Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass

Won't go into the features, they're already covered.

I love the sound from this bass. The pickups seem very sensitive. If you pluck a string hard, It really comes out in the sound. The sound from using the Bridge pickup alone is just incredible. I wasn't used to the "hotness" of these pickups at first but now I've learned to use them and I really like having that option.

I had to do some tweaking with this bass when I first bought it. The strings were too low and the pickups were a touch to high. Once these were adjusted it was fine.

The reason I bought this was because I was breaking strings on my American J-Bass pretty frequently in a live situation so I needed something reliable.So I bought this bass and have used it for four months of gigging without any problems. This is a solid bass.I rely on it 100%

Never had to deal with them.

I've owned 6 Fender basses in my life other than this one and I must say that this is my favorite of them all

34" Scale
Alder Body
Maple neck with Black Block inlays
Medium Frets
Reissue 1962 J Pickups
Plain White pickguard

It is exactly what it is - a 70's reissue.

Provides the classic Jazz Bass sounds via SWR Working Man, Fender Bassman 100 and some nicer rigs at Guitar Center. IT sounded great through each. I primarily record with this and it sounds just fine direct into the board or via an Bass PoD or a Bass PoDxT. You just get more tonal capabilities via the PoD's.

Varying the volume levels of the individual pickups can really change the sound from nasty snarl to smooth and full. None of the settings were harsh or muddy.

If you are looking for a sweet smooth sound for Jazz then you may want to look at the Marcus Miller model - also a very nice bass.

Perfect from the factory although I am noticing some very small cracks in the clear coat on the fingerboard. I have never had a Maple neck instrument before and given the more aged ones I would say this is just the norm.

The neck is slim and easy to play. Normally I like an unfinished oiled neck as the gloss slows me down but the clearcoat on this neck causes no problems.

The factory action was a little low for my taste but that was easily resolved and it plays perfectly.

We'll see I have not had it long enough.

N/A

I played a boat load of basses before getting this one. All basses have their pluses and minuses. If you love the more aggresive sound of a Jazz Bass then this is your bass. It has snarl and growl built in.

I played no other bass that came close and they had plenty between Guitar Center and Sam Ash. The unique thing about a Fender is the tonal variety that you can get just by how you play it.

For the money paid for this bass it is a fantastic deal. Not fancy, no Phat knobs (LOL!). Simple elegance and a phenominal sound. Try and steal this and you are in for a serious bruising :-)

One thing that I have learned is that it pays long term to buy a decent instrument and this qualifies. When I was but a wee young'n I got a 1978 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe and it plays as nice as the day I got - possibly better. Not so for the dust collecting bargians that grace the back of my closest - Fender Squire J-Bass Special with a warped neck, Fender Squier Strat. Note that Squires only have a 1 year warranty.

Good Luck and you better one before their gone!

Japanese made bass with 20 frets. Maple neck w/ maple fretboard, black block inlays and black binding around neck. Fitted with Badass Bass II bridge (Geddy is known for fitting his basses with the Badass bridges.) Has a real vintage 1972 look, but modernized for today's standards (thumb-rest bar is nonexistant, as well as an absence of pickup/bridge covers.) The neck is very thin, more so than I've felt on any new Jazz basses. The controls: bridge pickup volume, neck pickup volume, master tone. The only accessory that came with this bass was a small Allen wrench for adjusting the bridge saddles and tone knobs. I give this a 10, this bass is absolutely MARVELOUS.

A very aggressive style, and is very well suited for Rock music (my style of music.) The amp I am running it to is a Peavey TNT115BW (15" Black Widow speaker), and it sounds great thru that. It sounded TERRIFYINGLY awesome on an Ampeg SVT Pro that went into a 4x10 Cabinet. It is a fairly noisy bass, the pickups are very responsive to the strings. Fairly rich sound with a good amount of sustain. As for the tonal variety, it lacks the Low end of a DELUXE Fender J-bass, but it certainly can hold its own. It's noticably better for the stage, probably just because of how noisy it can get; but that all depends on the type of music you play.

