Fender Standard Jazz Bass

Made in Mexico around 1998 or 1999. 5 string jazz bass with 20 frets. 2 Volume knobs & 1 control knob. Stock pickups that are passive. Maple neck with Pau Ferro fretboard. Stock bridge, Gotoh tuners. Got mine with a Fender hardshell case. For stock stuff, it's pretty good. Not a lot of feautres, but that's not always a bad thing. Sometimes simpler is better. Depends on your own personal opinion. I am satisfied for the most part with the features of this bass.

I like a wide variety of music and it fits what I play just fine. It's got more midrange and high end than my other bass. (Gibson SG bass) The B string has plenty of low end in my opinion. I am using slightly lighter gauge strings than what comes on them. I now have Ernie Ball regular slinky strings on it. (.045 .065 .085 .100 .130) At home I am using a Fender Bassman 150 amp. I hook to a SWR amp at the church I play at. The pickups are noisy if just 1 of them is on, and the other is off. I play with both on full and there is very little hiss, if any. I turned 1 up and one down and the tone all the way down to 1 and it took a lot of the hiss out, but that will affect your high end so I just always play with both pickups all the way on usually. It sounds fine that way to me. I do have a few bass pedals but I haven't used them with this bass yet. I usually like playing clean. For stock pickups, they aren't too bad. I might consider getting some Seymour Duncan Basslines put in there one day, but for now I am OK with the stock pickups. Control knobs are smooth and quiet.

My bass has the Electron Blue finish with white 3 ply pickguard. It is almost purple, unless you are in direct sunlight. But inside it is a cobalt blue, just one shade away from purple. It's definitely different and I like it OK. It's not a flame top or anything like that, but it is nice. Frets cut just fine and not poking out the side to shred your hands like on some really cheap stuff.

I think I will be playing this bass more than my 4 string Gibson bass. It's built pretty solid and it's a lot heavier than my Gibson, but that's because the 2 guitars are made out of different woods. I think this will be a reliable bass. I like the feel of it. Get a good strap and I would suggest some strap locks. I use Dunlops oon both my basses. Honestly, I think the finish will hold up to regular playing better than my Gibson!

Haven't had to deal with them so I don't have an opinion on this.

I bought my Fender Jazz off eBay and it was used and came with a used Fender hardshell case.
I've been playing for just over a year now. I mentioned that I also have a Gibson SG 4 string bass. I tried not to compare them too much because the Gibson is made out of different wood, is a short scale, and has a different finish. I like both guitars and each has it' qualites that are better than the other. I would definitely replace this bass if it were stolen, lost, or damaged by some act of God. This is my first 5 string bass and I really like having that B String. The tuners and bridge are chrome and look good. I was pleasantly surprised at the sound I get out of this bass. If you're on a budget and want to try out a 5 string, I would suggest one of these. Yes, Schecters have a very nice finish and all, but you pay for that. Also, they are active basses, and I prefer passive basses myself. The Fender Standard Jazz Bass is a nice, classic looking guitar. You can't hardly go wrong with that. I think there are a lot of bass players out there that have at least 1 Fender in their collection. Definitely consider one of these over the Squier models! I'm sorry but Squiers are really only good for a boat paddle. The quality of these Mexican made basses is much better and worth the extra amount.

Mine is a 2000 MIM Sunburst Jazz.

Everyone knows the specs so no need to list.

Isn't a luxury bass but has everything I 'need'.

The sound is what I love most about the Jazz, it has 3 basic sounds (neck pickup, bridge pickup, both pickups) that are all wonderful and have been used on thousands of recordings through out the world.

I can't get a bad sound out of it. Only minor grievance is that the solo'd bridge pickup is a bit quiet.

I'm likely to record with this at some point (along with my Stingray).

2nd hand so can't judge factory setup. Did set up myself and have it just right now.

Strat style knobs common from this year look naff - so have replaced with the proper ones.

Frets a bit worn, have seen better for age of the instrument. A lovely piece of alder though..

Jazzes are born to gig - i'd rely on this without losing any sleep. Hardware is a bit cheap in places (bridge especially) but it's no worse than similar priced instruments.

