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Fender American Series Jazz Bass

Summary
Price New Fender American Series Jazz Bass @ Musician's Friend
Manufacturer URL http://www.fender.com/
Features 8.9 (16 responses)
Sound 9.3 (16 responses)
Action, Fit, & Finish 9.1 (16 responses)
Reliability/Durability 9.3 (15 responses)
Customer Support 8.3 (4 responses)
Overall Rating 9.2 (16 responses)
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Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted 11/02/2007 at 04:55pm by mike

Features : 10
2002 USA Fender Jazz bass, 3 color sunburst, parchment pick guard, chrome hardware, rosewood fret board it has the American standard fetchers...upgrades made buy first owner; Pickups changed to EMG J-bss set...the 9volt battery is under the control panel, which works great!

Sound : 10
I love the feel and playability of the Fender Jazz & Precision bass guitars. I didn???t like the sound or tone from the EMG at first, but after listing to few live recordings is was big improvement over my MIM Precision with DP122 pickup which has great bottom end but lacks on the upper freq, I was amazed how great the EMG sounded, what a big difference in tone! lots of bottom end nice mids and upper freq's has well balanced warm tone!!!

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
The finish looks great!!
fits my playing style...
The action had to be redone, string buzz all over, the heel of the neck had a shim inserted which made the heel of the neck set higher, so the bridge had to be set higher to remove string buzz, not good???after I remove the shim adjust the neck to fender spec checked the intonation, it was right on...now! it played better, and was able to get the pickups adjusted closer to the strings for better balance & tone!

Reliability/Durability : 10
not a problem!!!

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 10
I traded my 40th Anniversary USA Fender Strat with Texas Special pickups sunburst with all maple neck as even trade but little on the skeptical due to the Strat had more sentimental value to me but forced my self to do it, I was more then happy with the trade. I own two MIM fender bass with dimarzio pickups and badass bridges and they play and sound incredible but the USA fender jazz is little litter and sounds just fantastic. I have several bass amps but my main rig is Ampeg STV Pro-3 older model and Ampeg BTX410HL bottom???what great combo!!

I???ve been playing guitar for 22 years, bass for little over year, but! I have learned and do appreciate the bass player more then ever! my good friend said; bass is just mud...but after going through ton of equipment changes to get the tone I was after! he now understands it???s not just mud? but a nice warm fat tube tone with killer bottom end with warm mid's & highs! that make it sound so sweet!!!


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $1100
Submitted 06/01/2006 at 05:33pm by Ender

Features : 8
Made in USA 2000. I got the first shipment @ Sam Ash, almost off loaded the truck. Trade a Trace Elliot Big Ben amp and a couple bones for it. Graphite Truss rod, Alder body in black, parchment 3-ply pickguard, stringed thru the body and came with contour hardhell case. I changed the pickguard to 4-ply tort. added thumb rest and chrome pickup cover. I also removed most, not all of the black finish, it looks like a relic.

Sound : 9
I play mostly Reggae, Rock and Pop stuff, no effects thru an Ampeg (only amp for a bass player) B100-R. Bass has a little noise if pickups are not fully dialed in, which is just the way I play it, tone knob rolled competely off. Sounded good in 2000 and it keeps getting better, especially since I removed most of the paint. Nice wam tone with some growl behind its teeth.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 8
Bass setup was awright. Lowered it a bit. Finish was nice, but when I replaced the pickguard it looked kind of gnawly under the hood. I play everyday and it stays in tune perfectly most of the time.

I am Fender Player, love everything Leo ever touched. But, I must stress one thing, for his bass or any other. You must learn the instrument, explore its curves, find its sweet spots. Make that baby yours, the tone is in your fingers, the way you caress, tug, pull and release.

Reliability/Durability : 9
Got it in 2000 and it is now 2006 and it is still going and going, and going....

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never had a problem, never called.

