Product: Jackson JPB-8
Price Paid: US $425 used
Submitted
09/13/2002
at
12:01pm
by
b.m*
Email: bmovie<at>earthlink dot net
Features
:
8
According to the Jackson archive, "Introduced and discontinued
in 1995. Never appeared in any catalog, only appeared in our dealer
newsletter in 1995." Didn't realize I was getting such a limited
run bass when I got this. That makes it even cooler though.
Interestingly shaped bass; highly stylized and contoured small
body. Natural purple burst (flame maple). 24 fret neck, rosewood
fretboard. Made in Japan. 2 Jackson J175 pickups (hum buckers).
Volume, bass, treble, and blend knobs. JB340 bridge.
Sound
:
10
This bass had been in a local music swap-shop forever. I wanted
a bass with a clean defined sound to record with. I put the JPB8
up against a bunch of other basses and it had the fullest tone,
quietest electronics (no hum!), and was the lightest weight. I will
be running it through a Line6 bass pod using 'brit class a' and
'silver panel' settings. I don't plan on using this bass on stage;
the look isn't right and it's tone would just get lost in the mix
anyway. It's round, sweet tone makes it a definite choice over my
other basses for recording.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
Finish is immaculate, especially considering how long it has been
hanging on the wall waiting for someone to love it. All the harmonics
are in the right places, and no fret buzz. Everything looks top-notch.
Reliability/Durability
:
7
The hardware looks like it is in for the long-haul. The transparent
finish looks delicate, but I don't know that for sure. This is
going to be a studio bass, so it should have a pretty posh life.
I will gig with a less 'fancy' bass for sure.
Customer Support
:
8
Unkown, but they have a great archive and you can also request
detailed serial number searches. Plus I'm guessing that their
custom shop could/would repair just about anything (for a price
of course).
Overall Rating
:
9
I have been playing about 15 years, and have done quite a bit of
studio work (all of it indie or really small label). I've owned
or played a TON of basses, but here's a short list of important ones:
'67 Gibson EB0, '77 Rickenbacker 4001, '79 Fender USA Precision,
'71 Fender Mustang Bass, '89 Musicman Stingray, '87 Fender USA Jazz...
This bass just has the tone for recording, although I'll take any
of those others on stage over the JPB8. I would hate to have it lost
or stolen, being made only one year would make it a nightmare to replace. It is a sweet, if strange, bass.
