Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass

2003 Fender Japan Aerodyne II; 4-strings; "dolphin gray" finish w/matching headstock (somewhere between middle gray and a deep charcoal); cream binding; lightweight basswood body w/arched top; countersunk chrome vintage bridge; rosewood board w/20 medium-small vintage frets; one piece maple neck (with a very sensual satiny finish - a joy to hold); chrome control plate w/chrome skirted knobs; P-J passive pickups; BWB pickguard.

The body is super light and comfortable (though like any jazz bass a little on the large side) - the neck feels dreamy, like your lovers wrist, and the chrome hardware shines from a mile away.

Great tonal variation and a very sweet sound with incredible sustain - I'd put it up there with a ric. I like to play it soft and melodic and it's such a gentle beast, I barely have to touch it and it sings. The pickups are powerful and it sounds great loud, but it's also wonderful for quiet playing at home.

It's very precisely put together - a stunning instrument. My only complaint is very minor - that the finished headstock had a small chip in the paint when I bought it. With a polished look like this any damage really shows - so you want to be gentle with it. And the body is light, so unlike a Fender p-bass or a Gibson Victory this bass won't make a good over head weapon for bashing in skulls - but it will make terriffic music.

Have I mentioned how much I love the neck? It's very solidly bolted on but finished so smoothly it's really a joy to hold and slide up and down on. I'm not much of a gearhead - I really go for the vibe of an instrument - and this bass feels to me like a bigger more refined Fender Mustang with Ric flair.

Oh, and the chrome is super shiny. I feel like I have a tricked out Tokyo low rider in my lap when I play it. And I love the way the body resonates - for such a light instrument it carries the vibrations beautifully. Oh, and the tuners are so smooth and precise. I'm in love.

Very solid with a very straight neck, and very new looking even though it's 2 years old. Aside from the paint chip on the headstock it is pristine. I've only had it 2 weeks, so I can't really vouch for durability though.

I love this guy! I feel like I played all the vintage basses in NYC before I finally got this guy. I first played the Aerodyne (though it was a 2005 American Market model in the black on black pickless design currently available) when I was looking at the custom basses at Manny's Music - the salesman suggested it as a step up from a Mexican p-bass, and I fell in love with the sound, and would have bought it on the spot if it had had fret markers. I'd also been flirting with some late 70's Guild basses, some rics that were way out of my price range, vintage Mustangs and the Japanese made Mustang bass re-issues and a few late 70's Gibsons. When I found the Japanese market Aerodyne with fret markers, I knew I had to have it. This guy has the sweetest tone, sits in my lap like a tuxedo cat and purrs when I touch him. He's big (I'm 5'1"), but he's gentle, and I love him.

2004 Japanese domestic model.
4 string Jazz bass.
20 lowprofile frets.
Arched top solid body (Basswood or alder?).
Japanese domestic market only (non export) model with 3 layer black pick guard and Chrome control cover plate.
single tone control, 2 x volume (one for each pickup).
Jazz bridge, Precision neck passive pickups.
Gun metal grey with cream binding on the Jazz profile body body and colour matched head stock.
C style bolt on slim neck with satin finish.
Countersunk bridge.
gigbag included.
Stunning modern appearance for a perennial favourite.
Not a lot of whistles and bells but those that it has it has them with quality and class.

Being played with, and wel suited to, everything from American rock (Springsteen, Cougar) to indi pop (REM, Ocean Colour Scene, Stone Roses) to punk (Clash, Pixies, Ramones).
Played through UK made Series 6 TE head with Ampeg 4x10 and 1x15 cabs) Boss ME50B and US made Bass Balls pedals.

Some hum when using only the jazz pickup with the tone all the way up - reasonable level and not an issue.

The sound is incredibly versatile giving pure punch and growl just like a Fender bass should. This forfils my last missing "essential sounds" in my rig ( the Fender J & P basses) Mixing the Jazz and Precision pickups ads even more tonal variations. With some esperimenting with pickup ratios it can be made to suit any sort of energetic music - rock, blues funk, soul, R&B and yes Jazz. Not as warm and fat as a Music man but in Jazz pickup mode and tone rolled to 20% it has good mid range and "sings" as good as my Rickenbacker.

Punches above it's weight. Very enrgetic and pounding.

action set up was perfect from the shop.
The Jazz bridge sat a little proud on the low E side and I kept touching the strings on the pole peices when I was digging in hard- nothing that a couple of turns didn't fix.
no faults or complaints with any of the hardware at all except the bridge, neck fit is clean and tight.
These guys must live to make quality guitars.
BIG issue for me though is why this isn't fitted with a quallity cast or billeted nickle or steel bridge or individual string anchors I do not know or understand - IMHO the "L" profile Fender bass bridges should have been killed off 30 years ago and only revived for specific retro/reissue model basses.

