Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass 5-String

I bought it used (1999) for 1000 CAN$. It is the version with the ash body. As with all the american deluxe series it has the 3 way eq with noise suppressing active pickups and 18 volts active electronics. It as string tru body and top load bridge (even though I'm not quite sure the B string would fit in the hole). Natural high gloss finish on the body with natural satin finish on the neck which has a 34'' scale. I would have liked a midrange sweep control and midrange/bass/treble frequency selector but that's not a big problem because it is very rare that we see electronics with these controls. You know, this bass has basic electronics.

Sound a bit thin at first but after tweaking some knobs on the bass and the amp and with some time I've got used to it and started to hear some very low frequency bottom end. For those who thinks this bass doesn't have the low end of a gibson or warwick bass, just listen well and you'll see that the low frequency is set at about 50 hertz (which is really low). You can actually get a very classic Fender tone with this bass and a more actual sound too. It has the finest higher frequency sound I've ever heard (even beating a spector all flamed maple bass). The sound on this bass is very crisp and has the best slap tone. It has a great sustain too even if it is a bo.

Now for the cons: the B string is muddy and lacks definition. But this is the result of the electronic being set at 50 hertz for low register .

Anyway, this bass does it all: I've been able to play prog rock (Rush, sieges even), jazz fusion (pat metheny), old school rock (led zepplin), every genre of metal in history (yeah I'm a kind of metal freak but this bass can have the meanest tone possible), country, pop, hip hop. Didn't try soul, R&B, reggae yet, I don't really like these genres.

Extremely fast action, thanks to the very slim jazz neck and the satin finish on the neck making it less sticky. Technical Death metal being my favorite style to play, this was a very important feature I considered before buying the bass. The finish was impeccable even with 8 years of being in a closet. Had to adjust the pickups and string heights but I wonder these were adjustments made by the previous owner. Had to adjust the truss rod to make the neck to have no relief at all(don't know why, but I always hated neck relief even if it is said to be necessary the bass is in tune all the way on the fretboard).

I tune it once every 2 weeks and I play about 2 hours/day and it is always minor adjustments. I think it says it all for the tuners. Haven't needed to change the battery since I bought it (6 months ago) neither I had to adjust the truss rod since the last tweak. I would definitively use it on a gig without a backup if I had changed the battery in the las t 2 months.

didn't have to contact with them. That's a good thing I think.

great bass. Would have been better with a 35'' scale plus the electronic I was searching for but it still rocks hard. I know there are quality alterations in the fender production but I guess I've been really lucky to get a bass that is that great for the price.

2006 American made, 22 fret, 5-string Deluxe Fender Jazz Bass. One master volume control, one pickup pan, concentric bass/treble knob, and one mid knob. This model has the Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups, which as far as I'm concerned are the best sounding pickups out there. This bass is active only, although it it were active/passive, I'd only use passive if the batteries were dead. I have the premium ash version in Tobacco Sunburst, with a maple fretboard with abalone inlays. String through body, as are all (current) American-made Fenders. Fender/Schaller Deluxe Lite-Bass Tuning Machines. A nice, chunky neck with no skunk stripe, but has graphite support rods. Came with a standard (but rather sub-par and easy to scratch) Fender molded case, a strap, Schaller straplocks, a T-bar truss rod adjuster, some polish, and a cloth. I'm rating the bass, here; the bass is packed full of features, all of which I use, but the case that comes with this bass is downright pathetic. 10 for the bass itself.

My main bass previous to this one was a Mexican-made Fender 5 string. I really hated that thing; it weighed a tonne, looked cheap, and had a noisy pickup package. After playing this, I vowed never to play a Mexican Fender again. I play in a hard rock outfit and found my sound to be in the neck pickup of a Jazz bass, with the bridge pickup set to 6. That gives me the low end I need with the clarity to cut. These pickups really are noiseless; even with the distortion on, I never hear any hum. Even though I favour the neck pickup, I fancy by bass tone to be clear and bright, and this bass nails it. This is my first 3-band active EQ bass. I though to myself, since I scoop out the mids on my amp, I'll do the same on my bass. When I did that during a loud jam, I felt the bass a hundred times more than I heard it. When I turned up the mids, the sounds cut through perfectly, and I found the tone I was looking for; think of a cross between John Paul Jones' 8-string Alembic on Presence and Chris Squier's Rickenbacker. I play with a pick most of the time. I do, however, solo the bridge pickup to play Jaco tunes, and this bass sounds the part there, too. The active EQ is very powerful; I crank the bass and mids and blend to about half way between full and middle, and I crank the treble to full. Cranking everything is a bit too extreme, with resonating lows and honky mids. With my setup, playing with a thick pick, I have a wonderfully bright and clear bass tone with an amazing low end. If I play fingerstyle at the bridge pickup, it's nice to be able to dial in the lows and have that Jaco fart with an ass come out of (translation: Jaco mid with good low end).

