What's the better bass if Alembic was not around?

[hendixclarke]

I already like the name Jaydee's (like the movie from the 70's JD's revenge).
 
Anyway, Paul thank you for sharing this information with me. I never heard of this company.  
 
JD basses sure does look like an Alembic, and they even build them with the XLR's too!(only JD use's a three pin modular jack.) JD basses have the Alembic shape I love. The wooden pickups, are dam, yummy too (that is different!). The body with first glance, has Alembic written all over it; and even the bridge says this too.
 
Hey, if Mark King loves them, heck its probably another bad ass bass. And yes, if Alemebic was not around, I probably would consider owning this bass no doubt.
 
Thanks for sharing this information.

[white_cloud]

Hey, I have got to tell you I had a Jaydee supernatural back in the late eighties..dont even go there!!! They looked very cool but were not even in the same league as many other good basses around at the time never mind Alembics! Mark king originally bought one because he couldnt find an Alembic in his local muso emporiums..he saw the JD, thought it looked like an Alembic and bought that. Soon after L42 made it big, Jaydee noticed Marks preference for their basses and quickly cut him a nice endorsement deal! Turned out to be a very high profile piece of fortune for JD! Jaydees had a weak output and a poor tonal range in my opinion. I bought mine on impulse and regretted it. I was lucky enough to own a WAL custom shortly after and that had a KILLER tone, far superior than the Jaydee! I was also lucky enough to own a VIGIER passion, that was also far superior to the Jaydee. When it comes to Jaydee all that glitters aint gold my friends!!!

[bigbadbill]

I've played many Jaydees and they've varied enormously. I've also played quite a lot of Wals and so have they.  The first Jaydee I had wasn't good. The 2nd Jaydee I had was great but I had to sell it because it was too heavy; it played and sounded killer though. The easiest-playing bass I've ever played was a Jaydee (Roger TVR will back me up on that because he played the same one); the setup was unbelievable. My Wal Custom wa actually one of the least successful basses I've ever owned; I px-d my Pedulla MVP for it and unfortunately it turned out the Pedulla was much better(IMO).

[hendixclarke]

Look, we all know Alembic is #1 and I'll just leave it at that.  
 
Sounds like JayDee's are not even #20 on the list from the sound you guys made...  
 
Hey, what can I say... I never even heard of the bass before until Angelboy. After looking at the bass, I said it was a an alembic copy.  
 
Now I remember this bass....
 
Oh yeah, this was the bass Michael Henderson showed on his album cover back in the 80's. Yeah, I thought it was cool looking bass back then. However, I never knew who made them.
 
I can't comment on the action, because I never played one. But based on you guys, it sounds creepy but I don't know... I would love to play one for myself.

[adriaan]

Pace,
 
I notice you mentioned about the Godlyke, The single coil is a little noisey on it's own, but the amount of headroom in the preamp makes up for it.
 
You cannot compensate for a noisey pickup with headroom in the preamp - once you have a source of noise in the circuit, you can only amplify it. If it's nice sounding noise, then by all means go for it, but if not then replace the source of the noise.

[bigbadbill]

Hendrixclarke, I think you misunderstood my point. Some Jaydees are fantastic. I've played more good ones than bad ones; in fact I can quite categorically state I've played good and bad examples of every make of bass guitar out there, Alembic included. Two of the worst basses I've played (IMO) were a couple of 70s Alembic Series basses. My 2nd Jaydee was bought in preference to a 1980 Alembic Series 1; it played and sounded just as good, looked great, and was ?1500 cheaper, so I'm certainly not saying they're bad. You just have to find one that you like, which is true of any make. Jaco played a Jaydee and apparently loved it, so much so that Jaydee built some guitars for him which were unfortunately not delivered before he died. Mark King also played them for years, so they can't be that bad!!  
 
When Jaydees became popular via Mark King in the early-ish 80s, John Diggins (Jaydee - get it?) expanded his operation and had many people working for him building basses trying to keep up with orders - he has described it as a nightmare. It's possible that quality may have suffered in that period. Eventually, unhappy with this situation he downscaled again and now there is just him and his son (IIRC). He is very much a custom builder too, so all of his basses will vary somewhat.

[white_cloud]

On reflection I think thats a very valid point, perhaps Jaydee became a victim of their success for a period of time. A lot of british players went wild for them because of Mark King, but I have heard that he loved Status basses just as much at that time! Status basses definately had a more consistant sound,tone and feel purely because they had graphite necks! I have heard that Jaco loved Jaydee basses and I guess it wouldnt have mattered what he played...it would still sounded like Jaco!

[FC Bass]

Jaco with Jaydee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XKr_6MzZTw

[white_cloud]

Very cool footage, I love Frank Gambale. Jaco isnt a bad player either

[hendixclarke]

No, I understood your point, but you were not the only person I was directiong my comments. I try to stay neutral on the matter because like I said: I never played a JayDee before. At face value, I am, and always favorable for any bass company that gets in this game with their ideas; and for the most part, deserves my personal respect for such an achievement. Heck, to have Jaco P. And Mark K. play your design of bass, is one hell of an honor. But at the same time, these guys could make any bass sound great. But, they chosen JayDee and that said something of value to me.  
 