Light basswood body and thin neck may affect longevity (but makes for a excellent all night jam session instrument) but the build quility is so high that treated with due respect it should last. ( I case my guitars in ABS cases (SKB or similar) and use strap locks and SO SHOULD YOU! respect your tools people)
I would use this without backup no problems.

lost my warrenty the minute I left Japan so no support but I doubt it will ever need it - I know enough guitar techs I can trust to not make this a major issue

Despite costing less than a quarter to a third of the price of my Rickenbacker 4003 and my MusicMan Stingray this bass more than holds its own. Compared head to head with US/Mex basses it more than stood up to the challange.
This will be replace with the same (if possible) if disaster strikes.
It is a total package of class and pure essential Fender Jazz and Precision tone thogh the modern style body/finish is not one for the traditionalist Jazz bass buyer.
Light weight for all night giging/jaming.

I don't like Fender's bridge design - this is not a retro bass, it looks and feels modern and is designed to compete with mid/high end Ibanez and Yamaha models yet the bridge is at least 30 years obsolete!!!
A big thing for me is for a bass of this quality to be sold sandard without a basic hard case or at least a decent gig bag is almost criminal (I purchased an SKB ABS plastic case for this as soon as I found a shop with one in stock).

2004 Fender Japan Aerodyne II; 4-strings; dark metallic grey finish w/matching headstock; cream binding; lightweight basswood body w/arched top; countersunk chrome vintage bridge; rosewood board w/20 medium-small vintage frets; one piece maple neck; chrome control plate w/chrome skirted knobs; P-J passive pickups; BWB pickguard. Not many frills; just a slightly pimped-out standard Jazz bass w/neck P pickup and light body.

Sounds great; P PU sounds like Precision; J PU sounds like bridge-position Jazz; no real surprises. Good note articulation; harmonics come easy with J PU. Lots of variations achievable w/volume knobs alone. Instrument is resonant acoustically; can sound huge if you roll off the tone. Light weight =/= light tone. Minus 1 point for single coil noise; single coil noise should have been abolished in 2000 IMO.

Pretty decent setup for the money. Binding isn't completely perfect, but as good as I've seen on a Far East instrument at this price; nut slot for A string is cut wide, but misshapen nuts seem to be commonplace for all Fenders, including the $$$ ones. Frets are well polished and seated; not many filemarks noticeable. Hardware is secure; cavities nicely routed. Finish on body and headstock is flawless; board is a nice piece of rosewood. Neck is nice and fast, w/finish somewhere between satin and the full poly coat. Neck pocket isn't the tightest, but it's up to Fender's usual spec.

Skinny necked Jazz basses give me pause about durability. It'slighter than the usual J bass (though not ligher than some of Fender's current offerings like the Urge II or the Zones). There's still enough heft there to be reasonably confident of its durability though. As I said, the hardware seems relatively solid; also it's passive, which eliminates another potential reliability issue. I wouldn't have trouble playing it in a live setting; that says as much about the price I paid as about the quality.

Fender has customer support?

Guitar Trader is giving these grey ones away; dunno how they got their hands on them in the first place; they're supposed to be Japan-only non-export models. At this price, this bass is a good bargain; you get something slightly better and lighter than the Standard Jazz for about $60 more. It sounds good and looks cool too. My name is Semicolon-Man, and I endorsed this message.

This is a "Crafted in Japan" instrument. I guess it was made in 2003 because it is a brand new model. this is a 20 fret 4 string bass with a solid top and a beautiful black bodie with a cream outline. The three controls follow the basic jazz set up with a volume knob for each pic up and a tone control for the both of them. There is no swith. The pick ups are passive. Precision at the neck and a Jazz at the bridge. I think the pickups are standard Fender pups because of the sound that comes from them. The bodie is basswood and the neck is a one piece maple with a stained RW fretboard. NO dot in lays. The neck feels very comfortable and it is a modern c- shaped neck. The bridge is a standard bridge and the tuners are standard. Along with the control knobs, all the hardware is smoked chrome. Very cool. This bass came with no accesories, no tags and no booklet.

It is best for blues, rock and Metal. Ive a Peavy Basic 112 that sets it all up. the Jazz pup is noisier than the p pup.The classic fender tone is bleeding from this bass and really thats what got me over the infatuation of the Name and looks.The only dislikes I have is that the nut seems to be a white plastic whareas my Ibanez has a black nut. I just seems cheap. It may not be.