I will note, however, that using the B string favouring the neck pickup can sound quite extreme with my setup. I found the B string to be way too loud and the G string to be downright silent when playing with a loud band. The solution to that, however, was my amp's built in compressor. With some moderate (4:1) compression, my bass sounds just perfect. If you play with the bridge pickup, the B string isn't as wolfy, but that's not the sound I'm looking for. Even though the body is strings-thru-bridge and there are string retainers behind the nut, the B string is a little of the flabby side. However, I tune down to Bb, and when I tune up to standard B it's much better.

This is an American Deluxe Fender bass, which means you get the indestructability of a Fender with the gorgeous looks and attention to detail of a boutique bass. The action was great out of the box, and the entire thing was playable. Frets and nuts were perfect. Beautiful Tobacco Sunburst finish. My burst looks a bit different than pictures, though: the finish doesn't fade to play like on other Tobacco Sunburst basses I've seen; instead, it fades to a caramel brown. It gives a much brighter and 'prettier' (and classier) look to the bass.

There were 2 problems with this bass when it arrived: one of the knobs was loose, and the bridge pickup wasn't properly padded. If you pushed the pickup down with a little force, it would go right back in the body. When it comes back up, it doesn't quite sit right. Those were easy fixes, but for something that says American Deluxe, I expect all of the little details to be taken care of.

At first, when seated, I thought this bass had a rather noticable neck-dive, but I realized that the body of American Deluxe basses are shorter (to allow access to the 22nd fret) than Standard basses, and that meant resting the bass on my leg wasn't resting the centre of the bass. When standing, this bass balances perfectly. It's not light, but it's not stupidly heavy like my old Mexican 5-er and my '51 P-bass reissue. The bass is rock-solid, but the tuners aren't. To make them lighter, the gears are cased in boron-impregnated nylon. The tuners are in the array of 4 over/1 under. I was leaning my bass against a table for a second as I picked up a patch cord, and the bass slid sideways. It fell towards the side of the single G string tuner. The tuning key hit the ground very hard, and the impact caused the nylon casing to totally break. The shaft of the tuning key went through the nylon like a pencil through a piece of paper. Oh, by the way, nylon is near impossible to glue together. The downwards tuner was the one that broke. That's the equivalent of a normal left handed tuner, which aren't very common. I had to order it from Fender, and that took months. Amazingly, though, the machine head still held in tune! The gear wouldn't rotate smoothly; it would 'click' into a tuning, and lucky for me, every tuning it clicked in to was a perfect note! I could go from Gb (which I play in) to G and back with a single click. It was like having a makeshift D-tuner on my bass, except, erm... on the G string. I'm deducting a point because I don't believe that tuner should have broke, even thought it was my fault that it did.

I've never dealt with them directly, but I did order this bass and a replacement tuner from them, and each took months. Take that with a grain of salt.

I've been playing long enough to know the difference between a good bass and a bad one. I own a Japanese made unlined Fretless Jazz Bass, and a Japanese made '51 Precision Bass Reissue. I run them through a Fulltone Bassdrive, a Digitech Bass Chorus, and a Digitech Digidelay, into a Fender Bassman 250 210.

I went from a Squier Jazz to a Mexican Jazz to this one, and this is where I'll stop. Squiers and Mexicans are for kids. I can't think of anything else I'd want on this bass. If it were stolen, I'd buy another; anything else is lesser. It plays amazingly, looks sexy, is a 5-string with a maple fingerboard (and they aren't easy to find!), and it has the exact tone I've always wanted.

I was looking to go high end for my main axe (in the hopes I'd never have to buy another main axe again), and I was torn between a US-DX Fender and a Warwick. Warwicks are too expensive, their necks are huge, and they feel too 'woody'. I played a bass like this and knew I had to have it.