The bass came with very low action, but still had great sound. The pickups needed no further adjustments. No flaws on the bass that I can tell of (except a loose tone knob, that was easily adjusted with an Allen wrench.)

This bass feels like it is built like a rock, most Japanese Fenders are. The hardware seems very sturdy. I am not worried about the finish at ALL - Fender has always been very good with that. The finish on the fretboard seems to be a little thick, but that is not a downside at all; it actually contributes to the look of the bass. The strap buttons arent goin anywhere. When I got the bass, no neck adjustments needed to be made, and I dont think that there will be a need for adjustments any time soon. I wouldnt use it without a backup, because I never play without a backup. You never know when your adrenaline is going to pick up, and you start playing harder, and snapping strings. I have had that problem before.

I have never had to deal with Fender on issues concerning this bass.

I have been playing for about 4 years... I also own an American Deluxe Fender Jazz bass. If this bass were stolen, I would definitely buy another one, brand new. You just cant beat the price. My favorite feature is the WHOLE BASS. I compared it side by side by my American Deluxe Jazz bass... just out of curiousity. I love this bass as is, and I cant think of any adjustments it would need.

Features are STD and were decribed by others, It is a Japanese J-Bass with STD passive electronic and US Vintage pickups.

I believe the only special features are the Leo Quann Badass II brige, Black Binding and Black Block Position Markers,
Badass II Bridge.

The neck and the fingerboard are maple.

The neck plate is engraved "Fender Limited edition" but I believe it is made since '98 and it is not really hard to get.

Mine is a 2000.

I will rate features at 9 just because it is passive.

It is possible to get a sound close the the P-Bass using only the neck pickup, but the sounds is still more punchy. Using just the bridge pickup or a combination sounds very interesting, very punchy and aggressive. A lot brighter than a P-bass since mine did not feature a brigpe pickup. I like the sound a lot but I will still use my P-Bass for some specific songs that we are playing with the E string tuned down to C#. For some reason my Jazz Bass does not play well with that tuning.

I will have it tuned up with DR LoRider or SunBeam, I'm sure my sound will get better, but it is still awesome and the variety is a lot wider
with the 2 pickups.

Outstanding, and as I mentioned it is not even freshly tuned. I played a 70's US Made J-Bass before buying the Geddy Lee Model, and I believe the later was better.

I was surprised that one of the machine heads had a little backlash , I'll have it verified.
For the balance it is good enough to sport the name of Fender.
My P-bass will still act as a back up (tuned down as explained), all basses need a backup...

Did not need it yet.

I'm playing guitar since '82, bass since '86 but I spent the 90's without serious playing (occasionnal on my Tak 12 acoustic that I still own). Do not let your job take over music, music is a therapy...

I use to play an Fender Precision (USA) in the late 80's, an I started over playing with a Squier Bass Pack in '99. No need to say it is an upgrade. I was considering my Squier as fair (may be I've been lucky with this chinese, the playability is still ok but the sound can't be compared) But now I believe that the sound of my previous Fender was too deep in my memory.

I am using a Fender Bassman 60 (recommended for rehersal in small rooms only). The amp was distorsioning a lot with the Squier, my sound is really better and the distorsion is minor now with my Geddy (with volume over 80%).

In my 2 months shopping process, I played a Peavey and a Yamaha (both Precision-like in the $4-500's), the fender Sting signature, an active 5str. Bass-Collection, an OLP (Chinese passive Stingray), a Mex. P-Bass, an active Washburn and a Rickenbaker 4003. Among these, I found that only the the Ric and the Geddy Lee were interesting soundwise and were a real upgrade compare to my Squier (playability were all better tough).

I really looked for a MM Stingray, but I lost a bid on one (you can't get $1000 from an ATM and banks bus.hours are a shame) and I purchased the Jazz Bass as a result of frustration and I have no regrets.

If it was stolen, I would try again to find a Stingray, try it and decide after.

My rate will be 9 because I am still a Stingray virgin player...