Overall Rating : 9
Started out as a guitar player, but please don't hold that against me. Been playing bass now for about 8 years. Currently using an Ampeg (Rocket Bass) b-100R and Fender bassman 25 for practice. Apart from the Fender Jazz, I own a Fender Reggie Hamilton Standard, (which hopefully I will trade for a Geddy Lee) Spector Rebop DLX 4 and an OLP Stringray copy. But this is still by favorite bass, it took be awhile before I added to my stable, but she always be my main lady. If she bolted would replace her but not with he new Fenders w/S1 switch, don't like them


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $1000
Submitted 11/20/2005 at 07:27pm by Anonymous

Features : 8
2000 American Series Fender Jazz. Ash body, natural finish. Maple fingerboard. String through body bridge. Came with white 3-ply pickguard, which I replaced with a black one (it seems that in the last few years Fender has wised up to the fact that most people HATE white pickguards and has started offering black pickguards on the American stuff). Controls are standard jazz bass, V-V-T. This bass precedes the current S1 series/parallel switching option. Came with a fitted hardshell case, strap buttons, Fender strap and adjustment wrenches.

Sound : 9
When I got into playing bass again seriously about 5 years ago, I forked out the $$$ for this to replace my old MIM P-Bass. Since then, I have aquired a number of other basses including Fender, Carvin and some cheapies. They all are great, but if I had to part with all but one, this is the axe I would keep. It is very versatile sound-wise, although not nearly as versatile as it would be with an onboard preamp. Due to the ash body and maple fingerboard, it has that classic bright & punchy Fender 70's jazz bass tone. With the neck pickup soloed, you can get into pseudo P-Bass territory. Bridge pup gives you that classic thin, mid-rangey bite. Overall, however, the bass sounds best IMO with both pickups up full.

I replaced the stock pups with an EMG JV set after I'd had the bass for a while. The stock pups actually sound just fine (obviously you have single coil hum with either pickup soloed, but that comes with the territory). I only replaced them out of curiosity - the main advantage of the EMGs is that they are DEAD QUIET, both when soloed or combined.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 9
Factory setup wasn't too bad, but it could have been better. I needed to do an action and truss rod adjustment. The only minor flaw is that the bridge pickup rout seems to be every so slightly skewed. I don't think I even noticed it until I'd had the bass for a year or two. The finish was perfect. No issues there.

A real highlight of the bass construction is the fretwork and fingerboard edges. Very well done. Sides of the neck are very smooth and have a nice broken-in feel (I think Fender started "hand rolling" the fingerboard edges when they went from the "American Standard" to "American Series" moniker).

Control cavity is well shielded with conductive paint, which keeps the noise to a minimum. Electronics are of good quality and the soldering was well done.

Reliability/Durability : 10
This bass has been used extensively in live situations, without a backup. I am confident all aspects of it will withstand many more years of live use. Absolutely no gripes.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never had to deal with Fender, which is a testament to the quality of the instrument.

Overall Rating : 9
I have been playing for 12 years, seriously for the last 5. As I mentioned above, this would be the "last bass standing" if I had to do away with all my others.

I think the quality and sound of this instrument is what you'd expect after paying $1000.

An active preamp would be nice, but classic Jazz Basses don't have this, so Fender is sticking to the traditional vibe of the instrument.


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $550 used
Submitted 05/05/2005 at 06:25am by Andrew

Features : 8
Mine is a 2001 in 3 tone sunburst, with rosewood fretboard. I bought it used, but the plastic/stickers were still on the pickguard. There are a couple tiny signs of use, but it looks basically new. The jazz bass and has been basically the same for over 40 years, so the features are adequate.

Sound : 10
A thing of beauty. Well rounded. It can be smooth, aggressive, punchy---it can play just about any style of music, and it has. I changed strings to D'Addario Chrome flats. The upper register sings like you wouldn't believe. Awesome! Pickups are a little noisy at times, but not in a live setting, or when recording. Fantastic sound comes out of them, though!

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
Even being bought used, the action was perfect. I changed strings from the stock taper-wounds and still haven't needed to adjust the trussrod. Can't argue with that! The fit and finish is gorgeous, par for Fender. The jazz neck is one of the best necks available. In fact, it is the most comfortable neck out there, in my opinion.