This bass is gorgeous and it does everything I want. I can't think of anything else I can say that about.

American made (obviously), 2005? I bought it in October 2005 after researching it online. I went into Portland music thinking I'd see what they had. I envisioned the alder/honey/tortoise finish. Lo and behold, there it was. I played it for an hour and had to have it. It came with a case and all the accessories including straplocks and the truss rod tool, one of the benefits of buying a higher end Fender.

I give a 9 only because a passive/active switch would be a cool feature. Otherwise, 10.

I think it sounds enough like a "classic" jazz for my tastes. I run it through an Eden WT-400 and 210XLT. I run my amp nearly flat depending on venue. For the most part, I set the Jazz's pre flat with pickup blend about 30% bridge/70% neck. The bass/mid/treble provides plenty of boost or cut.

I play a lot of pop, folk-rock, soul and other ecclectic music. It works for everything I've tried so far.

The action is awesome. I lower it a tad from the store's setup. They say they setup every instrument and it appears they do a good job. I never understood picking on setup for production basses. They get shipped and the setup changes. Everyone has different needs anyway. With this bass, the setup was fine. No major adjustments needed.

The only minor nitpick is a bit of extra laquer at the 22nd fret below the G string. It looks like a small run from the finishing process. It's smaller than a BB and I didn't notice until owning it for months.

Considering this is not a custom bass, I would expect minor finish issues such as this. Overall, the finish is great.

It is durable. I've been playing it as my main bass for a year now without incident.

The straplocks did come loose early on. I've had this problem with the Schaller-style straplocks before. I think it's caused by the friction from the strap part of the lock overwhelming the friction from the body screw. You can handle this easily. Remove them and carefully pour a little bit of wood glue down the hole. Re-insert the lock and screw. Add some lube to the inside of your straplock (the part that contacts the outer edge of the mount.

I don't gig with a backup. However, I'm a bit paranoid about being caught without a backup 5 so I'm looking at the Roscoe Beck V.

Despite the straplock issue, I give it a 10.

Haven't used support yet.

I've been playing bass for 15 years. I've owned lower end basses and still do. I have a Fender Jazz FMT 4 that I bought before adding this 5-string. I love both basses. This bass would absolutely be replaced if something were to happen to it.

This is a '00 AM Deluxe Jazz Bass 5-string, with ash body and maple fretboard. I got it used 1 month ago, and I play it daily in a professional context.
Its slim neck has 22 frets. The pickup configuration is J/J, of course.
One volume, one pan, two stacked tone controls (lows and highs), one mids control. An active/passive switch would be welcome, but with controls set flat the general tone of the bass is very "classical J".
Beautiful make in a general way, very nice teal green transparent finish that shows the curves of the piece of ash.
The bridge allows either "vintage" or through-body stringing. It requires taperwound strings at least on B string.
Bought use without any accessory.

I love the tone of that bass when EQ controls are set flat and both pickups are set equally and in full volume.
The frequency Fender chose for the mid control sounds harsh to my ears.
The bass control is very boomy and the treble very crisp. Though, when both controls are cranked at max, the tone of the bass is powerful. Take care of your gain level on the amp, you might clip !
The controls are very efficient. I actually prefer them on cut mode, "a la vintage".
The sound, as far as I found it for me, is rich, warm, deep and bright at the same time.
But I think I'm lucky enough to have a very good amp to get real good tonal capaibilities. Not that this bass sounds bad, only that many of its on-board controls are almost useless to me.
But once again, with EQ controls set flat, this bass sounds awesome ! So I would be unfair to give too negative a note on that point. Not excellent though.

I can't say anything objective about the action, since I bought it used.
Though, the action is easy to setup in any direction without buzz or fret noise. I personnaly prefer some kind of "not-that-low not-that-high" action, since I play hard with my fingers.
I can see no flaws on this bass. Unless it was a demo model that slept for a few years in a basement, this bass is in near mint condition and seems not to have suffered at all from anything, not even rust.
The bass is not heavy, actually I guess it is as light as a 5-string with a good ash body can be.

This bass is 6 years old and shows no issue at all. All its parts are original. I have no reason to believe this bass is not reliable.

Didn't have to deal with them.

