Fender Jaguar Bass

I love my black Fender Jaguar bass! Was great right off the wall, caught my eye when I least expected it and I walked out of the store with it after running it thru and amp and putting it thru its paces...i was definitely taken by its sound and playability, especially in a shop thats not terribly renowned for its set ups right out of the box

This might get me into a bit of trouble if a purist was to read this lol...I like the wierd and wonderful and I'm sure that played a big part in my buying this instrument. I immediately wanted to make it into my own with what would definitely be considered a major mod. I took it to my tech, got him to notch out the nut (which i am replacing with a high quality bone nut this week) so I could string it up with the low 4 strings of a 5 string set, Rotosounds of course (130,105,80,65) and its tuned BEAD. This bass is punishing with that setup! I'm not a big fan of 5 strings just because of the string spacing but I'm definitely a fan of that low B lol The fact that I can play a fretted low E note is a definitely a plus and on this bass its super fat. Because of my mod I always use the active setting with a db cut on my rig. I'm playing it thru an SVT pro3 into and svt 8x10 cab by the way and i shook a clock off the wall at my house gig a couple of weeks back! Now that was COOL lol I honestly can't say enough about the sound of this thing, its deeper than hell itself but at the same time it has a really nice transparency to it. I'm seriously considering buying another one just to have as a standard 4 string in the very near future.... one thing i should mention is altho it doesnt have a hum per se, it seems to have a shielding problem as mentioned by other reviewers in this forum

Like I said this guitar felt great the second i picked it up, love the neck! It is heavy tho lol

I replaced the strap buttons with Jim Dunlop strap locks immediately as i do with all my basses...Finish is great but I wouldn't consider the red one, I'm not a big fan of the matching headstock but thats a personal preference

I'm a pro player and have been for the past 27 years, a few basses have passed thru these hands lol my main bass is a 1990 Mexican Jazz thats been heavily modded, the only stock parts are the tone and volume knobs lol I have a 3 night a week house gig playing blues, rock, funk and country with some of the best musicians my city has to offer. Thats certainly not meant to be boastful, rather its more to convey the point that instrument and gear quality is top notch among these players. I'm what could be considered an aggressive player so I do demand a lot from my gear.
Like I mentioned before I absolutely love this bass and when I pull it out of its case, the reactions are nothing but positive both on its look and definitely on its sound, with my Ampeg and this bass i"ve been seriously shaking my pant legs...I've been told by a few young people that its rad lol, that kinda seals it dont ya think?

2008 Fender Jaguar Bass (Japan)
Alder body, Rosewood Neck, Pearloid Block in-lays.
Active/Passive electronics circuit
Neck/Bridge Pickup Switches
Series Switch

This bass has some really good features however some features could use an improvement. I really like the use of the series switches and the pickup switches. I think Fender Japan did an excellent job with that. I also like that the bass also has a passive/active switch and also the incorporation of a tone knob that you can also use even in active mode. However, I was highly disappointed with both the volume and tone pots. They are cheap, and I would highly suggest replacing them. Also, the bass and treble roll adjustments are pathetic. It is either all bass or no bass.....no in between. You have to toy with the controls to get the bass and treble just right. The tuners are ok, but this is another area that if I had kept the bass....I would've replaced as well. The bridge is standard.....had I kept the bass I would have went with a Gotoh bridge or something along those lines. Because of the cheapness of the pots and the almost unusable eq roller knobs and par tuners I'm giving this bass a 6.

This bass can pull out a plethora of sounds. I think the bright spot of this bass is the passive side though. The active eq could use some work....to me it just sounds boomy and muddy when I use the bass eq. It does have some brightness that is pretty good for slap though. In a live performance though.....my bass got lost in the mix. So again I will not give a high rating for the sound. Let's not talk about the loud buzzing sound that I get from the bass. I'm like this....if I faulk out money for instrument I should not have to have it put in the shop to be shielded or anything else. Again I'll give this bass a 6.

Now....this has got to be the best part of this bass. The action, fit, and finish of this bass was awesome!! Straight from the factory to the store the setup was excellent. Low action, fast neck, beautiful finish, nice body.....this was what made me buy the bass in the first place. Best four stringer I've laid my hands around. I just wished the features and the sound would have matched.

I'm sure this bass would be reliable....but I would not use this bass on a gig without a backup. With it having cheap parts, I would question whether this bass would hold up on its own.