Reliability/Durability : 8
Of all the Fenders I've owned, I haven't ever had a problem with the build quality or reliablility (save of a MIM Jazz fretless--sub USA standards.) This jazz bass had the strap lugs loosen---the holes became sloppy inside, and I needed to perform the toothpicks and glue trick. It has been perfect ever since, but things like this shouldn't happen. I know it is common on Fenders, but why is it common? This ongoing problem should be addressed at the Fender factory. Even so, deserves an 8. It would get a 10 if the straplugs didn't loosen.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never used them.

Overall Rating : 9
Great hardware, comparable to the best in the business. Great finish to rival other top makers. Extremely versatile pickups; sound is superb in all areas. Has the Fender legacy, and lives up to it at all times. Playability is about the best of any bass I have ever played.


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $850
Submitted 12/13/2004 at 04:34pm by Anonymous

Features : 8
2003 American 4-strings fretted, ash body transparent red, maple neck, 2 jazz pickups. Bought Jan 2004.

Sound : 4
Annoying humming noise from the single coil jazz pickups, especially with tone knob turned all the way up. Brought the bass to a Fender shop who said that was just normal and there was nothing they could do about it. If you like a constant 'normal' humming noise, get this bass, otherwise get something else.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 7
Finish is gorgeous and solid. Action is fine though I find my cheap Yamaha RBX270 more playable (has a faster neck).

Reliability/Durability : 8
Weights and built like a tank. My Yamaha RBX270 feels featherweight in comparison.

Customer Support : 5
Fender shop was nice and friendly but not very helpful with regards to the humming noise.

Overall Rating : 6
I like the sound (rich and bright) but not the noisy single-coil pickups. Tried it on various amps. I also own a cheap Yamaha RBX270 (P-bass type pickups) that has no humming noise (though not such a rich and bright sound). Played seriously for one year. Won't get a Fender bass again. Planning to trade for something with humbucker pickups, like MusicMan.


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $599.00
Submitted 02/27/2004 at 12:50am by Chris

Features : 10
I just bought a 2001 New-old stock American-made "American Series" Jazz Bass on February 14, 2004. It had been hanging in the store for a while. I got a sweeeeet deal. $599 out the door. Saved about $400 or so.

String-thru body. Non locking tuners. Maple neck. Rosewood fretboard. 20 frets. Alder body. Chrome Red finish.

I bought this bass because every bassist in every band that I like either currently plays or at one time played a Fender bass......Mike Dirnt(Green Day), Sting, Flea, Hoppus, Ramones, Tommy Shannon (SRV, Double Trouble), Marcus Miller etc.

I read reviews of many, many other basses, and it seemed that they all tried, to some degree, emulate Fender basses. Whether it be the P-Bass or the J-Bass. These are truly classic intuments. Well-made and built to be played.

I've been playing a Fender Strat for 9 years and one thing I know is that Fenders are built to last. That had alot to do with my decision.


This bass does not have "Tons of Features" but the features are pretty nice. It has aeverything you need in a passive bass.
I rate it a...........

Sound : 10
My band is very much influenced by Band of Gypsies, The Dead, Green Day, Janes Addiction and SRV. We play different styles. Blues-Rock, Hard Rock, Punk and Improvisation.

I play an Ampeg SVT Classic head through Eden cabs.
I use a Digitec Bass Squeeze Compression pedal and that's all.
I use Tara Lab speaker cables and Monster intsrument cables.
I use DR strings.

This bass is a beast through my rig. It just growls and rumbles and does what I want it to. It's really beefy sounding. It sounds incredible! I'm very impressed with its sound. It's versatile.

Like the guys on the other posts have mentioned, if you move the tone knobs in the opposite direction of each other, you will experience hum or noise. It's kind or annoying actually but that's the price to pay with a single coil set up. I point both the tone knobs facing the same direction about half way up. I get a really thick sound that way. The compressor helps a bit. Good cables help too...maybe.

In stock trim, this bass is great for Rock and Blues. It's punchy and sustains very well. It was pofessionally set up at the shop and acoustically, sounds excellent. It snaps!

Alot of my sound has to do with my rig as does yours.
In my head, I knew the sound I wanted. After that, I had to figure out what gear was going to help my achive that sound. I took a look at what the bassists that influenced me played or are playing and made my decision from that. I think I've got it. SVT, EDEN, FENDER JAZZ.

