Fender American Standard Jazz Bass

1999, Made in USA, 4 strings, 3 toneburst body, rosewood fingerboard, two J style pups, two volumes, one tone, blah, blah, etc., etc.
If you are seriously interested in a Jazz bass, you know the rest!
It only gets an 8 because there are no batteries required...

I am a reggae, blues, and rock player. Along with the Fender Precision Bass, the Jazz Bass helped define the low end of these musical styles. I am currently using it with a Fender Bassman amp - no effects.

Let's get something straight - the Jazz bass is a love/hate animal. Unlike its sister, the P Bass, you don't just plug this in and get a good tone - there are several different ones lurking inside this bass. Depending on where you are standing, the lighting of the room, etc, your Jazz bass will hum.... it's a side effect of having the single coil pickup sound. In my opinion, well worth it and not something to get into a tiff over. Others would think differently...

This is by far one of the best finished and assembled basses I have ever seen. A great deal of this has to do with the fact the store I bought it at takes care of their products on the floor very well. However, everything was perfect. There wasn't even a fingerprint on it!

I can't speak of the durability of this instrument yet... However, this is the third Fender instrument I have owned (others being a Stratocaster and a Precision Bass). I predict this will only require the usual maintanence a guitar or bass should need. All guitars and basses need care, regardless of brandname, hardware, woodtype, etc...

never dealt with them.

I have been playing for several years now and I also own an American Standard Precision Bass and an Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray. The Jazz is my favourite.

The Jazz is not a do it all bass.... I don't think it would fit into distortion-heavy music (although it is popular with many punk bassists, so I could be wrong).

I would definitely replace it if it were stolen.

Made is USA in 1998, beautifully grained natural ash body with maple neck and rosewood fingerboard, two passive single-coil Fender pickups, string-through-body bridge, white pickguard, three control knobs - one volume control for each pickup and one tone control, famous Fender Jazz neck, thinly tapered at nut, reinforced internally with graphite bars for stability. Nothing very flashy, but high quality versions of everything you need on a passive bass.

I bought this bass for the feel and the flexibility made possible by the neck plus bridge pickup configuration. Without ever plugging in, you can tell this is a great piece of wood from the acoustic tone of the bass. The stock pickups were fairly versatile, capable of producing everything from a bright, percussive slapping sound, to a warm, fat, bassy tone for fingerstyle playing. Of course, when I turn both pickups up I get that classic Jazz growl. I wasn't totally happy with the pickups, however, as they can get a little too muddy when I dial in generous lows. I replaced them with Seymour Duncan Antiquity for Jazz Bass pickups (see my review in the pickups database.) Now this bass sounds exactly like a vintage Jazz and deserves an 11 rating, but as I'm rating the stock version, I'll give it an 8.

Bass was setup well and came from Musician's Friend ready to play out of the box. Of course, I have adjusted the action/intonation and tightened the truss rod in the three years I've had it and currently it's perfect (for me.) The wood is spectacular and the finish is flawless. They really nailed it on this one. The hardware is totally clean and solid. The tuning pegs were a little loose, but I tightened them easily with a socket wrench. Really an amazing job on a mass-produced instrument.

This bass is built to be nearly indestructible. It's really a marvel of design (which is why everyone and their brother copies it.) The wood and hardware are as solid as can be. I'm sure I could abuse it a lot without suffering consequences, but I'm the careful type. Other than the pickguard, which is a bit scratched, the bass still looks brand new. This is my main bass and I never use a backup. Aside from an occasional broken string, I've never had to do any maintenance at a gig. I did have one problem - the strap button at the bottom came loose from the wood. This is a very common problem in basses due to the weight of the instrument. I simply glued a wooden dowel in the hole with Elmer's wood glue and re-inserted the screw. That was that.

Never dealt with them and don't expect I'll have to.

