Fenix Jazz Bass

I bought this one in 1994, but can't say when it was built (no Serial#)
I guess, that it's Korean made.

20 Frets, 4 Strings, Jazzbass copy (by Young Chang, that guy who built Squierguitars and basses for Fender), 2 volume, 1 tone dial, 2 passive singlecoil PUs

It's all solid wood!
body: alder, neck: maple

Finish: Body is clear coated (VERY thick layer of high-gloss lacquer), polished neck.
Rock-solid cast bridge (chrome-finish) and very well machined tuners.

3ply pickguard, color is "tortoise" which is very nice matching the (now aged and darkened) wood

Modifications:

- Schaller strap-lock buttons
- Brass thumbrest

This piece of wood is amazing!
In '94 my father and I went to a guy (private bass-instructor) to get me a bassguitar.
Back then (as a 12 year old) I wanted to start a Black-/Deathmetalband with two friends of mine.

This bassinstructor had been importing a whole bunch of 30-40 Fenix Jazzbasses (from Korea I guess).
I was asked to pick the one I liked the most (soundwise) by always comparing 2 Instruments (played with the same set-up) and sorting one out.
It's just unbelievable, how much difference there can be between two indetically looking Instruments with the same Pickups and Pickup-adjustment!

I need to say, that I was a bit frustrated at first, when I saw those Jazzbasses. At that time I wished for an evil looking dark painted beast from hell >:-)
Well, I got used to it...

Unlike other reviews say, the output of this piece of art is nothing close to low.
It is very flexible in shaping the sound from upright-like (played over the neck with both PUs up and tonecontrol turned down, to badarse rock-your-socks-off slapping and roaring!

I lately bought an ESP LTD C-304 (9V electronics) and the Fenix takes on the challenge easily for slapping techniques.

The Fenix does produce virtually no hiss or humm noises (that is if you are not standing near a CRT or any other "radioactive device", but thats a problem with all singlecoil pickups (I guess)

Very nice set-up! (might have been done by the guitarsellerguy I bought the bass from)

It's got a quite narrow neck.
This is how an Instrument should feel like :-)

The only time you've got to tune this nice piece of wood is while changing the strings. Seriously, this one stays in tune VERY well!

The only part I had to replace (some years ago) was the neck-PU volume dial.
I also changed the knobs, because I broke one by stupidity :-)

Everything else feels like it will last forever!
Excellent paintjob and very durable hardware.

In all the years I did not have to readjust the truss rod.

Never needed :-)

This was my first bassguitar and I still love it!
It might be one of the best instruments I own, although I collected a whole lot of much more expensive ones over the years.

If this one was stolen, or destroyed I would be pissed for the rest of my life. Anyone who tries to steal it will be struck by a blow of a big, big sledgehammer by an angry locksmith (which would be me)!
Seriously: I don't want to think about missing this fine fine piece of wood.

So much for my paean of praise :-D

20 frets, 4 strings, Jazz bass copy. 2x Volume, 1x tone. Passive.

The body / neck: after adjusting it for proper action and intonation, it is basically a very very good bass for this price, like previous ppl said here.

The overall sound out of the box: low output, not awful but not awesome either. I found the pickups very noisy ...Maybe ok for live and when your sound is not too important, but definitely not for recording or a nice timbre. But what do you expect for this amount of money? AMy advise is still to buy it, but do change the pickups: you will find you have a bass of very good quality for a fraction of the price!

So: buy this bass, and change the pickups (diy, choose the reverse wound passive types to cancel out the noise!), change the pots and jack socket (diy), and change the bridge (no diy!!) The wood is great and that's what counts!

Almost every cheap bas needs to be adjusted for action/intonation. The frets are good, the wood is good, the original tuning pegs have lasted so far.

Very reliable if you do the advised replacements!

non existent

incredible value!

No different from a passive Fender Jazz. 1 volume pot for each pickup, one tone control, 2 single coil pickups. Body quite weighty solid Alder. Maple neck and fingerboard.

Not sure what year it was made, I bought it used. I guess 10-15 years old.

Jazzy! As a passive bass it certainly sounds very fenderish indeed. Bridge pickup only has a great jazz honk when you play finger style over the pickup, bridge is quite deep and rounded. Output from pickups is not particulalrly high, but truly sounds great. I have tried several USA Jazzes and in fact briefly owned an ash body one which I bought a couple of years ago but the Fenix was more than a match for it tonally.

The bass is well made - the neck is excellent - nice feel, very stable - looks like a very decent bit of maple.

I did have to set it up when I bought it but that's fine, everything adjusted Ok to a nice playable action.

Fret work pretty good, machines work smooth, bridge solid with chunky saddles, everything feels good on this bass. Frets are broad, the way I like them. Had a couple of dings over the years but weathered very well.

Well its over 10 years old and still going strong. I can't see any likely issues as it is solidly made - no reason it should not be around for a long time.

Don't think the Fenix brand exists any more.

I currently also own a Warwick (a fantastic bass) and as mentioned have owned a Fender USA Ash Jazz, plus also a Japanese Presision and many other basses over the years. While I would not claim that the build quality is quite up there with a good USA bass, The Fenix is made from nice pieces of wood, well put together and the fact that I don't have the Fender Precision or Jazz but kept the Fenix speaks for itself.

Made in Korea at fenders factory. Normal Fender Jazz Bass set up and controls. Passive.

Good sound. I previously owned a Fender Jazz Deluxe and when compared to this the playability was very similar. Sound was very different due to the active / passive difference. Both similar wieght and quality.

