Fender 60's Reissue Jazz Bass

This is a review of a sunburst Classic 60's reissue Mexican made Jazz Bass. The alder body looks good, I enjoy the amber gloss on the back of the neck and the reverse tuners... The pickups are very warm and punchy.

It does what it is supposed to replicate well and for a great price!

It fits what I like to do. It can be warm, punchy, or nice and even if I want it to be. I guess I just can't suck when playing it.

Set up and finish was great... I am not a big fan of Fender strings, but it is a fantastic out of the box bass.

It all seems good, but I have only had it for a little bit.... won't judge on that.

Fender is cool if you know who to contact.

I really enjoy the features and vibe of this bass... I am a supporter of this line by Fender, I own the 60's classic strat and will buy a tele too... Great instruments for the money!

I bought this in early 2004, its a Mexican made bass.(As expected the quality is slightly lower than its American brother.)It is a 20 fret bass, 4 string, has a gloss finish of 3-tone sunburst and a tortoise 3-ply pickguard. There are the standard controls of neck volume, bridge volume and one tone control. It is passive, has a bigger jazz body than american basses( was a no feature for me). The neck is slim action and fast. The frets are jumbo frets so it took me time to get use to it and it comes with a fender gig bag.

The bass has a nice punch sound when you use thumbstyle. Its fingerstyle has a nice mellow sound when playing at the neck pickup and its harmonics are mellow and not really that bright. I can say that it has fairly amount of sustain that a good bass needs. I currently play in a grunge band with a little bit of metal influence and using this bass for such kind of music it is just nice, although you can also get a Jaco sound from it. It is better on stage.

The action was fairly high until after setup all was good. The neck if you look closely you can see that it is not bolt-on tight enough. the finish is a beauty especially the colour. Fender probably added the classic touch to make it look like the 60's bass as can be seen from the fret board which is a little old. The bridge although i can say that it was not as good, as the nuts started to come out and there was a spring buzzing problem when you use thumbstyle.

The bass can withstand any kind of torture that you give it. This thing is as heavy as a tank. The bridge hardware though is crap so get a Leo Quan BadAss II bridge to replace it thats way better. I had the strap buttons replaced with strap locks foe security. As this is my offical bass that I own there is no backup yet. The finish is good enough the last long.

The people at Swee Lee Company were very helpful with all the questions asked and they had good service. They will respond to the repairs that are need to be made without charge as the warranty is of a year.

I have been playing for about a year and a half with constantly switching between different beginner basses. If it were stolen i will switch to some other brand of basses. As known Fender is the pionner of basses so therefore any bass player should own a Fender bass at least once as it is the basic bass sound. The classic sound is good in this jazz baby.

Mexican but compare it to a Highway 1 which is pretty much the same price and you'll find that if 60's Jazz Basses were made in America that it would cost as much as an American Vintage. Features such as 2 volume knobs for each pickup, 1 master tone knob. Pickup configuration being 2 passive Single-coil jazz pickups. Slim glossy J-neck, Alder Body. Vintage bridge. Reverse vintage tuners which are a very nice feature. Gig Bag. 3-Color Sunburst.

This fits ANY style of music. ANY. The neck pickup is a brighter and punchier pickup and the bridge pickup is darker and more nasally which is a good thing, maybe even crunchy sounding. This thing has some really warm sounds and is a very articulate sounding instrument. Now I know why Jazz Basses are so popular, they are the most versatile instruments. If you want a lot to work with and get a wide variety of sounds, Get this baby. You wont be sorry.Do change the strings though as Fender Strings suck. Put some D'Addarios, EXP 100 gauges if possible as they will get the best sound out of your bass.

The glossy neck makes this machine sexy and feels really good on your hands. It did have a couple of blemishes on the body, but overall it is a very beautiful instrument.

Very reliable and durable. This baby is gonna last me the rest of my life. I will gig everywhere with this.