I've been playing bass for almost 12 years. I've owned an Ibanez, a Washburn, a Fender Precision, an Ernie Ball Stingray, an Alembic Spoiler, and a G&L L-2000. This Fender Jazz is more comfortable to play than any other bass I've ever owned. Since installing the Seymour Duncan pickups, it sounds better than anything I've had other than the G&L and is second only to the G&L in versatility. I love the simplicity of the controls, the durability, the quality, the feel, the sound, the way it looks. There are lots of more "modern" basses out there, but "modern" does not equal "better." I prefer the classic simplicity of my Fender Jazz. I plan on keeping this bass for the rest of my life and if it were stolen or lost, I'd be devastated. Eventually, I'd recover and buy another one.

Check their website for all specs.......I got the teal with maple fretboard and white pickguard. features kick ass.

The sound on this bass is friggin amazing. Moving up from a 200 dollar yamaha to this was like having sex for the first time....I can get the phatest tones out of this thing. Slapping sounds amazing, and finger picking makes a sorta crunchy low tone..I love it. It can lay down a phat groove or some hard rock. It buzzes slightly when the pickups are up to their fullest setting but nothing to bad. It souns great through my bassman 100. I just cant get over the awesome tone of this thing.

When i bought the bass it was set up perfectly how i like it..Low action but not too low to where it buzzes. The pickups were the perfect height for playing and slapping. Everything was set up perfect...no flaws

My bass came with straplocks, which is a big plus for me cause i like to move around alot. The hardware seems able to stand up to live playing....i mean after al it is a fender jazz. this thing is bulletproof. I would use it without a backup cause i know its not gonna quit on me.

No problems yet

Overall this is one kick ass bass..the tone and playability of this thing is great. i love the feel of the neck and the way the bass fits my body. I compared this to a musicman 5 string, a washburn, and a hot rodded p bass,,,,,but i likes this one the most. Buy this bass

my fender jazz was manufactured at Corona,California in the spring of 2000.It's a 4 string for 20 fret.There are 3 controls,2volumes and 1 tone,but are enough for a good sound.the pick ups are 2 fender vintage j-bass, bi-pole,passive.they give to instrument a very clean sound.the bridge is a string-thru body,very good for a good sustain.the tuners are fender, with the "F" over everyone tuner.there is a rosewood scale,the neck is not very thin but not fat.the accessories are; a case (very beauty),fender strap,a fender cable,a truss-road tool,2humidifiers for he case,2 shaller's strap-stop and a fender cloth.

I play my fender jazz in a rock-crossover band. My amp is a marshall head+case with a boss bass-equalizer,a boss bass-overdrive and a boss bass-chorus.The instrument is not very noisy, but clear and brighty without any pedal. Whit equalizer there are a very good suond for slap and riff,the overdrive set at "dry" whit a good gain give a strong sound good for a big soundwall;it's better than a compressor.I use the chorus for acoustic songs or slow parts and for a global contourned sound.this set give to my j-bass a very versatile sound, warm and dark but also metallic and bright.

the bass set-up at the factory was well.I have changed only the strings:I have now 4 La Bella iron strings 45/108.the pick ups and all electronic parts are well adjusted. the good of this bass is on he finish,really perfect.

I play this j-bass from january of 2000.I dont'know the bass behaviour for the future.

this bass have a lifetime warranty.I don't ever repaired my J-bass

the overall rating is very good. fender is a quality mark. The only thing that i dislike is the weight:it's not light like a Ibanez soundgear! But don't become a problem if you play only this bass,the weight become natural.

1996 - 50th anniversary issue - American made

This is the whole reason I submit this review. Everyone knows what these things (and the P-basses) sound like, but I gotta tell ya: As soon as I got mine a horn player helped me line the knob and pickup cavities with copper foil shielding (actually the copper -available at industrial radio electronic stores- is in a sheet and had to be bent with pliers). This is the only way you'll get rid of that hum and be able to play in a place with fluorescent lights without interference. Fender should do this, but they don't.

Just fine. Be sure to get the locking strap peg set-up.

it's a warhorse!

