the p-bass shape is old, worn out, mundane. Nothing they do to it will make a difference regardless if it is now back to a PJ or JJ or PP. It is still the same stupid body that has been overused by every Tom, Dick, and Harry company out there for 30 years.

if they came out with a cheap bolt-on Kelly like the old KB1, or a RR shape for less than 500 the masses would scramble to pre-order.

DE and his fanboys do not impress me, and DE did NOT influence Jackson to "make" a concert again or a kellyBird. they already did it and said "Dave go play this on a video at NAMM so the fanboys get excited, maybe we will do a limited run of 100 and charge 4grand"....

Anything with HIS name on it is still gonna be in the 3-4grand category and always will.
You want a KellyBird like the one DE was messing with? go fill out the order form and have the CS make it. No magic about it.

You wanna wait till a cheap Indian bolt on comes around for 399.95? -- keep-a-waiting

if DE was such a fan of his own "creations", he would be using a JS3V on stage, not his neckthru.

I'm not saying he "created" anything. I'm saying with the return of David Ellefson, he put the fire back into the Jackson name and now we have all these great Basses that are at an affordable price. I never said that he specifically told them to make a Bass stock line, but I'm pretty sure he had something to do with it. Otherwise, I don't think any of the basses we see now would have seen the light of day.

That being said, Of course he's gonna play his signature models. Would you play a $300-$400 bass that is in the Jackson student line versus the Jackson custom signature that Jackson specifically made for you that is much better quality? Of course not. Nobody would. But he values the average bassist looking to get a great quality Bass that won't break the bank too much and will have great playability and musical stamina.

I totally agree except for a couple points.

if DE was the "fire" in the JS and X series he SHOULD play them to show the fan boys that he is playing the SAME thing you would buy from the store.
( Kinda at the time the Flea-bass came out and for a short time Flea played those things to show the fans he was playing the item you just bought at the store )

and Jackson wanted to get a cheap line back out to the masses for 10 years and whether DE spit on one or played one at a show would not have mattered, the JS series was in the works long before DE moved back to Megadeth when he was still in his solo group and was not using a Jackson.

Yes, all of that may be true, but I think once David Ellefson came back, they probably thought that the time was right to bring them out. So in that case, David Ellefson helped the inspiration flow so to speak. Why do you think he started the Bass Brigade and started promoting basses and letting on some info about Basses and such? I don't think Jackson would have ever thought of that on their own.

I hope you don't think DE is doing this for free right?
Having him pick one up in a youtube video and say it's cool for advertising is fine but when I see DE using one of the JS units at a show, even if for 1-2 songs, I'll respect your point. Until then, nope.

I don't think he's doing it for free. I'm sure he paid his dues in the beginning but now that he's well established in the Jackson name (again), he's basically getting everything for free now due to him being a Jackson artist. I'm just saying he is somewhat the reason why Jackson has been really beefing up the Bass section. Not to mention that half of the basses that are for sale are his sigs only they're not the $4000 ones. So in retrospect, I still believe David Ellefson had something to do with it, whether you think I'm a "fanboy" of David or not. I also think it's quite funny that just because I happen to like him as a bassist means that I'm automatically a "fanboy" when in all reality, I like a variety of bassists. Not just David Ellefson. Not trying to start anything here, but that's just a bit ignorant on your part.

perhaps my posts are a little lop-sided when it comes to someone endorsing a unit then the general consensus is that "he" is the one who will make sales and you never see that artist playing what he is selling. Only HIS very expensive custom units regardless if Jackson or not.

the problem is....that is the way it is.

this and that "reissue of a 50's or 60's whatever", wham sales
Jaco P PBass, wham sales
Geddy Lee Pbass --wham, sales
Mike Dirnt Pbass -- wham, sales..and the list goes on and on.

So I guess DE is part of that culture for anyone, a fan of his solo stuff from F-5 or Megadeth or not.

I guess like Bill Shatner, he could have done 1500 movies and TV shows but everyone remembers cheesy Captain Kirk as not too many people remember DE's band F5, but they will always remember Megadeth.

Hey, I just want to show you something that proves you wrong. Click on the following link and go to about 4:18

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM28xSwQ ... re=related

That sir is a JS series 5 string bass because it's a bolt on and it has a matching headstock. So David Ellefson does play the JS series too.

uh, no, that only shows that he borrowed a JS from another booth to demo the riffPort, and most bass clinics held at a guitar stores also have him playing whatever Jackson concert the store has in stock and if the store has no sigs, he plays whatever they have because he does not ask his roadies to go get one of his personal stage basses out of the trailer to walk into the guitar store with for a couple hours before a show. His guitar tech would go bezerk.

all his "check out this new whatever bass" videos are not valid either because anyone can play anything at home and he is demo'ing that specific piece or equipment. In order to prove me wrong you must find a youtube live vid in concert with him clearly playing a JS. Anything like that available?..if so then I will see he DID play a JS for the whole night and will be totally proven wrong.

How can I prove that? Most videos that I see nowadays are from the crowd and you can barely see what David is playing. Unless if you were to get a concert that was recorded professionally and that in most cases will have him playing his sigs. My point being that he isn't a total snob and that he actually picks up the JS series and plays them. Why do you have to see him perform with on on stage in order for you to be proven wrong? The point was simply stating that he DOES play the JS series in some cases. Not all the time, but in some cases he does, like at these booths and such. It's much less complicated than you make it out to be.