Ah this is super useful! Thanks for putting all this together.
I’m now using my jazz bass for the band as it sits in mix better and I was torturing myself the other day about thinking of maybe getting the ultra jazz to cover all areas.
I’ve got the ultra precision, so I know what you mean about the eq controls and what’s active or not in active or passive mode.
I can dial the ultra to get it how I like, but again, we’re enjoying the jazz tone in the band. So I’m currently using a jazz performer which is absolutely fantastic.
I think this has made me realise not to upgrade to the ultra. Which has saved me a lot of money
I do want to have a go on the jazz ultra though, just to confirm it in my mind!
Edit - I was confused about the starting point for knobs until I got the ultra P and just guessed that when it’s in the 0 position, it clicks into place, so I just assumed that was zero. Is that your understanding too from your post above?
You are most welcome, and it is my sincere hope that others may find it useful as well . . .
Exactly, @quadfather . . . As I said, I was so used to turning all the knobs clockwise (from 1 o’clock to 11 o’clock) to increase the value of whatever the knob was for, I assumed it was the same for the tone knobs on the Ultra Jazz. So when I turned either the third or forth knob all the way CCW (thinking it was zero), I was actually subtracting the dB value of the bass or treble or midrange. This resulted in what I perceived as an increase in volume.
(I should have paid a little more attention to the tiny “+” and “-” signs).
So the only problem I really had with the Ultra was just a “loose nut” behind it . . .
Thank you for your post and good luck to you & your band!
I’d be very much interested in the tone experiments and their results from your perspective. I’m still trying to do the same on the precision version. And I’m also desperately trying not to look at that artic pearl version of the jazz ultra! My willpower is fading, and only you can help (or damn) me!!
Meanwhile, I’m giving my vintera jazz some love. Hopefully she still likes me - it’s been a while. You know what it’s like
Glad you made the purchase and as noted in the notes above it is something to have great conversations about every time someone sees it. I own a lot of Squire basses. I ordered a Fender a few years back and it cost me like $1599 at that time. When it arrived there were issues. I sent it back and they scheduled to make me another. When the second arrived it too had issues and I had to return it. I ordered a gloss finish on the neck and both showed up with satin finish. On the second on there was marks in the finish from shipping and handling. The bass was shipped in its own box and the end flap was open when it arrived. I have had issues with Squire’s as well and had to return them but with the difference in cost I don’t feel as bad about it. As long as the build on a bass is great the rest can easily be upgraded and I don’t have $2000 invested. As an example… I bought a Squire CV 70’s Jazz Bass. It has the maple neck. It has a maple body. The finish on it was flawless ( I am very picky about how the finish looks). It’s weight is heavy which from my perspective is a plus. The tuners work perfect so I did nothing with them. The electronics worked as expected and were really fine. I replaced the bridge with a HipShot High Mass bridge, the pickups with Split Coil AlNiCo Humbucking Jazz Bass Pickups. I replaced the jack with a PureTone Mutli-Contact jack. The nut was bone and needed a bit of lowering (for my playing preference) although how it was setup from the factory was fine. I made the adjustments when I completed the setup on the new bridge. I also add a switch so I could switch the tone pot cap, using the .050 micro it had in it and adding a .1 micro so I could get that old school tone out of it. The bass is now amazing. I have $500 in it and I wouldn’t take $5000 for it if someone wanted me to sell it. It’s now exactly what I wanted from this purchase at a reasonable cost.
I want one of those ultra models so badly!!! Particularly the ocean torqouise color variant. Anything beats the saddles of my bridge oof, and those look cool!
Just did a comparison of the Ultra “passive vs active tones” in my ongoing eternal search for the elusive “John Entwistle” tone . . .
My Rumble 100 EQ settings were all at noon, volume at 9 o’ clock, no effects, no overdrive.
I used an easy track: “Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker)”. I started with “active” and kept adjusting the knobs on the Ultra back and forth until I was satisfied my tone matched the track.
Here’s a pic of the John Entwistle settings that I finally arrived at: Midrange at 10 dB, Bass at zero dB, and Treble at 5 dB .
Next, I turned the Ultra back to “passive”, set all the EQ to zero dB, and the “passive tone” all the way up to 10 dB. Then experimented with the Rumble EQ settings to match the track.
I found that setting both the Low and High Midranges and the Treble all to 3-4 o’clock and leaving the Bass at noon, gave the best match to the tone (which made sense, based upon what I’ve read about Entwistle’s tonal preferences).
BUT . . . although the volume and the tone between the active and passive settings were pretty close, the active settings were still just a bit richer and had fuller depth than the passive settings.
After some more time, I will compare the Squier vs the Ultra passive settings.
I’m still intrigued by it. I’m just wary because when I used to use my ultra P in the band, it’s too much - I haven’t got enough knowledge with the EQ yet to get it to sit right. Tbh, our music suits the jazz cut through anyway, and the P kinda doesn’t fit because I can’t get the right tone - it’s that much not suitable. I’m sure I could tweak it, though so far I can’t seem to get it to sit in the mix properly, whereas the performer jazz - well, you simply plug it in and off you go and everything’s perfect.
I used to have a P-Bass and a J-Bass years ago (before marriage & children, etc.). I found I liked the Jazz better, and when I started the course I bought a Squier J-Bass. It’s probably easier to make a J sound like a P, than the other way around.
I was in the process of comparing the Squier to the Ultra passive settings (as I mentioned in update #3 above) and wanted to report on my progress. I did purchase a set of Fender American Series strap buttons from Sweetwater:
I swapped out the Squier flare type strap buttons with these and noted that the screws were slightly different: the new ones were slightly thinner and longer than the ones originally on the Squier, and the old ones on the Squier wouldn’t fit through the new buttons, so I couldn’t re-use the screws. I wasn’t happy about this but I went ahead, thinking that the extra length would bite into the wood a bit more, which it did seem to do.
The real problem turned out that the locks I installed on my strap would not quite fit on the new locking strap buttons . . . I had to really push them on.
As I was switching back and forth between the two basses to test the tonal differences, I almost dropped the Squier a few times because the strap locks kept popping off the buttons, so I had to abandon the test.
As a quick summary at this point though, I can safely say that the Squier and the Ultra (in passive mode) do in fact sound almost identical using the same noon EQ settings on the amp. I verified that the Ultra in active mode at these amp settings sounded much louder and fuller than the Squier. When I switched back to the Squier, I also verified that the tones matched the Ultra when I reset the amp EQ settings to match those on the Ultra’s control panel
Lessons learned so far: there’s nothing at all wrong with the Squier VM Jazz Bass! I just should have purchased a separate strap for it. The rubber grommet strap locks only work with flare style strap buttons. Do not buy those Fender locking strap buttons expecting them to mesh with the strap locks that came with the Ultra; better to buy a complete set of locks and buttons from Schaller, because they are of higher quality than Fender:
However. . . after playing the Ultra exclusively for the past 10 days or so, and then picking up the Squier, I did notice some very, very subtle differences between the necks, and I will say that the Ultra’s neck does feel better, and that the overall appearance, fit, and finish is also better.
I will swap back and forth between the two basses a bit more before I come to a final conclusion, but it looks as if the Ultra is indeed a winner and worth the money . . .
I would be surprised if the Squier would feel exactly the same. The selling point of premium basses is mostly about better quality (and durable) components. I think those subtle differences will become quite big if you tour with the same bass for a year. Assuming we are all rockstars
Remember that you can purchase Schaller S-locks in different finishes. I personally like the nickel ones for a bit more subtle look.