Well, where do I start ?
I needed a 5-string workhorse. I guess I got it, and fortunately I can deal with a tone that tends to get not so far from the "dream tone" I have in my head.
I had many basses in my life, but I guess this one is a keeper, despite of some cons it has. It will actually be my main backup bass when I get my dream bass (Sadowsky).
When I was in the shop, at the same price I had the choice between this one and a mint amberburst Yamaha BBN5A that played and sounded awesome too. Maybe if this one was stolen, I'd get the BBN5A, but that would be just to give some variations to my pleasure of playing.
This Fender deserves a 9 on the general rating for me.

See below : Made is US (had to wait six months for this Ash version) , 5 string version, Ash Body, Pao Ferro fingerboard , gorgeous Aged Cherry Burst finish; active electronics : volume , pick-up balance , active tone (bass mid treble), noiseless pickups , 18 V active circuitry , string thru body , Fender Light-weight tuners, graphite enforced neck.....
Very well equipped/ accessories : Case, strap, straplocks, polisher and polish cloth,.... all included.Seems like 'American Deluxe' does have a meaning after all!

This was th? sound I've been looking fore and expected (as a Geddy Lee fan). After reception wuth UPS , I just plugged in into my PC/guitarport.. and even there it was th? Fender J-bass tone !Think this bass can do about anything. At last in our band (prog-rock-like Marillion , Rush , Pink Floyd type ).The active mid-switch is fabulous : it's like a built in overdrive , nicely saturates the overall tone; both pick-ups sound fabulous and are indeed very noise friendly (even with my sans Amp which was noisy with higher treble/presence setting with my other basses); basic position : leave everything in the middle is suitable for many applications.All actions on the knobs are very responsive.No faults at all detected here.Even the Low B sound , which some users found not the best on this guitar, is very usefull to me. I use it a lot and it sounds well...Wonderfull!

Perfect set-up even after a seven day trip with UPS : the thing was even still in tone out of the box!.Intonation and action were set-up just fine.Pick-up balance is great. Frets were perfectly finished, no flaws at all.In sitting posoition at a little bit top-heavy, howver standing, a perfectly comfortable position is the result. Not too heavy neither.

Hardware , finish , look OK. Tile will tell.

Straplock included, great ! Strap is however more for guitars , then this bass, so I don't use it.I would dare to use it defenitely without back up, but as I also own a Washburn Force 5 and a Parker Fly-5 bass, ...

Have not needed them so far. so .....

I only switched recently to bass in my band Neo-Prophet after playing guitar for about 20 years.I run the bass through a Sans Amp Bass Driver straight into my all tube and former Mesa 2:90 stereo Power amp. One side feeds a Peavey 2x10"+tweeter cabinet, the other a self made 15" cab. I use my "guitar" Digitech 2120 for some rtare chorus, phaser or octaver effect.I could also use my wife great Peavey BAM210 but as this sounds fabulous and is "my sound" I'll stick to this for a while! But anyway the swith to this Fender was very obvious and was a moaor contribution in the overall sound.

American made in Corona California in 2004. 3 piece alder body (I expected 1 or 2 pieces at the max) in transparent amber (looks like a rich butterscotch). Maple neck with maple fret board, 22 frets. 18 Volt, 3 band preamp with new SCN (Samarium Cobalt Noiseless) pickups. Brown tortoise shell pick-guard. Schaller strap locks. Fender hard-shell case with T wrench, Allen wrench and treated cloth for finish wiping.

I?ve not experimented too much yet but I love what I hear so far. I generally leave the pickup selector in the middle. With my amp settings all at flat (no cut or boost) and the preamp settings at flat (no cut or boost) the bass sounds like a punchy jazz. Very full?good highs, lows and mids. I find that I need to use the onboard preamp to boost the bass and mids a little bit to be able to cut through when playing in a band setting. When playing solo I leave everything flat. Typical fender jazz tone with a bit more grunt and growl. I?m sure this slaps well but seeing that I?m not a slap pop bassist I can?t comment there. I owned a 2001 version of this bass years ago and sold it because of the terrible electronics package. That particular bass was terribly anemic and flat sounding?nothing I could do to get a decent tone. The new electronics really make a huge difference on this model. Unplugged it?s got a good balance between resonance, sustain, volume and a balanced/even tone. Not as loud as the G&L and more compressed sounding than the G&L as well. I attribute this difference to the Jazz V body being made of alder and the Tribute L-2500 body being made of swamp ash?both having a maple fret board.

