วีดีโอ

In terms of $, very very true. I think the Dimarzio Model P is their more affordable P offering. In terms of voicing though, I don't think the midrange in the Dimarzios are the same as the Toneriders. It's more modern sounding and less pokey to me. But in the end, I think it really comes down to getting the voicing to match what you hear in your head and one that compliments the natural voice of the instrument. Thanks for watching!!

Hi! Thanks for watching from so far away! The Player series (made in mexico) is a pretty good value. I think it is more or less what the old 'American Standard' used to be 5-6 years ago. The prices have all gone a little crazy high.....not sure what they are like in Chile. The Fenders coming out of Mexico now are more consistent now, but some are still better than others, so best to try if possible. The Player series is a noticeable tonal step up from the Squiers. Good luck!

@@jonathanwong458music Thanks,now I have to decide between the Jazz or the Precission....

The price tag in Chile is about 900 US Dollars

@@georgegandara6054 wow, that's expensive (for a player series)! In Canada, they are closer to 700US.

Chile is the most expensive country in South America.......I am saving my pennies to buy the Fender Player ( deciding between Jazz or Precission) my hands are small ,good enough fpr the Jazz,but I like the Precission sound) thanks for replying ....keep up with your good work!!!👍

Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!

Right on! A while ago, I had a Jazz bass with Lindy Fralins in it....regret having sold it. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching and commenting!

Thanks for watching and engaging!

Cool! Thanks for sharing and for watching!

Thanks for watching! Might be brighter/less muddy with steel strings?

You are so kind! Thank you for your viewership! I really appreciate it.

I have a: - Fender JMJ Mustang Short-scale Bass - Squier Classic Vibe Mustang Short-scale Bass - Gretsch G2220 Short-scale Bass.

Thanks for watching from the other side of the world! The reach in the first few frets really became an issue. For a long time I was playing 34-35" scale 5 strings strung E to high C! So F, F# and Gs on the low string simply became impossible. In my right hand, muting the low strings while plucking with index and middle also became too painful. So these days, I am mostly on 4 strings. I still get significant muscle fatigue, so I don't play for extended periods of time anymore. I can get through a Sunday morning set now, but I don't dare do too much more. The majority of my videos on TH-cam were recorded in 1-2 hours in a single morning. Warts and all! Joints get worse as the day goes on. So short scales have really allowed me to get some music in with less joint and muscle pain. Not none, but more tolerable. I still can't fully straighten the 4th and 5th fingers in my RH. Guess one just has to work with what one is given. Hope the JMJ is working out for you! And thanks so much for watching!

​@@willistaylor4077I've heard from multiple reputable sources that the jmj is the best mustang in current production...if I weren't allergic to signature models I'd probably own one

Re JMJ. solid instrument! The neck was a tad chunky for me, but I have tiny hands. LOVE the daphne blue.

In terms of scientific method, you're correct. There are many other variables at play (pickups included). In this instance, I think the strings are playing a role as the Fender nickels tend to have a bit of tamer high end compared to D'Addario XLs. To really convince ourselves... scale length being the only variable, we would have to make 2 different test basses from the same chunks of wood and with the same electronics and strings. And built at the same time! Thanks for your input and for watching!

​@@jonathanwong458musicThat's the problem with comparing longscales and shortscales...the strings are inherently different by design and will never be the same...that being said, there's alot to like about both those jazzes, but it's horses for courses

The Junior jazz is quite a bit bigger, actually. The scale lengths are different (28.6" vs 30"), but the offset body shape of the jazz makes it longer. I don't have a Mini P anymore to give you actual measurements, but the Mini fits in an electric guitar bag. The jazz would stick out of the same bag by a few inches. The body width of the jazz is also wider. Scale is hard to gauge in videos, but the Junior jazz is not that much scaled down from the vintage jazz in this video. In contrast, in a video I made comparing the Mini with a standard precision, the mini looked really tiny in comparison. Thanks for watching!

@@jonathanwong458music OK thank you - your videos are very helpful.

@@1966Graham Thanks so much for your viewership! Much appreciated.

Thanks for watching! I’ve played a few vintage fenders from the 60s and 70s that were really underwhelming. But this particular’68 has something special! Some secret sauce! My junior jazz has been great for me so far!