Never had to...

It's either this thing for the skinny neck or a P-bass for the Duck Dunn sound if you're going with Fender (which is not to say the other basses aren't good).

2000 model, natural finish, swamp ash body (nice grain), maple fretboard, single coils, white p/g, string through body. Strap/straplocks, polishing cloth included. Classic jazz features. When you pick this up you either sound good or you suck. No added features to help you out. Very pure. All finger tone baby

I've been playing for 27 years. I've had a Stingray, Sabre (MusicMan), Marcus Miller Sig Bass. Let's talk about the sig bass for a minute. With everything that Fendeer Japan did to the sig bass, it can't compare to the pure punch, snap, growl, and flavor that the American Standard has. I realized now i should have been using Fender Jazzes because there are no surprises here. The bass is very light, weight wise, but has a very smooth bass tone the way a bass should sound. The reinforced graphite neck provides rigidity for a smooth crisp dinstinct tone. The bass just feels and sounds good. I will be adding a Aguilar OBP-1 to augment whats already there. I run it through a Eden 2x10xlt on top of a 4x10xlt with a SWR SM400. Very happy with the tone

I had to adjust the pickups a little when I got it. Looks like someone had been playing with them. But after a minor adjustment with a screwdriver everything was great. Other than that the action on the bass is very low but not fretbuzz and thats cool. Beautiful finish, gorgeous.

This is a Fender Jazz Made in America. The reputation speaks for itself.

Never had to use it.

27 years playing and I should have gotten a jazz a long time ago. But you live and learn. If it were lost or stolen, I would buy another. I love the fact that it's so lightweight, but punchy and meaty and sounds the way a bass should sound. There's no overly done electronics trying to create a sound/tone that wood, craftsmanship, pickups should take care of. I wish it had the chrome p/u conver like on the Marcus Miller sig bass. I will get one put on. I liked that.

This is my second American Standard Jazz listing here on ebay. I alos did a review on 1/16/2000.

2000 model with Ash body, natural finish, rosewood neck (third listing in a row with this look), graphite reinforced neck. The usual American Standard Jazz details and it came with a molded case.

I give it an 8 because of its limited features. Nothing too fancy, just how I like it!

The pickups are the Vintage Jazz single coils, so they are naturally noisier, but not terrible. Same as before, the pickups have a nice full sound. Nice for mellower tones and most rock music, I would not recommend them for harder music such as metal. It's not that it can't, I just wouldn't because you can get a more appropriate tone for Metal from either a different bass or better pickups than the stock. If you are looking for your traditional American Jazz Bass tone with some growl and snap then it's cool and you don't need to do or look for anything else.

The hum bothers me some, so I'm going to install some Vintage Noiseless from Fender with in a week. Look for a review in the Bass Pickups section, shortly.

I give the rating a 10 because of its classic Jazz Bass tone.

The body finish was GREAT. Overall, the Ash is very beautiful! There is a spot in the body wood that I might of rejected if I was Fender. Nothing major!!!

The rosewood fretboard is very grainy (GOOD). I've never seen rosewood with this beauty!!! Though my biggest complaint is with the rosewood fretboard. Why doesn't Fender season them before the leave the factory as part of the final QAQC? So, I had to oil the fretboard.

The overall construction and setup is great though!!! So I give this part a 9.

I think the reputation of American Jazz Basses speak a lot louder than I do. I think it will outlast me. I wouldn't use it without a backup
not because of a lack of faith in it but because of paranoia!! HAHA

Rock Solid Consrtuction earns this bass a 10.

Wouldn't know, never had to deal with Fender. But a limited lifetime warranty is nice.

I've been playing for about 10 years now. I also own a Music Man Stingray, US Fender Precision, US Jazz Bass, US Jazz Bass fretless and I use an Eden Nemesis 1X15 combo. If had to do it all over again I absolutely would buy this again. If I had to choose one bass this would be it. I've played Tobias, Yamaha, Ibanez, Washburn, Hamer,
Spector, Warwick, and many others, cheap and expensive and for the price and sound of it you can't beat it.

