Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass

Features are pretty standard - except for the slim neck - love it - it is very fast and sleek - I hate a bulky feeling neck - replaced the tuners with a set of Hip-shot with a D-tuner - I agree with other users the tuners are very lacking.

The sound is great - has the vintage pickups and if you love that tone it's an awesome bass - I have had Warwick, G&L, Lakland, Kubicki X-factor, Steinberger, Rick, etc... and I seem to come back to the Fender Jazz - I play Modern Worship music...ie. (Planet Shakers, Hillsongs United, etc...)

I am playing through a Behringer 450 watt head and an Ampeg 410 SVT HLF cabinet and I use a Tech 21 Bass Driver DI - that combo is supreme tone...Not great for every application but fits my style just fine.

I like my action LOW - so I had it set up to fit my style of playing the instrument looks great on stage - I have replaced the pick guard with a vintage tortise shell look - looks pretty cool. Every thing else was great - quailty craftsmanship.

I baby my instruments - so they last longer but I play a lot and has never given me any trouble - stays in tune through out gig - Nice...

Never needed any - But feel sure it would be good.

I have been playing Bass for about 27 years and have been blessed to play with some national recording artist as well as Youth Conventions, youth camps, rallys, many outdoor events, overseas, you name it. I love the Fender tone and this bass delivers - If lost or stolen I would probably buy another one but who knows.

October 2002 Geddy Lee Jazz Bass, Crafted in Japan. Body alder, neck and fretboard ash, black block inlays. Passive electronics, two single coil PUs. Simply meat and potatoes - Fender Jazz Bass. For me it's enough so I rate 10. I just added chrome pickup and bridge covers and the fingerpull below the G-string. It looks great.

I use this bass for playing classic rock. It suits well. When the rehearshal or gig begins, I turn all three knobs to the maximum and forget they are there. As i mentioned before - meat and potatoes. I replaced original BadAss II bridge with original Fender stock bridge. No change of sustain at all. No better, no worse. What is more, with the standard Fender bridge there are more mids and higs - that's how I like the sound. More vintage :-)

Factory setup was OK. NO complaints here.
BUT: the bass came in poor cardboard box, no gig bag at all. Weird. Other than that, this bass is not quite certain replica of 1972 Jazz Bass. The body shape is slightly different (sharp edges instead of round ones), block inlays are not inlayed into the fretboard - they are only painted. Tuning machines are not Fenders but no name ones. Damn operation savings!

This bass is really a workhorse. During the three years of heavy use there have been no problems. Pots, tuning machines and pickups have been working, no need to move with the truss rod, no need to open the electronic cavity. Never goes out of tune unless I go wild :-) Thick polysomething paint on the body cracks and wears but who cares?
If i could give a hundred points, I would do that.

No need to contact them.

I've been playing for 12 years. I own Gedy and lawsuit japanese Columbus jazz bass clone from the 1970's. This bass fits me like a glove - comfortable, reliable and well looking. Good job, japanese guys!

I recently purchased a 2005 Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass.As per features....it's basically an early 70's J-bass reissue with a badass bridge and U.S. vintage pickups. Made in Japan...which is not a minus when comes to Fender products.Came with a decent Fender gig bag .

This bass sounds incredible.I play a variety of styles and this thing is versatile enough to do it all. Has a great throaty presence and nice high end without that annoying zingy clang you often get in other basses. Also the lows can go from silky smooth to agressive and growly. The combination of a maple board and badass bridge also make this useful for slapping if you're so inclined.( which I'm not. )This bass cuts through nicely in the mix both live and in studio situations .

Here's where the Japanese put everyone to shame. The finish on this thing is flawless...can't say a bad thing about it. I love the period correct poly finished maple neck and black block inlays. The nect is slim yet solid with great sustain...no doubt the badass helps. Fretwork is impeccable.....better than U.S. standard models. Honestly, I've owned many high end to mid level basses and none of them perform any better than this. The neck pocket is fitted absolutely perfect to the neck.....not even a hairline gap anywhere. My only gripe is that the tuners could be of a bit higher quality, but that being said, they are period correct and seem to function as well as any vintage bass tuner. The action was set up perfect for me right out of the box....nice and low with no buzzes anywhere. The nut is cut as perfect as I've seen on a Sadowsky or my Lakland.