I do not

Made in early '98 I believe, bought new, so i've had it knog enough to know what it is going to do. It's a Jazz bass, but it is modeled after a '72. Maple board with black markers. Ash body. BadassII bridge. I give it an 8 because, well, it's a jazz bass, and they are not known to have all of the features that will blow you out of the water. However, I would only give several other jazz basses a 7.

I owned this bass for about four years before I even really used it much. I was in metal and funk bands, so a Hi-Fi Warwick 5 was my main axe. I recently joined a classic rock style band with a modern edge. Think Michelle Branch-ish. Bottom line, Jazz basses, in general, are a great bass if you are a sideman. They always sit well in the mix, but never draw attention away from the star. I haven't tried to get it to sound exactly like Geddy Lee, so I can't comment there, but it sounds as good as any american Jazz, which is I wanted it to do. The body could be a bit more resonant, but that is nobody's fault but the tree. Any production bass can vary like that.

All were fine, but as a '72 reissue, The tint of the finish on the maple could be a bit darker. Vintage fender guys will know what I am talking about. You do have to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod, but you wouldn't knock a '62 Jazz worth more than you car for this, so I won't knock this one. Again, as with any bass, spend time adjusting it to your liking. You should never think a bass is perfect out of the box, it helps if it is close, but you'll always have to tweak.

I gig with the bass a minimum of once a week. The only time I use a back up is when I am at a clean venue and I feel like taking my vintage P-Bass ('78) with me. 90% of the time, I have no back up and have never felt like I would need one....Knock on wood.

This bass was stolen once. I contacted AJ's Music in Las Vegas, where the bass was purchased, to see if they still had record of the serial # (always write these down, lesson learned). They contacted fender and were able to get it back, which in turn got me my bass back. I didn't deal with Fender directly, but the job got done. I am still going to leave this as NA.

I am a pro, L.A. studio and gig player with 12 years under my belt. I was always a "modern" bass guy, but I knew that I would need to get a Jazz or P bass if I wanted to do a lot of sideman work. I bought this bass because it was cheaper than the American bass, still had an Ash body, and had the BADASSII bridge. The bass just has a cooler vibe that the American Standard too. Bottom line, I love it. I have since played a ton of similar era Jazz basses, and some are better and some are not. No one engeneer in studio or soundman on stage has ever said anything bad, and it always sits great whereever I play or record it. Mabee I'll put some Fralin's in it some day, but I am always happy with the consitancy of the sound. This bass just always works, no fuss. If you want to be a studio guy, this is key. If it was stolen (again) I would collect the insurance money, and spend the difference on an origional '72, but only because of the investment value of a vintage insturment. The best value Jazz bass on the market, hands down.

Geddy Lee Limited Edition Jazz Bass, a replica of the instrument he has used for for years. Ok the bass features an alder body with a maple neck/fingerboard (34" scale length; 20 Medium Jumbo frets with black fingerboard binding), this J-Bass is custom-fit with two U.S. Vintage Bi-Pole pickups (neck & bridge), and a Bad AssTM II Bridge.

It's got a decent sound but not as full as my American made Jazz. It's quiet and records well. I will be replacing the pickups in time with a Dimarzio ultra jazz set.

Nice fit and finish. No gaps or other mishaps and fret work was well done. Action is pretty good but I hate the fact you have to remove the neck to access the truss rode. Sure it's a classic bass and sure you can have the body routed for access, but still!!. Also I find the neck a little to thin for my liking.

Should last a long time as it's well constructed and has few error prone parts. The inlays in the neck are not true inlays and this may become a problem in time as the maple board begins to show signs or wear.

I'd say for a big company Fender does a decent job at customer service.

A really cool and pleasing jazz with some nice extras. Still not as good as a U.S. made jazz, but still a very good buy.

I bought this bass brand new. It is actually the second one I bought. The first one (which I sold) was in perfect shape. My current one has a little of the laminating of the top of neck peeling off around the 3rd fret. No big deal. Also some small lines in 2 of the black fret markers. Cosmetics like that don't bother me. The thin neck is excellent, especially compared to the Fender Marcus Miller model. Overall, I am very pleased.