Pros
Construction appears to be very solid. A very lightweight bass (alder body) but it feels rugged at the same time. Lighter than my already light weight Tribute L-2500 but it feels much more ?solid? than the Tribute?hard to describe the difference. I guess I chock the difference up to USA made vs. Korean made. Neck pocket seems solid. Nice figuring in the alder (amber finish). The amber finish looks more like a rich butterscotch finish. Online pictures show the finish as almost an orange color (it?s not orange at all BTW). In other words it?s much nicer looking in person than in photos. Hardware seems solid enough. The neck is amazing to play on?very fast (rolled fret-board edges are very comfortable) and after an easy quarter-turn truss rod adjustment I was able to achieve a flat neck with very low action with no fret buzz at all.
Cons
The body is made up of 3 pieces of alder. One center ?core? piece and two wings attached to that. This doesn?t seem to deter from the tone and it?s not a big deal, but for the amount of $$$ I spent on this bass I would expect a 1 piece body?2 at the very max. I?d give it a 10 if it weren?t for the 3-piece body.

Seems very durable despite the lightweight. Hardware seems rugged enough. Feels ?solid? in your hands. Can?t say enough about the neck.

NA...Don?t have experience with Fender customer support.

I've been playing bass for the past 14 years. I've owned alot of high end and low end gear.

Ok?.I?ve owned a 2001 model of this bass in ash before. This previous version had a 9-volt preamp and noiseless pickups. I don?t know which was the problem the preamp or pickups but that bass lacked bass, presence and just sounded anemic. The new SCN pickups and the 18-volt preamp make all the difference in the world. Playing by myself I like the onboard preamp completely flat with the pickup pan in the middle. Great tone. In my band setting I did have to boost the bass and the mids both about 25% to cut through the two Les Paul driven Marshall cabs. Once boosted I cut through the mix but retained a warm, smooth Fendery tone (not nearly as aggressive as my Tribute L-2500 but just as present). This bass isn?t nearly as hot as the Tribute L-2500 but what it has going for it is a much smoother more vintage tone (think typical Fender) that still has cut and presence to be heard. This is a very nice sounding finger-style rock bass. I?m playing this through a Behringer BX3000T and a Peavey 2X15?. I don?t know what Fender did to the neck on this bass but the B string is much more present, tight and with more volume than the last 2001 model version I owned. The B on that previous model was not very playable at all and had a terribly muddy tone. I?d have to say the B on this new model is just as tight feeling as the B on the Tribute?not as loud as the Tribute?s B but definitely playable/usable in a live setting or recording?not disappointing at all. If you are looking for a smooth, vintage sounding 5 string, and a Stingray 5 or G&L 5 is too aggressive for you I suggest checking this 5 string out. This particular 5 can finally be ranked up there with the Stingray 5, G&L L-2500 and Roscoe Beck 5.

Overall I?d say Fender has finally got their act together regarding quality 5 strings (aside from the Roscoe Beck model?awesome 5 string). If you were put off by Fender 5 string basses before I think it?s time for you to give them another try.

This bass is the American Jazz bass Deluxe 5 string, it has 22 frets and I have mine with the transparent cherry sunburst finish which looks amazing. I has 2 single coils, a white pickguard, 1 volume and 4 tone knobs. The fretboard is Pao Ferro which is not as dark as rosewood and looks a bit reddish and is beautifull, the dots are abalone and are kind of hard to see since they mix in with the color of the fretboard, I had to get used to using the side dots. The bass uses a 9 volt battery and the Noiseless pickups are the quietest I have ever heard in my life. The strings can either be through the body or on the bridge, I have them through the body. The bass came with a molded hardshell case, a leather strap, locking strap pins, a cleaning cloth and tools, and a Fender 10' cable.

The style I play in my band is Norteno/Tejano and the bass fits very well with the rest of the band, at home when I practice I play all types of music(Rage, Mudvayne, Slipknot, Sublime, Suicidal Tendencies, Meshuggah, Korn, Incubus, 311, Deftones, Cafe Tacuba...). I always get complements on how fat and clean the bass sounds. At gigs I run through a different setup at every show, I hardly ever use the tone knobs, I leave everything flat in the middle and the soundguy takes care of the P.A. system. The bass is very versatile in tone and it sounds fat and full and has great definition with chords or individual notes. This bass has ZERO noise, this is the cleanest and quietest instrument I have ever played in my 13 years of playing. I have recorded an album with it with the knobs set flat and it came out great, it works well both on stage and the studio. The only thing I dislike is that the low B sounds a little flabby and different from the other strings, it's not to much to worry about but it is there.