You cannot ask for a better-sounding bass for under $650....especially when it normally retails for about $900-1000.
Fender did a good job on this one and I rate it a......

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
Excellent. Professionally set up at the shop.
Good to go. Thanks!

Reliability/Durability : 10
It's a Fender. Rock Solid!

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 10
How long have I been playing?.....I've been playing music for almost 20 years. Since I was 7. Drums, Guitar and Bass. I've been playing bass for four years. I started on a MIM Jazz...sold it and bought a 1970 Univox Coily Custom Semi-Hollow Body Bass. That bass rocks and is gorgeous. I still have it.
If it were stolen or lost?......I'd be really pissed, and then really bummed. Once I came to my senses, I would buy another Jazz bass.
What do I love?......the deep, fat, thick, creamy, sound.
What do I hate?......nothing. But, I don't particularly like the pickup noise.

I may look in to getting hum-cancelling pickups if they're available and don't cost a fortune. Other than that, the bass is so nice.
I really got lucky.

Thanks for reading.


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: 975 (?)
Submitted 01/19/2004 at 09:51am by Janelectro
Email: jantroeschel<at>yahoo dot com

Features : 10
Mine is a 2-tone sunburst fourstring built in 2002, MIA.
It's got 20 frets on a rosewood fingerbord glued to a maple neck.
It has a solid alder body, which is made of one piece (no glue marks shining through the transparent paint).
It has 2 standart single coils controlled by 2 Volume and 1 tone controls, all passive.
It does not feature the S-1 system, but thats O.K., if I want a p-bass sound I take my p-bass.
The bridge is the standart Fender L-type, but it features both string-through-body as top-mounted.
The tuner are tight but comfortably to turn, it stays in tune for several days.
It's a longscale, of course.
It came with a molded hardshell case made for Fender by SKB, tools, security locks and a cable.
I love Jazz basses, I don't need active electronics, the jazz has all the features I desire, full ten.

Sound : 10
The sound of this bass is a dream...
With the one-piece-alder-body, it consists of only 3 different slabs of wood, and you hear that.
The string-through bridge and the graphite reinforced neck develop a sustain singing all night through, it's sound is really lasting for a long time.
The sound is very bright and slightly metallic.
With the two single coils you get enough variety to play blues or funk with the same instrument.
Luckily the 60 cycle hum is not very loud on this bass, all you hear is a little buzz, but also only with one pu turn full up and the other full down if you're standing right in front of your amp.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
The bass was set up at the store, so I don't know how the factory setup was.
Fit & finish just perfect, the polyurethane finish is a real mirror.

Reliability/Durability : 10
I think this bass will last a life long - hey, it's a Fender, I would always rely on their instruments as long as they're passive.
Strap-locks, graphite reinforced neck, heavy duty tuners, what do you want more?
Up til now even the bridge does a good job (switched to a badass on the precision - brigde too crappy).
I would always take a backup.
I would blindly rely on the bass, but not on the strings.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never dealt with them. Limited lifetime warranty. I'll die before it.

Overall Rating : 10
I've been playing for 3 years now, my other gear is a heavily modified precision bass and a Marshall B65 amp.
If the Jazz Bass were stolen, I would be with my P-Bass again.
Until I'm able to afford an American Jazz Bass again.
I love the whole bass.
I was going to buy a mexican classic, but I found this new American for a good price and bought it because of it's superior quality and sound.


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $1200
Submitted 09/15/2003 at 02:25pm by Kirby
Email: peterscheldt02 at sprintpcs<dot>com

Features : 10
This bass is natural finish and a maple fret board. It is part of a collection I have been putting together recently. I started playing bass in 1968 when my bass player at the time got in trouble with the law and was sent away by Mom, but left his bass and SUNN bass amp. Heh, heh.

I bought my first jazz bass in 1969 and played it through a SUNN 200S. It was great for live and super for studio work. You plug it into the board and it is clear and clean and bottomy without mushiness...a problem I had with Gibson EB 0 bass.

Sound : 10
Like I said, its very clean and punchy without mushiness. The 60's basses came with a bridgecover that had a piece of neoprene in it to mute the strings. This was a sound popular with jazz guys at the time. Luckily the new basses don't have this.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
The Jazz bass has it all over others including the Precision for action. It plays really easily in all styles and its thin neck at the nut is great for guys like me with short chubby fingers.