Solid as a rock. This is a straight forward, meat and potatoes workhorse. I would feel totally comfortable without a back-up . So far I haven't had to adjust a thing.

Haven't had to deal with Fender.

I've been playing bass for 20 years now on a semi-pro level and have owned many instruments. I currently own a Lakland, Peavey TL-5 and '67 P-bass....this bass fits right in. I consider myself extremely picky and am a vintage guitar enthusiast.....in my opinion, the Geddy Lee is simply the BEST VALUE in any Fender bass currently produced. I didn't buy it because Geddy's name is on it, (frankly I hate signature models, although Geddy is incredible ) I bought it because it plays as good or better than basses costing more than twice it's price.

I recently acquired a 2005 Fender Geddy Lee signature Jazz Bass. It is a four string, twenty fret bass. Body is alder, neck is maple with a lacquered maple fretboard, which contributes to both aesthetic appeal and tone. Finish is black on body only, while the neck is finished satin, and has a stripe on the back of the neck. The pickups are two vintage Jazz pickups, and the controls included are volumes for each pickup and a tone knob. The pickups are passive.

The pickguard is a 3-ply black/white/black, and there is ebony binding around the fretboard. The rectangular inlays are also ebony.

Other features include a Badass II bridge, open-gear vintage style tuners (which aren't the best, but still work fine), 34" scale length, a sleek "C" profile on the neck, and a gig bag included in the purchase price.

On my own time, I have been learning a lot of Rush tunes, so that is obviously a big help in getting the proper sound and technique there. As for style, I gravitate towards hard rock, preferably rock that is styled after the 1970s to early 1990s. Examples of influence include Metallica, Rush, ZZ Top, Billy Idol, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin. However, I play in a band that appreciates a lot of country and blues as well, including bands like Uncle Tupelo and Wilco. The bass is versatile if you twiddle the knobs enough, and has a signature growl that cuts right through any guitar mud to give you a voice in the band.

There is a bit of hiss sometimes when I am running it with a lot of gain, and I have to turn the volumes down if I don't want to play for a particular amount of time. I am running it through an Ampeg SVT-3 Pro head into an SWR Workingman 4x10 and 2x12, and also run it through a Hartke 3500 with a Transporter 4x12 cabinet. I utilize the tube sections of both hybrids to their fullest. To get a bit of extra grit and growl, I use my Digitech BP8 valve processor with some extra gain and compression.

The sound can be described best as being full-range. It has a nice dark growl on the low end, but on the top end, there is plenty of bite to be had. I actually reccomend not setting the tone knob to 100% unless you have a really dark amp without a tweeter. This bass will take your face off if you aren't careful!

The best sound this bass makes, in my opinion, is the piano-like growl that can be found with the neck pickup at full volume, the bridge pickup at 75-85% volume, and the tone knob at anywhere from 60-85%. Other interesting combinations include having less neck pickup volume with full bridge volume, and having all knobs maxed. The variety is there if you fiddle with it, for sure. I'm going to have to try it with a Tubescreamer and wah pedal for the heck of it.

So far, it hasn't been to a gig yet, but it will be soon. My band does rehearse at rather high volumes, though, and it always sounds great. We also recorded a demo with a few ambient mics, and the bass sounds fabulous there as well.

The pros soundwise are many. Too many to list probably. As for dislikes, I can't think of any. This bass sounds as perfect as I've heard thus far. It sounds great whether you pick or play fingerstyle. The only thing it doesn't sound so good at is slap and pop. I would certainly not reccomend this bass for that style, but I don't use it much at all, so no sweat.

The setup was great straight away. The action was nice and low for great playability and that signature growl. The pickups are at just about the right level. I haven't opened up the control cavity to check the quality of work in there, but there are no stray marks anywhere on the exterior of the instrument at all. I've read of a few problems with the tuners, and while they are flimsier than some of the tuners I have worked with, they work fine for me.

