JB-75 SB Vintage Series : Great bass

For many years I have longed for a 70's style block inlay Jazz Bass however an example of the original item is well out of my price range and even the reissues cost more than I care to spend. When I happened to come across this by chance I knew I had to buy it there and then.

The bass arrives well wrapped and padded (Wrapped in a foam bag, double boxed and padded with air pillow padding). All it required was to bring the strings up to pitch and it was good to go.

I thought there had to be a catch considering the budget price, however I cannot find one. My example is a two piece ash body with a beautiful grain that can be seen through the yellow stain. The neck has real block inlay (not stickers) and cream binding. The bridge is a more substantial than the usual budget offerings and comes with the bonus of brass saddles. Wilkinson brand alnico pickups with waxed cloth wiring are a great addition especially at this price point. My only modification is to fit a black pickguard ? when removing the red tort guard I was surprised that the two pickup cavities are the only routing cavities on the body. Quite often I seen jazz bodies where the neck pickup cavity is connected to the control panel cavity with a channel that is obscured by the pickguard ? the result of this is that this bass will look fine with the pickguard should you prefer this look.

The bass is nicely balanced on a strap with no neck dive and produces all the usual jazz bass tones. The controls are smooth with a pleasing level or resistance when turned. The tuners do their job.

As others have mentioned, it does have some weight to it but nothing that is onerous to me. (My example weighs 9.7lbs).

Would happily recommend.