Reliability/Durability : 10
Are you kidding. The jazz bass I replaced this with went out of my hands in 1975. So, although it took a few years to replace (25), I wouldn't want ANY other bass.

Customer Support : 10
I have never needed to contact Fender about any of my guitars or amps over the years, I know they have great customer support.

Overall Rating : 9
As mentioned above, this is part of my collection...the only bass I want in that collection. Its all you need in a bass(I never have figured out what to do with a fifth or sixth string)


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $929
Submitted 01/23/2003 at 10:18am by Anonymous

Features : 9
This bass is a 2002 Fender American Series Jazz Bass in 3-Tone Sunburst Finish with a Rosewood fingerboard. Passive electronics with volume controls for each j-style pickup and a combined tone control. Also has a string-thru body bridge, and fender tuners. Came with a HSC including the truss rod tool, cable, strap, and straplocks.

Sound : 10
I play mostly rock/jazz and the jazz suits it perfectly. I'm running it through a fender keyboard amp with something like a 100W and a 15" woofer. I would say the sound is somewhere between a warm/bright sound using the standard fender strings it came with.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
The bass was set up at the store after I purchased it, so it played excellent when I received it. The action was set about medium to low which is how I like it, and the pickups were set up perfectly. Couldn't really find any flaws when I received it.

Reliability/Durability : No Opinion
Seems real solid, but I haven't gigged with it yet so I can't really comment.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Haven't dealt with Fender yet.

Overall Rating : 9
I've been playing for three years and this is the first semi-expensive bass I've purchased. I also own a couple of other basses such as a Peavey T-20 and a P-Bass knock-off. If the jazz was stolen I would definitely replace it with another one. The only other bass I compared it to when I was looking was the American P-Bass, which I also liked, but since I already had a P-Bass knock-off I went with the Jazz.


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $780
Submitted 02/18/2002 at 03:11pm by Anonymous

Features : 10
Black Alder body, graphite reinforced maple neck, rosewood fretboard, non locking tuners, 2 passive jazz pickups. 2 volumes, one tone, and a propellor. Made in 2001. has a string through body bridge with all sorts of adjusties. i got a deal on it, which included no hard case, but usually it comes with one.

Sound : 9
i play lots of stuff, and this will work for everything. reggae, ska, punk, metal, rock, blues, jazz, funk (maybe). It's famous for the both pickups on dark growl, but it's also got lots of sounds if you solo either pickup. all of them are usable. much less bottom end than a p-bass. if i was doing just funk or blues or country, I'd get a p. for a strong mid range and a really deep low end, this is perfect. if you want more low-mids, definitely get a p-bass. in my opinion.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
it was set up perfectly in the store by GUITAR CENTER, nothing wrong with it. (this category isn't fun to write so i'm making it short).

Reliability/Durability : 10
this is rock solid. no extra bells or whistles on it to break, the knobs are sturdy. what do you want with a whistle playing bass anyway? i would definitely play this without a back up assuming that I learned out to change a string in .0003 seconds from Mr. Miyagi.

Customer Support : 8
I called them with some questions, and aside from having no 1-800 number that i could find and being on hold (LONG DISTANCE... GRRR) for about 30 minutes, they answered my questions. The warranty is supposedly lifetime. hurrah.

Overall Rating : 10
It's a jazz bass, a classic, standard of the industry. Second only to a p-bass in heritage, and better than a p in terms of prettiosity.


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $1160 new
Submitted 09/24/2001 at 06:13am by J. L.
Email: joachim<dot>lehmann at gmx<dot>de

Features : 7
Fender Jazz, made in USA, aquamarine blue metalic with maple fingerboard, alder body, graphit reinforced maple-neck, string-thru-body, passiv, white Pickguard. Neck is dated SEP 2000. Comes with HSC, strap, cable, complete(!) straplocks and wrenches. Rate it 10, because it's all there what you should expect from a Jazz Bass, but with a view to the price I paid, i will rate a ...