Have emailed Fender and had prompt responses in past.

Been playing for nearly 5 years, gone through 10 basses so far. The Jazz is a timeless classic that won't fail to give good results.

2001 Mexico Jazz Bass
Features are well known for these basses.

I play alot of different styles of rock music (Indie to metal) and I really find my Jazz Bass to fit into every style. I really like the kind of punchy, attacking sound of this bass, and the warm tone. I play this bass over my Ibanez Soundwave 65w (will soon have another amp, just dont have alot of money at this time), and I turn the bass and treble to about one o'clock and the middle tones to about 11 o'clock, for the punchy sound.

The bass feels really naturally in my hands, it was set up near perfectly when I bought the bass. I've heard some people complain about the bridge but I really didn' have any problems with it.

The bass seems to be lasting, it withstands live performances without any problems. I dropped the bass a few times, heard no difference after I did.

Never dealt with customer support.

I really think this is a great bass, I bought it as my first 'real brand' bass (owned a begginers Ibanez and Squier P-Bass) and it really stood up to all my expectations of a fender bass.

2005, Made In Mexico
4str, 20 med\jumbo frets
3 knobs (2 volume, 1 tone)
2 single coil, passive, EMG Select pickups in the standard position (mid and bridge)
Not sure of body and neck materials.
Arctic white w\3 ply white pickguard

Bought the bass brand new, but the EMGs are not stock. Must've been installed by Sam Ash b\c I'm unaware of any Fender Jazz basses being shipped from the factory with EMGs.

Sounds great! The EMGs really give it a wide tonal range. The tone knob actually makes a distinct audible difference when tweaked! Can go very warm to very bright and everything inbetween!
I play mostly rock and some R&B, soul. It fits everything in those genres with the turn of the Tone knob!
Currently playing it through a BlueTube preamp, into a Fender Bassman 25.
Some buzz due to the single coils, especially when playing it in my home office with the tv, computer and lamp on.
Rich, Full, Dark, Warm, Bright, you name it, can probably get it out of this bass!
Haven't played live with it yet, but I'd wager it's fine with the right rig.

Set up off the rack was playable but definitely needed to be setup.
I actually played it for a month before I had it setup.
After I got it set up, it's extra sweet now! Sam Ash did good work on it. Adjusted the bridge pickup and the action is low!


Give it a 7 only 'cos any bass or guitar off the rack generally needs to be setup for you.

I'm sure it will withstand gigging once I start. I'm not Sid Vicious or anything. I'm not going to be swinging it like an axe into the stage or guitar amps (well depending on how loud and obnoxious the guitar amps get). I treat my gear well and don't do anything flashy or nonmusical on stage with my instrument.
Generally I ALWAYS try to have a backup, but I think I can manage until I can scrape up some $$$ for a backup.

Haven't had to deal with Fender yet.

If it were lost or stolen, I would try to get another one, but probably wouldn't be able to get the same deal.
It's a brand new standard Fender Jazz bass but I think it ended up being 'tweaked' by the service tech. He told me the bass sat around for a long time on the rack and they decided to put the EMGs in it. Took them a while to get a pair of the EMG Selects (for some unknown reason) so it sat around longer. So they were pretty much trying to give this bass away to make room for the new inventory. Anyhow long story short, a new Fender Standard Jazz Bass at the local GC or SA is anywhere from $400 to $450 brand new. All stock. Almost bought a used one at GC for $300, stock. I got this one instead, brand new with EMGs for about $340 after tax.

Mexico,4 strings, jazz,
Basic made, i dont understand why things becomes better cuz they have "made in usa" on it.
They do have better material to work with, then the mexican modells.
But i mean, if u just gave the same material to the mexican workers, they would do the same guitar as thouse in the usa:S..(ok,maybe not the custom shop,which only has the best builders but u get it)
I think its like a question of Patriotism.....

Warm, but the pickups is kind of bad.

The bridge sux totally.
Every time u fix the screws, its goes back and just the action gets to low.
And when u play the E string, it smashes against the frets all the time...
And the finish on the backside aint, completly "all the way"

have dropped it a few times, doesnt goes out of tune.
Got angry and did like a spin manover so the bass hit the wall and it got a big jack at the side, with some sort of silver color under the wine red finish, so it looks fucked up.