That’s a great observation and point. The junior jazz came stock with 105s. However, with my arthritic hands and chewed up fingertips, I generally find 105s more difficult and painful to play than what I’m willing to put up with. So I put 100s on to make my life easier. It’s smaller sounding, but it’s a compromise. 105s would sound bigger. May lose some wirey-ness and overtones up top with the higher tension but gain more lows and body. Thanks for watching!

@@jonathanwong458music my pleasure. I really like your videos 👍

Thanks so much for supporting my little channel! Much appreciated!

Thanks for watching! This particular example was pretty quiet both from a noise cancellation and microphonic perspective. Striking the body and pickup shell did not result in any booms or tapping noises. However, the Fleor I tested in episode 17 was microphonic, unfortunately. With these inexpensive pickups I think the QC may not always be perfectly consistent - so some may be noisy while others fine. Guess it depends who dipped it in the wax and on which day!

Thanks so much for watching!

@@jonathanwong458music I just checked the Fender website. It’s early and I’m only a little awake. I couldn’t find the short scale Junior Jazz Bass. I’ve switched to short scale Basses. They’re more manageable (smaller body) and easier on my left hand. 😎

Depending on where you live, I think the Fender website is geared towards only showing you things that are available in your country. I purchased my MIJ junior jazz from a Japanese dealer on eBay. They also have selection of junior electric guitars, but last I looked, they only had a Jazz bass. No Precision bass offerings yet, unfortunately.

Thanks for watching! Although not with the Duncan, I made a video where I put Thomastik flats on this Bronco! Here's a link: th-cam.com/video/SXmrVDORT_Q/w-d-xo.html

Right on! The junior jazz is a great sounding instrument and comfortable to play! Thanks for watching!

Not crazy at all! I’ve mentioned that the stock pickup has a unique growl and grind to its tone! Just the noise and hum I don’t like, but it’s part of the charm of single coils. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching and commenting!

Thanks so much for watching! Glad it was helpful!

Thanks so much for watching!

PS. I have an autoimmune arthritis, so shorties have also been a game changer for me!

Thank you so much for your encouragement and for watching!

Right on! Appreciate the virtual friendship. Thanks for watching!

Fluorescent neon yellow would be awesome! There used to be a neon green model. Thanks for watching!

@@jonathanwong458music Arent the minions characters yellow.?

hahahahaha. yes, yes they are. Eye/glasses at the P pickup. mouth at the J. I can't un-see it now!

Yes indeed! I’m trying to orchestrate a comparison with a Fender MIJ reissue Mustang with rounds (trying to borrow one!). If I can’t make that happen, I can try with my Groove Mustang (also with rounds). Thanks for watching!

Thanks so much for watching and for your encouragement! Re: higher quality mini basses. There are several boutique-type builders who make short scales now (30"). But the 28.6" is more rare in the high quality tier. Although I have never played one, Form Factor makes a few 30" and a mini 27" basses. They are on the expensive side, however. In the lower tiers, CNZ and Flight both make mini jazz basses. You may have seen from my videos that it was medical issues and autoimmune arthritis and muscle problems that led to my journey with short scale basses. This is after owning probably 30+ 34" and 35" 4-5-6 string basses! Knowing what I know now, I think the G string sounds so much rounder and less pingy on a 30" compared to a 34". And they are so much easier for me to reach and play. With that in mind, in terms of a 'giggable' bass. Here are my perspectives - knowing that I am quite biased! a) A giggable bass is the one that allows you to play your best. The one that allows you to focus on the music instead of the instrument. It matters less if it's neon green, a 28" or a 35" scale, active or passive, made from a 'real' tonewood or chipboard etc. It is also the instrument that doesn't cause you physical pain, which in certain circumstances may not be reversible. *Most people in the audience do not care what instrument you play*. Except for maybe fellow guitar and bass players! The audience only cares about how convincingly you play and whether you are vibing the appropriate way, in the context of your particular gig. I play short scale basses 90% of the time these days and no one seems to mind (or notice). I play better on them, I can play longer on them and it doesn't hurt nearly as much. b) What you hear on my videos is the same Line6 patch I use in a live application. Direct to FOH. Same settings. So you're hearing the same thing the mix engineers get (and what I hear from my powered speaker). The Mini can be a giggable bass! The voicing/tone from the stock pickup is a bit aggressive and harsh sounding (for me), but EQ can tame that down. The right replacement pickup may help you achieve 'your sound' and may be a little more reliable. Similarly, a better bridge, pots and jack might help with reliability and adjustability, but there's nothing wrong per se with the stock setup. Hope this is helpful. Thanks for watching and reading!