Sound : 10
We do a lot of covers at the moment, so I was looking for a jazz for it's warm, growling tone. I preffered both PU on. Meanwhile I also like the bridge PU solo for his more bright sound, which fits nice to accoustic guitars. The sound - due to the graphit reinforced neck and the string-thru-body design - has more bass than older JB I've heard. With both PU's on, it also had a nice slap sound, not that hifi-sound of modern active basses, but a nice vintage style. At all I found a lot more sounds than I expected...and each one useful for playing in a band. It sounds great for my needs, so i rate...

Action, Fit, & Finish : 6
Here starts the dark side of the story. The bass came in brand new condition, finish of neck and body is great. Fretwork is well done. But the neck runs not straight from the body, so the g-string runs across the fingerboard. I spent some hours to adjust the neck to a position where the strings run over both pu's polepieces AND straight over the neck. It won't fit. Finaly I found out that the neck pickup was fixed some millimeters to high into the body. Also the volume knob from the neck-pu was not fixed. Neck pocket is a kittle bit oversized for the neck. Nut-adjustment is still from the neck side, but access with the fender wrench is without problems. It would get a 8, but for the price, it's a 6.

Reliability/Durability : 6
Got it for 2 weeks only. I'm not afraid of durability, but I don't know right now.

Customer Support : No Opinion

Overall Rating : 10
I play bass for about 10 years now. I play rock, blues and pop. I own several Musicman basses which are build much better than this fender. My dealer ordered this one direct from european stock for the color option. If it were stolen or lost, I will buy a new one, but NEVER AGAIN from stock. Fender still have problems with quality control, so look before you buy one! But, at all this is a great sounding bass, which had a fair value of about $ 750.


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $1100
Submitted 07/13/2001 at 11:39am by Stephen Silvestri
Email: SteveS3001<at>hotmail dot com

Features : 8
Made in Corona, CA 2001. 20 frets, 4 strings. Two volume, one tone. Two J-Bass style pickups, active electronics. Maple neck, Ash body with Natural finish. Jazz body style, of course, string thru body bridge. Maple neck, thin neck, medium frets, rolled frets. Comes with a strap, polishing cloth, owners manuals, cable, and Schaller strap locks. I bought my bass at Guitar Center, so I paid for the hardshell case.

Sound : 9
Classic J-Bass tone.....what more do I have to say? I use a Ampeg B2 combo with it, and its sounds superb. You can get many sounds out of the Jazz. A nice growl, a bright slap and pop sounds, or a downright rock tone. Huge variety of tones. One downside is the feedback from the pickup, which generates a slight hum. Hum can get noticable on stage.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 9
Action was pretty good when I received my bass. Pickups adjusted fine. The bass contained one minor flaw - the nut, on one side, was cut too short. People I asked about this said that it shouldn't cause any problems, but I got it filled anyways. I agree with them....if i had not gotten it filled, I think it would be ok.

Reliability/Durability : 10
This bass is one tough mother. The bass is super solid, and really feels like your playing a "bass". The tuners look, and probably are, very tough. Can't comment on the finish, but it looks durable. The Schaller (I hope thats spelled right) are super reliable. You can trust them to not go out on you and damage your precious bass :)

Customer Support : No Opinion
Haven't had to call Fender, thankfully.

Overall Rating : 10
I've been playing bass for a little over a year now, and fortunately my first bass was a great choice. Buying this bass was one of myfinest decisions, and shelling out the extra goush is well worth it. If my bass was stolen or lost (which I try not to think about) I would buy a another jazz bass. The body looks so slick, and its fairly heavy. i like a pretty heavy bass because it assures me i'm playing a solid, well made bass. For osme people its weight might be a little bit too much. I also love the slim neck. This bass would be an excellent choice for guitar players, because the slim neck makes playing so easy. The fret work makes the neck feel like butter. Congrats Fender, A+ bass...yet AGAIN! :o)


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $679
Submitted 04/26/2001 at 02:37pm by John

Features : 8
2000 made in USA Jazz bass. Very much like the Standard model with a few extras. This bass has an Ash body with a white finish that is almost see-through (White Blonde is what Fender calls it). Maple neck with a maple fretboard, 20 frets, black dot inlays on the board and on the side of the board. Partially enclosed tuners. Strings are strung through the body, and are Fender 8250's (taperwound E String). Passive Jazz pickups with two volume knobs and a tone knob. White 3-ply pickguard. Graphite rods in neck for extra stability Truss rod adjustable from the body end of the neck. Accessories include a strap, allen wrench for bridge adjustment, allen wrench for truss rod adjustment, owners manual, and a polishing cloth. Mine did not come with a case, but I bought a Fender gig bag for an extra $45.