Other than the iffy tuning pegs, this thing is rock-solid. I have little doubt in my mind that this bass will remain in great playing condition for years. The finish seems to have plenty of layers, but that is probably because it is made in Japan, where the environmental laws on lacquer finish are different. The strap buttons were fine, but I immediately replaced them with Schaller straplock buttons because I would hate to drop this beauty.

This bass appears to be extremely dependable. I would probably never go to a gig without one backup, but I use a five-string sometimes, so that's part of it. The other thing is that I fingerpick really hard, and burn through G and D strings rapidly. However, the Badass bridge does seem to treat the strings better than the bridge on my other basses.

I haven't yet had to call for support, but I haven't had it long enough to need to anyway. The warranty is 6 years I believe, since I bought extended coverage at Guitar Center. Nice warranty, and certainly worth it.

I have been playing for 8 years, and play both bass and guitar. I have some other nice gear, like a Gibson Explorer '76, an Ibanez RG, a Line 6 Vetta II head, and an Ibanez Soundgear 5-string. I have had a bass stolen before, luckily it wasn't the greatest (just a fretless Ibanez), but if this bass were stolen, I would have to buy it when I had a chance. I would hunt down the guy who stole it, though.

I love plenty about this bass: great looks, great sound, and great playability for a reasonable price. My favorite feature is the solid tone. I compared this bass to a couple of other Fenders and a Warwick Corvette. None of them came close to what I was looking for. This bass is rock-solid.

Bought this as a back up for my 2003 model US series Jazz. Apart from looking like the mutt's nuts it sounds and plays fantastic!!! Not quite as clean and crisp sounding as my US series Jazz but easily sorted out with the introduction of a Bass Graphic into my pedalboard. Have to agree with a previous reviewer that the machine heads appear to be a bit cheap as they have become tarnished quite quickly......However it just makes them look vintage!!!! The BadAssII bridge is a great bit of kit, I like it that much that I have recently purchased a BadAssIII to fit to my US Jazz!!!

I run this puppy through a SansAmp Bass Driver pedal, Boss chorus, Boss octaver and a graphic equaliser into a Laney R4 bass combo and manage to get the most amazing overdriven tone!!! I play with both pick ups on full and use the pedals to shape my sound.

Straight out of the box this Bass was ready to play......as you'd expect from Fender!!! The action was al ittle too high for my liking but didn't take long to sort out. The quality of the finish is excellent. I have recently had a Hipshot D-tuner fitted to mainly use drop D tuning. The string tension remains good and allows for a consistent tone. I had to replace the strap buttons for Grover locking ones as the original buttons didn't look up to the job!!!

I play quite "Hard" so it takes quite a hammering when gigged but just keeps coming back for more!!! I have used this on a number of occasions thru a two hour set as my only bass....It's that good and reliable!!! It's a pity that the same can't be said for my strings!!!

Only dealt with Fender via Email, but have to say there response has been slow in coming!!!

I have been playing bass for twenty years and have to say that I have never owned a better Bass......I never thought I'd say that after I bought the US jazz but this is better!!!! And it looks it!!! If it was lost or stolen I would not hesitate to beg/ borrow/ steal another one!!!

This has been covered in the previous reviews. I really like the neck over the one on my old Fender Precision.

I play a weird mix of alternative, grunge, and Bowie/Beatles/Petty, and it sounds great for everything I need to do. I play through an Ampeg BA-115 and get plenty of low end punch. I even play in a drop-C tuning on occasion, and although the E string has a bit of give in it, I still get a great tone. I wasn't after a Rush sound when I purchased it, but it fits whatever I need to do.

Action was great, and it arrived set up. The first one I received had a bad neck pickup. Once I received a fully operational model, everythig was perfect.

So far so good. I've only had it for a few months, and have had no problems to this point.

I bought mine from Musician's Friend. As I said earlier, the first one I received had a bad neck pickup. I contacted Musician's Friend and they were great. They emailed me a return shipping tag within an hour of my phone call, and had my replacement to me in 10 days after I sent off the defective one. Excellent service from Musician's Friend.

I have not dealt directly with Fender.