The bass was mail ordered and the intonation was way off on the B, E, and A strings. After I adjusted them the bass played beautifully. The strings were set a little high also but I chose to leave them like that since I play with my fingers and I hit the strings pretty hard. The pickups were setup fine and the bass came flawless, it is beautiful to look at, the only thing I'm going to change pretty soon is the white pickgaurd for a white pearloid one.

The bass seems heavy duty and Fenders are known for the reliability. The finish looks like glass and probably could chip or crack easily if mistreated, I bumped the headstock against the hardshell case and a chip came off pretty easily, I learned quickly to take a lot of care with it. The strap locks are great and seem really solid, so do the tuning pegs. I use it without a backup and I trust it to stay in good shape for every gig.

Haven't had a problem yet.

I have been playing guitar for 13 years and bass for 2 years. I own 3 basses, the Jazz bass, a Yamaha John Patitucci 6 string, and an Ibanez 4 string, the Jazz bass is by far my favorite. If it were lost I would definitaly get another one. I love the tone, its weight, the feel, how it looks, just about everything. The only thing I wish was improved is the sound on the low B, otherwise this bass is perfect and I will probably buy another one in the near future.

Hello i'm a French owner of a Very beautifull, American Deluxe jazz Bass V that is made of Ash ( Aged cheery sunburst) with maple neck and fretboard, beautifull blue abalone dots on the fretboard. It was made in Corona (2003) It has 4 over 1 under tuning machines and new noiseless pickups, I got It for 2230 euros with a standard molded case (yes 2230 euros it makes about 2200 dollars..) It's Very expensive here in France... But quality worth it, we don't have the choice...

The sound is clear and powerfull, the three band eq is very effective and I always says that it's not there for nothing, because you can easily go from an old souding mode to a powerfull and flashy one...
I really love this bass but somes details are not so good...

When I got my beauty, I had to lower the action because of my playing style:Slap, Fingerstyle Funk , Jazz fusion.
I think the pickguard (what would I do with a pick on my bass ???) is too low, slapping under the G string is not really fast. Think I would put a grip to upper the piguard ( I can't lower the action of the string more...)
Another bad thing in finish is that the black dots over the neck are relied with a black line, I think it's not wanted, but a failure in finish...

I had many other basses, ibanez ATk (4 and 5 stings) ,WArwicks (5 and 6 strings) , Bossa (a real great bass... OB5 model), But now I only own the jazz bass and It works... I don't worry about that.maybe I will get a five string Pao ferro one or Fretless one (never seen a fender american deluxe fretless 5 ????)

fender France is nice, i only had to register my bass for warranty, they were diposed to give me alla informations needed...

1997-8? model...

I owned this bass for about two years, bought used for $900. To be honest, I thought this bass would be the bass to end all basses. It was the top of the line fender and I expected perfection. I was dissapointed, however. I had been playing out of a fender BXR 100 amp, but now have since upgraded to the SWR Workingman's 2004 head running to the Workingman's 2x10 and 1x15 stack. Through both the sound was only a little better than mediocre. It lacked bottom end and the low B was floppy on account of the 34" scale. The sound was rather thin in my opinion, and I have recently purchased a Warwick Corvette Standard 5 string. The Warwick totally blew the fender out of the water, even without a mid control on the bass!

I bought this new, and it was low and easy to play on, I prefer less curved necks, but I never had to adjust it within the 2 years i owned it...

I knocked this bass around many times, and it held up like a champ. I never needed a backup.

no need to contact

Made in Corona California in 2002 (could be 2001 model old stock). 22 frets and 5 strings. Master Volume, Blend, Bass and Treble concentric, Mid. Two noiseless jazz pickups. Active electronics. Body is made of Ash (teal green transparent...beautiful) and neck is maple with maple fretboard. Bridge is Fender American Standard (top load or through body stringing). I think the tuners are schaller..go to fender website to find out for sure. 34" scale...neck is wide enough to accomadate wider string spacing (.70-.73") but thin enough to be REMARKABLY playable and super fast. The neck is one of the wider 5's on the market these days but not the widest (Lakland). I can't go on enough about how playable this bass is especially when compared to a Mexi Fender Jazz 5 or a Squier P-bass Special 5. American makes ALL the difference in the world! I'm completely sold on American Fenders now. Came with HSC, pre-treated polishing cloth, schaller strap locks, Fender Strap, all necessary tools for neck adjustment and intonation work.