Natural finish, rosewood neck, all the usual Jazz details. Mine is a 2000 model, and came with a moulded case.

'Features' are limited really - OK, so it has good solid hardware, a strings-through-body bridge, sturdy controls and a graphite reinforced neck, but it's not a bass where you have to read the manual...

However, it's simplicity is not a bad thing. It's a 'pick up and plug in' bass. It's very sturdy, and the graphite in the neck means that when you break a string, the rest stay in tune.

I give it a 9 because it's minimalist feature set means that it's never any hastle - it sounds good and I don't have to think about it.

Ok, I play in a rock band where I need to funk out and get heavy occasionally. I use a 4x10" Trace Elliot Combo, with the amp set flat.

My tone has everyting I need: Enough punch to be heard but not too much to ruin quiet songs, enough warmth fill out the low end in my band and enough high end for a killer slap tone with the bridge pickup.

I use D'addario EXL165s. The origional strings gave the bass a real John Paul Jones sound :) but the EXLs have more top end (a better slap sound) and a smoother bottom end.

If I want bite, I just use the bridge pickup (great with a pick!!). For fignerstyle stuff I use both pickups. For slap, I can use both pickups for a subtle sound, or the just the bridge for an awesome funky, groovy sound.

The bass didn't have a very low action, but I like a bass to 'fight back' just a little bit - it helps me to get different sounds without changing any settings. I'm sure if you wanted a lower action you could get it, but that's not my thing.

The strings have a good tension, so the bass is very responsive to different playing styles. This bass is, to me, very playable.

The finish is very good (the natural wood looks fantastic), as is the fretwork. The workmanship in general is better than most basses, but the pickguard is a bit flimsy.

As I have said, this bass fells very solid, (especially the neck) and all the hardware is sturdy.

I can't afford a backup, but I probably wouldn't get one even if I could.

Lifetime warranty, I think. Can't imagine I'll be needing it.

The only bass I have played that that was better than my Jazz was a '77 Jazz which cost three times as much.

The US. Std. Jazz may not be for everyone, but for me, it is about perfect. It covers the tones I need, it's a joy to play and I don't have to worry too much about looking after it (I do, of course, but I don't *have* to).

I spent a long time saving to buy this bass, and I am completley happy with it. I would definitley buy it again.

The best thing is the tone - a lovely rich sound that seems to fit everything. The US. STd. Jazz is a very versatile bass, as thousands of recordings show. What ever sort of stuff you are doing, get one!!

I bought this Jazz Bass a couple of months ago and waited until I had a half dozen or so gigs under my belt before I reviewed it.

Its a '97 MIA Natural Ash with a rosewood fretboard.Like all my basses and guitars I buy almost totally on the neck and this has a beautiful neck. Fits like a good baseball glove.The pickups and tuners are all American Standard. I'll come back to the pickups in a minute.The white pickguard was kinda ugly with the nice ash finish so I swapped it for a black pickguard. Looks fabulous now...kind of a half vintage half Marcus Miller look.

I'm a Blues/R&B player and this fits my style very nicely. Classic and very versatile Jazz tone.The stock pickups were ok but I found them a little too growly/overdriven in the mids and the low end was a bit muddy for my taste.So I took them out after a couple of test gigs and put in Bartolini pickups. Significant difference..very, very clear at the bottom end and more balance in the mids. The top end remains pretty much the same as the stock pickups largely because I use Thomastik Jazz Flats to keep the edge off the highs anyway.

I use this Bass with my Eden 500 watt amp and Eden 410 cabinet and it delivers the kind of tonal range that you would expect from the versatile Jazz and the equally versatile Eden amp. They are a nice compliment.I can do a small room gig at low volume and mellow tone or I can crank it and thunder in a large venue.