Yepp, the electronic was broken.
But i got it on the warranty.
Great, but i mean to change a little screw in the bridge would cost 24 dollars, 2 much.

great bass, at least a real fender!

year 2006 made in Mexico 4 string made of alder rosewood fretboard black finish jazz bass jumbo frets Mexican pickups

The neck felt very comfortable. It wasn't to thick or to thin. This is important to me. With all of things that I do in my band I really don't want to think about my hands and wrists hurting. Plus a little smaller neck helps when you sing and cater to a crowd and run sound. I really liked the neck pickup. It sounded nice and fat and was springy.The rear pickup just didn't compare in tone. I checked the height. It was fine. I thought I'd give it a bit to see if my mind would change, but it didn't. It was thin and very mid rangie. I'm fine with mid rangie, but not thin. The tone didn't complement the neck pickup. So I changed it to a Seymour Duncan J-Hot. That made a huge difference. Nice robust bottom and a nice mid range to. The output on both pickups is the same now and complement each other.

Had to reset the neck, intonation, and string height. Replaced bridge pickup. Still a good buy

It seems dependable and should last. Yes I can use it without a backup.

I'm sure Fender would take care of any problems that I would have. I've delt with them a bunch in the past and seem like they would be helpful.

Early '01 MIM Jazz, poplar body, rosewood fb, maple neck with skunk stripe, vol/vol/tone controls.

Bridge was swapped out for a Badass II, and pickups were changed out for Seymour Duncan Hot Stacks.

When I first bought it, this bass sounded just average. It played so well though and was so comfortable and natural that it was worth not spending more on something else that would have sounded better to start with.

After changing the bridge to the Badass II, it immediately showed a drastic improvement. The strings didn't flop as much and the sound was much clearer. Then after changing out the pickups to the SD's, it was near perfect. The response was smoother and harmonics were more pronounced, bass was fuller and treble wasn't annoyingly bright.

I play rock, metal, and country and the versatility and clarity of this bass are great for all styles. Gets a 9 b/c the stock sound is average but still not bad at all.

Set-up and pickup height were done by me aka not very well at all, and I still don't think it's exactly right. I might get around to having it done this year though (after almost 6 years of owning this bass). Finish is still really glossy with very few scratches. I baby it though with regularly oiling the fretboard, polishing the body, changing strings, and keeping it in a hard case.

It's been 6 years and I've never had any problems at all. Fender basses always seem to sound better with age and tlc. Very solid construction and doesn't go out of tune at all and for living in the midwest, that's saying a lot (where it'll be 35 degrees and raining in the morning and sunny and 85 in the day - note: humidity!).

Website is pretty informative but as far as customer support goes...I've never heard anything good about it though I've never dealt with them myself (good customer support is building a product that doesn't need customer support).

I've played over a decade and have been through numerous effects, 4 different amps (Lab Series, Ampeg, Mesa, SWR), and 5 basses (Washburn, Cort, Fender-2, ESP). The only thing I have left is this Fender Jazz and the SWR amp. Everything else was pretty much just a waste of money (sans the Mesa Bass 400+ as well). The jazz bass's playability and overall good sound are great for all styles of music and the great thing is that it's easy to find aftermarket parts for to customize it.

I have a 2004 Mexican Jazz Bass. Passive electronics, usual rosewood fretboard, 2 pickups, and 2x vol, 1x tone controls.

The original spec is ok, for the price, but some of the hardware does feel a bit cheap, notably the tuners and the bridge. No accessories, just a cardboard box and an allen key!

Overall, it was what you'd expect for a Mex Jazz Bass, when I bought it.

Since then I have changed the PU's, more later...

The original sound was ok, it lacked a bit of punch in the mid range, and was pretty susceptible to hum. No noise from the pots, which is what I'd expect for a new guitar. If you are a beginner, or trading up to your first 'big brand' bass then this is not a bad instrument.

The real issue for me was the lack of depth to the sound, I wanted more 'beef', but not too much mud in the bottom end, which led me to change the PU's to a set I had made by Bare Knuckle in the UK.

