CertainBass Jazz Bass VARITONE w/ Master Hi-End Roll-Off or Blend Jazz Plate

Condition: New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging (where packaging is applicable). Packaging should be the same as what is found in a retail store, unless the item is handmade or was packaged by the manufacturer in non-retail packaging, such as an unprinted box or plastic bag. See the seller's listing for full details.See all condition definitions- opens in a new window or tab... Read moreabout the condition
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CertainBass Jazz Bass VARITONE w/ Master Hi-End Roll-Off or Blend Jazz Plate

CertainBass Jazz Bass VARITONE w/ Master Hi-End Roll-Off or Blend Jazz Plate

As a maker of custom basses, CertainBass invites each customer to send us what ever they want, and we'll install it.  A few have purchased varitones on eBay.  Not to disparage my contemporaries on eBay, I thought we could do better.  So we set out to design a better Varitone, the best Varitone there is.  We did.  Until recently, I've only offered them as options on our custom and Elita basses.   I am now offering  a loaded Jazz control plate with concentric (stack pot) pickup volumes, the Varitone, then your choice of high-end roll-off or Varitone blend (not to be confused with a pickup blend.  The Varitone blend does exactly what it says:  it puts in a little or a lot of the Varitone).   I've seen all kinds of silly configurations for Varitone on a Jazz control plate right here on eBay.  You see, I'm a real bassist, and I know what's useful and what's useless to real bassists.  The Grammy-winning bassist, Mark Peterson, uses Varitones on all of his CertainBasses and can't live without them.  You'll hear him play on Bob James' and Ben E. King's latest releases.  In fact, Mark sent me this quote from Mr. King, "That bass sounds really good."

Here's what the Grammy-winning producer Mark Prentice has to say about the CertainBass Varitone:

"Okay ... Buy and install this varitone.  Trust me, just do it. I sorta hate revealing my secret weapons, but David's work is just too cool to keep to myself.
First, it's pocket change; I've had bigger bar tabs.  The vintage tones are incredible, spot on to the whole Jamerson, Duck, Rainey thing (the Grail, in my humble opinion) and the brighter tones are also awesome.  And dig, you can get right back to the tone you want, any time, every time.
This thing is made by a guy who's not only a smokin', seasoned pro player, but a superior builder and a true student and historian of the deeper electric bass story and tradition.  And as if that ain't enough, try it for 30 days and if you're not thrilled, he'll refund your money.  You can thank me later."   - Mark Prentice who has performed with and/or produced Elvis Costello, John Fogarty, Lyle Lovett, BJ Thomas, Delbert McClinton, Ricky Skaggs, Olivia Newton-John, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Johnny Cash, Don McLean, Crystal Gayle, Michael McDonald, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Bruce Hornsby, Charley Pride, Steve Earle, Billy Preston, Ben E. King, Patti Page, Bo Diddley, Mitch Ryder, and others.  

Our Varitones:  I asked myself, "If Leo had installed Varitones in the 60's, how would he have done it?"  Well, he would use CTS pots, a Switchcraft jack and cloth wire and so do we.  Aside from the Varitone, my product is already better rather than those using some other very un-Fender components.  We decided to use the tried and true components that last 4 and 5 decades without one failure.  We install real Fender Jazz bass knobs set with slotted set screws like 60's vintage.  We'll also install any kind of knobs you want maybe for a slight addittional cost, maybe not.  We have chicken head pointer knobs, too, the Varitone classic knob.  The varitone was invented by Cibson in 1952, so it is conceivable someone in the 60's would install them had they not been cutting costs and qualilty (a la the CBS acquisition of Fender).   Our simplist set-up is the classic volume, volume, tone you're used to on your Jazz bass except the tone pot is replaced by our Varitone.  No non-traditional knobs or mystery pots.  We didn't want to reinvent the wheel, just put in a Varitone.  Your bass will retain it's vintage look with its new secret weapon.

To install our plate, you will have to know how to solder or know someone who does.  There are only 5 solder joints to this installation:  neck pickup hot and ground, bridge pickup hot and ground and common ground wire from the bridge.  Solderless connections are certainly easier to install but inherently less dependable as corrosion can interfere over time.  Also, we solder ground wires to each component rather than depending on the metal plate.  Why?  This is what Leo would have done.  As professional bassists, our bass can never fail.  Schematic is included as well as photos to help you install.  We will also consider a trade-in allowance of your current system.

Will these electronics fit?  It fits in my 1973 Jazz bass.  As long as your bass fits CTS pots, you're cool.  Some basses use smaller economy pots, and sometimes they don't rout the body as big, so that it could conceivably cause a problem.  We will determine this before you purchase.  For the cost to you of round trip shipping for your bass, we will install our loaded Varitone Jazz control plate for free, routing the edges of the control cavity if needed.  Shipping is probably less than a trip to your local tech geek.

