LeftyBassist.com

I'm looking to do some upgrades to my MIM Jazz. Long term I'd like a properly expensive one of course, but in the meantime I'll settle for a bit of wand-waving with this one.

It already has noiseless p/ups and a vintage Ashtray, but I'm keen to explore some possibilities. Stuff I had in mind was as follows:-

Active electronics - would need to drop straight in to the existing rout if possible (but will most likely need room for a battery anyway of course! );

New bridge - People I've spoken to mostly reckon the Badass is a good choice, but luthiers (such as Rodent) seem to prefer the Hipshot.

Would appreciate any thoughts folks have on this before I spend any money.

what's your comfortable skill level with routers, drill-presses, and other hand tools? I tend to base my specific answers on what someone is comfortable doing themselves, unless they plan to take it to a tech to have the work done

all the best,

R

Wouldn't call myself an expert but if I have detailed job spec I can do it provided it doesn't require overly specialised tools. I can use a hand router, for example.

(BTW, slightly OT here but am about to PM you regarding the Axiom.)

ok - things should be rather easy for you to mod

Tools needed: drill-press, Forstner bit(s), router, router bit (template style with bearing), routing template, razor knife

for the active electronics I'd recommend a couple different options ... I -was- a die-hard Aguilar OBP-1 enthusiast for years upon years, and then I loaded my first Nordstrand pre-amp into the Honeyburst Axiom. This pre-amp is musical even with all of the controls set full-on, and yet it's really transparent when set flat. I chose a Nordy 2-band configuration, but there's a 3-band if you need to control the mids. both of these are available in a 4-knob option, and I believe you can also get the 2-band in a three knob configuration.

whether you use a Nordy, Aguilar, Bart NTMB, or Audere, there should be enough room in the control cavity for your controls. all you'll need to do is add a battery box to the rear of the bass ... you can get a routing template from BestBassGear (http://bestbassgear.com/bass-pickup-templates.htm) once you have located the position, use masking tape to cover the area, place the template in position and draw a line on the edge, move the template away and score thru the finish just inside (waste side) of the line. use a Forstner bit in the drill-press to remove most of the cavity area, leaving around 1/16" on the sides and about 1/8" on the bottom. use double stick tape (I use 3M outdoor tape) to place the template in location and use the router with a template bit to clean up to the routing template sides and then take 1/4" deep bites until you have the final depth of the cavity. depending on the bit, you may need to remove the template part way thru and continue routing using the edge of the cavity to rest the router bit bearing against.

here's what the router bit should look like (I like a 1/2" bit about 1" long for this task)




I'm also a big fan of Nordy pickups. I'd be happy to make a recommendation if you know what kind of tone you're shooting for


For bridges I absolutely love a BAII ... but it's not really something that lends itself well for production basses since there is a significant amount of added work to properly slot the saddles. Because of this, I lean towards Hipshot bridges for my new builds

all the best,

R

Rodent,
you're in-depth knowledge and willingness to share it never ceases to amaze me. You ought to make a series of DIY videos. Betch they'd sell like hotcakes.

cheers,
Marc

Which Hipshot? I don't really like the style A, it looks like an ABM Mueller 3704 / 3705 but sounds very different. The ABM Mueller doesn't seem to colour the tone of a bass at all, whereas the Hipshot style A really adds a very unnatural and cold bite to the tone that I don't like. I do like the (brass version) style B and their vintage style bridge though.

Another good option would be a Gotoh 201. Like the Badass II, it has the same five screw positions as the stock Fender bridge and fits without the need to refill the old holes and drill new ones. It doesn't colour and alter the tone of your bass as much as a Badass II does (the Badass really gives a stock Jazz Bass a much more agressive tone with stronger, tighter and more focused lows and more brightness (I just had one installed on my MIJ '75 Jazz reissue).

I'm considering placing a preamp in my Jazz myself, so I'm very interested to see what preamp you'll choose and why. I'm leaning towards the Audere JZ3D (with added passive tone knob, that requires moving the jack to the side of the body) but in the end I might as well end up leaving the bass the way it is, I like its tone a lot and it's already very flexible the way it is.

