Is this an OK Bass?

[Mikey]

Ok, I'm a drummer that messes around with guitars. I've been thining of picking up a bass to mess around with. After all, I don't have a roadie for the drums and they're getting harder for me to schlep around. I may want to slide over to playing bass in the next year or so. I've been looking at these for a week or so and it seems thaey go for around $200 - $ 250 on ebay. Would this be a decent bass or should I stick with a MIM jazz bass. I guess I really have no preference other than I like the looks of the Jazz over the P bass.
Suggestions?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

[BradKM]

Those do have their fans (most of them are chiropractors), but you'd be much better off with a nice MIM Fender. Find one with a good neck that you like and the most you'll ever need to do will be a pickup upgrade, but I wouldn't even worry about that if it isn't your primary instrument.

The offerings from Rondo Music (SX, Agile, etc) also get good reviews for budget instruments, and are much cheaper. I think doc450 has one.


www.rondomusic.bigstep.com

[Mikey]

One like this?
http://www.rondomusic.bigstep.com/it...6&PRID=1424785

[BradKM]

Yup.

I've never bought one of their assembled guitars, but I did buy a raw body from them and was very happy with the price and level of service.

I plan on picking up one of their Strat copies, or maybe one of their budget
P-90 offerings in the future.

[Mikey]

I got that Squire in my avatar (Squire Telecaster Custom II) for $207. It has P-90s. After I did some work getting the frets ends dressed up and the tone pots working, it's ended up being a pretty nice guitar.


Now, Would I be better off with the SX from Rondo and doing a pick-up upgrade, or just dong a MIM Jazz bass. Would I need to swap out the pups in the Naftajazzer?

[BradKM]

I'll bow out on the specifics or an a/b comparison between the two. I've had a Mexican P-bass that I was happy with, and a Jazz that I didn't like the pickups in at all. I don't have any direct experience with the Rondo pups.

[RedRain]

80's Ibanez Roadstar II Basses are pretty solid. MIJ and in most cases can be had for $300 and under.

[Gretschluvr]

I started with a Squier bass and was going to upgrade all of the electronics then I saw my MIM Fender Deluxe Zone bass...I fell in love with it. Much better guitar than upgrading the Squier. It only cost $107 more than the cost of the Squier plus all the upgrades.
Go for the MIM Jazz Bass. They are quality and they are Fender.
I think you will be much happier in the long run.

[Don]

I've had an MIM Jazz Bass for years now. I put Thomastik flatwounds on it and played it.

Intonation and neck relief has never needed adjustment.

Having said that, there were new MIM basses in the store when I bought mine that desperately needed a good set up.

[doc540]

I wouldn't spend a dime more on anything besides the Essex JB copy until I knew for sure I wanted to play bass.

Even then a set of pups will be all you'll need to play that HO for years and years!

[Mikey]

Right now, I'm looking in this direction. This one OK?

http://www.rondomusic.bigstep.com/it...6&PRID=1424785
doc, I WILL be playing bass. I used to a long, long time ago. Now is the time to pick it up again and save my aching back.

[doc540]

Just be careful.

That thing looks like it has too many strings!

Behold the Bastard Beater

[Mikey]

Yes, I know it has 5 strings. That's what my son plays. He has a Yamaha of some sort from around 94-95 with active pickups in it. The idea here is, that he'll help me get started again, I'll play a few more years and then give it to him. Also, He's in the "time to upgrade" stage and we'll be getting him a new Fender of some sort when he gets a teaching job. Right now, he's graduated college with a masters and teaching certificate and he's looking for a teaching job. When he gets the job, I take him out shopping. Right now, he's working at a Hess station, substitute teaching, tutoring 4 kids and teaching bass to two. Keeps his bills paid...barely.

[Gretschluvr]

Fender Deluxe Zone bass

Active Equalizer with Bass, mid and treble tone controls, P style and J style pickups. Master volume and panning pickup selector. Well made Gotoh enclosed tuners. Jazz neck, small body of solid alder and maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, very light weight.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/...se_pid/511031/

[Mikey]

Yeah! I hear ya Gretschluvr, I tried one out at House of Guitars last night, but I don't have anywhere near that sort of money for this. My wife is spending all the extra on house revamping. I only have whatever our gigs pay me divided by 5 to pay the other cats. It takes forever for me to save something because we don't get that many paying gigs.

