Lesson learned: My ol' Jaydee taught me.

After 23 years the fingerboard of my old Jay Dee Supernatural and its truss rod had to be replaced. In the meantime I had entered this dangerous phase of my life when I want to know basses inside out - the most recent by-product of it being the upcoming Uber-J ;) - see the progress in archive on the right.

























I wanted to do it myself, hands on and, under the guidance of a luthier I know, I took on the challenge.

First thing I did was to remove the old Ebony board - and almost my left thumb while at that.
It's one tough MFSOB of a job! It's hours spent heating up the old wood, trying to take it out only to see it cracking into tiny pieces which you'll have to deal with one by one - with pain. Believe me, after one hour of that you will want to pay whatever the guy's asking.

And here's Lesson One: Building instruments really is hard work and that costs money.

But I finished the job. Doing this forced me to notice and ponder over tiny things which a player doesn't necessarily need to know, being mostly focused on the 'feel' of the thing as opposed to the way it works. I learned how to choose the wood, prepare the fingerboard, decide the radius, bind it, glue it, choose the size of the frets, fret it, er...re-fret it, oil it.

Playing on a fingerboard I know this well is a feeling I haven't experienced so far and it is affecting the way I play this bass.

And here's Lesson Two: God is in the details.

Together with replacing the old truss rod with a new double action one I wanted to add stiffness to the neck. So I considered adding two graphite rods. Hence the chilling question:

"Do graphite rods affect (negatively or positively) the sound of a wooden bass which was not made with graphite rods to begin with?"

It's a honest question, if you ask me. Many have argued over it since graphite first appeared in the bass universe. You know those 'headless vs headstock' or 'sound-of-wood vs sound-of-electronics' kinda debate? There you go.

To know for sure - or close enough - the only way is to have two identical wooden basses, one with and the other without CF rods. Of course there is no such a thing like two identical wooden basses. Ah ah ah. So the next best thing is to take a chance and do it to a bass you know very, very, very - did I hear very? - well. Like mine.

Which is exactly what I did.

Now I cannot speak as a builder because I ain't. But I am a bass player, I can tell you that. And my answer is a humble, resonant, rounded 'hell no'. Nope, niet, pas de tout, nein.

I couldn't notice any difference at all. Same strings, same amp, same player etc. The bass sounds the way it always did. Maybe my neighbor's cat hears something I don't. But, as far as I'm concerned, if I can't hear it it isn't there.

The graphite rods did however make the neck beautifully straight, stiff, and believe me, absolutely impervious to the humidity level of a tropical rain forest during the rainy season. But that is a side effect I can happily live with ;)

End of the debate, as far as I'm concerned.

So, my Lesson Three is: What seems to have a point in theory might not have one in practice. Do it and see for yourself.

























The Best for last: Lesson Four.

I wanted to add a few personal touches to my Jay Dee, but was intimidated by the old fear of spoiling the market value of the instrument. But I really, reeeeeally wanted to add an inlay myself and most importantly fix a few details which were key to my playing pleasure.

So I did the inlay. It took me two months. It might not be a masterpiece of perfection but I like it and I learned a lot, especially Lesson One all over again. Inlaying is one hell of a job which requires patience, precision, time, dedication, a sharp eyesight and good taste.

Then I added an oval shaped Ebony/Maple to fill the gap between fingerboard and body. It works with my slapping technique, which requires 5mm max distance between strings and body. For the same reason I had to file the edge of the fingerboard's lower angle to a smooth rounded shape right down to the neck. It just works for me. You can see both modifications in the picture above.

And here's Lesson Four: If it works for me I'm gonna do it. Screw the market value.
What I have learn easily compensates me for the monetary loss - if! Plus, I ain't gonna sell this love after 23 years :) Which brings me to the Special Wisdom Prize

Special Wisdom Prize: The Lesson of a lifetime.

I bought this bass brand new in 1987. I my early years I wasn't in the position to own more than two basses. To buy this one I had to sell my Music Man Sting Ray - a '77 I believe...yeah, don't say a word ;) (Fore the records, the second bass I had at that time was a fender Precision fret-less class '73. Ask me where that one is now, please?)

Years later when I had more cash to spare I tracked down the owner - it wasn't easy, the bass had changed hand a couple of times! - only to see it disappear again, for good this time.

And here is the lesson: Never sell a great bass.
Not even to buy another great bass. Sell your car, sell your next 5 years worth of booze, sell your ass if you have too. Later on, you'll never miss them as much as you will miss that great bass you once let go.

Thanks for listening

>=)O

ps: In case you asked, I sold the '73 P to buy a Wal Mark I fret-less - a gorgeous bass, not from this Earth. It will follow me into my grave. Wood smells good underground ;)

Review: the Jay Dee Supernatural series III

The Mark King III.

Jay Dee are made in UK by John Diggins, hence the name.

Mine is a 1987. I fell in love with it from the first time I played it. Back then I couldn't afford more than two basses. So I had to sell a 1977 Music Man Sting Ray to buy one. Don't ask.

Construction.

This bass is a display of great craftsmanship. Over thirty different pieces of wood are used for the construction. The body wings are Brazilian Mahogany and the neck is a five piece Walnut and Maple laminate.

The 21 fret fingerboard is made of Ebony and it originally had MOP dots. The nut is Ivory. The P-Ups are sealed inside a Ebony, Maple and Mahogany cover - a little masterpiece. The front of the uniquely shaped headstock sports a beautiful top and veneer.

The only part they don't make is the Schaller tuners which are as precise and reliable as one would expect.

The most interesting feature of this bass to me is the fact that it looks like a neck through but is actually a glued neck. Go to the JD Gallery to see how this is done - link provided below.














