Fender American Jazz Bass Deluxe

2001 Amwerican 22 fret 4 string rosewood fretboard ash body blonde
active treble and bass passive mid 9 volt (last year before the 18v came out, I think it was a 2001?) LEFT HANDED
2 noiseless pick ups and a variable switch
jumbo frets
hardcase and assorted tools truss rod adjuster, even already had a battery

Rock and Roll mostly and Christian Rock (play at a local church every sunday)
mesa boogie m pulse 360 with a digitech bass modeler 200, bass cabs 4x10 ampeg and/or earcandy 2x12 (6stringninja in Indiana makes them)
with all the versatility of the mesa and the digitech it can sound like anything you want.
I mostly go for the tight deep sound with some sustain for slide or slap. dean markley blue cryogenic 50-105
At the church if I don't keep it down it's like thunder, especially with both cabs and the amp running at 4 ohm.

It sat in Arizona for a while and then got sent to Illinois.
It needed some adjustment, a couple of slight flaws in the neck, which probably was why it became a lefty
string length needed adjusted as well as pickup heights and string heights.
there was a chip and one of the tuners were bent slightly (G)
but that was ups my wife saw him drop it, but I straightened it out and touched up the chip. I would have sent it back, but it was the last blonde lefty and besides it was like a mail order bride, I didn't have the heart to give it back.

It's solid, doesn't eat batteries and it stays in tune, even when I put it in the back of my truck at zero degrees (open bed) and travel at 65mph through snow and sleet and bring it inside to 75 dgrees. My fingers aren't the longest and working in a factory for twenty years hasn't helped much either so I have a little trouble reaching around in the key of 'F', but the neck is nice easy action
I do depend on it and have never had to readjust the truss.

I haven't dealt with them.

Long time playing, getting older now but love to play anything.
I looked high and low for a mid priced bass, lefties can get cheap ones or expensive ones. I've had cheap can't afford 2 or 3 thousand dollar german ones.
I looked high and low
would get another (if available) anytime

1996 American made. Volume, blend, stacked treble/bass and mid. I really like the bass and treble control, but the mid seems to get lost. It doesn't seem very focused and just seems to add shear volume when boosted. I would have prefered a sweepable mid, but all in all, there's plenty of versatility. The string through design really sets this bass apart from it's passive counterpart. Also, the reinforced neck is a good idea. Why they don't do that on the reissues is beyond me. How many warped jazz bass necks have to be thrown away before Fender gives it up... The pickups only have 4 pole pieces rather than the 8 I'm used to seeing.

I have an active Warwick 4 Corvette that I absolutely love, but it somehow didn't seem to fit in with some of the blues groups I play with. After seeing every blues bassist from Austin to Chicago playing a Fender j or p, I figured I'd better get one too. I tried the '62 Reissue Jass first, and it has "the" sound. The jazz bass growl, but nothing else. The American standard jazz wasn't much different. Then I found a used American deluxe and fell in love. I can do the Jazz bass growl perfectly, but also can be tweaked to get a variety of other sounds. I recently had the Warwick in for some work (short in the preamp), so I used the Jazz for some funk work and it did a nice job. Different than the warwick of course, but it fit the bill nicely. Even our tone deaf drummer complimented the sound.

I guess all the CNC milling machines that Fender uses now takes most of the guess work out of the construction process. Buying the instrument used, I can't swear that there wasn't any fret leveling or other work done on it, but it was pretty much ready to go right out of the case. I have a jet black one with mother of toilet seat guard and a beautiful rosewood fingerboard. All are beautiful.

Carry a spare 9 volt and a little screwdriver and you'll be set. I kinda wish it had one of those pop out battery compartments rather than a plate that is screwed in though.

Fender may just be too big for such things. They have a lot of good info online now, but emails and phone calls are pretty much a lost cause.

I've had this bass for about 4 months now and it's seen a couple dozen gigs. It offers the look and sound of a Jazz bass but with a much more modern feel and set of additional features. Plus it's LIGHT. It has to be 4 pounds lighter than my Stringray5, and lighter than even the other Jazz basses I tried. Great for 4 hour gigs.

The first time I tried this Jazz in the shop (after numerous StingRays and Warwicks) it wasn't very well set up - but it just said 'yes' to me. After some tweaking at home sorted that out, this bass just took off. It's the best I've ever played.

It features two j-bass pickups that say "Noiseless" and live up to the name. No buzzing. The bridge looks like a standard Fender bass bridge - but the strings are anchored through the body. The saddles are threaded horizontally so you can alter the string spacing.

The body seems slightly smaller than a standard Jazz and the whole thing weighs less and feels perfect. The finish is see-though red with a nice wood grain (ash?) underneath. I did want to take the pickguard off for that Jaco look, but unfortunately the control cavity and front pickup have been routed as one.

It sounds like a regular Jazz that's been going to the gym for a decade. The three-band active system works superbly to give everything from smooth back pickup finger work to serious growl with the pan-pot centred. There are no dead spots anywhere and every note has real weight and clarity.

Initially I used it with a Trace Elliot combo. It sounded excellent, but slightly glassy and hard. Then I tried a Gallien Krueger MB150E which suits this bass down to the ground. I ended up playing all day - which I haven't done for a long time.

If there is a criticism (and this is being really picky) the bass sounds a bit processed and hi-fi. But that's a tiny price to pay for such huge versatility.