[doc540]

New Essex HO: $150

eBay EMG's: $100

Total ______________ (fill in the blank)

[Gretschluvr]

Mikey,
Yes, I know exactly what you are saying. I hear good things about the Rondo.
Also, check out the Squier and Yamaha's.
Gary

[FrankJohnson]

I recently picked up a Peavey 5 String Grind BXP (not the NTB) in Pewter Grey. I also bought a hard case for it. The 5 string is a little wide form my hands. It has active pups and is pretty light. The neck is slim from the back to the top of the fret board.

If it sounds like something you might be interested in, I need to sell it to get a four string.

Email me and I can discuss it further if you are interested.

I really want to get a Jazz bass or similar -

Thanks - Ken
KM-Belmont@excite.com

[FrankJohnson]

OK -
I sold the Peavey NP.....

Doc......I gambled on the theory of the bastard beater......
I picked up the 62 PJ in Olympic white.....http://www.rondomusic.bigstep.com/item.jhtml;$sessionid$SC5APKYAAAMQRTZENUGZPQWPERWR JPX0?UCIDs=850849%7C940496&PRID=1262419

Ordered on a sunday night and it was on my porch Tuesday afternoon. Kurt is Great (My 2nd Rondo Purchase - Got the AL3000 w/P-90s !)

Looks, feels Great!...Pups are somewhat lackluster though (expected).

I won a set of Fender Lace-Sensor Pups ($ 50.00) that should be in this week. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MEWA:IT
Ttried to buy it now, but someone had bid....he agreed to sell - what a great guy !

It probably won't look much different from the pics, although I will eventually install a Tort p-guard and maybe upgrade the bridge.
I like the funk-ee head (Nothing better than some funky head!)

We'll see how she sounds !

Later -

[Mikey]

OK, I just pulled the trigger for this one. Same thing you got Frank only in the sunburst. How do you like yours?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...735441945&rd=1
I got it from the Rondo site rather than ebay but the ebay site had better pictures. i really wanted to call Kurt but alas! no frikin number to call.
How'd I do?

[FrankJohnson]

Mikey -

Yes !
I REALLY like the feel - especially the neck. Tuners are ok, bridge is ok (neither is high end, but very servicable), Pups are ok (you can adjust your amp to compensate - they work ok)....

I agree with Doc, the Body and neck are where it's at! Upgrades starting with Pups is going to make it a real player.

I may do tuners and bridge later if I keep doing the bass thing. With Lace Sensors, I am still under $200.00 with shipping.

I really like the look of the sunburst. You made a great choice. Believe it or not, the ONLY reason I went with teh Olympic white was the funky flare on the head. I will probably do the Tort P-guard upgrade too. Note that it has 9 screws, not the typical 13 (or 14) of the P-Bass. That is only important if the holes under the new pick guard bother you after installation.

Did I mention that I really like the Neck?

I ordered on a Sunday night and had it Tuesday afternoon. Let me know how you fare.

I would be curious about your impression out of the box. I littel tweaking - starting with the truss rod, and you will be in great shape. I would also be curious about your rig in making the sound call.

Thanks for the feedback -

FJ

[FrankJohnson]

Lace Sensors are in -

Its put back together - now for a couple of days of settling in, adjusting to taste, and then, the String change.

Mikey - Let me know what you think. I never did the Pup changeout on anything like this, and it seemed too easy. The stock pups were kind of toyish compared to the Lace Sensors....
Second choice for cheap replacements was EMG select......

I wasn't crazy about the mounting, but I can do something about that later......

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electron...s_Pickups.html


EMG Select Hybrid Bass Pickup Set
A set combining the punch and clarity of Select's single-coil bridge-position bass pickup, with the smooth, warm response of their split pickup for bass. A popular and versatile combination for a wide palette of bass tones. Screws and shielded wire included. Blah blah blah.....

Later -

FJ

[Mikey]

OK, The EMGs look intersting for that price. Do you know if they just pop right in or will there be some mounting issues? I couldn't tell if your mounting comment was directed at the Lace or the EMGs.