Thanks for that Rod. I'd like it to look like it does now from the front so I'll most likely go with the 3 pot 2 band. I'd like to keep things relatively low key so at this stage I'll probably stick to a preamp + bridge upgrade and see how that sounds. I don't tinker with my instruments anywhere near as much as I used to, but this thing has a really good neck and I'd like to develop the sound a little so as to do it justice. Tonewise I value clarity more than weight for the most part (and in any case the mighty Aguilar OBP-3 in the SEI 5 gives me all the weight I need). Because of what I do I need to be able to play adequately in a range of styles, so versatility is a factor.

Thanks also to Jeroen for the useful stuff about bridges. Definitely food for thought.

just saw I didn't offer additional thoughts on the various pre-amps like I noted I would ...

I have not personally played thru an Audere pre-amp, but based on what I've read on their website and heard from clients who are 1st/2nd-call session players, I'd say that's a great choice as well as the Nordy pre. I don't like Bart pre-amps because they color the sound so much even when set flat. I'm also not big into J/U-Retros because their passive mode is more of a safety net that a true passive mode ... unless the design has changed in the last two years when I bought my last U-Retro. If passive tone is NOT your thing, then a J/U-Retro could be your thing especially if you were looking for install in a fretless where you wanted a pre with sweepable mids

I have tried Demeter pres, but I found them cold in every bass I tried them in. I'll confess that all of these basses had Bart soapbars, so maybe the Demeter would sound good with other pickups.


Thanks AzWhoFan. I learned much of what I know due to the generosity of others, and I do my best to share everything I can except for a select set of customization secrets that are unique to my RGW basses. As for a video - if a small child was to see my mug they'd be traumatized for life I don't know that I can take on that kind of insurance liability just yet

all the best,

R

I recently upgraded my MIM Jazz as well and put a Gotoh 201 bridge on it. I have a couple of these on a few of my basses and like them just as much as the BadAss II's. They also cost much less than the BAs and Hipshots.

Good luck on your project!

Thanks for all the great advice guys!

Current plan is to get a Gotoh bridge and a pre from the excellent looking Audere range - good reviews from a range of sources. I may record a set of B&A sound clips. Will let you know as it progresses.

Update as of 11th July - Have ordered a Gotoh 201 and an Audere JZ3 (2 x vol. + stacked T&B which keeps something like the original control configuration as I'm not a huge fan of separate mid control - IMHO you can usually do it with T&B).

Gotoh will arrive first, which will give me a good chance to get an A/B comparison before fitting the preamp.

Plan is to document changes, which will help me (and hopefully anyone else planning similar moves) get a clear picture of the effect each change has.

More soon.

Ok. The Gotoh has arrived and the task begins...

I'll be producing a series of sound clips as I go. Order will be: original config -> Gotoh -> Gotoh + Audere.

Hope is to provide some sort of reference point for others wanting to do a similar job (upgrading MIM Jazz's seems to be a popular pastime right now).

Just noticed that the Gotoh is designed to fit a right handed instrument. Seems to be plenty of play in the baseplate grooves though and I don't anticipate any problems. Should I?

What do you mean? I always thought it was symmetrical. I never noticed anything specifically righthanded about them when I played the righthanded MIJ '75 Jazz reissues of a friend of mine that have been equipped with the 201.

I've used the Gotoh 201 lefty, no problem.

Might be a recent development but the baseplate slots are progressively offset as you look across the plate. Will try to take a photo of it but my current camera is about as much use for macro as chocolate is for an ashtray.

Back soon.

Photo of Gotoh bridge - note how baseplate slots go prgressively back Right -> Left:-
(When I took this I'd already swapped the saddle intonation screws over but the setting of the slots on the baseplate is clearly visible.)



Sorry about picture quality!

a clearer image from the Warmoth site





there's noe of this nonsense with Hipshot bridges

Vintage bent plate -


Type B -


and the Type A is now available with an optional Fender hole pattern mounting -


all the best,

R

Thanks for the help with the photos Rod. (I really must buy a decent camera soon!)

A quick run over with a tape measure tells me I should be fine. Still annoying though.

That seem to square with your experience Matt?

I didn't have any problems with the Gotohs I've installed. They matched up perfectly.
They are a mass produced part so errors are possible, You could contact the retailer you got it from and ask to exchange it for another.