Played violin and double bass for 7 years in school, and eventually picked up the electric after graduating.

I used to play on a basic, 10 year old Fender Precision, and my Geddy Lee is far superior. After getting this instrument, I find myself playing better, perhaps because I can hear mistakes that I couldn't hear on my older bass.

If this bass were lost or stolen, I would immediately buy a new one to replace it.

Before my purchase, I looked at Thunderbirds, Standard Fender Jazz Basses, and Ibanezes. None of them seemed to have the positive reponse or features by cost as the Geddy does.

If you want a bass that has a professional look and feel, or want to step up to a new model, you really can't do better than to get the Geddy Lee model.

Great sounding bass. I cut out the pickguard so I can adjust the neck easily with a specific nice fitting flatblade screwdriver. When recording it is best to start with both pickups full on, set tone midrange, adjust board to tweak tone. For live set neck pickup almost all the way on, bring bridge pickup up just to give it bite, leave tone midrange and adjust to blend with other instruments. I only have a noise issue when using a compressor which is not really needed for my playing venues. Tuning keys, Just fix them. Take them apart and lightly sand in the gears with toothbrush and tooth paste. Clean completely. Apply Mobil 1 synthentic grease with a toothpick-lightly.(synthentic has lower odor) normal grease is ok. Vaseling works but gets black and dosn't last as long. I like the new Misfit strings, they are like rotos but don't make your fingers smell like feces.

Bass can do about anything but it likes newer strings.

Set up was ok but low E was hot. Angled pickups to balance string volume.

In St. louis I have to adjust neck during the high humidity part of the year, June through September. No backup needed can adjust neck instantly in a pinch at gig. Replaced strap buttons immediately.

Ben playing for 35 years. Own Aerodyne, Pbass, Fender 5 string Jazz. I probably wouldn't replace it just because I don't play for money any more. Aerodyne sounds fine but doesn't have the fun neck. I sometimes think the P bass is better live but it doesn't sound as good in the studio as the jazz. My wife and other band members think all my basses sound good, not a whole lot of difference in sound. They say just play the one you like to play the most.

Brand new Japanese made Geddy Lee repro. Two volume knobs and a tone knob, passive U.S. Vintage Jazz Pickups, and a Badass II bridge. It's a vintage jazz bass reproduction, what else do you need on it?

This bass suits me just fine. I play alternative rock. Didn't buy it for the "Rush" sound at all. It's just a great representation of a vintage Fender jazz bass. I run it through a Sans Amp RBI in front of an SWR workingman's 4004 Head and through 2 SWR cabs (1x15 and 4x10). This bass has little to no noise at all. Definitely has a very bright sound due to the maple fretboard and single coil pick ups. Very punchy and mid-rangey. Cuts through very well. Only dislike is it kind of lacks true bottom end. But that's why my amplifier has so many knobs. Easily remedied. But every note rings through loud and clear. I haven't found a dead spot on it yet. Great sustain with the Badass II bridge! One thing I noticed though is it forces you to play very precisely. This bass will make you pay for your mistakes because it does accentuate finger noise.

Everything on this bass was set up just as I like it right from the music store. Haven't touched the action. Usually when I buy a new bass I have it set up professionally. No need here. Low action. I thoroughly inspected the bass both prior and after I bought it and I have yet to find one finish flaw on it. It's almost too perfect, which kind of freaks me out a little. No extraneous noise when turning the volume and tone knobs. Haven't found any fret buzz at all. Tight joints. Everything seems really, really solid and well built.

I believe this bass will survive anything you throw at it. Although, I did lightly bang it off the metal corner of my practice amp and it put a nice nick in the clear coat. Kind of bubbled the clear coat around the ding. I am worried about it "spidering." Time will tell as to finish durability. Also, the fretboard is VERY heavily lacquered. Seems like I will have no problems, but also time will tell. Hopefully, the clear coat on the fretboard won't start to flake off. I replaced the strap buttons with strap locks but the stock ones seemed solid enough. I would definitely use it to gig withoug a back up but you're just asking for trouble in general without a back up. Gotta love Japanese manufacturing.