Let's see..I ordered it Monday at noon, Should be here today or tomorrow.

I think I'm getting stoked...

[Mikey]

Know what? I'm thinking of outfitting this one with the covers and adding a thumb-rest just to dress it up and give it that 1962 look. What think ye?
Hmmmm, do you put a cover over the bridge pick up or just the mid pick up. Does the bridge cover also cover the bridge pick up?
Hmmmmmm

[FrankJohnson]

Mikey -
I like the idea of the covers - but I am not sure if it/they would interfere. More than likely some looks at a few older ones to see is in order.

I was unsure of actual fender mounting, but this has a screw through the pup, a spring into wood. I was not sure about actual hardware used. I would guess it is similar, but maybe with tubing instead of springs.

I agree on the thumrest. I will also add one to my bass.

I may replace pots and cap later on - but for now - she plays well. Action set up pretty low and clean.

Bass - 119
Shipping 21
Pups 50
-----------------------------
Does anyone have a calulator?

Not too bad - especially for an old guy to learn on.

Later on - Let us know about yours -
BTW - what rig did you say you were using?

FJ

[Mikey]

I didn't actually talk about rig yet. In fact all I have is a Peavey TKO 80, I think. My son uses it primarily because I've not had a bass guitat since the 70s. He uses the TKO for our practice sessions and leaves his Fender red knob 300 watter home for practice and brings it to the gigs. I'll be using the TKO for my knocking around.
The guitar is slated for delivery today. I'll be able to mess with it around 9:30 tonight. Friday is "install a new door day, after work. I have to go to Buffalo Staurday during the day and have a drumming gig Saturday night and then play at church Sunday. The first chance I'll get to do pictures will be Sunday evening after doing the lawn etc. Then I have Crossfyre practice monday night. I'll take "The Bull" (new name for the bass guitar) to that practice and let my son put it through it's paces. Offshore Angler will also be there. I'm sure he'll have some opinion that I can include in the review. When I open the box tonight I'll be sure to note all intial impressions and hoefully at least get the pictures into the digital camera. Download into the computer will probably have to wait until Sunday night.
Instrument - $119
Gig bag - $15
Shipping - $21
Total - $155

Good deal at twice the price...we'll soon see!

[FrankJohnson]

Mikey -
Sounds exciting! I don't think you will be disappointed if you keep in mind that it is not a $1200.00 machine. But after some upgrades....it should be close to a $400-$600 in feel and sound.

Musicians friend has the bridge, pup covers and thumbrest. I believe the Bridge pup will be exposed (memory from a pic I recently saw)

This is kind of cool - I don't think you will be disappointed....

Mine looked EXACTLY like on the webpage.

Of course....that will change eventually.

Thanks for the update.

FJ

[Mikey]

OK, Initial Impressions.......
Got the box when I got home last night at 9:45. Great packing job! Guitar in a plastic bag, that goes into a foam bag that goes into a box with neck rest that goes into the shipping box. On top of the guitar box and within the shipping box was the gig bag I ordered with the bass. The strings on the bass were wrapped and taped with some strange paper. Never saw that before. BTW, I noticed the headstock on mine is like the one pictured on the Rondo site for the Olympic White one rather than the one pictured on the burst. I like the vintage better so I'm happy.
Now, I start taking the guitar out of it's wraps and am amazed and very pleasantly surprized to see the headstock was a very rich vintage amber color with super flame both front and back. After gauking at that for a minute I slide the rest of the guitar out of the bag and remove the string wrapping. Back of the neck looked as good as the headstock. Just freakin' gorgeous! I ran my fingers up and down the the neck edge looking for the ever present bad trim job on the fret ends. Nope! not there. Very nice trimming and edging on the frets. Looking down to the neck pocket, everything fine there, on to the body. Surprize #2. It's a three color sunburst that starts out a little on the yellow side goes to red then to black. Great gradation on it. Front and back look fine. Took a look at the pick-ups, nicely seated into the pickguard and the bridge PU was trimmed into the wood nicely. Good tolerance and even gap all around. The bridge looked like it was up to the job. Flipped it over to look at the back, it was just plain perfect and beautiful. I'm telling you guys, So far this is as good or better than the Americans from Fender as far as fit and finish goes.
Not a fault anywhere.
That's as far as I got and I went to bed. More when I get to it.

