Nordstrand VJ5 Bass guitar An upmarket American Fender contender, the Nordstrand VJ5 offers custom pickups and circuitry on an impressively constructed five‑string.

David Heap

rom humble beginnings, working for the likes of Suhr Guitars and Azola Basses, Carey Nordstrand has taken a leap of faith by F opting to manufacture his own style high‑quality bass guitars. He’s been full‑time in this business since December 2002, starting off in his garage, but now operating from a dedicated facility where he builds custom, handcrafted basses using the latest technology and state‑of‑the‑art machinery. Basic models on offer from Nordstrand are the conventionally styled, Fender Jazz‑influenced NJ and NJ Deluxe, plus the more exotic SC and NX basses. The SC is Carey’s take on the single‑cutaway concept, where the upper body joins the neck at around the 12th fret — a design pioneered and developed by Fodera. The NX is a cross between an SC and a set‑neck NJ, resulting in a bass that combines the construction characteristics of the former with styling that suggests a double‑cutaway shape. Each model comes in four‑, five‑ and six‑string versions, finished in satin urethane finish, equipped with Hipshot Ultra‑Lite tuners and Style B bridges, an abalone or pearl logo and DR Sunbeam strings. Scale length options span 33 inches, 33.5 inches, 34 inches, 34.5 inches and 35 inches, but 34 inches is considered standard for four‑stringers, while those featuring five or six strings add an extra half inch. Nordy VJ5 The ‘Nordy’ VJ5 offers another alternative, being Nordstrand’s more obvious interpretation of the Fender Jazz bass. It’s available with four or five strings, plus varied choices of pickups and electrics. The four‑string version features a black alder body and rosewood fingerboard, while a slightly more expensive equivalent of the five‑string PerformingMusician Nordstrand VJ5 £2290 (including gig bag)

This American‑made, Fender‑inspired bass is far more Rolls‑Royce than Ford, thanks to excellent build quality, superb sounds and impressive playability. It’s not cheap, but should really suit any player who fancies something more than just another Jazz.

Bass Direct +44 (0)1926 886433 www.bassdirect.co.uk

92 March 2008 | performing‑musician.com “Slapping is a dream on this instrument, and with very little tweaking, all the classic sounds can be achieved at a stroke.” review example boasts a birds‑eye maple custom Audere circuitry comes as standard and fretboard and Olympic White finish. features individual bass, mid and treble controls, Tech Spec The Nordy VJ5’s maple headstock carries five with the latter incorporating active boost and VJ5 Hipshot Ultra‑Lite Retro tuners, chrome‑plated passive cut. The other two pots govern volume • Ash body. and set out in the familiar four‑plus‑one and pan, and apart from the former all feature • Bolt‑on maple neck. configuration conceived by Music Man. The wood usefully well‑defined centre detents. The jack • 21‑fret maple fingerboard. has been cleverly scalloped out along the treble socket is front‑mounted, and round the back • 876mm (34.5‑inch) scale. side to reduce weight, while still leaving enough a black plastic cover plate conceals the control • Two Nordstrand ‘Fat Stack’ pickups. wood to accommodate the top string machine and battery compartment. • Volume, balance and three‑band EQ head, and also maintain requisite neck resonance. The steel bridge/tailpiece is comfortingly controls; coil switch. A large circular guide firmly anchors the second simple and traditional, although strings anchor • Weight: 4.2kg. and third strings over an impressively installed at the back edge of the base plate via slots that bone nut. allow speedier changes. The five cylindrical The satin‑finished maple neck is topped saddles are individually adjustable for height and Conclusion by a fingerboard that’s made from a slightly intonation, while the suitably indented base plate Overall, this is a really nice bass guitar that darker‑coloured length of the same lumber, prevents sideways movement. delivers some great, tight, funky sounds and which carries conventional position dots on equally impressive playability. However, there the face and edge. All 21 vintage slim frets are Performance are a couple of comparatively minor niggles. extremely well fitted into the 30mm - 50mm Tonally, the Nordy VJ5 is superb for a five‑string It would be nice if the body’s generous edge compound radius board, while the 45mm bass in the Fender mould, with the Audere radius could be extended to the neck heel nut width and 19mm string spacing at the preamp’s chosen frequencies that hit all the area, as playing in the higher registers can bridge combine to create a four‑string feel right spots. The bass control delivers plenty of feel quite uncomfortable. My second carp on a five‑string bass. Nordstrand’s choice of depth via an uncluttered and smooth, almost sub is that, although central on the fingerboard, 876mm (34.5‑inch) scale length for the VJ5 sound. Middle has a nice honky grunt and treble the position markers don’t line up under the proves to be a really good compromise between the familiar 864mm (34‑inch) option and the higher‑tensioned 889mm (35‑inch) alternative. “The Fat Stack pickups and coil switch option The VJ5 employs the traditional bolt‑on neck method, with four screws and a chromed metal certainly offers an extended tonal range…” plate holding the neck firmly within its precisely machined body pocket. Truss rod adjustment possesses an attractive presence that provides an middle string. This off‑centre situation is not is by a hex nut tucked under the end of the almost bell‑like clarity. uncommon on five‑strings and seems to be fingerboard overhang and easily accessed via With the EQ set flat, the bridge pickup sounds a cosmetic aspect that’s overlooked by many a slot in the body. very tight and controlled, while the addition manufacturers. The 40mm thick, two‑piece ash body exhibits of a small amount of treble results in a really Although this is undoubtedly a beautiful the usual rib and forearm contours, plus an ample good workable tone that should suit most bass guitar, I’m undecided regarding its radius on front and rear edges for extra comfort. situations. As expected, its partner produces value‑for‑money factor. Any instrument over the The outline is offset in typical Fender Jazz fashion, a much rounder response, and upping the bass £2000 threshold needs serious consideration, but there’s no pickguard and rear‑mounted and treble, while slightly cutting the mid‑range, and I wonder if Carey Nordstrand has strayed controls obviate the need for the traditional makes for a wonderfully wiry, piano‑like tone. too far from his wonderful custom‑made bass chromed metal plate. Slapping is a dream on this instrument, and strategy into the realms of the almost ordinary. The review bass is equipped with the with very little tweaking, all the classic sounds Bass Direct’s £1649 introductory price is far more £120 extra cost option of two Nordstrand ‘Fat can be achieved at a stroke. The Fat Stack realistic than the maker’s recommended figure Stack’ pickups and accompanying coil switch, pickups and coil switch option certainly offers an of £2290, especially as the Nordy VJ5 faces some a partnership that provides the choice of extended tonal range, and therefore seems to be stiff competition in an already pretty packed humbucker or single‑coil sounds. The company’s well worth the extra outlay. market.

performing‑musician.com | March 2008 93 This article was originally published in Performing Musician magazine, March 2008 edition.

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