N/A

Overall....I love the concept of this bass. I think if they made these in the US and maybe took their time to make a good instrument with good quality parts, they would sell millions of these basses. It would be awesome to see the Fender Custom Shop make these basses. If they correct some of the problems such as the busted eq controls, the horrible shielding and loud buzz, and adjust the bass frequency of the eq and make it more musical Fender could have something. Needless to say....I played this bass in store, laid it away, paid for it brought it home and was shocked at how terrible the bass was. I gave it a fair shake, but when I took it on a performance and played it.....it just did not cut it.....my Mexican Jazz bass blew it straight up....and my Mex has no mods what so ever. Good news is that I took it back and got a full refund for the bass in which I used that money to order a American Vintage Series 75' reissue Jazz Bass. I'm sure that my 75 reissue will perform well. I have had and owned a number of Fender's....and this one rates very low on my list.

You all know the features...but mine's a red one!!! I bought this because it is sooo different from my Warwick Streamer Jazzman 5 - variety is the spice of life.

Hot signal but what about that buzz/battery pops/cutouts etc. Started just after I bought it. After sending this bass to FOUR guitar techs (including Fender) the fix is A PIECE OF DOUBLE SIDED TAPE ON THE INSIDE OF THE BATTERY COMPARTMENT LID TO PUSH THE BATTERY TIGHTER AGAINST THE CONTACTS!!! Since doing this frankly ludicrous repair the bass has been perfectly well behaved. I hope Fender is reading this so they can rectify this issue in the factory. I almost stopped loving this bass but can now see a long and passionate relationship (it is red remember). The sound was a 2 but now it's an...

Overall this bass is well built and finished. Action is great and paint is RED!!! Did I mention that before? Typically high quality Japanese product.

I have owned for this for 6 months. 5 months chasing the buzz. Possibly unfair to judge reliability just yet... Have done 20 0dd gigs and still looks new. Only damage caused by one of the guitar techs...Dragged a pickup screw across the (red) finish.

To paraphrase the Fender tech, "We have checked this bass against others in our factory and the buzz you hear is normal for this pickup set up.." Fender has dropped the ball on this one - I'm very disappointed with this attitude especially after the incredibly simple fix. (Thanks Hindy - you know who you are).

Now the probs are fixed it is great. This rating will be higher in 6months time I'm sure.

2006 Fender Jaguar Bass made in Japan in Hot Rod Red w/ matching headstock. Two jazz bass pickups and two fairly intuitive modes of operation: Active mode with bass and treble controls and passive mode with pickup selection, parallel/series selection and a master volume and tone control. Gloss maple neck with pre-aged rosewood fingerboard complete with 70s-era block inlays.

Tons of tonal options on this bass. It ended up replacing my Geddy Lee Jazz bass primarily due to its ability to nail the jazz tone with a few other tricks up its sleeve. I didn't use the active circuit much, but it was nice on gigs where I had to run direct or through an in-ear setup. The active mode is simple, turn it on and it gives whatever pickups are selected a boost of bass and treble via two sliding controls. A nice way to add gain to the signal or boost things overall when needed. That said, I primarily ran the bass in passive mode. The series option is nice and a fairly standard mod (think S-1 switch).

The build quality of the bass were great as I have come to expect from Fender Japan. The pre-aged look is nice and the finish both on the body and headstock was very nice. As is the case with these gloss finishes from the vintage series, the finish chips fairly easily. A couple of cymbal bumps in a cramped rehearsal space put a couple of dings in the headstock, so I learned that lesson quickly. The only construction issue was a loud popping that would come up when the battery compartment was bumped. It would pop or even cut the signal if bumped and I tend to move a bit when I play, so this quickly became an issue. I did have the bass repaired on Fender's dime, but the problem persisted. I believe mine was the only one to have this problem and it only affected the active mode, so I simply removed the battery and never used the active mode after the trip into the shop. The low rating is not on the construction side, but due to the persisting electronic popping.

The only durability issue was the aforementioned active circuit problem. Since I stopped using the active mode, it stopped being an issue and withheld live playing. That said, if you are a strong slapper or would plan to use the active circuit a ton, make sure that contact with the battery door doesn't produce the pops and cracks that mine did.

Fender makes warranty work easy with their large network of service shops. I was able to take care of the Jag bass and a tube Deluxe Reverb of theirs in one trip. They also answer their phones if you know the numbers to call.

