# CIAM's Belated New Bass Day



## caughtinamosh (May 30, 2009)

At heart, I'm more of a bassist than a guitarist. Until relatively recently, I was a bassist at heart... without a bass. I posted a thread asking for recommendations based on my tastes (my favourite bassists - Geddy Lee, Steve Harris), and thedonutman recommended a Squire Vintage Modified Jazz bass. Other said Rondo, but that's no good for a Scot, or any Uk-er, for that matter. So, Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass it is. I did not have a camera handy when I opened the box, so I'm afraid it's just a few stand shots... 

Anyway...

Solic maple, eh? Thank me, my back will not. 













The classic headstock design... 











The infamous "Heel From Hell" 






CIAM  wenge stripes











Based on my first month or so with it - it's good. Very good. The pickups are pretty bland and lifeless, but hey, it's "Duncan Designed." They'll get replaced with true Duncans or Norstrand. I've also taken a liking to Rotosound strings - primarily the Swing Bass series, although I really want to try the Steve Harris flatwound sigs. Overall, highly recommended.



CIAM

EDIT: It'll do until the Hufschmid comes into existence, at least.


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## liamh (May 30, 2009)

Ooh, lovely, liking the black-block inlays
J-bass's raaawl!


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## Thin_Ice_77 (May 30, 2009)

I love those, I've always thought they looked awesome.

Nice score


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## hufschmid (May 30, 2009)

very cool, and its nice to see one with a natural finish


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## caughtinamosh (May 30, 2009)

hufschmid said:


> very cool, and its nice to see one with a natural finish



, although it is glossy.


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## thedonutman (May 30, 2009)

Cool stuff. 

I like the Rotosound swing bass strings myself too actually.

As for pickups, I've heard good things about Wizard pickups but you can't go wrong with Duncans or Nordstrands either.


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## hufschmid (May 30, 2009)

Just for info:

If you need some great pickups, I have those ones here which i can eventually sell...

When I say great pickups, I really mean it because I have been using them quite a bit in various basses I build and they do sound great and are very hot...

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/gear-for-sale-trade-wanted/85848-bridges-bass-pickups.html


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## caughtinamosh (May 30, 2009)

thedonutman said:


> Cool stuff.
> 
> I like the Rotosound swing bass strings myself too actually.
> 
> As for pickups, I've heard good things about Wizard pickups but you can't go wrong with Duncans or Nordstrands either.



 thedonutman. I owe this to you, sir. Great recommendation. 



hufschmid said:


> Just for info:
> 
> If you need some great pickups, I have those ones here which i can eventually sell...
> 
> ...



Great stuff, Patrick! I'll give that a read!


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## Apophis (May 30, 2009)

Congrats, looks awesome


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## caughtinamosh (May 30, 2009)

Apophis said:


> Congrats, looks awesome



Cheers Sebastian. Roter have made quite a few Jazz basses, I see.


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## Apophis (May 30, 2009)

yeah, we did


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## caughtinamosh (May 30, 2009)

Apophis said:


> yeah, we did



Though, I don't think enough customers have taken advantage of what custom builders can actually offer. Some Jazz bass designs are so standard that they may as well have gone production.


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## ShadyDavey (May 30, 2009)

Very simple bass, very tasty. Grats


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## caughtinamosh (Jun 3, 2009)

As it stands right now, the stock pickups are going to be replaced with humbuckers. I love the sound of a single coil as much as the next guy, but as someone who loathes using noise gates (especially on clean parts) and demands utter silence, it's just not feasible.

Apophis has already told me about Merlin pickups, and they seem very good, even disregarding Polish prices. . Does anyone else have any other suggestions regarding stacks or similar pickups...?



No-one?


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## caughtinamosh (Jun 5, 2009)

No-one? *prays the double post won't merge*


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## Æxitosus (Jun 5, 2009)

that is sexy right there

do squier basses have a better rep than squier guitars? I've kinda noticedtaht more often lately.


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## caughtinamosh (Jun 5, 2009)

I believe the consensus is that they are better, yes. 

