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BGRA: Jackson Custom Shop (San Dimas, CA) Concert Bass
| Manufacturer |
Jackson Custom Shop (San Dimas, CA) |
Model |
Concert Bass |
| Reviewer |
Tom Kesel |
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| Experience |
20+ |
Item owned |
A very, very long ti |
| Review Date |
2001-09-06 |
Price paid |
$900 (new in 1984) |
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Bass type | 4 string fretted |
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Neck join | Neck Through |
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Neck construction | maple (3-pc., I think) |
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Fignerboard | rosewood, 34" scale |
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Body | poplar, 2 pcs. |
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Finish | pearl white |
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Pickups | EMG p-bass neck, EMG humbucker bridge |
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Hardware | brass knobs, brass bridge, carbon fiber nut |
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Electronics | active pickups/passive tone-volume |
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This is a tough one. While I think that this is the nicest bass that I've
ever played, and have loved and adored it since 1984 when I bought it new
at Sam's Ass on 48th Street in NYC, I greatly dislike Jackson's heavy
metal focus. I know they have their little niche, but it would be nice if
they crawled out of it once in a while. The only folks that know how great
Jackson guitars/basses are tend to bang their heads a lot. How reliable can
they be?
Well in this case: very. Grover Jackson makes wonderful instruments at his
custom shop. It's now in Texas, but mine was built in San Dimas,
California. Sam Ash was one of Jackson's biggest dealers and ordered from
the custom shop on a regular basis. There was always a nice choice of great
axes at the 48th street location (not true anymore). Well, one day I walked
in and saw this gorgeous pearl white P-style bass and checked it out. It
hasn't left my hands since.
Damn. It plays like buttah. The neck is a work of art. Records without need
for massive EQ. Engineers are always suprised how great it sounds (it's a
Jackson, who knew?). Punchy, phat, clear, warm, no dead notes (it's a
neck-thru...don't get me started about bolt-ons...), stays in tune
forever, truly musical. I could cover any electric bass gig with this
beauty. But, of course, Jackson is for metal-heads. Maybe I should just
cover up the headstock...but the pointy, deadly thing would give me away.
I know that if I ever needed another bass, I'd have Jackson build me
another. Probably without the homicidal headstock (I always feel bad for my
wounded bandmates). This new bass would be all passive (I'm tired of
batteries -- and though these EMGs are dead-quiet, I'm not convinced that
active really improves an already great sounding bass. Besides, it's just
one more damn thing to go wrong.),and have a large double-jazz humbucker in
the bridge position in addition to the p-bass in the neck position. Other
than that, status quo...poplar body -- a very underrated tone wood in my
opinion. (People don't like it because it looks like greenish hell so it
has to be painted, but it is WAY punchy.) Neck thru, thick rosewood
fingerboard (maybe I'd try something a little weird like coco bolo).
And Jackson USA is a TRUE custom shop. They'll make anything. Really. None
of this semi-quasi-sort-of-custom. You want it, they'll do it. And
extraordinarily well. I think this bass is a testament to a luthier who had
this notion about making a very high-performance Fender P-bass without the
problems associated with them -- dead notes, no real highs, clunky bolt-on
heel, etc., and add some significant improvements: neck-thru, bridge pickup
(Jackson later on replaced the guitar-sized bridge humbucker with a j-bass
unit; a significant improvement, in my opinion), brass bridge, etc. But
kept the basic esthetics of a great, classic design.
I understand if the dedicated bassist with bux to spend on a custom bass
can't get past Jackson's metal-mania brand image, but if you can, they
make wonderful, musical instruments EXACTLY as you would envision them. If
you are into metal, you already know this.
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| construction |
 | (98%) |
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| playability |
| (100%) |
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| appearance |
| (98%) |
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| sound |
| (100%) |
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| value |
| (100%) |
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| overall |
| (98%) |
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