This is a very solid bass and a great player. It's tone is very jazzy with a voice of its own. It became the signature tone on a single from an electro-pop session that I played on, so it sounds good to producers and audiences alike. The looks, playability, and tone come together better than some of Fender's other offers. A great way to play a Fender without having to play the "same old" jazz or precision.

I swore that if my band ever went on tour I would buy an Ernie Ball Bongo bass. It's the one I always wanted. I really enjoy active pickups and when my band got booked I went out to buy the Bongo... until I played the jag.

I have to admit that I wanted something American made, but this Japanese axe is built really well-- it sounds as good as the bongo but plays better! Most of all, this guitar is really versatile with the ability to turn off pickups, run series and parallel and turn off the active feature.



You already know the features from the other posts. Here are my favorite:

Green-tinted pickguard-- follows the faded color of the original jag bass pickguard.

Matching headstock (for the red bass)

Active EQ-- the two wheels on the top of the guitar shape the bass and treb tone of the guitar when in active mode. You can switch on the fly and not suffer any pops or buzzes-- cool feature!

The reason I decided to write a review was to talk about the buzzing. Yes, the Jag buzzes. When I plugged it in once I bought it the buzz was HORRIBLE. I reduced about 80% of the buzz by grounding my amp-- no one's talked about this yet on the forums. There's still some buzzing and I'm sure that when I take it to get set up by a pro he will take care of the rest. It doesn't buzz as bad as my old Jazz V, though, and it has the same pickups.

Out of the Guitar Center it played really well... odd, I know. It was by far the best playing bass I played for under $1500. Some vintage basses had a better feel but none had the versatile sound of the jag. I'm planning to get it set up by a pro, so it can only get better.

I give it a 9 because there ARE better playing basses out there-- just not for the price.

I cage fight on an every-other-saturday basis. Usually my opponents come with baseball bats... I come with my jag and beat them to a pulp.

n/a

I just started playing bass again after playing guitar in my band for 6 years. I had been playing my Mexican Jazz V for the past month (since it was the bass I played when I first picked up bass guitar 10 years ago) and it sounded like crap at a gig . I needed a guitar quick for another gig, so I played virtually every guitar at multiple stores and chains.

I really didn't want to buy the jag because it was japanese, looked funny and had the same pups as my jazz V. After dozens of try outs, though, I realized that every bass I played was being compared to the smooth feel of the jag; I couldnt get it out of my head. So I bought it and loved it.

This bass is loaded with features. The most notable feature for me is the sheer variety of tones you can get out of the Jaguar. It has great Jazz-like tones when in passive mode and crank some serious bass and treble when in active mode, with a whole range of tones in between.

Not only does the bass sound great but it looks amazing as well. I went with the hot rod red with matching headstock. As far as "look" goes, what really hooked me are the aged pearl block inlays on the neck, it has a great vintage look to it.

If there were one "feature" I would complain about it would be the lack of a free gig bag with the purchase. You would think Fender could throw in a $20 bag with the bass.

I guess I already went over the sound in the features section. To sum it up, great tone. I was deciding between the Jaguar and a traditional Jazz bass. The Jaguar, just has so many different voices it is great.

I had read reviews that the Jaguar had problems with a humming noise. I haven't witnessed anything like this on mine. Perhaps Fender has since fixed the problem.

My Jag didn't need any adjustments out of the box, besides a slight tuning.

I was coming from playing an Ibanez Roadgear which has really fast action on it. For a Fender the Jaguar is comparible. I've tried a few Jazz basses and the action was a little high for my liking. The Jaguar is much closer to what I'm used to, I hardly noticed a difference.

The only flaw I could find in the finish was a bit of varnish on the side of the nut. You can tell it was in place before the next was varnished. There were no other flaws besides that.

If I had one improvement to suggest would be to use a satin finish for the next instead of high gloss. I find the satin finish a lot faster and not as sticky as a high gloss finish, but that is personal preference.

The Jaguar is a solid instrument, as solid as any other Fender. I seems like it will hold up well, even considering the vast amount of electronics in it.

I have never needed to make any adjustments to it and all the parts seem to handle the everyday wear and tear of playing.

I don't think I would be foolish enough to play a gig with only one instrument, but I think the Jaguar could do the job if required to.

NA

This is a great Fender bass, at a very reasonable price. Fender lists the bass at $999 CDN. I managed to find it (when the Canadian dollar was at a high mark) for $589. It was definately a steal.

You can't go wrong with a Fender, and the Jaguar continues that legacy.

This bass is pretty awesome! if it wasn't for the stupid hum, I'd give it a ten.

