Fender American Series Jazz Bass Special Edition

This Bass is a 2000 model American series J bass. It it is essentially a standard American J bass with the exception of the finish. It is a quilted sunburst finish, which is absoluetly georgious. Hardware includes passive bi pole pickups, string thu body bridge, cast open back tuners, and maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. There is a "special edition" decal behind the headstock, underneath the tuning machines.The body is alder, and the neck has that yellowed aged look.

I like a full sounding bass and this thing delivers. I think that Fender has stuck with the "if it aint broke, don't fix it" philosophy for a good reason. The passive pickups have plenty of punch and versatility for my taste and I don't have to worry about batteries going dead in the middle of a gig. I play through a Carvin RC 210 Red Eye combo w/ a 18"extention cabinet. With this combination, I'm able to get a nice warm sound. I can't stand basses that are too trebley.I like to be able to feel the bass. For slapers, you can get a decent slap tone, but you would probobally want active pickups. I am not much of a slapper. I'm more into melody. It seems like every time you walk into a music store some bass player is always slapping- kind of like in the 80's (when rock guitarists had hair and could actually play thier instruments) there was always someone playing "eruption". Anyway, I call it bass masturbation!
By blending the pickups and using the tone control, one can get a decent variety of sounds.In a nut shell,my wife made the comment that this bass really sings, and she is never notices things like that. Good enough for me!

I had to have the action raised (really). It seems that someone else was going to by it before I got it and the salesman had it set up the that guys specs, including a set of elixer strings.I had it set up to Fenders specifcations and I'm very pleased with the results. I've had the bass now for 6 weeks and I think it needs a truss rod ajustment, which is not unusual, since it is getting warmer and the A/C is running more in my house. I feel thet the quality is very good,noticably better than the Standard(mexican) series.The neck has a worn in feel which reflects Fenders advertising. To me, this bass feels very comfortable, although it is a little heavy. Using a wide strap has corrected that problem by distributing weight a little better.The quilted sunburst finish seems very durable and it looks great too! I'm sure that it will get some dings and dents eventually, but I bought this thing to be played! the head stock has survived a few cymbal collisions so far.

Since I don't have to worry about batteries any more, I would play without a back up. J basses have been around for forty years and this is no accident. They are a time tested design without a lot of bells and whistles.It came Schaller strap locks, which I've been using for years. Nice touch. As I said before, the hardware is more than adaquate, and should hold up nicely. Also supplied were a 6' cable, which is way too short, polising cloth,a T handle truss rod wrench and an allen wrench for the bridge. The hard case is pretty tough, but there is a slight misalignment when you close the case. I should take it back to the store and see what they will do about it.

I've never had to deal with Fender, but think that they would be glad to halp if needed. It came with a limited lifetime warranty

I bought this bass because I've always wanted a jazz bass. It is a simple design that has withstood the test of time. It has been a fixture in popular music for generations and I suspect it will be here for a long time. I have been playing for 18 years and have come to appreciate the J bass for all it's strengths and weaknesses. If you like alot of bells and whistles, you might want to look elsewhere. But, if you want a good reliable workhorse that will be there for the long haul, check one out. This bass is a special edition, so maybe it will hold it's value. No matter, I plan on having it for a long time!