Sound : 9
This has your typical Jazz bass growl, with a bit more top end thrown in (due to the Ash body). The notes can be bright and cut through with ease. I usually play with all the knobs up full, maybe backing off on the tone knob just a touch, depending on the situation. I get a perfect rock tone with this bass. Backing off of one pickup or the other gives a slight boost in midrange. This also produces more hum from the pickups (which hum when the pickups are up full.)
The bass sustains for days! the string-through body really helps in this department.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 9
This bass was set up quite well but the guys at the store I bought it from. Even so, I did straighten the neck a bit and lower the action just a touch. The finish is perfect, not a flaw in sight. Also, the neck feels nices, and there are no high frets. There is a slight space between the neck and the body on the G string side, but not a big deal. Only complaint is that there is a plastic film on the pickguard that is slowly peeling off, but other then that, this bass is set up very well.

Reliability/Durability : 10
This bass was purchased as my new main bass, with my old Ibanez SR800 becoming my backup. That being said, I needed a bass that will last. This bass is build to last! It feels and plays solid, and so far I have had no problems with any of the hardware. I might replace the tuners at some point, but other then that, this bass will be stock for a long time. I have not had to readjust the neck or bridge at all.

Customer Support : No Opinion
Never had a need to call Fender for service, and I hope I never do.

Overall Rating : 9
I have been playing for about 13 years now, and I have owned several different kinds of basses, including a Rickenbacker 4001, Ibanez Sr800 and EDC700, Fender Std, Jazz and Bullet Bass, Steinberger Spirit, and a Tobias Killer B. I am currenty using Trace/Elliot amps and a Sunn 18' speaker, and the new Jazz bass sounds so sweet through it. If this bass was stolen I would buy another one in a heartbeat. This is one of the best sounding basses I have ever had, and will be using it as my main bass from now on.


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $800
Submitted 03/31/2001 at 08:24pm by Anonymous

Features : 9
2000 made in the U.S. 20 frets,rosewood fretboard, two bi-pole pickups, a volume knob for each pickup and a tone knob. 4, strings, you have the option of stringing thru the body or the bridge. It came with a really nice case, a polishing cloth, a strap, a cable and strap buttons. (dont buy this from a guitar center, cause if u do u arent gonna get any of this)

Sound : 10
I play in a punk band that plays a little bit of metal and it fits it pretty well. i use this with a peavey 115 combo and it u can get a suprising array of tones from it. From a deep, dark sound to a bright pucnhy sound that suits slapping very well. this bass sounds the way a bass is supposed to sound.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 9
The action is pretty high but thats the way i like it, really great finsh it was set up great but that was probably the store but the guy said that he isnt adjusting the fenders to much cause they come set up great right out of the box.

Reliability/Durability : 10
This thing like all fenders is built like a tank. this thing stays in tune perfectly for like a week. ive played about 12 gigs with this and it has withstood everything ive done to it. the strap buttons are on solid i usually jump off stuff alot in gigs and they havent come loose once. i had to play without a backup the other day but i wasnt worried because i knew this bass could take more than i could dish out.

Customer Support : No Opinion
i havent had to deal with fender and i dont think i'll ever have to.

Overall Rating : 9
Ive been playing for a about a year and my other bass is a squire p-bass and this is a million times better than that. if it were stolen i would probably replace it with a musicman but only if i had gotten an american series p-bass. compared to what i played that was under 1000 bucks this had a better sound than just about any thing out there.


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: US $650
Submitted 03/08/2001 at 06:54pm by Anonymous

Features : 10
It's an American series J-Bass, Inca Silver, alder body with a maple neck and fretboard, white pickgaurd and silver hardware. It has 20 frets, the bridge has a top load/thru-body option. All around, it's pretty fuckin' great.