The bass was set up perfectly from the factory with the action being great and the pickups fine too. The fret wires could have been filed a bit better but it was no big deal and the nut slot for the A string was cut slopily but again its not that big a deal.

I cant answer any reliability questions due to my lack of experience and the fact that the bass has no track record.

NO experience with the company or its customer support.

Ive got a whopping 2 years of experience and I own an Ibanez soundgear sr 300 dx. I wish I owned a Bassman 100. I love every thing about the instrument. My favoite feature is the tone. The Mark Hopppus Bass did nothing for me and a few other P basses did nothing either. Fender has the nicest looks though. They remind me of Cadelacs. I wish I wasnt such a sucker for a brand name

Mine is the non-export model with a pickguard, chrome control cavity cover, chrome hardware and those silly fret dots that I like so much. The rest of the specs are the same. I give it a 9 in this category because it's not active.

The sound is great. I received it on a Saturday morning and used it over my American P bass on a gig that night. It's big, bad and ballsy. I use it with a Hartke 4000 head and the VX series 115 with a 410 cab on top. BOOM! I figured I would replace the Fender Japan pups but I am reconsidering that because the sound is very good. A great mix of P bass and J bass. Very cool sound with great clarity if you want it or warm pounding deeeep bass. I haven't noticed any excessive noise out of the P or J pup.

Like I said. I used it at a gig the same day I got it. No tinkering was done and it performed beautifully. The string height was fine, pup height was appropriate. The finish is nice but fingerprints love the black finish. My only gripe is with the strap buttons. I recently replaced the originals with Schaller strap locks and the screws immediately stripped going into the body. The fix is a toothpick shaved lenghtwise and inserted into the hole first. I rate the action, fit and finish as a whole as an 8 because of the stripped screws (actually not the screws but the holes are stripped) and the gloss on the finish seems exceptionally vulnerable to small hairline scratches. Other then that the bass feels light (wonderfully light!) yet solid as a rock. Nice job!

I have already gigged with it and will gig with again tomorrow night. I will use it all night but will have my P bass with me so I'll have a back up. However, after I sell the P, it will be my one and only and I feel like it will do just fine.

N/A. It's the non-export model so warranty service means I'd have to send it to Japan for work. Not bloody likely.

Overall this is a completely killer bass for Fender lovers. It combines the best of P and J basses, plays itself, looks extremely cool, much better looking than the export models without the fret dots and pickguard. The chrome hardware is killer with the black finish. It looks like a 1950's black Cadillac...no kidding! And for the price it can't be beat. Ishibashi got it to my door in 4 days...from Tokyo to South Carolina!! Beat that! Get one, you won't regret it!

Mase in japan, 20 frets. doesnt have those silly fret dots which i like alot. 4 string. I also like the volume knobs for each pickup. Also having the tone knob down or up makes it sound like two totally different basses. I initially picked this bass to try out for the look. i was at Marshall Music of Lansing looking at recording equipment when this caught my eye. after playin on it and hearing that it sounded great i bought it. I got the guy down to 550$ so that was sweet.

Fits me perfectly. I do alot of chords on the two high strings and its great for that. i can get it to sound really bright but also little warmer and darker too. thats where that tone knob and the volume knobs come in. its a very dynamic bass. having some buzzing with the g string but i really pick that mother hard sometimes so its more me than it is the bass.

came to me in beautiful shape.

Ive already gave this bass some abuse with my playing and it seems to be holding up good.

havent had to deal with em.

Sounds great Looks great...what more can you ask for. I love it

2003 model, made in Japan. 20 frets, maple neck with a dark rosewood fingerboard. Side position fret markers only. Basswood body, solid top. Your typical Fender 2 vol and 1 tone for controls. Passive electronics with one P and one J pickup (in the bridge position)

Body is a Jazz shape (obviously), finished in black. The body is bound-I can't remember another Fender guitar or bass that is flat-topped and bound (I'll talk more about this in a minute) Tuners are Fender vintage style, sort of a black chrome finish, as is the basic bridge. Neck is listed as a a medium "C". All I can say is it's comfortable for me, usually playing a guitar neck. It's thicker than the Gedyd Lee neck (now THAT's a neck!) but way better than the Sting Precision (now THAT's a baseball bat!)
Get's a 9--I would have prefered a faster neck

My bass influences--Geddy Lee, Roger Waters, Sting and the chick from Vixen (just kidding)
I'm running it into a Tech 21 Tri A.C. (using their recommended bass settings) into a small Fender Bassman 25 combo.
Since I'm a guitar guy most of the time, I can't really give a super-detailed commentary on the nuances of her. Not too noisy, but I plan on swappin out the pickups anyway. A 10 here, cuz it sounds great to me...your ears may differ....

