finish came back from the dead very nicely and the frets are level and hard! I had to do a subtle leveling of them to remove some roundwound wear on the lowest two frets, and the frets were otherwise level up the neck. They were a joy to work on.

This is mine now:



No 'E' on the pickguard and no poker chip under the 3-way switch.

I'm mildly tempted to put a Strat output jack plate on the bass just to strengthen the output jack area and to get the cable up and away from the top of the bass as quickly as possible. Blasphemy, of course, but I did the same to my much modified Aria TAB-66:



On the Casady the jack would be pointing up the way, rather than down. I've also since de-fretted this Aria, and clearly need to learn to leave stuff alone.

[Chris P.]

Just use an angled plug, and put it though your strap. Hollow bodies and almost any instrument with an input at the front, need an angled plug.

[uwe]

Don't. The Strat jack - practical as it is - looks out of place on anything - except a Strat, where it is perfect.

[Pilgrim]

Don't. The Strat jack - practical as it is - looks out of place on anything - except a Strat, where it is perfect.

Agreed.  And also agreed with Chris P. - use an angled plug and loop it through your strap. Works with every hollowbody or semi-hollow I have owned.

[Basvarken]

+1

The strat jack looks like a nasty scar

[Granny Gremlin]

I don't agree that Strat jacks only work on strats (see the Ibanez Talman, and that other hollowbody ho alanko [right?] had a thread here about a while back; even that Aria ) but don't do it here; shame to cut up that top any more than necessary.