What Jazz to buy ?

[godofthunder]

My band Johnny Smoke ( scroll down to the right for classic rock clips http://johnnysmoke.homestead.com/calendar.html  )does a ton of Zepplin in our cover set and we do it very well. The guitarist even brings out his Gibson 6/12 double neck for the shows. We are in the process of reorganizing the live show and putting more emphisis on the Zep. I'm thinking of getting a Jazz like JPJ. Fender makes the classic MIM 60's J and for the $ they are very nice, I like 'em alot. Next up is the '62 USA`RI close to JPJ but it has concentric knobs I can get one of these for like $1300. Last is the '64 RI NOS these are pricey, I'm looking  at $2,135. Also the New American Standard J comes in a sunburst /tort /rosewood combination that has a nice vintage vibe. Around $950. Thoughts on which bass to buy ?

[Lightyear]

I used a MIM P neck on my Fbird - the neck is vey nice - Fender just doesn't spend a lot of time on detailed setup.

A good friend of mine picked up a 57 P MIM reissure last year and the bass just kills!

Personally, I would would go the MIM route, I see them on Ebay all of the time, and change out the pickups for Fralins or Duncan Antiquites and change out the pots and the cap.  Clean up the frets a bit and you have geat bass for about $600 that's bar/club safe.

[eb2]

For true JPJ vibe - in the pre-Presence era - you have really 3 choices: A 60s MIM Jazz, the pricey 64 Ri, or a Bass V.  He really did not use a stack knob, but you could in theory buy a 62 ri and swap the control plate for the later version.  At any rate, the MIM is a great bass, but does need a competent set up job.  All the mim come with bad action and sometimes bad intonation and fret finish.  Not so big a deal really considering the savings.  The 64 RI is steep for essentially a 62ri with the later plate and a bit more attention.  He did use the Bass V regularly in the early 70s monster touring phase.  For completists only.  I don't recall him using a P except for odd photos - not part of the early vibe.

[Lightyear]

WARNING: Gibson Content! 

In the latest Bass Player they interview JPJ and he states that he used an EB1 for the early recordings

[Dave W]

WARNING: Gibson Content! 

In the latest Bass Player they interview JPJ and he states that he used an EB1 for the early recordings

You mean early Zep, or for his earlier studio work?

I never understood how a J could have produced the tones on Led Zeppelin.

[eb2]

He has always owned up to the EB1 which is on the LZIII wheelie thing - and he has stated in interviews that he did use it, and loved its old school tone.  He recorded with it on tracks on the first 3 or 4 lps for certain.  That being said, the majority of the early tracks were the Jazz with flats and often played with a pick (Herco - for completists).

He adopted Alembics around Presence, to the detriment of the band's sound in my humble opinion. 

[OldManC]

Scott, I'd just look for whatever Jazz feels and sounds best in your hands. Almost nobody (and that includes a lot of other bassists) would ever detect a difference between any of the basses you mentioned. I, being completely anal about such things, would notice the truss rod nut being on the wrong end of a MIM, but even that wouldn't stop me if the MIM was the one that sounded best to my ears. If it were me, I'd look for a used American made, which are almost always a great deal. Of course I say that, but my only Jazz at the moment is an '84 Squier that flat out rocks. 

[godofthunder]

 I ended up buying a brand new American standard Jazz for $890.00. Nice sunburst finish, tort guard, rosewood board, vintage tint neck, and the three black controls. It has a nice vintage vibe and has all the visual stuff I wanted. It's a nice solid axe and I'm happy with the price. 

[Dave W]

I haven't seen the new American Standards, but if you're happy with the tone and playability, you can't go wrong with a new US J at that price.

[eb2]

Duuuuuude!  JPJ's Jazz didn't have strings going through the body!

I saw the new ones this past weekend - they got the P and J in at the local GC.  The tort guards really do give them a classic look.  They seem to have a noticeably flatter radius on the board compared to a RI.  I hope to mess around with one of them in the near future.  But they do capture the vintage vibe nicely.  I didn't bother to check the price but that seems like a pretty good deal.

[godofthunder]

But duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude   you can run the strings through the bridge or through the back of the body, I of course upon getting the bass strung it with Roto Sound RS66LDs the though the bridge. 

[Dave W]

That looks like a more vintage-style burst than the 2000-2007 American Series had. I've never been a big sunburst fan, but that's a nice improvement.

[OldManC]

Nice looking bass, Scott! I'm sure it will fit the bill nicely.

[godofthunder]

 At the risk of repeating myself I am keeping this bass for now, see here http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=119.0 I am thinking of replacing bridge and tuners with vintage parts. The bridge is a easy find any ideas where to get vintage RI reverse tuners ? I know it sounds like I am swinging blindly........................ I am I have said it before Fenders are still a mystery to me.

[Dave W]

Has the bridge changed from the earlier (1995-2007) American Standard & American Series? If it's the same one, there is no "vintage" drop-in bridge replacement, it's a four screwhole design because of the string-thru-body option, as opposed to the vintage Fender 5-hole design. The pre-1957 2-saddle design would fit, but that was never on a J. Of course you could always drill new holes but that'snot advisable on a new bass you might want to resell if it doesn't work out.