The sound is excellent. The reason I sold my first one is that I replaced the pickups with Active Bartolinis. It lost it's "Unique" sound, but gained absolute silence. I am leaving the original pickups in this one. The best way to describe the sound would be to listen to "New World Man" by Rush. Play along with that song, and you will know what I mean. Excellent.

The factory setup was just average. When I bought it, the bass tech took about 15 minutes to adjust the truss rod and the action. Since then it hasn't needed anything, even with drastic temperature changes. The neck is holding my preferred setting perfectly.

This bass seems ready for anything. It appears it could take a beating, a few spilled beers, or just about whatever abuse you have. I would only question the slight noise, but I guess most passive basses would do that. I'm used to playing a dead-silent Kubicki. I was spoiled with that.

Didn't need it.

I play this bass through a Trace Elliot 1x15 300 watt combo and a Hartke 2.5 XL extension cabinet. This is the best sounding combination I have ever owned. My only request would be a little more fine tuning control over the tone. It's just one small knob that controls both. 1 tone knob for each pickup would be outstanding! Anyway, I will NOT be selling this bass this time.

I wish It came with a cass. Fender puts thier basses in great cases.

I did not want geddys sound nor did expect it. You need alot of outboard gear to ound like that (or a ric). I use a mesa 400+ and two mesa 2x15s. I also have a fender 400 and a 2x10 with a 1x15. I run a good sized pedal board. OD, chorus, EH big muff, wah and delay. It is just like any jazz you have ever heard but for half the price. I dont know how fender got away with this, but if you know jazz basses, they could easily sell this for at least 1200 dollars. I

This bass was adjusted to my standards ten minuets after I got it. LOW and buzzing the frets. It came with no flaws, except for loose strap pegs.

The tone and pickup volumes have either came off or have turned past were they are actually supposed to stop at. But I have giged with this bass over 250 times and practiced a over 600 times with it. So I dont blame this bass for sorta falling apart. Some of the finish on the neck has chiped. But oh well, every thing that has gone bad is my fault. This bass is as tough as nails.

Never dealt with fender...........I should though.

Japanese-made 2002 Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass. 4 string Alder body, Flat black finish, black inlaid position markers, Leo Quann Badass II bridge, thin(FAST) neck, passive J-style US vintage pickups, vintage tuners, bound fingerboard, 20-fret maple neck, lusterous finish.

This instrument seems to have a very clear, distinct sound, unlike my old Ibanez bass. Whilst running both pickups with the tone turned down, this bass has a beautiful, bright tone, full of depth and sustain. It does get slightly "twangy" whilst soloing the bridge pickup with the tone turned up, but it doesent seem to receive much hum. Those who built the pickups and wired them did a decent job of avoiding single-coil hum. The only request that I would make would be to switch to the hotter, more modern pickups featured on the American-made jazz basses.

When I was trying out this bass at the store, I noticed the action was far too low for my playing style. It may have been set at a decent level for slap and pop, but it needed adjustment for melodic classical/jazz/alternative playing, where I sometimes use an altered tuning. The folks at the Guitar Center fixed it in a few minutes, and the bass was pretty close to optimal.

I regularly play this bass live with a symphony orchestra and jazz band, and it seems to hold up pretty well. I've owned it for a couple of months now, and there haven't been any problems, but time will be the true test. The finish seems hard and lusterous, and there are no scratches from its tenure as a floor instrument in a Guitar Center. I believe that I can depend on this bass, but on a major gig, I would still bring my trusty Ibanez axe.

Never dealt with Fender, but from the horror stories I've heard, I'm a little nervous.