@@jonathanwong458music Hey mate, thank you really for that answer! Actually didn't know about your state, that encourages me even more to keep playing :) ANd I guess you're right, as long as I can play, thats the best Instrument you can get. No matter the size,form or color! I appreciate that!

@derpderpson8796 My pleasure! I have a form of dermatomyositis. I've talked a bit about it in a few of my earliest videos. Life changing, for sure. Can't walk or breathe properly, so it puts things in perspective and has made me prioritize certain things differently. It's also the reason why I play with a glove on my fretting hand. I hope your joints calm down a bit and allows you to play more music!

Thanks for watching and for the feedback! I don’t play much guitar anymore these days, unfortunately.

They’re quite tonally different! I liked the Novak Fats too. Thanks for watching!

​@@jonathanwong458musicThat stankface you were making in the first comparison tells me you were really digging the beefy girth of those novaks...I take it the novaks would be better for filling in the sound in a trio, while the lollars would be better for cutting through a dense mix?

Hahaha! Did my stankface give it away?! Yeah, I am digging the character and beefier bottom of the Novaks. The Lollars, albeit traditional sounding, were a bit too clean for what I'm looking for. If I wanted clean, my multi-laminate bass with bartolinis does that. From a Mustang, I want some attitude! But also agree that in a dense mix, some of the character would probably just get lost and be less noticeable. Thanks for watching!

@@jonathanwong458music I'm there with you, I don't want a mustang to be polite, leaving some clank in there can do it a world of good

Yeah man!

Thanks so much for watching! Depending on what becomes available to me, I might be able to make more comparisons!

Thanks so much for watching and for such a generous offer! With your Squier, are your pickups in the smaller/vintage 40mm size?

@@jonathanwong458music I have the Duncan Design and Custom Shop in the large size and all of the others are the small sized units. I have all of them mounted in pick guards, 4 are totally wired and the others are just the pickups mounted in new bare pick guards with no wiring.

I featured the Duncan Design that came stock in my Schecter mustang in Ep.1. Sounded very tonally similar to the True Custom Shop in my opinion. I also featured the Nordstrand NM4 in Ep.2. Those were much more P-bassy in tone and midrange. How did you like the Seymour Custom shop?

​@@jonathanwong458musicI haven't heard those pickups. The Mustang pickups that I have are the Squier Classic Vibe, Tornado split coils, Duncan Designed, Fender Vintera, Jerry Sentell (large poles), Northern from the UK and one other set that I currently have installed but can't remember what they are. The Duncan Design is the large size and is mounted in a bare pickguard. All of the others are the small size and are all mounted in pickguards other than the Tornados.

Sorry, I misunderstood. Thought you had the Seymour Duncan custom shops! Sounds like a great collection of pickups. Do you have a favourite?

Right on! Thanks for watching!

Pretty classy looking! Thanks for watching!

Of the ones I had and after optimizing the setup, the Ibanez Mikro had a higher output. Thanks for watching!

Thanks so much for watching! Yeah, a maple board would be great, similar to how the sonic Bronco has a maple board option (which I liked better than the laurel).

@jonathanwong458music Yes sir. I have made a ton of Tele-basses using the Bronco necks. Then build a Telecaster body and you have something unique. My bass player played one forever. Now he plays the short scale Sterling Stingray. It is a fantastic bass. I would like to get a hold of a sub 30" neck to see how far I could push it. In my experience putting heavier strings gets the sound back up on par with 32 and 34 inch. We are currently running 105's. I think at this 28" I would run 110's. Probably have to drill the body and double the string back to use long scale strings but, that would be easy enough.

Sounds like a really cool project! 110s in such a short string wound length is a rare bird if not custom only, so increasing the string length at the body is a great work-around.

@@jonathanwong458music 👍

Thanks for watching! The one example of the Gibson I tried had a funny balance. I think the G&L is probably more versatile too.

Thanks for watching! It's a great piece of history!

I haven't yet! I'd like to, though. The pole piece design looks very interesting. How did you find the output of these? Thanks for the suggestion!

​@@jonathanwong458musicHi Jonathan - Delivery 2/3 weeks - Will let you know once installed.

Awesome. Thx!

Right on! Thanks for listening and watching!