Now, let's talk about:

BEST VARITONE EVER MADE, PERIOD.

Why is ours the best?     - Our  Varitone is a six position rotary switch that replaces a standard bass tone control.  1st position is flat, wide open bass.  2, 3 and 4 are classic tones of Jaco and Jamerson and Family Man, 5 is where the midrage dip and metallic sounds of Stanley and Marcus are, and position 6 mimics an out of phase pickup tone (and has the same effect on a P bass or other single pickup bass).  All this tone shaping and totally passive, no battery. The switch itself is a 2 pole make-before-break for quiet switching, a must for recording.  The shaft accepts any standard Fender set screw knob to retain the vintage look of your bass.  We also install five 10 Megohm resistors, one paralleling each stage of the varitone, preventing static charge build-up in the positions not being used.  Both of these features assure quiet switching during performances.   - -Polystyrene caps have superior definition and smoothness. The highest quality for audio use.  In an electric bass:  an audibly warmer sound.   -Lugs not used on the switch are ground down to afford maximum compactness.  It will fit anywhere a CTS pot will fit.  The inductor is mounted on an acetate plate in the center of the switch isolating the metal frame from the switch and making for extremely compact size.  After construction, the electronics are sealed in a protective coating of silicone affording a mechanical protection and also making installation easier. (You can grab it without breaking it when installing it)   -We use black and cloth covered "push back" vintage style wire, pre-tinned.  We will provide you with installation instructions and schematic for your particular instrument.   -Each varitone is tested before and after sealing, and is sold with a LIFETIME warranty, no time limit and doesn't have to be original purchaser.  As long as we can tell it's one of ours, we will replace a failed one for free.  We have not had one failure out of over 100 Varitones we've installed on CertainBass custom basses.

- How can we say our Varitone is the best?  Making custom basses, we invite each customer that we will install anything they send us, and a few sent us Varitones they bought right here on eBay.  I didn't think the tones were that sweet due to the values of caps and coils they used.  They're not bad as long as you don't mind hearing pops as you switch through the sounds.  And not only do"they" use the cheapest rotary they can get their hands on, they also use the cheapest capacitors and coils available.  All our parts are the absolute highest quality we can find.  We charge a little more for our Varitone, but it's worth it.

UNCONDITIONAL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE: 

Use it for no more than 30 days, and if you don't LOVE it and can live without it, return it for a full refund. 

CertainBass is a maker of fine electric bass guitars.  4 string fretted and fretless Jazz and Precision style basses are our specialty, but we have branched out into 5 string Jazzes and some short scale basses.  We first developed our Varitone exclusively for our custom bass guitars.  We have developed the best Varitone circuit found anywhere with fat tones and silent switching not found in other Varitones.  We will also customize your Varitone circuit with an optional blend control so you can have a little or a lot, find the sweetspot and we can a high end roll off to take away metallic tone (good for reggae).   We provide a variety of wiring schemes for any passive bass.  We use CTS potentiaometers, Switchcraft jacks and cloth covered wire exclusively unless otherwise requested.

As a maker of custom basses, we get requests for models people want but others don't make allowing us to find holes in the market not being satisfied by anyone else.  With this market research, we've developed a product line yet to be executed of the best selling models.   We are hailed as providing better basses than American Fender at about half the price. 

I have built up this business in the last few years as a custom shop, basses ranging in price from $445 to $1500.  The base price basses are not beginners' models; they are suitable for any professional bassist.  The top end of the spectrum competes with boutique houses costing twice as much.  There are two product lines:  the Vintage and Elita.  Vintage line comprises surrogates of vintage Fender style basses while Elita is the top-of-the-line custom models with all the bells and whistles.

What accounts for our goodwill in the market place are my proprietary build techniques, excellent set-up of each bass and tailored, one-on-one customer service and communication.  I have yet to get a bad review.  Nothing bad leaves here.  CertainBass is the only company (I know of) to have as this guarantee, "You will love your new bass."  We have not had one bass returned.  Whenever a customer plays any of our basses, they must go "Wow!"  That's what sets CertainBass apart from others.

Please take a look at CertainBass.com to learn more about me and my products.  Please search CertainBass on HarmonyCentral.com to see our rave reviews.  And check my eBay feedback as well. 

Thank you,

David Certain

CertainBass.com

PS:  free shipping to lower 48 United States only,  $12 to Canada, $24 every where else.

Certainbass and Elita are trademarks of bassist and designer David Certain

CertainBass Jazz Bass VARITONE w/ Master Hi-End Roll-Off or Blend Jazz Plate

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