Phil Maneri’s
BASS
LAB
This Article Was Originally Published On: July 1st, 2014 #Issue 14.
It seems like a rite of passage for every good builder to take a swing at the Fender Bass. Sometimes the Jazz, sometimes the Precision, sometimes both. Some never leave that paradigm and make a decent living for it; others just visit it for an exercise and move on. This bass is supposed to look like, or at least be strongly reminiscent of, a 5-string Jazz Bass. The black plastic pickguard is made from a single ply. The huge inlays are striking against the rosewood board and the dark stained body, but also detract from the traditional look. It is my understanding that future basses out of this shop will sport smaller blocks (presuming that the customer has chosen blocks as an option).
The lumber is very good for the money. It sports a super-light, one-piece swamp ash body, maple neck with 3-piece laminations and a scarf joint similar to the USA models. Joinery is good on the neck, although a couple glue lines are more obvious than in the USA-made counterparts. Fretwork is competent, but show lots of file chatter and inconsistency on the end grooming.
Electronics are great: Bartolini J-bass 5-string pickups into Bartolini NTMBF circuit. The NJS employs the same “foil sandwich approach” to shielding as the higher-end USA made model, where the top and back of the control cavity were done with foil, but the sides weren’t shielded. Again, my preference is for complete shielding of the control cavity, but in my limited time with the bass, I did not experience any RF or EMI interference or noise. The Hipshot Ultralight tuning machines and (Hipshot-made) Elrick bridge are typical of what you’d expect to find at this level of bass.
At rest, with full string tension and no truss rod counter tension (center point, loose on the dual-action truss rod), there is significant neck bow (it measures 3/64” at the 7th fret). This means that you use up a big chunk of the truss rod tension straightening the neck before you ever add string tension. I could adjust the neck to play decently, but I could not get the neck entirely flat under string tension.
The finish is some sort of thicker polyurethane on the body, and a nice thin satin on the neck. The design is pretty much a classic J-bass, albeit with some décor choices that are either to your taste or not. This bass sounds good and plays fine, but competes in an increasingly crowded market.
Elrick Expat New
Jazz Standard 5
CONFIGURATION
| Strings: | 5 |
| Style: | Double cutaway |
| Overall Length: | 47 1/4” |
| Body Dimension: | 19 3/8” long x 14” wide at lower bout |
| Body Contouring: | Moderate |
| Weight: | 8.4 lbs |
NECK
| Scale length: | 35” |
| Neck width at nut: | 1.476” |
| Neck width at 12th fret: | 2.636” |
| Neck width at joint: | 2.853” |
| Neck thickness at nut: | .861” |
| Neck thickness at 1st fret: | .831 |
| Neck thickness at 12th fret: | .866” |
| Neck thickness at joint: | .878” |
| String spacing at nut: | .343” |
| String spacing at saddle: | .762” |
| Fingerboard radius: | 16“ |
| Descriptor for neck shape: | Flat D |
| Peghead break angle: | 6 degrees |
| Bridge break angle: | 15 degrees |
| Afterlength at nut: | 2.290 to 7.24” |
| Afterlength at saddle: | 1.54” |
| Attachment: | Bolt-on |
| Pocket gap: | None |
| Truss rod type/access: | Dual-action / body end access |
| Fret count: | 25 |
| Fretwire: | 94 x 45 |
ELECTRONICS
| Pickups: | Bartolini soapbar |
| Pickup location(s) from 12th fret: | 11 5/8”, 14 ¾” |
| Electronics: | Bartolini NTMBF |
| Controls: | Volume, blend, treble, mid, bass, active/passive switch, 3-way switch for mid frequency |
| Shielding: | Foil |
| Preamp circuit voltage: | 9 volts |
CONSTRUCTION
| Body Woods: | One-piece swamp ash |
| Neck Woods | Maple |
| Fingerboard: | Indian Rosewood |
| Body Finish: | Gloss polyurethane |
| Neck Finish: | Satin |
HARDWARE
| Strings: | Elrick Fundamentals, stainless steel roundwounds |
| Gauge: | .045”, .065”, .085”, .105”, .130” (tapered B string) |
| Attachment: | At bridge |
| Bridge/color: | Elrick / black |
| Nut: | Corian |
| Tuners/color: | Hipshot Ultralight / black |
| Knobs/color: | Metal dome / black |
| Pickguard: | Black (1-ply) |
| Control cavity cover: | Black plastic |
GENERAL
| Company: | Elrick Bass Guitars, Ltd. ph (386) 517.6823 fax (386) 439.4446 www.elrick.com |
| County of origin: | Czech Republic |
| Warranty: | Limited Lifetime |
| Street Price: | $2,295 ($2,495, as tested) |
| Options: | Block inlays (+$200) |
| Options: | Various body designs, preamps, controls, neck joints |
| Accessories: | Case, strings |
| Available colors: | Alder bodies: piano black, antique tobacco sunburst; ash bodies: root beer brown, Mary Kay white |
| Acquired from: | Elrick Bass Guitars Ltd. |
| Dates: | Fall/Winter 2013 |
| Locals: | Illinois, Ohio |
| Test gear: | Gallien-Krueger Neo112-II, Gallien-Krueger MB 800, Aviom |
TEST RESULTS
1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)
In-hand
| Features: | 3 |
| Tonal Flexibility: | 4 |
| Ease of Use: | 4 |
| Aesthetics: | 3 |
| Ergonomics: | 3 |
| Tone: | 4 |
| Value: | 4 |
In-hand Score 3.57average
On-bench Score 4.00average
On-bench
| Overall construction | 3 |
| Wood choice | 5 |
| Materials choice | 5 |
| Joinery | 4 |
| Fretwork | 4 |
| Fit and Finish of adornments | 5 |
| Quality of finish work | 4 |
| Ease of repair | 3 |
| Potential range of setup | 2 |
| Balance on knee | 4 |
| Balance on strap | 4 |
| Overall electronic quality | 4 |
| Solder joints, wire runs | 5 |
| Clarity | 5 |
| Noise | 5 |
| Shielding | 3 |
| Quality for Price Range | 3 |
SONIC PROFILE:
Low: Big and round
Mids: Modest and even
Highs: Crisp, but not brittle
TONE-O-METER:
This bass is another great interpretation of the venerable J-bass. Any style of music you’d cover with a J-bass, this one would do well. And with the Expat pricing, this bass represents an especially good value.