Neck feels good, finished just right. I could play this bass for hours!

It hums. It only hums when it's sitting there and you're not playing - if you want one of these better get yourself a gate and use that.

The bass sounds awesome other than the hum. You can get fat sound, thin, whatever it is that you're looking for.

Set up was great! No problems, everything was perfect.

Gigged with this bass, I would use it in a heartbeat.

I did replace the bridge with a leo quan, and added dunlop straplocks.

I would (and have) used this bass without a backup.

Haven't ever dealt with fender support.

Been playing about 5 years. Love this bass!

I most of all like the sound (except the hum).

I love it, and if it were stolen I'd replace it right away!

I've had this baby about four months now and I've gigged it at least once a week since then so it's about time I tell you what I think.

I'm not going to go into features, everyone else's review has already covered it. I will say however, that the feature, basically the Jag circuit, is brilliant, more on that in sound. I'd give this lovely tone circuit a 9, but if you're an enthusiastic pick player like me, those switches easily get knocked, or gouge into your hand if you're not careful!

I don't miss a pickup blend knob either, but some may.

Sound is jazz bass in series, growly almost-p mids in parallel. The active isn't bad at all, but it isn't great either. I don't think theres enough EQ threshold or sensitivity in those two boost/cut knobs. By that I mean, theres a sweet spot, and if you over or underdo the setting, it messes up the sound. The master/passive tone knob is nicer to use, and sounds good wherever you point it. I'd give the active sound a 7, but passive...for the price...perfect.

This was shipped from Japan, as they all are, so I expected a lot worse. The neck was perfect out of the box. string radius was exactly what Fender recommends on the Geddy lee neck (the Jag has the same dimension neck). Nice low action too, but too low for me, I like a bit of resistance! Finish was as good as you'd expect. Theres not much to do wrong on a black laquer body, but the neck varnish was nice and even, and very very smooth. I've heard of some lemons from the factory but mine certainly wasn't. A perfect example of a well crafted Fender.

Higher register frets could be easier to access, but it just takes some getting used to.

I replaced the strap buttons with Schallers the second I got the bass but they seemed sturdy. The hardware is nice but chrome gets dirty fast! Finish is nice and thick but I'm pretty clumsy, It's got a couple of chips already, but it's my fault. The finish is by no means fragile. No neck adjustments needed as of yet, and stays in tune nicely.

I doubt Fender has great customer support, but I doubt i'll need to find out with this specimen.

I didn't want this to be a "glowing" review, but it's ended up as one. The only complaints I have are the sketchy active circuit (not too hard to swap out) and the multitude of switches that have gouged pieces of my skin out, and the less roomy neck pocket. But compared to a Fender Jazz, the closest couterpart to this thing, it's worth it for the sound of the Jag circuit, the thinner, more comfortable neck, and the cool retro style. If you didn't mind not having a more interesting circuit, but wanted the nicer neck, you could try a Geddy Lee jazz. But I'm in love with this thing. Theres just something about it. All the switches, the flexible sound, the bassists at gigs going "I'd love a jag!!" Or the guitarists going "your jazz looks funny..." It's a cool, out of the ordinary gem to me. For the value it's amazing, all Japanese Fenders are.

My fender jaguar bass is black with white scratch plate. Its japanese made and has looks that kill.

The sound is great. It has all the settings I need for a full bodied sound with more of a clasic style sound than a clean crisp modern bass. Unfortunately it has a hideous buzz that occurs from the lack of good shielding around the electronic circuit board in the internal components of the instrument. I have gone to great lengths to iscolate the problem and have suffered reoccuring noise. be aware that you may have to earth the shielding on the scratch plate and the insulating paint at the bottom of the internals. Also there were some problems with the soldering as some wiring was porely conected. So get a tec to check the wires.

No complains as it has the great fender feel and comfort of a great rock bass.

Just be aware of terible soldering. Even the machine solders were porely overlooked when leaving the factory. It has to be personly modified to iscolate the lake of earth and shielding

I just worked with my tec. I didnt take it back to fender as I preferd to work out the issues of the guitar with someone I trusted

Sounds great for its intended set up. Noisy and frustrating problems with the earth/shielding which is unfortunate for a respectable company like fender. If these issues were thaught out properly I am sure that i would not have to have spent many weekends with a tec figuring out these problems.