I have been playing bass for 2 years now but I have been around bassists all my life and can tell what's good and what isn't. If it were lost or stolen I would buy this bass again. I love everything about this bass. All I hated were the Fender Stock Strings. I compared it with Fender American Jazz and Highway 1 Jazz. It is almost as good sounding as the American but has more features and it tops the Highway 1, in sound and in the finish, and hardware, and.... you get it. If you wanna spend around $600 on a Jazz bass, dont buy a Highway 1 just because its American, buy a 60's Jazz Bass and see why this line of Jazz Basses is better.

i bought a 2003 classic 60's jazz bass in 3 colour sunburst with a tortoise shell pickguard, it was made in mexico. 20 frets 4 string. not really sure on the whole top thing but it looks pretty nice. standard j bass controls, neck pickup volume, bridge pickup volume, overall tone. 2 single coil jazz pickups i suppose their pretty standard. passive electronics is the way to go. alder body, maple neck rosewood fingerboard. the finish i believe is natural or something like that its nothing special, its cool though. jazz body. standard bridge, dont know what kind of tuners, mexican, i suppose their locking, dont really pay attention to that (though i should probly) 34" scale 1.5 nut width, came with a gig bag but i bought a case.

alright i play in a band with a wide variety of style, jazz, blues rock, funk, jam band, experimental, basically.im running this sucker through an SWR workingmans' 4004 head with an SWR workingmans 4x10 cab with a few boss effects here or there and a bass crybaby. the noise doesnt tend to bother me, nor does it with any of my band mates apparently so i really dont care aboot that. rich and full sound, very warm sounding which i like, compaired to a hyperpreamped, too bright, treble sound of a stingray (good for slapping though!) or something. this thing can make alot of different sounding stuff. tons of variety. it sound good either way with studio or live, not really any dislikes, im not too picky im only 15 so i got plenty of time to worry about that

the action was pretty high when i got it so i lowered it to my standards equal to my other bass (mexican P-bass)the pickups were slightly angled but i evened those out because i put my thumb on the neck pickup when i pluck. the thing was totally fine when i got it.

this bass can withstand live playing easely. its mexican so the hardware is crap but im gonna get some american hardware pretty soon for it. the finish feels like it will last for a long time but it doesnt matter to me that it does or does not. strap buttons are rock solid. this thing is solid so i can expend on it a long time, havent ever adjusted the truss rod on this sucker.

this thing is a tank man, havent had to deal with customer service yet, wasnt so sure about how long the warranty was, but again i dont care about that.

ive been playing bass for aboot 6 years now and im am 15 so i dont really have alot of money to spend on some classic american reissue j-bass relic or whatever so this is just fine. if this thing was to be stolen id probly try to get this same one again, i love it. i love the warm smooth sound of a j bass compaired to a treble hyperpreamped sound of a stingray. i basically did not choose between anything, i wanted a classic looking j-bass (3 color sunburst, tortoise shell pickguard) without having to pay a fortune and this is what i found. of course i wish it had better hardware tuners bridge and what not but its mexican so what do you expect i suppose im going to buy some american made hardware for it, hell, maybe even some new EMG pickups or something but not for a long time.

60's reissue Jazz Bass (Mexican) with reverse style tuners "beautiful" rosewood fretboard with a 7.5 radius/ alder body
Limited run issue Burgandy Mist Metallic with matching headstock and parchment pickguard. ( I have already replaced this with a white pearliod pickguard which is stunning on this bass)
All the features a Jazz Bass needs but I rated it an 8 because of the cheesy bridge which will be replaced with a BadAss II.
Came with a nice Fender gig bag.

This bass rocks!! I sold an American Deluxe Precision Bass that I bought in 96 or 97. That bass was the Best playing Fender that I have ever owned but it sounded terrible. I had it until a few days ago. ( I posted a review on that one.)
I have a few MIM basses a standard J Bass 5 string, standard P-Bass and J-Bass all with Bartolini pickups and string thru bridges on the 4 strings. The 5 string bridge plate was sturdy so all I did was replace the saddles with some that had a smaller diameter to help get the action down a bit. All three of these basses have a 1/16 Walnut shim in the neck pocket. I like low action.
This bass sounded better and required less tweaking running thru my SWR Bass 350/ Half rack Boss PQ-50 Parametric Eq and Half rack NS-50 stereo noise suppressor/SWR Goliath II 4 X 10 than it did thru my Ampeg SVT IV PRO/ BBE Sonic Maximizer/Same cabinet.
Tone is awesome! I can get the balls to play the heavy stuff or the as close as I can get to Jaco tone. Damn good slap tone... not as good as an ash body/maple fretboard Jazz( which I wish they would make a MIM version )
At home in the studio or on stage. There is nothing I dislike about the way this bass sounds. I've usually replaced the pickups with Bartolini's in all my basses but I ain't touching these.

