Fender American Standard Jazz V

Made in the USA in 1997. Solid Alder body in Olymic White with a white pickguard. 34" scale 5 string with a 21 fret maple/pau ferro neck w/graphite reinforcement, and strings strung through the body. It has a fairly wide neck, just about standard jazz spacing. Standard jazz configuration of Vol/Vol/Tone controls, but the pickups have been custom rebuilt by Seymor Duncan to his own specs, including new alnico magnets and his own winding scheme. Same bobbins from the original pickups were used. They are essentially Antiquities, for a five string. Tuners are Fender/Gotoh, all hardware is chrome.

This bass is lovely in all respects! I play alot of jazz in both big band and combo settings. I also play in a college pep band covering everything from 311 to Diana Ross to Led Zeplin and even Frank Zappa. Versitle is the word for this bass. Very clean, crisp sound all the way to the B-string. Very even tone all the way up the neck, across every string. Has a very full sound across the spectrum. Deep lows and crisp highs. Sounds like a jazz bass. I play it through an SWR Studio 220 and Peavey 210TX cab. For pep band gigs, I use the ST220 or a Peavey Firebass head with a Peavey 215 cab. I've also used a Kern IP777/SWR ST800 w/the 210TX (my favorite combination).

Since I bought it used from a pro bass playing friend in Seattle, I redid the set up to my own tastes. However, it was a breeze to set up the way I like it (super low action, high pickups). Maintains a low action. The finish is flawless, and the construction is near perfect. All frets are very even and well dressed. The neck pocket is very clean and tight. Can't budge it when it's bolted in, can't stick even a piece of paper in the pocket between the body and neck. It looks really good for an opaque finish (I'm partial to transparent/clear finishes). No complaints at all...

So far it's a real workhorse. Never had a problem with it. The hardware is top-notch. I rarely have to set it up or set the intonation. I would (and often do) use it without a back up without hessitation.

Never had to deal with them, but then again... This is Fender. I used to teach in a music store that carries Fender. Customer support is not their forte.

I've been playing for about 12 years. I own a '67 Gibson EB-0, Peavey Axcellerator 6 (35" scale, very modern sound), Yamaha/G&L fretless frankenbass, and Warmoth/Fender Jazz w/SD Antiquities and Gotoh #206 bridge. This bass has it's own niche in my collection. More modern than the Warmoth/Fender bass (which compares to a '62 reissue jazz in every way), much more "fender" than the Peavey. Sounds great on tape, too. The thing that makes this one so special is the set of pickups in it. They improved the sound by at least 100% over the original windings. The B-string is as strong as my Peavey with active pickups and 35" scale. No other Amer. Fender Jazz V I've played sounds nearly as good (especially the B string)! (I've played a few...) The only thing I've considerd adding would be a good 2-band eq such as the East or John Suhr preamps, or a Sadowsky pre. Even passive, it can handle just about everything I've thown at it.