Stack recommendations, people...?


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## phaeded0ut (Jun 8, 2009)

Very sweet and tasty! My second bass was a beat-to-hell-and-then-some-more Fender Jazz Bass (fretted).


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## caughtinamosh (Jun 8, 2009)

phaeded0ut said:


> Very sweet and tasty! My second bass was a beat-to-hell-and-then-some-more Fender Jazz Bass (fretted).



If they're all like this, then they're rock solid basses agreed. Nothing too fancy, but very reliable.

I'm especially loving the neck carve on this bass. As a lover of fatter necks, I was initially concerned that my hand would fatigue, but nothing has arisen - very comfortable )).

Does anyone have any stack recommendations (preferably through personal experience)?


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## Konfyouzd (Jun 8, 2009)

i approve


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## mindstorm (Jun 10, 2009)

Very nice! I'm seriously thinking about getting one of these...

Where did you get it?


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## phaeded0ut (Jun 10, 2009)

On this one, I'd have to say go with an older Ampeg (really am sorry to read that they've gone downhill so badly), a Fender Bassman of some form or SWR for a little more punch with a Fender Jazz bass.
The old Ampeg combo I was using was similiar to this V-4BH (this has two inputs, but similiar outputs and the same number/type of tubes): Ampeg V-4BH Amp Head

Had a very old Fender Bassman combo 4x10 that was awesome, but didn't quite have the projection that I'd have liked when using it in conjunction with my Jazz Bass. Again, 6L6's for the main tubes with 12AX7's for the preamp.

Had an older SVT SM400 that I really loved and used with a 2x10 enclosure (no name, Celestion speakers) that I really enjoyed, though I found that when practicing, I had to seriously keep the volume down otherwise, I could really be heard throughout the apartment building.

I'd also recommend going with a Euphonic Audio i800 for a head unit, too.

Main thing for me at the time was making sure that the bass head was using 6L6's of some form. If you're looking for speaker enclosures and don't mind the mix-and-match, I'd recommend going with Edens of some form 2x10's or a 1x15 depending upon what you have for a head unit.

You'll also be able to get a bit more help on this end from the folks in Talkbass, too.

Hope this helps out!


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## caughtinamosh (Jun 10, 2009)

I was referring to pickup stacks, phaeded0ut, but thank you for an incredibly helpful wall of text! 

Where did I get it? GAK.


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## Scar Symmetry (Jun 10, 2009)

B-A-Oodyfull


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## phaeded0ut (Jun 10, 2009)

James,

D'oh!!!! Ok, for pickups, oh man, ... there are two routes that I'd recommend going. For a Jazz bass, I'd have to say try going either Bartolini or Seymour Duncan. My personal preference is to go active (both in pickup and electronics) and go with the Bartolini's (stack the pots if cosmetics are really important to you). If you wish to stay completely passive, the Seymour Duncan's might be a better bet and are certainly more "classic" in their sound. My only concern is to make sure that both would fit with the current routings on your bass.

I know that there are quite a number of other boutique pickups out there that are very serious in going antique for their sound, but then again, you're also going to be paying those prices, too. LOL!
On that note, if you could get them, go Lane Poor, the little bit of routing on your beastie (or buying a 4 or 5 string bass is just beyond worth it) is beyond worth it for the sound that will start coming out of your instrument once everythign is wired up (again, go active on the electronics). His basses were "different," but damn were his pickups were/are incredible. Had a Steinberger XL5 with some of his 4-string pickups in it (poor bass lasted three gigs before being stolen).


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## caughtinamosh (Jun 10, 2009)

I'm typically biased against active pickups. Yes, it's the same old argument of them sounding sterile and flat to my ears. However, I have noticed that this reputation does not continue to active BASS pickups. I might yet settle on actives. We'll see...

I was also considering Seymour Ducan Classic Stacks. I'm not overtly concerned with huge output, but a nice, trebly, clanky sound is a must, so going lower output actually seems to make sense.


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