I e-mailed Fender about the pick guard and the position markers on the neck. Their responses were timely and informative. They were even honest about the position markers not being inlays but painted on and they don't know of any stock pickguards that will directly replace this one. They even gave me the web address for a custom pick guard manufacturer. Awesome!

I've been playing about 5 years (self taught), only gig about once a month and practice about twice a month as a band. I can only squeeze in practice and gigs between family time and work. I also own an Epiphone Thunderbird and a Schecter Model T 4 string. This bass is a whole different animal. If it were lost or stolen I would not hesitate to buy another one. I LOVE the neck on this thing. It is a work of art in it's own right. Both in looks and playability. The Badass II bridge is just the ticket as well. One thing is I wish it were offered in different colors or with different choices of pick guards. Also, I wish they would've splurged a little more on the tuners. Seem a bit cheap. But this is one outstanding value.

Purchased in early 2005. Made in Japan, 4 string 20 fret. Simple V/V/T control. Passive 'vintage' single coils. Alder body, maple neck with lovely black inlays. BADASSII Bridge. Comes with no extras (kinda odd huh).

I play a lot of classic rock and try my hand at some alternative more modern stuff. mmmmm soo growly, this thing sounds great! I admit i tried to avoid fender in my search for a new bass because everyone plays one but damn, this thing is great. Very rich sounding, lots of growl, a little dark sounding. Definitely better than the Highway-1 J and the american standard J. Only wish that the pickups were noiseless, but for the beautiful soudns they make they are fine the way they are.

Good action, everything fits nice and tight. Typical MIJ quality.

The frets have withstood the last couple of month with out a hint of wear. I can't see anything breakin as the electronics are quite simple. The neck is soo thin that i might be worried about warping, but i haven't heard of this happening yet to this model. The strap buttons are typical fender stuff. Strap locks are probably a great idea.

Haven't dealt yet.

Wow, this is replacing decent squire p-bass, and it just sounds great. A good professional quality instrument at a very good price. Compared it to most of Jazz basses in the store. And it came down to a used Ernieball Sterling , Warwick Corvette and this. Definitely the best sounding of the group, although the others sounded excellant as well. It also happened to be the cheapest of the bunch.

Features are pretty basic(which is what I like)2 vol nobs and 1 tone.The pick ups sound great,they're the 62 american series.The maple neck w/black inlays looks great and gives that midrange growl.

I play in a Rod Stewart trib. band a Motown soul band a rock band and church band.This Bass fits all genre of music,I own several Jazzes,Marcus Miller(A great Bass for slap)American Jazz and Fretless.This is the bass I grab when I go to my gigs,everyone in each band even the audience has commented on the sound.I've used it in the studio and actually came very close to Lee's sound.The action came set up perfectly for me.It's like your fingers are moving on there're own.The only way I can describe the feel and the sound of this Bass is like when trying on shoes.You keep going through a bunch of them till you come across that one that fits and feels good and you let out a sigh<Thats the way this Bass is to me.Being a Rush and Geddy Lee fan might have something to do w/it also.

.When I shop for a Bass if it is not setup perfectly from the factory I won't even spend time w/it.The action was right for me.That Badass bridge makes a huge difference w/sustain and easy to adjust.The only litlle flaw would be the tuning pegs.I think an original set of 72 tuning pegs would be better.These pegs seem a little loose when turning.I like the pegs to be tighter to turn.

A work horse.It's all there,Fender made a great Bass when they made this one.Sounds better than American made and vintage Basses.For the price can't go wrong.I added strap locks to mine.When these Basses first came out it came w/strap locks.Now they don't.

I'm a big Fender fan.I've never had to deal w/this Company but I know people that have and they never had any Problems.I've tried Warwick Basses the Stingray, Ibanez etc.I always come back to Fender.Ever since I got my first Fender(Precision)in 1979 I've never looked back.

All I can say is go into your nearest dealer and try one.You won't be disappointed.It should be noted I owned a Geddy Lee when they first came out I loved it,but I made a huge mistake when I sold it to buy a Vintage Jazz.I regretted doing that.Long story short I ended up selling the Vintage and got a new Geddy and have no regrets.