Review – Vintage ICON VJ74MR Four String Bass

Review – Vintage ICON VJ74MR Four String Bass…

They say if the shoe fits, then wear it, and so is the case with the Vintage ICON series VJ74MR Four String Bass, as a vintage style bass.

The Vintage ICON VJ74MR, V for Vintage, J for Jazz, MR for Modern Relic and 74 for the year the Vintage was created from, has the feel, look, and sound of the classic basses from years past and puts them back in your hands without breaking the bank. Not only does the bass have the worn look, it feels worn, and has the classic tones as well. I test drove the Vintage ICON VJ74MR on a Classic Rock gig with many questions and comments such as “What year is it?,” “You play that one a lot to wear the finish off,” and “What a great classic sound!”. I played along and fessed up at the end of the night that the bass was brand new from Vintage. I’m not sure they really believed that the bass was new, which I think is a good thing.

I’ve played quite a few of the original basses from years gone by, and the Vintage ICON VJ74MR lives up to its name with very little difference, if any, when put up against an original bass from the 60’s or 70’s. If you are looking for a vintage, classic J bass, but couldn’t do it because financially it was out of reach, look no further than the Vintage ICON VJ74MR.

The setup was great right out of the box and ready for gigging with no adjustments necessary. The body is eastern poplar and the bolt on neck is one-piece maple with a 20-fret maple fingerboard. The neck, being a true “one piece” bolt on, means that you hear more tone from the neck wood instead of a big metal truss rod. Big block inlays finish off the fingerboard giving even more representation of that classic vintage look.

The Vintage ICON VJ74MR uses an authentic 50’s style single rod for neck adjustments. All of the hardware and electronics are Wilkinson, right down to the double bass style tuners. The bridge is bent steel with “360 half hard” brass barrel saddles, which means you get all bass frequencies. The neck and bridge pickups are Wilkinson WJB with 42 gauge plain enamel wire and double poles for each string, with placement in the optimum position to give you the best tone and sound that the original classics are known for. There are separate volume controls for each pickup and one tone control.

The worn look of the body and distressed look of the hardware and neck finish complete the look. Vintage has perfected not only the aging process but also electronics and hardware to bring you the best of yesteryear at an affordable price. Check out the Vintage ICON VJ74MR 4 String Bass at a street price of $429 and other fine Vintage basses and guitars at a Vintage dealer near you!!

Visit online at fretking-vintage.com or facebook.com/VintageInstruments