My style is Alterna-pop, metal and punk. This bass fits ANY style no matter what. I use a Hartke 3500 amp and a Carvin 18" speaker cab. I also run the bass through a Tech 21 Bass compactor. With the Fender on board preamp (bass, mid and treb) all @ 100% and going through the Compactor...damn!...sounds amazing. Not a noisy bass at all. Sound can by anything from Dub Thumb to Jaco growl and EVERYTHING in between. It is great for live playing. I haven't used it yet in the studio but I forsee no problems. I have no dislikes...not even the 34" scale and B string. I think the B sounds fine.

Factory set up was good. I had to lower the action a tiny bit but I can't complain...action is such a subjective thing. Pickup height is perfect...pole pieces individually adjusted to match the radius of the fretboard. No flaws that I can find at all. Again...playing on this neck is such a joy...I had a Lakland 55-01 before. While the Lakland was wonderful the neck (35" scale and WIDE) took a little getting used to. This neck just feels like "home".

It's a Fender. The battle tank of basses! I only have this bass so I have no choice but to play without backup. I'm not worried in the least.

I've always heard and read that Fender Customer Support SUCKS. I won't comment...I've never dealt with them.

Been playing for 12 years. Owned everything from squier crap to Rickenbackers. This is the best feeling, playing, looking and sounding bass I've owned. I would definitely buy it again. I'd really like to try the P-bass Deluxe V! I love everything about this jazz bass. Hate nothing about it. If you have a chance...DON'T go mexi or Squier, buy American Fender and you WON'T be disappointed.

This bass is a beautiful natural finish with tortoise shell pick-guard. It's has a maple neck. The other guys have already given you all the info on the features so.....

This bass can do ANYTHING. I play everything from prog metal, to psychadelia, to pop/rock, and well, jazz. I'm currently running it through an Ashdown bass magnifier ABM500, through an ampeg 4x10 cabinet. It is ultra quiet. Sound wise you can do anything with it.

My bass was set-up perfectly in every way. This bass was flawless.....I'll get to the "was" in a minute.

This bass is built solid. The only problem I have with it is that the bridge is showing a little bit of rust already, and I've only owned the bass for a couple of months. The climate around here (Upstate,Ny) is fairly humid, so,that might be the reason.The strap will be solid after they come loose the first time, and you fill the screw hole with tooth picks, and wood workers glue. It's been a solid as can be since then.

Fender sucks ass. I paid $1200 for this bass, and they won't even send me a couple new bridge saddles to replace the rusty ones. I'm not sure why they give you a life-time warranty if they're not going to cover anything important.

I've been playing guitar for 8 years, and bass for 2. I also own a G&L fretless. I'm thinking about getting another one of these basses before I go on tour early next year as a back-up, but I'm pretty sure it won't be needed. This bass rules in every single way, too bad fender's customer service is crap.

amazing bass. I have owned this bass for about 6 years now, and it is my one standby bass, that is always in my hands on stage or with me in the studio. Heres why: It is so versitile, you can do anything with it. In a word, American makes all the difference. I owned a mexican p-plus (downsized body with p/j setup) and it doesnt even come close. It is a crimson burst, and looks like my nuts on a tuesday morning after some monday night lovin.........great bass, and the active 3 band eq doesnt hurt either

Quiet pickups, only better that i have heard in the noiseless departments are those that rely on active 18 volt electronics in basses that cost 3-4 times as much, and are in and out with the season. THis bass is a classic, and will only aprriciate in value, not only in a personal sense, but monetarily as well. I have run this amp through a hartke 5000, gallien kruger 1001rb, several fenders, and an old b-15, sounds lush and full with all of these amps. Warm, full bass that can run the gammut. Midrange bulge of Jaco (although it is a fretted bass, i know) to high treble of wooten, to a funky fresh mo-town, flea style sound, it can do it all. The pick up selection switich is a bonus also, as it blends the two noisless j pickups in aany combination, far left, it produces a funkly, high mid sound, and far right, a full metal type chunk, excellent bass.