The string holders are made of massive bell-quality brass. The bridge itself - also in brass - is screwed to a brass plate sunk into the body. The two parts together lend a very unique look to the instrument.

Then again, everything about this bass is unique. Which is probably why it's a love or hate type of instrument. There is no denying that the somewhat retro style divides people. I love it, obviously.
















The body is gracefully contoured leaving no sharp angles and is a pleasure to hold. The finish is exceptional. After so many years of playing it still looks new with little sign of wear and tear.

The neck is flat, thin and makes for very fast playing. Unfortunately, the combination of thin neck, soft woods and the rather weak truss rod in this '87 model, resulted in a very temperamental neck.

Much like vintage cars, it succumbs to the slightest humidity and temperature changes. Having changed addresses many times across two continents I became a bit of an reluctant expert on this topic.

Good thing is, I learned to have the basic tools with me all the time. Still, a moody neck is not something too desirable in a high end instrument.

Last year I wrote to Mr. Diggins, a very likable person. He advised me to replace the old truss rod and confirmed that for quite some time now they had been using a far superior rod, putting an end to the problem. You've got to love progress! ;)

Needless to say, with the neck back in shape I fell for this bass all over again.

Playing this thing is a pleasure. It is well balanced, surprisingly light and the strap locks push the body slightly towards the left of the player, making it perfect for slapping.

This position makes it easier for the left hand to move around the 18th/21st fret area. It requires a bit of stretching to reach the first fret though, so small sized players be forewarned - and to those playing with the neck at a sharp angle.

There is a metal knob for master Volume and another for Tone control, which works on both active a passive selection. A toggle switches the Eq On/Off.

The three smaller Eq knobs are very nice looking in black plastic with MOP top. The Eq on my JD (B/M/T) is perhaps not the most versatile on the market and I personally don't particularly like the Treble sound when rotated fully clock-wise. But the Eq works well overall. Jay Dee confirmed last year that new basses are mounting the same electronics.

When you open the Eq compartment you'll see the large recess full with circuitry very neatly put together. I have no idea what brand the Eq is though, probably JD made? If anyone does, please add a comment here.

The P-ups selector is a large switch with On-Off/Bridge/Two P-ups/Neck position. The ON position also tuns on a small red light so you know. The light gets dimmer when the battery starts running low - nice.

Just make sure to lower the volume on your amp when you switch the bass off or you'll hear the speakers popping - not nice.

Many seem to agree that a switch is preferable to a balance pot because it produces a cleaner signal. Be as it may, most basses come with a P-U balance or separate volume knobs, probably recognizing that players out there need all the in-between nuances to find a personal sound. I share that sentiment, even more so on this bass - more on this later.

Finally, the bass mounts a standard jack and an Balanced DI.

The Jay Dee Voice.

The overall tone is very organic, resonant. It almost feels like you could hear the sound of the wood unfiltered. It's very unique. You hear it, you know it's a Jay Dee.

The bridge P-U produces a sound that is punchy and nasal like many wouldn't expect from a Mahogany bass. The neck PU sounds very rounded, with an almost acoustic quality to it. Its very distinctive, but I have yet to find the right sound environment for it - after 23 years! Perhaps in a semi-acoustic lineup? It does add to the versatility of the bass though.

The two P-ups together produce a killer slap sound - rounded, percussive, sharp, compressed. To me it almost gives a voice to the bouncing of the strings. With light gauge stainless steel strings (.40, .35 or .30) it's a flying slap machine.


Which is why I earlier said I am not keen on the way the P-ups selector works. If only this bass had a Balance instead one could explore its infinite combination. As it is, I just hardly use the neck P-U. I wonder why it was designed that way. Perhaps I will ask Jay Dee to change that for me ;)

I have also noticed that the overall output is not as high as many high end basses. I'm not too sure why. But when I play it together with another bass - particularly with Wal or Steinberger - I often need two separate volume settings. Has anyone else noticed that?

The Supernatural was brought to international attention by Mark King of Level 42 in the mid eighties. However it was not designed in team with Mr. King. It was merely the bass he used. He later gave permission to name it after him.

Mark King & Jay Dee was a perfect marriage. If the player made the bass famous, the bass gave the player a signature sound which I feel he had not fully found until then.

The Jay Dee somehow planted the seed of a vision that has been perfected over many years of collaboration with top builders and has produced the gorgeous Alembic M.King and more recently the superb Kingbass MarkII.


















The association with Mr. King might have somehow pigeon-holed this bass back then, with people looking at it from the funk-fusion angle only, perhaps limiting his appeal.

It might come as a surprise to some that Jaco Pastorius was about to endorse Jay Dee in the last period of his career. There is a video of him playing a Series II. The link is below.

I read in an interview to Mr. Diggins that Pastorius was initially quite skeptical about using a Mahogany bass, his being so used to Swamp Ash. However he was so blown away by the sound and the crafting of the Jay Dee that he ordered two basses right away - or was it three? - albeit in a shape closer to the Fender Jazz.

These basses were to become the Jaco Pastorius signature Jay Dee. As fate would have it, he passed away just days before he could collect his basses. I wonder what would Jay Dee's story have been like had Pastorius survived the accident.

Anyway, Mark King and Pastorius' choice, that's good enough for me.

I saw the last one of those JP models on sale at Jay Dee's many years back. I should have bought one. But then again, those were the days when I had to sell a Music Man to afford a Jay Dee.

>=)O

In a Nutshell:

+ Great Craftsmanship. Build to last. Fast neck. Personal Sound. People will stare.
- No P-ups Balance. Low volume output. People will stare.


I've got a little story about this bass. If you're interested you'll find it in my other post: Lesson learned: My Jay Dee taught me

Links

Jay Dee website (another web site is here).

JD Gallery

This video features Pastorius with a JD S series II