Sound : 9
When I got it home and started playind it I noticed some buzz on my low end, which is partially due to my attack on it. Other than that, the bass is pretty great, but by personal preference I'm considering changing the pickups to lace sensors, and putting on a Badass bridge.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 9
I had to raise the bridge higher than I'm used (as I said above) which I wasn't a huge fan of, so I took it back into the store and there was a kink in the neck I didn't notice and that allowed me to lower the action a bit. I also am not a huge fan of the color, but that doesn't bother me much, I got used to it over time.

Reliability/Durability : 9
The bass is solid, the strap nuts have a tendency to come loose from time to time, I have to tighten them weekly. The finish is strong and so far, I haven't touched any of my other basses since I got this one. I haven't had it long enough to see how long it'll be before another truss rod adjustment is needed.

Customer Support : 10
Haven't needed to contact the company, but the store was real kind about doing the truss rod adjustment for free.

Overall Rating : 9
The bass did have a couple of problems when I first got it but for the price I paid it's a a good value.


Product: Fender American Series Jazz Bass
Price Paid: 830 (# Pound Sterling )
Submitted 03/04/2001 at 01:32pm by Will
Email: Sharp3 at messagez<dot>com

Features : 10
Newest Jazz bass out, replacing the ammerican standard series. Mine is solid ash (as the wood will varry deppending on the finish, as well as the price, expect to have to pay another $100 for whith blond or natural) and a rosewood fretbourd, 20 medium-jumbo on top of the 34" scale maple neck. All ammerican hardwear (string through body bridge) and those tuners dont just look so amazing but u may never have to tune the thing in again untill u replace the strings, well mabye a bit but boy does it stay in tune!!! ammerican jazz pickups (passive split coil/bi-pole bridge and neck) two volume and a tone. Accessories, well u get every thing u need, very nice molded case (although a morer vintage rectangular case would have been nicer.) truss rod wrench, saddel aguster, fender cable, fender woven strap, fender polishing cloth, nice set of nickle coated steel strings (with a vert neat tapered 110 guage e string) and best of all a set aof schaler strap locks.

Sound : 10
I play in a classic rock band, so i do blues, jazz, rock'n'role and funk on accation... my jaxx meetes them all, which is one of my reasons for buying the thing. You can do anything u want with it, and slaping is just so much fun!! The only down point is that there is some buzz when one of the pickups is attenuated, (if both are on full there is no noise at all) this may bother a few people but it realy is not that noticable.

Action, Fit, & Finish : 10
I opend the box in the store (i had it specialy orderd so it meant i was the first person to look at and even better play my bass!!!) and there it lay gleaming.... i couldent find anything wrong!! and there wasent apart from a slightly rased screw on the scratch plate (i dont think that can be classed as any thing major if that was it, it had come all the way from callifornia to liverpool england with nothing more than a slightly rased screw) it is built like a tank, and is virtualy the same wieght as one too!

Reliability/Durability : 10
I have not had mine longenough to know if the truss rod will need agusting periodicaly, the same with the finnesh, but both seem very high quality and i have put it through some heavy practice sesions, it is STILL in tune after three weeks of playing. The strap locks are great though and as far as not having a back up u would be fine, i howeve am a bit of a belt and braces man so i bring along my (just poor in comparison) aria slb2 just in case.

Customer Support : No Opinion
havend had to yet but i very much doubt i will have to

Overall Rating : 9
I have been playing for about a year and a half, during which i have tryed every one and there dog's bass.. this was my fave! I would be happy if i were told i could never own another bass. I play through a Trace 1x15 combo which is good enough for me at the moment but i think a good old valved marshal stack will give me that sound this bass is meant for.
I have an aria pro II SLB2 which i learend my trade on, i though it was a nice bass and i wanted a more "street cred" bass but as long as it was of the same standard as my aria i would be happy, my jazz just blowes the aria out of the water, the jazz is what a bass guitar should be. It does not have the toys that some of its counterparts have but, it doesent need them however, its simplicity and quality is its charm and its ammazing looks
Although i think this bass is worth the price i paid, and mabye the retail price of #999 but i am marking fender down because of the extra #100 the charged me for the white blond

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