Action was pretty good as set, with a bass, i know that i personally do all my setups, and it is remarkably easy to do yourself with this bass. All is good as set, i bought this new, so it should be as it is shipped from the factory. Finish is hot as hell. The grain is visible in the middle and fades to a solid red on the edge. Wood i belive is alder, excellent tone, the neck is pao ferra, which is expensive rose wood, and plays nice and fast with no stickyness, neck is well ballenced and fast as hell.

I would not use another bass, its part of my sound.
Other than my custom fretless, this bass is it for me.
Put your life in this bass, it will see upon you many good returns, karma and shit (pack a bowl with it, the bass is your friend)

fender staff are assholes, but i dont care, this is my bass

ive been playing for 10 years now, or half my life. This is a great bass, and as a working musician, all i need. I would buy this bass again if it was stolen, but someone would turn up dead if they touched it as i am protective of it. It is great for slap. Harmonics and intonation (you can play most of "portrait of tracy" with this bass"

This is a five string version. It has active electronics and Fenders noiseless pickups. It is made of alder and comes in a outstanding three-color sunburst. It has straplocks (an excellent addition) and Schaller light weight tuners, which I haven't had any problem with. I've owned it for about a year and a half now. It has a pao-ferro fretboard which is similiar to rosewood. I had an identical bass, except with a maple fretboard and a trasparent crimson finish (so I guess it wasn't identical...) which looked awesome as well. It came with a real nice case and leather strap.

I don't know how exactly to describe the tone except...perfect--for my style anyway. I play 100% fingerstyle. I'm sorry to all of you punk and funk players but I truly despise popping and slapping. It seems anymore that the measuring stick used to judge the ability of a bass player is how fast he can pop and slap. I have a problem with that. Not because I want everyone to think I'm good (which unfortunately I do) and they might not because I don't slap and pop, but because there are other things to do on a bass besides hitting things. Sorry for the little tangent. Seriously though, this bass rocks. The tone is outstanding. I play through a hartke stack and I love the tone. The low B string isn't as clear and as powerful as I would like it to be occasionally, but hey, what can I expect from a string that is 3/16 of an inch thick. Keep in mind this is a Jazz so where this really excells is a little higher on the fretboard. I like to play lines on the more melodic side (ala- Michael W. Smith, D.C. talk, Steven Curtis Chapman, etc.--if you aren't familiar with these guys, get em' and listen to the bass. It's phenomenal!) Anyway, if your looking for a bass that is loaded with classic tone, but can still get down and rock, this is the one.

The bass came looking awesome. In my opinion, nobody does 3-color tobacco sunburst like Fender does. I bet you don't here that everyday, huh? It looks great! The action was pretty good. I ended up having to adjust the bridge... little thingy...on the E string because that string was going a little sharp as I moved up the fretboard, but when I adjusted that thing (whatever it's called) it fixed the problem and it was fine. Everything else works great. I give this a ten for the finish!

Overall, it holds up very good. I've had to adjust the truss rod several times but I live in the deserts of Colorado and in the summer time we have a swamp cooler. For those of you who don't know what that is it's like blowing air through a sponge at high velocities into your home. So, needless to say, the humidity rises considerably and it whacks out the neck. But a little adjustment and it's fine. Which is a great testament to the craftsmanship of this instrument: it can be adjusted when something is wrong and restored to normal working condition.

I've never really dealt with them; I've never had too. Which is the best customer support, is it not? So I give them a 10 for that.

Overall, I love this thing. Fender has done the world a great service by making such an instrument. Well, ok, maybe I shoudn't go THAT far. I've owned a Peavey Foundation which was the first bass I had and an ESP LTD five string. These instruments worked in the sense that they made noise, but when I first held this Jazz in my hands and started to play, the music seemed to just flow. Many difficult lines I had been working on just sort of floated off my fingers. In music performance there is one important lesson that every one must learn at one time or another,and hopefully sooner than later: you get what you pay for. Yes, it is about $1000, but if you're looking for good tone (the best tone) and the ultimate in playability (did I mention this thing plays very easily?) this is the instrument for you. If I ever lost this instrument? Hmmm...well have you ever seen a grown man cry?