Without wishing to sound like I work for the guys (I don't!) the pickups have transformed the bass. Bare Knuckle currently don't advertise that they do bass pick ups, but I spoke to the guy there and he agreed to make up a set of '59 vintage replacements. I cannot stress how much of a difference changing the pickups has made. The new PU's have a much better 'oomph' in the mid range, which I can feel in my chest when I play and a nice growl. This is the first time I have changed PU's in my life, and a) it was a piece of cake, and b) it has given me a new instrument, so don't be put off by the hassle.

When I took the original PU's out I noticed that they looked pretty crappy to be honest. The wire used in the shielding looks very thin (hence the noise I guess), and they looked like toys compared with the BK replacements.

I'd give the original sound maybe a 6-7 anyway, it wasn't actually bad, just a bit weedy, but with the BK's it's a 10 for sure. So overall we'll call it a 10 for the sonic potential of a reasonably priced bass (even if you need to work a bit to realise it).

The set up was pretty sad to be honest. It looked like whoever saw it out of the factory didn't care/had a pressing engagement at the circus, and was in a rush to leave. The intonation was ok, but the action was a unecessarily high. What really looked bad was the way the bridge rollers had been set up, Mr Action Man, in the factory had just cranked up one side of the roller to roughly the correct height, so they were all wonky, once side high, the other so low in some cases it touched the base of the bridge plate.

Also, no big shouts for the guys in the store I bought it from, who I would have thought might have tweaked this when it came in, as it's so obviously weird.

The bridge itself turned out not to be screwed in properly which I found out when I took the strings off. 1 or 2 of the screws were not tightened up correctly. No big deal, an easy fix, but a bit disappointing.

The original PU's were set up a little high, they have staggered height pole pieces, which caught the strings if you gave them some welly.

Overall the finish is good, apart from a small (5mm) knot mark on the top side of the edge of the maple (?) part of the neck. (i.e. below the rosewood fretboard). I saw this when I bought it, but I thought that, for the money, what could I expect?

Once I fixed the action it's great, nice neck shape, and fun to play.

I'd score this higher, but for the comedy set up, which isn't a laugh to deal with if you are a beginner (and don't know better) or you are not sure on fixing up action/intonation/doing the job the guy in the factory should have done in the first place.

The bass looks solid enough. On my list of things to maybe change are the tuners and the bridge. The bridge really is a bit cruddy, it doesn't fill me with confidence, the rollers move about too easily. Also the tuners look like they could benefit from an upgrade.

Strap buttons are rock solid, the body finish feels thick, and of a good quality (better than an '86 Fender Jap Tele I have, similar to my old US Strat). The neck finish is satiny, and just right to get about with getting stuck to a heap of varnish.

Maybe I'm being a bit hard on the hardware, but honestly I think I will change the bridge.

No experience of them.

I've been playing for 20 odd years (eek!) mostly guitar. I'm lucky to have a bunch of instruments, including '64 Fender Jag, olde US Strat, Jap Tele, Gibson LP Special, Gretsch baritone, '62 ish Epiphone Rivoili bass, plus quite few more. So maybe I'm a bit spoilt when I'm dissing the hardware. I'm scoring this vs the money I paid for it, rather than 'is this bass the best instrument ever'.

Without a doubt this is a great bass, I would buy another, no probs. I'd rather buy a Mexican bass for #290 and spend an hour setting it up and changing the PU's than pay 3x that for a new US version. Ideally I'd buy an old battered vintage bass, but as a compromise, this is a great instrument. At this price it's great value, sure it needed a bit of work, but now it sounds awesome, and it's not so expenise that I'm scared to pick it up in case I ding it.

The Bare Knuckle pickups were a great addition, the sound is superb, and I'd strongly recommend anyone to go for the MIM Jazz Bass, as it has such great potential if you can be bothered to put in a bit of effort to set it up.

