JAEBird Bass Review

Here's a quick review of a new bass that I just received yesterday. This bass is known as the JAEBird that is offered by Carlo Patti.( username: 'dadagoboi' on the internet bass forums) For those that aren't familiar with them, this is his version of a reproduction of the "Fenderbird" that the Who's late bassist, John Entwistle used to often play.
 
First thoughts:
When the bass arrived, I was surprised at how small and thin (only 4" thick) the box that he used to pack it in. It was very poorly packed, but somehow made the journey from Florida to southern California undamaged.
 
Upon first inpection, I noticed that it was very lightweight at 7lbs 15.9 oz.. Unfortunately, immediately obvious were the very loosely cut neck pocket (large gaps on both sides) and finish and cutting flaws all over the bass. The neck's finish is very thin, which I think is a good thing, but it has a ton of large 'orange peel' and was evident that it wasn't rubbed out. The body has some very crude cuts underneath the finish, especially in the lower cutaway, and is bumpy around the entire perimeter. There are dents and dings under the finish with millions of small bubbles and sanding marks in it. There was also a missing rear control plate screw (no big deal) on the rear plate. Acoustically, the bass sounds loud and lively. The Allparts neck that he uses was basically untouched and just sprayed with a thin (albeit bumpy) coat of lacquer. It''s very chunky for a jazz bass type neck, but it plays pretty well. Looking at the pickup covers, I was disappointed to see that they are just thin flat aluminum plates laying on top of the Duncan SSB-4's, so, in my opinion,  they really aren't pickup covers at all. They have sharp edges and could easily cut you if you rest your thumb on the pickup when you play (IMO, not very well thought out). It's a wonder why it plays decent since there was absolutely NO fret dressing done on this bass. Evidently he just unpacked an Allparts neck, sprayed on one rough coat of lacquer on it and assembled it. I have to credit Allparts for the quality of the neck, and its playability, not the builder.
 
Time to plug it in......
Plugged into my UA 6176, Crown xti2000 into an Accugroove Whappo Jr cab. I found it to have a very nice tone. Not alot of output, but a good tone nonetheless. I also noticed that if your finger touched the added aluminum cover plates while you play, it would make a clicking sound (also not good or well thought out).
 
I was charged an additonal $40 for a 'tummy cut', but the tummy cut was poorly executed (wavy) and only 1/8" deep so it may as well not even had one. Next I put the bass on a strap. I already knew that it would probably have a fair amount of neck dive, but even with the lightweight Gotoh res-o-lite heads on it, it was drastic. For me, the bass's balance issue is unbearable to play live, as it not only neck dives, but leans a bit forward as well. I ended up paying $775 for this bass (including the parcel post shipping which took 11 days to arrive).
 
Summary
The Good:
1- lightweight
2- nice tone
3- looks great from 20 feet away
4- CTS pots with a Switchraft jack
 
The Bad:
1- amateur-built, far below average quality of construction/craftsmanship regarding body shaping/prepping, overall finish and assembly (drilling/mounting of components)
2- extremely poor balance (neck dives and leans forward)- very uncomfortable to play on a strap.
3- very loose fitting neck pocket (large gaps on both sides)
4- poorly designed pickup covers (makes clicking noises and sharp edges)
5- wavy cut pickup trim rings (inner cutouts)
6-  nut cut not aligned with fingerboard and extends beyond the edge of the neck
7-  flat head pickup bezel screws not countersunk or screwed in perpendicular to top of bass
8-  pickguard edge bevel rough, wavy, and with deep scratches, divots
9-  lacquered maple fingerboard with lacquer over the frets (undressed)-note: this should be removed before playing, since it makes the fretted notes sound dead
10- cheap bridge with spacing too narrow for the fingerboard
11- neck mounting screw holes too large
12-inexpensive one piece bridge cut in half to make it a two piece with sharp rough/raw edges
13-hardware store zinc-plated screws used to mount tailpiece- should have nickel plated or chrome screws, not something purchased from the Home Depot.
14-intonation set incorrectly
15- strings installed incorrectly/cut too short, and didn't need to be cut in length at all. The low E string popped off  of the tuning key when I first played it.
 
Value?
I have to leave this up to the end user. If you don't care much about general craftsmanship, quality of construction, fit and finish, and attention to detail, then you might like one of these basses, but personally, for the money, I was expecting a little better than this. I realize that for under $1000 you can't expect perfection, but my new $300 (also with free shipping) Squier VM 77 Jazz bass had a fit, finish and overall quality of construction  that was far better, had just as good tone, balanced perfectly and  better action out of the box.
This page was last updated: June 13, 2011
I contacted Carlo about the many issues with his bass and, unfortunately, he was sarcastic, made alot of excuses, and was even insulting at times. I suppose that some can't take constructive criticism. Needless to say, I will not be dealing with him again.


Please scroll down to see more pics of the details of this instrument.
Picture below showing .070" neck gap (it is like this on both sides, so the neck isn't shifted in the neck pocket)
It's very difficult to show on a white bass, but these two pics below try to represent the quality (or lack thereof) of the entire body's finish. 
They are both in the finish (in the form of dull areas, sanding scratches, small pits and millions of bubbles), and under the paint (dings and dents)
The bridge, which Carlo refers to as a 'proprietary two piece' bridge modified specifically for his basses, is simply a cheap offshore bridge that costs him $15.00 from Allparts, and cut it in half, leaving the sawed/ground edges completely exposed.  It's unfortunate, because it should be spaced wider to align with the taper of the neck. The tailpiece mounting screws are not inline or countersunk properly, and zinc plated hardware store screws were used to mount it.  The intonation was also not set correctly.
The four neck mounting screw holes are drilled far too large inviting lateral neck shift, especially combined with the loosely cut neck pocket
Pic showing the undressed frets that are still covered with lacquer that started chipping off after 5 minutes of playing.
There's also ALOT of debris and bubbles in the neck's orangepeeled finish
Pictures showing the edge of the pickguard with uneven (wavy) bevel and rough cutting marks. You may also notice that the mounting screw isn't screwed all the way in (maybe he was in a hurry?!!!)
Flathead pickup bezel screws not countersunk and not drilled/mounted square to the top of the bass. It also has non countersunk hole for  the 'pickup cover' mounting screws that are loose and wobble.
Nut string slots not centered with the fingerboard, and the nut extends past the edge of the neck (not flush).
The back of the neck's finish
String spacing too tight for the width of the neck.
For me, it's a shame, because I really wanted to like this bass, but to me, it just has way too many areas that make me feel  that the person that built it, has no pride in his work, has never built a bass before, and is incapable of setting one up properly.