[Mikey]

OK, Update time...
Sunday night I tuned it up and played a couple scales on it. Not Bad. Checked the intonation, dead nuts on! Again, Not bad. Put it on a stand to look it over at a distance and I found something I didn't like. It has to do with the wood matching on the front. It's hard to describe..0ne piece, on the treble side bout is noticably lighter than the rest. Sticks out like a sore thumb but it's mostly covered by the pick guard. It's finished well, but its just out of place. Listen to me...bitchin' over a minor color variation on a $120 guitar....what a dumbass!
Anyway, Last night I took it to Crossfyre practice and had my son, our bass player, give it a workout. He said it was a great guitar for that money. He played it for four or five of our songs and then put it away in favor of his Yamaha five string with EMGs. Something about "I need the five strings on this next song". Offshore Angler was there and gave it his approval. I especially like the neck look and feel and the headstock amberness...looks really vintage. I was surprised that no one said anything about switching out the pups. I thought that would be a given.
Pictures when I can... or look at earlier posts where I added a link to pics...It looks just like the pictures.
Nice Job Rondo and the kids in China!

[FrankJohnson]

Mikey -

I have to admit - I probably did not give the pups a fair shake....

The Lace Sensors are a nice touch though....no doubt.


I like mine and am still tweaking the action....which is VERY close right now. I may need to provide just a slight relief adjustment - and I believe it will be there.

Ordered strings and a thumbrest - no covers yet.

Tort Pguard to follow - I believe yours would be FANTASTIC with the shell guard and Chrome covers.......


In all - maybe the best $120 spent lately where you kept your clothes on?

Later - FJ

[dubya]

Hail to the HO!!


(oops, this is doc, not MrsDoc)

[FrankJohnson]

So......Mikey........
After a few days......what are you thinking? Sound, feel, odd piece of wood at the treble side?

Is she a keeper? I submit ...yes!

I go tonight to take mine out for a rumble. Lets see how she fares.

FJ

[Mikey]

Yes, it's definately a keeper unless someone else likes it enough to take it off my hands at twice the price. I love the feel of it and the sound is fine to my ears. My son only ran it through the TKO 80 at practice and it sounded fine. It has the prescence and tone needed for the music we were playing. The odd colored piece of wood on the treble bout is still there and it irks me a little just because it's kind of out of place. Otherwise the thing would be erfect for what I wanted. I'm considering a rename of the bull to something else because of the strange wood piece. My other guitars are named "Barbie", the MIM Strat std. I keep dressed up and looking fine all the time, "Babs", the MIM Nashvile Deluxe Tele that's the work horse and looks good in jeans, "Blondie", the Squire Custom II Tele w/P90s just because it's blonde. I was going to name this the Bull because it started with B, but I'm leaning towards "Blunder" because of the odd piece of wood. I like it OK, it'll do what I need it to. But, nothing in the stable is untoucable for the right price. I only need to make enough to get another and have some left over for gig beers. Blunder included. I can always get another one. I'm beginning to look at a chrome thumbrest, red tort pickguard, and chrome pup covers. I need to save up some money first though. I promise, I'll get arond to taking pictures soon. I'll need someone to host them for me though. I don't know how to do that anymore.

[Mikey]

OK, I've finally got pictures but haven't anyway to show them to you.
Suggestions?

[FrankJohnson]

Mikey -

I took the Lace Sensors out - originals back in.....not sure why/how, but they seemed to go anout half power. Maybe the pots, aybe the wiring ( on my part) and maybe they just fritzed.

A friend of ,mine ordered the Blue JAzz 4 string - should be in by Thursday. I am anxious to see, but really wanted to see a 4 string fretted J or P in Ash.

Maybe nex time -

Send me some pics at km-belmont@excite.com

I haven't posted any yet either, but may soon. I can send you pics of the Agile 3000 w/P90s, and a Black mahagony my friend got. I have two shots of it.

Maybe some of the other stuff if you are interested.

Later -