I've been playing electric bass for a number of years now, and was classically trained as both a cello and electric bass player. I regularly play electric bass with a symphony orchestra and a jazz band. I also own a beat-up Ibanez GSR200 bass(Gets the job done, but mediocre tone), a Squier Standard Strat, an SWR amplifier, and a DigiTech effects pedal. I enjoy playing classical pieces, such as the Bach cello suites on the bass (Muddy on the Ibanez, beautiful on the Fender), old jazz tunes, and misc. Pastorius, Haslip and Stanley Clarke.
The only modifications I would do to the bass would be to install hotter Seymour Duncan or Fender pickups, and possible replace the pickguard with a pearl- or black colored one.
In the store, I compared it with various Mexican Fenders, American ones, and the Ibanez EDA900. This bass completely outclassed its Mexican counterparts, and also outdid many higher-priced American basses (Japanese work ethics, here). I liked many features of the similarly-priced EDA900, but preferred the Geddy's natural tone and better feel.
On an ending note, I would like to say that I did NOT buy this bass because I'm a Rush wannabe. Their music is decent, but I don't particularly like it. My decision was based solely on feel, quality, workmanship, bang-for-the-buck, but most of all, sound.

Brand new, 2002 issued. Refer to other reviews for specifics.

What first grabbed me about this bass was its looks. I have always loved the Fender jazz bass, but this one blew me away. The sound was great with the stock strings, but I play mainly 60's rock. The strings were horrendous for this, which I knew when I purchased it. As was the plan, I quickly put some Fender flatwounds, and the sound was moved away from the Rush sound, and to the standard jazz bass sound. Overall, the sound is gorgeous. It is fantastic in all respects!

Action was set up very nicely, and needed no adjustments. This was purchased "off the wall" from the store, were it had been hanging for a week. The staff all tried it and loved it, and I imagine a few others had tried it as well. Despite this, the finish is pristine. There is not a nick, scratch, or dull spot anywhere in the guitar. It is flawless. My only pet peave is the neck. The maple has many coats of varnish, to a high gloss. Overall, I think the shine on the nect detracts from the look of this fine guitar. It would have been nicer dull, in my opinion. The other reissues with maple necks have the same high gloss, but I'm not sure if this was the standard on the on the original issues. Another concern is over time, will the high gloss on the neck become dull and scratched, and detract? Despite the gloss neck, I give this catagory a 10, as the finish and action is superb. Oh yes, the thin neck is absolutely incredible!

Hardware does seem very durable. I agree that the tuners could be a little stronger, and more like the American issues. The knobs are hard plastic and nice, but they could have been a higher grade, as well. The finish is beautiful, and will last for years. I can't say enough about this aspect of the guitar. Strap buttons are there for life---solid as can be! You will not need a backup with this bass in hand!

My only problem was one of the volume knobs---it sort of grabbed once in a while around the half-way point. I messed with it, and turned with a little tension, and the problem seemed to me fixed. What an easy repair. Because of the volume knob problem the day I brought it home, I give this section a 9/

Haven't had to use them.

This bass is awesome for, most of all, its playability. It is smooth as silk, fast, and responsive. I have a Hofner and Jay Turser Beatle bass, and a Peavey T-40. When I was looking for a new bass, I wanted a long scale which would get rid of some of the weight of the T-40. I fell in love with this bass, and bought it, and it is about 2.4 ounces lighter than the T-40. I didn't gain a thing! Oh well, it is still a keeper. Let me tell you one thing more---I respect Geddy Lee, but am not a huge fan. I did not buy this bass because of Geddy Lee. I bought it because it was the coolest looking Fender Jazz bass with a traditional J sound. I am probably one of the only nuts who bought this without wanting it because of Geddy Lee. I am a McCartney, Entwhistle, and Squire fan above all other bassists, with John Paul Jones thrown in for good measure, and this bass can create the sounds of these greats. I am in awe of Geddy's playing, but am not a big fan, so if you are against buying this because it is Geddy's model, think again. It is a reissue of a Fender Jazz bass that Geddy happened to own, with some adjustments, most notably the thin neck and bridge. Thankfully the signature is on the back of the head stock, as it is unseen---heck, nobody can read the writing anyway! Buy it---you won't regret it.