It wasn't particularly well set-up in the shop, with heavy strings and a high action. But that didn't take long to fix once I got it home and put some new strings on. The action now is perfect - low enough for fast slap and high enough not to rattle.

It was very nice to be supplied by the manufacturer with the right-size hex key for the bridge. More should do it as a matter of course.

There are no problems whatsoever with fit or finish. The whole thing feels like some care has been taken to get it that way.

It's sophisticated, but not too complex to operate and the bass feels very solid and dependable. Also nice to have Schaller strap buttons supplied so your old Schaller-equipped strap will work. Locking strap buttons are a very good idea when playing live.

The neck is graphite-reinforced. It feels a bit weird at first - very stiff. But in the long term it should proved extremely stable.

I would have no problem using this bass on stage without a backup - assuming I'd remembered to put a new battery in beforehand...

The shop (in Denmark Street, London) were not very helpful, but it was a Saturday afternoon and the place was full of the usual Saturday afternoon crowd.

It has a "limited life-time warranty" which means Fender guarantee much of it for life - excepting electronics. The whole thing is guaranteed for a year.

I've been playing for 15 years and as well as this baby I own a five-string fretless Musicman StingRay.

Much as I like the StingRay, I have always gone back to using Fender Jazz basses. I've had copies, Tokais, Squiers, Jap ones, heavily customised ones and a vintage black American '72 which I was forced to sell six months ago (sniff). I had a Warwick Thumb once - which in a way is a heavily (heavily!) modified Jazz.

But this bass is better than any of them - including the '72 or the Warwick. In fact it is better than some other much more expensive "Mega-Jazz" basses. It is really well though out, from the string anchoring to the bridge saddles, to the electronics to the machine heads.

It is incredibly playable. More to the point it makes you want to play -which is the whole point.

This mid year 2000 American deluxe Jazz 5 sports an alder body with a nice sunburst finish,maple fretboard, fender's active three band EQ,a combination strings thru body or top load bridge, two new Fender "noiseless"J-bass pickups, and new lighter weight tuners for better balance. Comes complete with hardshell case,leather strap,cord,neck adjusting tool and allen wrench.

The "noiseless" pickups (which aren't always noiseless,depending on a lot of factors) are very true Jazz bass sounding and when tweaked with the active EQ provide a varity of sounds that will cover most all of your playing situations.I've found keeping the pickup pan at 12 o'clock (50/50)is nice for alot.I play in a lot of different situations and through a lot of different bass rigs, and this bass comes through all the time!

This bass arrived set up beautifuly,although if your choice of strings are not taper wound (as are the "E" and "B" on the fender factory set),it will take some adjusting that can be tricky if you are not quite skilled at this type of adjustment,to get the new untapered strings to the correct intonation and action. Most fender dealers will give you one free set up at purchase,but if you buy mail order as I did, you're on your own!

The name Fender stands for reliability and durability in most owners minds and this bass is no exception. It's a solid player from top to bottom. No truss adjustments in the first three months of use, and thats going from east coast summer heat to air conditioning and vice-versa!!

Fender has a great e-mail response team, The same rep addressed all my questions from the difficulty of finding one of these basses to a
small problem I had upon delivery (a scratch on the back of the body that almost looked like initials! Hard to believe!)

As a 10yr. 5 string player and 25yr.pro there are few basses that cover it all like a jazz.This 5 shows that Fender got it right after a few "not Quites". The maple board is just great for the extra bit of brightness I love.(although players preferring a bit warmer sound will no doubt prefer the Pao Ferro fingerboard) I saw Jason Scheff of the band Chicago playing a custom shop version of this bass three years ago, and bugged fender once a month for almost two years to offer a production model with a maple fret board!Thankfully they finally did.!!

Made in 1997, USA of course, alder core with ash veneers on top and back, graphite reinforced maple neck, rosewood fretboard, 22 frets, two special design Jazz Bass single coils, active 3-band eq, dynamic select(pan pot), bass boost/cut, treble boost/cut, mid boost/cut, master volume, also string-through-body bridge

This active jazz bass really growls. It isn't mellow like a traditional jazz bass but it really can cut through a mix. I play in a prog rock band with a lot of effects and this bass really fits the sound. It can be used in any style because you can adjust the eq and get any imaginable sound. If you play this jazz with a pick, the sound really is intense. The pick makes it sound so warm and throaty.

The action is fine but it isn't the fastest neck I have ever played. Doing solo runs is kind of tough at first but once you get use to the neck (which is really stiff) it gets easier. I adjusted the height on the saddles to get rid of some of the fret buzz. The finish was quite elegant. I got it in an antique burst and it really asks to be held. The ash veneers really have a pleasing grain. I have never seen a bass that looks better than this one.

Yeah this thing is reliable. It will last forever and it will just sound better with time. I don't need a second bass but I might get a precision just for some more versatility.

Haven't dealt with them yet but I heard they suck. I hope that isn't true!

This really is the top of the line. It has a vintage look and feel with a more modern tone. It sounds incredible through a good amp, especially my GK 800. I have played a lot of other basses and I wouldn't want another model. The only drawback is the price has gone up over 300 dollars since I purchased it. I got it when it was cheap and Fender also stopped using ash veneers. The newer deluxe models don't look as good without the ash. The ash also gives it some bite!