Like I said, I bought it for the neck so obviously The neck is great. It was great before I had a pro set it up and its even nicer now. The body finish is flawless. The guy before me took exceptional care of this bass. The tuners are tight and stay in tune. I tune at the beginning of a gig and forget about tuning for the rest of the night. The tone control was a little loose but not a problem and was fixed in about two minutes.
I'm not critisizing the high end bass makers who make the "perfect" Jazz Bass copies but I really don't see the extra value in a three grand bass over this one ( after I changed pickups).But I must say, like all Fender basses and guitars you have to try a bunch of them to find "yours". They can be very inconsistent.I certainly found "my" Jazz Bass.

This is a working bass and I expect that it will be very reliable.I've had a lot of Fender stuff over the years and haven't had any of it crap out in a gig.Backup? No way would I bring a backup bass.

Not applicable in this case but my Fender experience on this subject has been good.

Its a classic Fender Jazz Bass with improved pickups. If you're a Jazz Bass lover what else need to be said.

Originally this was your typical 1996 American Standard 4 string Jazz Bass. Black finish, rosewood fretboard, alder body, strings thru body, 2 passive vintage pickups, 2 vol, 1 tone, molded case, Am. Std everything, etc.
I changed the pickups to active EMG's. The pickups come with new electronics as well. This includes active bass, treble and master volume control. I will break down my review based on Modified and Original when appropriate.
Basic features, which is fine for an American Standard Jazz Bass. Nothing fancy. But I needed to change some things for my own personal taste.

I play everything from Jazz to Metal. The Jazz Bass performs well for most applications. If I had to choose one bass to own for a variety of music it would most likely be this one.
Original: The original pickups are single coils, so they are naturally noisier, but not terrible. The original pickups had a nice full sound. Nice for mellower tones and most rock music, I would not recommend them for harder hiting music such as Metal. It's not that it can't, I just wouldn't because you can get a better tone and power for Metal from either a different bass or better pickups than the stock. There isn't much useful tonal variation with the standard pickups and electronics, some but not much. But if you are looking for your traditional American J Bass tone with some growl and snap then it's cool and you don't need to do or look for anything else.
Modified: With the EMG's it's a lttle different story. The EMG's I have in it are dead silent when not being played. It has a better bottom end and highs then the original pickups. You can use it for any style of music with the EMG's. Mellow to hard, you will find it is suited well for everything. The treble and bass knobs have better response then the stock models single tone knob. These pickups have more growl and snap and can purr like a kitten like you wouldn't believe. Plus you can have traditional tone and a lot more tonal range (for slapping and bass depth) without adding a lot of effects to your sound.

I wouldn't know how well it was setup at the factory. I had that all changed before I took it home since I use a different gauge of strings then Fender does. Also, I can't stand Fender's stock strings. I used the original pickups for about 6 months before changing them and they were properly adjusted in my opinion. I did not notice any flaws in fretwork, controls, wood, finish or hardware.

I think the reputation of American Jazz Basses speak a lot louder than I do. I think it will outlast me and I'm 25. The finsih is holding up along with everything else but I've owned it only for 3 years. I wouldn't use it without a backup not because of a lack of faith in it. But because I own a MusicMan Stingray and I'll take it with me anyway.

Never needed it.

I've been playing for about 10 years now. I also own a Music Man Stingray and use an Eden Nemesis 1X15 with a 1X5 combo. If had to do it all over again I absolutely would. I'm going to buy another one this year. As I said earlier if I had to choose one bass this would be it. Also, if you are looking at the American Deluxe models in a Precision or Jazz Bass or anything else. I would take a look at the American Standard Jazz Bass and seriously consider adding active pickups, such as the EMG's. It will probably be cheaper and better. Also, don't forget the awesome neck on the Jazz Bass. It's definitely a PLUS. I've played Tobias, Yamaha, Ibanez, Washburn, Hamer, Spector, Warwick, and many others, cheap and expensive and for the price and sound of it you can't beat it.