Hello I am Jeek.
Ah, the fender Jazz bass wellettywellettywelletty. Much immitated. Never EVER bettered. Anyways, features yeah. Mexican ('cos I am a poor 15 year old)2 jazz bass pick ups, Alder, Sexy, sexy sunburst. Neck: thin and oh so playable
Fitted schaller strap locks and knurled chrome knobblyknobs and am gonna fit a hipshot string thru body bridge.
Had to fit a few bits and bobs

Sounds awesome. DAts where t j-bass shines. Warm and round yet bright and clear and o so versatile. Almost any style can be made to sound nice with a bit of knob twidling. I play funk rock jazz blues and even some classical n mine sounds more than a lil bit shaggable for all o dem A big, fat 10 for sound

I work in a music shop so it was set up there. Immaculately set up. Playable to the mizzax. THe fender sunburst with the wood shinin through looks gorgeous. uh.

Built like a mofoin tank homes takes all kinds of rock an rollin abuse. Live= safe even with my clumsy antics. Would trust it without a back up it is a solid solid bit of kit ANOTHER 10

The whole worky in a music shopy thingy means i don't deal with Fender. :D

Gid
AS gid as a musicman
played 5 years i am a bit gid myself
If it was stolen i would hunt down t theif n chop of his nethers and take my bass back
It is a sexy soundin, playable, lovely bit of sex.

2005 Fender Standard Jazz bass. Chances are you already know the features if you are reading this, but here goes anyway...

-Alder Body
-20 fret maple neck, 1.5 in. nut width
-back of neck has a satin finish, with skunk stripe
-rosewood fingerboard
-sort of off-white/cream colored dot inlays,
-big chrome standard fender tuners
-2 standard single-coil passive jazz pickups w/ exposed poles, middle and bridge position
-controls are volume/volume/tone
-american standard black control knobs which are a nice touch, better than the cheesy white knobs they used to put on.
-flimsy looking standard fender bridge, no string-thru option.

My first purchase of a Fender product, decided to go back to basics and traded in my yamaha 5 string for this jazz. Mine is a 3-color sunburst with white 3-ply pickguard.

My setup: Fender Jazz--->Tech 21 bass driver DI--->Hartke HA3000--->Tech 21 4x10 cabinet. I play in a rock band but I will dabble in various styles ranging from funk, blues, hard rock/metal, even some occasional reggae and the Jazz handles it all. With some EQ-ing and/or through a decent outboard preamp the Jazz bass can adapt to almost any style, despite being passive its a very versatile bass. It is very sensitive to your playing dynamics, ex. location where you pluck the strings, how aggressive you play, etc. Fingerstyle and slap/pop sound great, pick tone sounds good to me also but die hard pick-players might feel more at home on the precision bass.

With both pickups on full...you have the classic, full-bodied, balanced J-bass tone. Warm and punchy...the alder brings out the midrange nicely. This is the setting I use most of the time.

The neck pickup soloed gives a fat, round, old-school tone sort of in the vein of a p-bass...though not as thumpy as a precision. Solo the bridge pickup and it gives a midrange-heavy tone with a subtle growl. The stock pickups are pretty decent in my opinion, although I could see myself possibly upgrading them sometime in the future. Regardless, I find them adequate for this price range.

Hum-cencelling when both pickups on full...some hum when you roll off one of them...but not to where its really noticable in a live setting. The tone knob doesnt do much, but with every passive bass ive owned I always leave the tone knob on full anyway.

Fatory setup was halfway decent...intonation was very good, but the action was a little high for my tastes but a quick adjustment and I brought it down to my preference. I have the action set medium-low, without any buzz. The neck plays like butter, slim and fast but still substantial enough so that you can really dig in if needed. The tuners are a little shaky, but they do hold tune well so I can live with them for now...although they might be a future upgrade. The bridge is kinda flimsy looking, a very simple stamped metal hardtail type bridge. Id imagine upgrading to a heavier duty replacement bridge could improve sustain a bit.

As far as build quality is concerned, I gave the bass a thorough going over when I bought it, and could find no flaws in material or workmanship. It is a comparitively lightweight bass, with PERFECT balance. It is overall a comfortable bass to wear and play, even for extended periods. Now I know why Fender still keeps this design around after 40+ years...

Only time will tell, but has held up very good so far with no issues. (knock on wood)

This turned me into a big Fender fan. A classic, versatile bass.