White_Cloud said:
 
Hey, I have got to tell you I had a Jaydee supernatural back in the late eighties..dont even go there!!!...
 
Music companies are always under contraints of COST, QUALITY and TIME and TIMING.... to get it right consistanly.  
 
I bought a brand new battery for my motorcycle, I tried to charge it, and it woundn't charge. Guess what, I exchanged it for a new one same brand and it worked fine. As long as the majority of the band is consistant, I stay loyal. However, if this become a consistant problem, I witch brands.
 
Quality control only means: make the majority of your products with Zero defects -> translate to: 95/100% or 6 Sigma quality.  
 
Like you said:  
 
Two of the worst basses I've played (IMO) were a couple of 70s Alembic Series basses.
 
Yeah, I agree. I played Alembics from the 80's, 90's and 2000 and I love my 70's S1 better than any of them hands down. What's good for me, is not necessary good for others.
 
Maybe its the wood, the materials, the cut, electronics... who knows. It's just a matter of taste and taking control and being in charge of knowing what your like's and dis-like's in an open mind.  
 
Heck, I might one day get a chance to play a JayDee, and love it even better than any Alembic. It's possible. But out of percentages in playing many basses, who failed to switch my opinion from Alembics, the chances are, JayDee probably will not switch my mind, but I am open for the chance to be blown away...
 
Hey, the world is owned by nobody. Alembic has to keep fighting to stay king of the hill. If, Alembic slip from the stand point of the present tense, in their new lines of basses, it still has no impact on me because I am not shopping for a brand new bass. I have an old one, which I love more than anything they got in the showroom of any  guitar company.  
 
In otherwords, quality last a long time. I am going to drive this bass until the neck falls off...

[white_cloud]

It is purely a matter of taste Hal. Jaco may have loved his Jaydee, but he loved his beat up old Fender more than anything else he ever played! Mark King loved his Jaydee, but he loved his Alembic more when he made the switch! Geddy lee loved his Ricky 4001, then went from a 72 Jazz to a Steinberger, was blown away by a Wal and ended back up with the jazz!
 
The thing is I can only call it as I see it in my honest and unbiased opinion from the experiences that I have had!  
 
Jaydee basses are probably as hard to pick up in the US as Alembics are in the UK. As someone who has Owned a Jaydee I thought it would be interesting to share my experience with USA bass lovers who have maybe not had the chance to pick up a Jaydee. I was perhaps unlucky with the Jaydee axe, but the reality of that particular instrument was that it was trouble from the word go. The build quality was not what I thought it would be, and on reflection I owned a Musicman Stingray at the same time that was everything that the Jaydee wasnt..punchy, powerful and reliable! But hey, thats life!  
 
Anyway, I had better call it a day with this one or else John Diggins may take out a contract on me!!! I can see the news headlines now..
 
Man beaten to death with handmade Alembic lookalike!

[hendixclarke]

Damn Right!
 
I seen that video of Jaco with the JayDee, and it didn't even sound close as good as the beat-up; bar-fight looking; sledge hammer of a Fender bass Jaco played.  
 
THAT BASS MADE SOUNDS NOTHING CAN COPY. JACO CREATED SOUNDS, NOT OF THIS EARTH.  
 
The JayDee bass, had a less fluid sound, and it looked like a struggle for Jaco to play. It looked like we was fighting the thing to act/play right (as if he was taming the thing). He still sound OK, but not the Jaco signature sound (melodic sound) I loved. The JayDee even looked ackward to play.  
 
Also, White_Cloud...
 
Man, stay honest bro. I respect your statements and insights. To know what your want, based on what you played, is a cool position to be in, because experience is king. Besides, you corrected your problem with the very best bass in the world.  
 
Nuff-said...
 
IMO Jacko, is/was a better Bass Player than Mark King anyway IMO. So Jaco, was all one needed to say. Jaco Played a Fender Bass, and those basses are one of the most non-consistant basses ever!
Never where there two Fenders basses just alike anywhere, and I bet, that was the reason Jaco just kept his bass until his end. Like Jaco, the Fender Bass could never be recreated again. I miss him man... I really do.

[white_cloud]

He was the best. I miss him too

[hendixclarke]

Life is not supposed to be an upswing everyday. Life is living every emotional mood and is good for the sake of life it self.  
 
It?s good to be happy, sad, bored, angry, confused, sympathetic, creative, boastful, laidback, jovial, merciful, compassionate, directional, robotic, ill, sexy, cool, persuasive, perceptive, cheated, conquered, vanquished, and rational.
 
Once drugs enter the body, all normal moods of life (above), becomes out of synchronization and order. You?re sad, when you should be happy and rational when you should be laidback, or feeling conquered when you?re vanquished.    
 
Drugs kills this ordering, synchronization and sequencing of moods. I call it emotional moderation of mood controllers or monitor receptors.

[lbpesq]

Sorry.  Does anybody else try to post, get an error message that it didn't post, and then find out that it did, resulting in double posts?  That's what happened here.
 
(Message edited by lbpesq on November 24, 2007)