Factory set up was the norm....high as hell action. I adjusted string heigth The neck has a bit more relief than I like and will set as soon as I change strings as you have to remove the neck to do so on this model.
The finish on the neck and body was flawless. The neck is fast and feels great. There is a very small gap on the bass side of the neck pocket. That is the only flaw I found on this bass.

I'm sure that this bass will be a workhorse. The bridge has gotta go. The tuners will suffice as long as they are maintained. Gotta get strap locks.
No word on how this bass will maintain adjustments.
At present it seems reliable to use without a backup

This bass at this moment is irreplacable. To find another with this color and sound might be hard to do but I'd try.

The nice and fine vintage 1960 Fender Jazz Bass reissue - 3 color sunburst painted mexican Fender Jazz Bass with turtle pick garde.

Great hardwear, wood and finish. It looks like a vintage should look.

Damn, this thing is so perfectly finished.

I play in a 60/70 blues rock band (Tornado Blues Band)and an alternative progessive pop/rock/jazz/singer songwriter/country/folk band.
With the bluesRock band we play material from the Stones, CCR, Hendrix, Janis Joplin and a lot more of explosive stuff.
My style is a little bit like Jim Fielder's (Blood, Sweat & Tears). Meaning, I kick my bass hard. I aim to get the groove as tight as a shaking black ass. I try to get the sound and play the bass like the thing charly parker does with his horn. And this mean mexican bass gives a sound that comes very near to the perfect mix of raw blues rock and fast bebop.
It goes from a deep and warm sound upto a treble upfront soloing sound and back to a thru the guth groove bass sound.

This Bass looks like a well painted naomi cambel. Nicely polished and it looks like the nicest materials are used. The body exist out of 2 peaces, but so wel glued that you have to look real good to see. 3/4 is solid. Something I have rearly seen on american Fender jb's. (most of the time they are in atleast 3 parts)
But the factary settings sucked. Action was 0 and pick up setting was none.

I did up until now 7 four and a half hour gig's with it. 2 of them were outside. tuning maintains etc.
It seems to be a reliable bass.

1 year of warrenty.

I'm playing now for about 12 years. I always played in at least 2 bands at the same time. (5 at the same time was top)I played about 240 gig's. The last 7 years I played on a squer jazz bass. It was a great thing that never let me down. (and I will keep it untill the end of my days) But when I bumbed into this 1960 reissue I fell in love. I played it for 10 minutes in the shop and bought it. It was when I took my money out of my pocked that I saw that it was a mexican. At first I couldn't believe it. I played al the Fender JB's that they had (6, 5 american and 1 mexican) and this one looked, sounded and played the smoothest and best.
Only a pitty that you don't get a case with it but a gig bag.

The features I like most are the great finish, the vintage hardwear (wrong way tuning mech.), the great smooth neck and the huge sound.
At the moment I use a H&K XXL amp, but mostly I just plug it into the table. Sounds great. The volume and tone on the gitar do the Job.

But, what I have to say, when it should get stolen or lost. I would by a new fender jb that I fall in love with. With this one it was love at first site.

New 2003 60's reissue Jazz Bass. Purchased at Guitar Center. Made in Mexico (which is only printed on the back of the headstock). Sunburst. Other features covered by previous reviewers. This thing is just a no frills J reproduction. So if you're a Fender Jazz Bass lover you'll feel right at home.

It has all the features I need and it's cheap so I give it a 9.

I play a wide range of styles in various projects. And the Jazz Bass in general is perfect. I have own both 60's and 70's Jazz Basses and this one is every bit as much fun to play. I have been very impressed with the sound. You can get crisp-punchy thunks, warm mids, and everything in between. No, it doesn't sound like a $5k custom bass with gigantic active humbuckers. But chances are, that's not what you're looking for in one of these. As I mentioned, there are a variety of sounds to be had once you understand the controls. In terms of pickup noise, I have read many poor reviews of Jazz Basses due to the fact that they feature single-coil pickups. But every Jazz Bass I've ever own had pickups that were wound reverse from each other (think this is standard). So if you dial-in the pickup properly they should basically hum-cancel.

I think it sounds awesome for the price.

The factory setup on this bass absolutely sucked. But that's Fender... I had to use my imagination at the store because this thing was barely playable. However, an hour with the toolkit and I had it pretty close. The finish is stunning, like glass. And the neck is quite nice too. In particular, the fretboard on mine is a dark, dark rosewood which I think looks great on a sunburst.