This is a 2006 model. Mine is Hot Rod red with the matching Headstock. The Body style based on the Fender Jaguar guitar


Mine came in a Box - no allen wrench, and had a lisght scuff on the lower bout/back. Not a big deal. Setup was basic and about 9/64ths to 7-64ths (@ 12th fret) with slight relief.

Here is all the boring Tech Spec Data from the website:
Model Name Jaguar?? Bass
Model Number 025-9505-(Color#)
Series Deluxe Series
Colors (506) Black,
(515) Hot Rod Red,
(Polyurethane Finish)
Body Alder
Neck 1-Piece Maple, Thin ???C??? Shape,
(Gloss Polyurethane Finish)
Fingerboard Rosewood
No. of Frets 20 Vintage Style Frets
Pickups 2 Vintage Jazz Bass?? Single-Coil Pickups
Controls Master Volume,
Master Tone,
Preamp Treble Control Wheel,
Preamp Bass Control Wheel,
Preamp On/Off Slide Switch
Pickup Switching 2-On/Off Slide Switches, One for Each Pickup,
1-Series/Parallel Slide Switch (Operates only when both pickups are on)
Bridge Standard 4-Saddle
Machine Heads Vintage Style
Hardware Chrome
Pickguard 3-Ply White
Scale Length 34??? (864 mm)
Width at Nut 1.50??? (38mm)
Unique Features Block Position Markers,
Active/Passive Preamp System,
Slim Neck Profile
Strings Super 7350M, NPS, p/n 073-7350-006,
Gauges: (.045, .065, .085, .105)
Accessories None
Case Not Included. Will Fit:
099-6173-400 Deluxe Tweed - Red Poodle Plush Interior MSRP $209.99
099-6178-422 Deluxe Brown - Gold Plush Interior MSRP $209.99
099-6172-406 Deluxe Black - Amp Logo & Orange Plush Interior MSRP $199.99
099-6172-306 Standard Black - Black Acrylic Interior MSRP $174.99
Introduced 1/2006
Notice Product Prices, Features And Specifications Are Subject To Change Without Notice

I Love the sounds you can get from this instument. I prefer the active sounds, but have no issue with getting great tone from teh passive circuit either. It fits everything I play it for, which is primarily blues and rock. It has MORE ASS and PUNCH than any other bass I have, or have ever had. Not old school gibson clank, but tremendous low and opunch, especailly through my Ampeg Cabinet (HLF410).

Here is my only negative and it will also impact Customer Service.
Upon purchase, it had a serious Buzz, more in active mode than passive. I tried it in several locations and with several rigs. I took it back to the shop where I got it and it did not replicate the buzz Noise. I took it to a room that I play weekly and it was unbearable - keeping in mind that this room has many lights on dimmers, and the other guitars with single coils always have trouble. NONE of my basses, or either of my two rigs ever gave me trouble though. I bought a Furman power conditioner and most of it went away, but I knew that this did not fix the real issue though. I caontacted fender to tell them abotu the issue - their response was short - take it to an authorized shop (Which I had done, and told them that I had).....so they were no help.

I found that the control and pickup cavities were well shielded with paint, but the shielding was not grounded. I installed a ground wire from the wall (grommet into the wood on the paint) to the chrome control plate and it all went away. It is almost dead quiet now.

I like the bass, its setup, and feel/sound.

I am disgusted with customer support.

I rate it 10, but it would have been a 2. Lets take a point off for having to do it myself though.....seem fair enough?

Set up good out of the box
minor tweak for me

Pups were good out of the box

A few sharp frets, - I fixed

Scuff -

BUZZING

Good hardware, not premium, but really good, well made, nice finish, will play passive if active battery dies, I like to take a back up, but sometimes just take extra strings.....

It seems fine.

Score of 2 out of 10

Fender Customer support it consistant. At least they answered me this time.

Not a good answer, and i would still be waiting to get it back fromt the "Authorized Fender Repair Center" if I had gone that route.

In fact, when I sent the courtesy response to tell them what I had done, and that they had apparently not read my email, suprisingly, I got no response. I am just amazed.

I have been playing bass for 3 years now, and own 5 basses, 3 of which are fenders. I own one strat, but have had 5 of them. I have been playing guitar for about 8 years, now, and spent all of that time, more in learning how to setup, build/rebuild, reconfigure instruments.

this is a nice instrument. it is full of tone-shaping features, and feels great with an absolutely thunderous low end. I would consider installing a Badass II, but it really doesn't need it.

My favorite feature besides the great fellign neck is the Phase inversion and the active circuit. It is one bad instrument.