The pickups on the Mikro are Ibanez's own (not Fenders). However, the PJ naming is pretty widely used among bass players and pickup manufacturers. Even Ibanez uses it! Here's a link for the Mikro's website: www.ibanez.com/usa/products/detail/gsrm20b_2y_07.html

@@jonathanwong458music Thanks Jonathan!

Pleasure! Hope you find a nice bass that fits and suits your needs!

Thanks for watching! Re P and PJ pickups. Are you asking about the naming? Historically, P is short for Precision bass (the split pickup in the neck position) and J is short for jazz bass (the single coil bridge pickup). Fender naming. Or are you asking about something else? The Mikro has volume pots for both pickups, so you could get a blend Eg 100% neck with 75% bridge pickups. You could have a tech put in a true blend pot and a master volume too. Please let me know if are asking about something else? Happy to answer if I can!

Thanks man! The Blue P bass is my friend/neighbour’s. It’s a MIM standard from 10-12 years ago. Was when you could still buy a Mexican fender for $650 cdn. But quality was more inconsistent then. The track is from my ‘In Repair’ album. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching! Re glove. I have an autoimmune disease (a form of dermatomyositis) that has affected my muscles, skin and joints. As a result, I have lots of vasculitic spots and sores on my finger tips and I have chronic inflammation in my hand joints. The glove is there for pain control as it cushions the impact and friction from the strings. If you wish to know more, I made a video on this topic! Here's as link: th-cam.com/video/OQcV8KDUqlg/w-d-xo.html

That's so wonderful to hear that your wife likes the mezzo! Thanks for watching and for your kind words!

Thanks for watching and for your encouragement! The Aguilar 4P-60 is a much more balanced-sounding p/u. Nothing is hyped. The QPs are loud and tends to squash the more subtle things and scoops out the mids. Really depends on what sort of tone one is going after!

Thanks for watching! I used a pickguard from a PJ mustang to get the pickup placement. I show it in the EMG geezer butler episode. If you send me an email through my bandcamp page (address in the description box) I can send you a scan. The pickguard is one I made from fiberboard and cut it by hand.

@@jonathanwong458music Oh, thanks. I actually have a PJ mustang pickguard laying around. I did not know they were that close lol Great video btw

The neck pocket is the same. I used it only to get the pickup placement the same. That’s the sweetspot for the scale length! Thanks for watching!

Definitely, NOT imitating MJ! Actually, I have an autoimmune disease (a form of dermatomyositis) that has done bad things to my skin, muscles and joints. As a result of this, I have lots of vasculitic spots and sores on my fingertips and lots of arthritis in my hands. The glove is really only there as a form of pain control. It cushions the impact and friction from the strings. I don't wear one on my plucking hand because it changes the tone too much for my liking. But these gloves have been a game changer and allows me to still sort-of play music. I've made a video on these gloves, should you be interested! Here's a link: th-cam.com/video/OQcV8KDUqlg/w-d-xo.html

@@jonathanwong458music I was just pulling your leg, Jonathan 😀 I was touched by your story and the autoimmune situation you live with. You are actually one of the very best reviewers on TH-cam. Comprehensive, thorough, with very usable information. I am a guitar player but you've convinced me as to the wonders of short-scale basses. Bravo! (and thanks)

Thanks for the encouragement!! I used to get lots of funny looks and comments at gigs ("hey, did you just come from your garden?!....forget your shovel?"). I actually switched to the beige coloured gloves so it doesn't draw quite as much visual attention. Thank you for watching my videos and for your kind words!

Thanks for watching! I do not think it will fit, unfortunately, for 2 reasons. The first, is that the more traditional Mustang bass has both a plastic guard and a metal plate for the controls, whereas the Bronco guard is a single piece of plastic. The second reason, is that the screw holes would not line up. I tried putting a mustang metal plate on my Bronco, different hole locations. You could, however, fill all the bronco holes (dowel plug them), and re-drill new holes. (My Schecter mustang copy has a single piece pickguard but the holes were no where near the bronco holes. I tried that too!) Putting mustang pickups in a bronco is a cool idea, though. The pickup placement would not be in the same mustang location, however. Should you be interested, I made a video on this exact topic! th-cam.com/video/lpAmNsYBLH4/w-d-xo.html

I've seen it! Can't go wrong with either, but I think I like the grindier nature of the Novak from his clips. You can add low end, but you can't add harmonic grind or midrange in the same way. We'll see what happens with my test. I haven't tried them yet!!