Now here's the bad part: the hardware on this thing is crap. Tuning machines, bridge, nobs, all crap. I guess that's one of the reasons it's priced so low. I'll keep it Fender-stock but intend to add the better American hardware down the road.

As I said, aside from the hardware this bass is solid. I have total faith in the body and the neck. I have already played some dates with this bass and was very happy with the results.

Haven't needed it yet.

I've been playing bass 17 years and have worked in jazz, country, blues, pop, and film scores. I have owned all the classic Fender basses, a vintage Ric, and lots of cheap basses too.

I would just say that if you play-out a lot and want a good, relatively cheap bass, this will likely fit your needs. It does all of the basic sounds pretty closely and it's priced so low you can let it out the house.

Made in Mexico: 20 vintage frets, 2 volume controlls, one master tone, alder body, Standard Vintage Style Bridge, standard machine heads, rosewood fingerboard, maple neck, 3-color sunburst finish,tortise pickguard.

a little buzzy, but hey, it's a fender
bought used and in mint condition!
not the jaco gowel but for $450, it'll do!

the action sucks but i'm used to $3000 basses
took the pickguard off for the jaco thing! looks better anyway
shine,shine,shine!
not the best paint job, but for $450 who cares

its so nice looking i don't want to trash it, but i love worn in jazz basses

for 450 you can't go wrong, i'm a cheap bastard and this mexico bass kicks
forget the USA stuff.....other countries do it better, at least for the price


playing 15 years:
custom rosco 5 fretless
modulus 5 fretted
1999 koldstein double bass
bag end cabs

i wish i had a walter woods amp. now thats a piece of equipment that's 10 across the board

Mexican limited edition (finished in non-standard Burgundy Mist Metallic with matching headstock)- one of the *special run* models that Fender appear to be coming up with. So what we have is a copy of the '60s Custom Colour models. Very nicely finished indeed. Plus a parchment coloured scratchplate - bonus!

All other features as mentioned by others except mine has a slab of rosewood for the 'board that would not be out of place on a bass five times the value of this. It's a stunning piece of rosewood - as good as I've seen on any high end instrument. I simply struck lucky.

I play in a covers band doing everything from Tom Petty to Frank Zappa via Van Halen and Foo Fighters. It suits....
Lots of tonal variation and it has the Jazz bass *sweet spot* absolutely nailed. I'm playing it though a Hartke HA3000 head and SWR Triad 1 cab (1x15, 1x10, horn) and it sounds just like an old jazz bass should.

Action a tad high and it needed a minor tweak of the truss rod, too. Nothing serious. Finish is perfect, the neck sits perfectly in the body pocket with the thinnest of feeler gauge gaps and the fretwork was nicely finished with no sharp ends or tool marks. Still can't get used to the reverse action tuners though....

I've not had the bass very long so I'll reserve judgement on this for now. Everything *seems* solid enough but I'll re-post after another couple of months.

Fender's importers to the UK, Arbiter Ltd., have a fairly poor reputation for support. I've not needed to contact them personally but, if the tales I hear are true then I dread the day I need to.

Got my first bass back in 1976 (a Gibson Grabber) but moved onto guitar in 1980. Started gigging as a bassist again only last year (June 2002) and have been using a budget Peavey (the Dynabass - and a superb bit of kit it is too given it's bargain basement price). The '60s Jazz knocks it into the weeds however. It's the perfect weight, it sounds great, it's passive too (which is a bonus - I'm not a fan of active basses, personally) and, yes, I'd buy another.

I chose this bass coz it played superbly, sounded very good, looked amazing (that custom colour job is VERY nice) and, finally, it was #100 cheaper than the Marcus Miller Jazz that I was comparing it against while also being a much better sounding instrument than the MM signature model. No contest

It' s almost an American like sound. It differs in sound, but the quality is comparable. It's only...something different. I' ve tried the bass before I bought it and compared it to some Americans. But this Mexican beats them all...

The bass is well built. The action was OK, but I' ve adjust it to my own preferances. One minor, I could not adjust the pickups...

I' ve own this bass for three weeks and never played with it live (because I prefer 5 strings and I' ve got a Stingray 5...But it seems ok!

It is a good alternative for an US Jazzbass. It differs in sound, but if you like the sound, it is the best you can get. It was 400 euro cheaper than the US and the differences in quality doesn' t justify the extra money.