Wow! I read so often about how poorly Fenders are set up, etc etc.
This is my third Fender bass, and all 3 have been nearly perfect upon purchase. No fret buzzig, etc. Now...all three had been Japenese Fenders, so maybe that has something to do with it. Currently has Fender strings on it...sure, whatever...when they die, I'll throw Roto's on it.
The finish is very well done. Neck fits nicely.
Electronics are well done.

I love the "Reliability/Durability" section. I take care of my stuff, so it will be lasting a long time. So...take care of your gear and chances are you'll be entering 10's in this category. I love guys that tell stories like "I was in the middle of a gig, and the headstock on my Epi Les Paul just snapped in half"...then they fail to mention that they were crowd-surfing at the time, and got dropped on their stupid ass! Jeez......

Never dealt with 'em....don't know....I hear Fender horror stories though.......

I have a love/hate thing going with Fender products.
I love their basses, but I hate their guitars. I mean h-a-t-e....I mean like really really hate their guitars. Probably cuz they use pickguards. Pickguards to me say "we were lazy, so we dropped this hunk o plastic on top to cover it up"
So...when I first saw the Aerodyne, I thought maybe it was some 1985 model they experimented with, and discontinued.
I was very happy when I found out it was a 2003! Now...factor in the curved top Jazz body and binding (WAYYYYYYY cool idea), and in clasic black (the go-anywhere, do-anything colour) and it's at a 10. It's very elegant in it's appearance...no fret markers, blackface headstock with silver logo and the chrome-black hardware.
The icing on the cake is that they used the P/J pickup combination! I was this close to buying a second Geddy Jazz, but the Aerodyne looked to have a little more versatility with the pickups.
Fender REALLY hit a homerun with this one....My Geddy Jazz is reserved for playing Geddy/Rush tunes.....the Aerodyne is now my "Everything bass"....
Well done Fender!!!!! Now just give me an Aerodyne with a lam flametop with binding....oh yeah!

2003, Made in Japan. 20 jumbo fretteed 4-string. 1 Split Single-Coil Precision Pickup (Mid), 1 Single-Coil Jazz Pickup (Bridge). volume, volume tone. Basswood, maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Charcoal grey laquered finish with white/cream binding; pewter looking v,v,t knobs.

Very noisy bass. turn the trble up even a little and it buzzes. Jap electrinics I guess. My other 2 jazz basses do not have this problem. Very bright sound, reminds me of the Geddy Lee model with a litle more rumble cuz of the P-pups.

Factory set-up was adequate. I had it lowered some. Smooth, thin neck. My real gripe with the bass and the reason I took it back was because of the body edges. Normal jazz basses are rounded with a bevelled edge for your arm. The Aerodyne has a slightly arched top, but no enough to compensate for the sharp edges. It killed my arm.

The bass, although lighter than a standard Jazz is seems solid enough to gig with. If you're particular about keeping it shiny, don't buy the black one!

3 years exp. My 5th Fender/4th jazz overall. I still have a 2000 MIA Std Jazz and the MIA 75 Reissue Jazz. If it were stolen/lost I would not replace it due to the comfort factor of playing it. Those edges are deadly to the forearm.

This is a fairly new bass. Made in Japan. 20 fretts, 4 strings. Jazz style basswood body. Some what arched top that looks very cool. P style neck pickup and J style bridge pickup. I think the pickups are active. Volume, tone, tone controls. Don't know who made the pickups, aparently fender. Has a one piece maple neck that is confortable with a rosewood fretboard and medium fretts. I like medium frets than the extra jumbo one's they're putting on all the new basses of other brands. Solid black finish with creme binding that looks very cool. The control knobs are a chrome black, the tuners kind of look the same way.

I love the sound of this bass. That is why I bought it. It was either a $900 warick corvette or this bass. The fender definetly beat it. I didn't want to even say that but the sound of the bass does not lie.

The bass was actually set up very well. The pickups were adjusted well too. The feel and action of the bass is awsome. Everything was solid and nothing was loose.

This bass seems to be reliable. I might just replace the bridge because it is the most standard bridge of bridges you can get. The finish is good. All of the other hardware is good and solid.

Haven't had to deal with them

Definetly a 10. This bass has beat out many for it's value. There are neck through scheters for this price but they really don't come close. I have an Ibanez BTB 515 that feels awful. It has something wrong with it that makes the clean sound sound like crap. The action sucks major as well. It has been adjusted many times but it was just designed wrong or something. I love the fender bass because it has a wonderful sound, wonderful look and feels great. I only wish that the hardware was better though ya know.