Can get it bright or deep and growling.

good action, better after some tweaking.

All seems pretty good to me but im no maintenance expert i have to rely on my friendly local guitar shops for that sort of thing.

n/a

Overall a good performer and as good as many original fenders i have owned and played.

It's an ordinary Fender Jazz 5-string bass with sunburst finish.
I got it in -96 I think, when the band I was in picked up a couple of B string songs. A hurried visit to the local music store resulted in this Fender copy at 5000 SEK (600 USD).
I had no idea what I had bought, just that it was a 5 string...

As a previous reviewer stated it's not plywood but solid wood body.
The 2 J pup's and the electronics are passive.

It's more of a jazz and blues bass than rock or metal.
It's got that muddy-but-nice sound when using the neck pup or both.
The bridge pup I think is a little to harsh on it's own. Maybe for slap and pop solo's where all other musicians stare in awe, but I don't do that.

When using only the neck pup and setting the tone to bassy it looses some volume, but the tone is round and full.

It's not possible to get that defined and in your face rock tone as far as I've been able to tweak the controls.

Setup from the beginning was very high.
I've been tweaking it for almost 10 years and the action is possible to get very low without any string buzz or similar.
It seems well put together. The neck joint is very tight - no action whatsoever.

The pickups from the factory were adjusted for a low string setting, which means they weren't close enough to the strings. Easily fixed though.

The jack has to be filed and sprayed every once in a while so the cord stays in contact. I do it when I change strings (not very often) at the same time as I do the other shine and fix activities that goes hand in hand with string exchange.

The tuners were... not so great. The tiny screw that holds the tuner together unscrews itself in time.
Before I noticed this I had already lost 2 of them and had to replace them with other same sized screws. One of the must-do activities that goes hand in hand with changing strings is fastening all the screws for the tuners.
Annoying, but I can live with it.

I NEVER gig without a backup, but... I used this bass as my primary bass from -96 to -04, and during those 8 years I have never had to resort to my backup bass.
Now that this IS my backup bass I'm never worried.

I have only had to adjust the neck when altering the setup.

Since the company is nowhere to be found, I won't even try.
I have come to terms with the fact that repairs will remain DIY.

Played 10-15 years, and have gathered a lot of stuff in that time.
I wish I had known what I was looking for when I bought it, but I like it today so maybe it's for the best that I didn't.

If You find one of these in good shape and like the muddy jazz and blues bass tone give this axe a try.

Made by Young Chang in 1990. "Made in Korea" proudly etched into the back-headstock laquer. YC made Squiers for Fender when production shifted from Japan (remaining Japanese stock became "Squier Silver Series"). This was the start of the decline of Squier as production shifted to China, Indonesia, anywhere that a dollar equals a month's wages. The "Fenix" brand was made simultaneously for about 4 years and was popular in Britain - too much so for Fender, I think.
If you don't know a Jazz bass config, stick to drumming. All hardware is a Korean facsimile of the well-known stuff. Whereas Korean Strats instantly became ply, the basses must have come from a pile of unused stock. Body is solid alder, remove the control plate and unscrew the brass cavity shield and see for yourself.

Typical low output from the Korean pickups. First off, I checked it through 'phones out of a Peavey Max preamp/FX unit. I thought it wasn't working, especially when my Jim Reed was fine. Then I turned everything up to Spinal Tap 11 and finally heard it. Switching to my Marshall 100W and 2x10, the low output wasn't much of a problem. It's not too hummy, even with just one pickup turned up. The neck pup sounds lovely - real beatnik tone. The bridge doesn't at all growl like a '63, just has a more metallic clank and (weirdly) even lower output than the neck.
Within the hour, I was having loads of fun playing cod blues and jazz lines. Purely for the sake of investigative journalism, I even tried slap. That was a surprise. Even with my dire technique the neck pup rings nicely, terrific harmonics and good sustain. With my usual 0.73 pick, things aren't so good but it's more a case of my pick style ruining the bass than the other way round.

Quick look around for libel lawyers. I heard anecdotally - and this is not necessarily the view of etc etc. I heard that F was not happy with YC and that's why production was so short-lived. Doing a side-line called FENix isn't exactly going to endear them, but when the better material seems to be turning up on the 'rival' brand...?

All I'll say is that, you know Squiers look really rubbish? Like, even hanging on the wall the other side of the music store, rubbish? Not this Fenix. The Olympic White has aged beautifully, and it's "real" ageing, unless Fenix perfected the knack of spraying a whiter shade under the control plate. The rosewood is light years better than the Indian junk that, sadly, features on almost all chainstore guitars these days. The dot markers are a joy to look at and the back of the neck has that excellent gloss that's out of fashion now. Very nice flame on the maple, too. The only slightly dodgy work is the rear pickup rout, but it's no worse than a Mex I had for a while.
Now the bad news - the hardware. The elephant ears are OK, but a bit thin-looking. The jack socket has that DUR-DUR-DUR habit if you move, like every Korean bass I've ever bought. Instant Switchcraft replacement job. The bridge is a horrible, bent piece of tin without even guide rails for the height-adjusters. Other Fenii I've seen have better ones, perhaps the previous owner bought some 'traditional Fender' bridge? It's too awful even to be a genuine Fender item, though.

For a 14y.o bass, this certainly looks good. Everything is still solidly screwed in but it's definitely been played, judging by the gouge in the pickguard and nick of laquer lifted off the neck. The jack has to go, and I'd probably replace the tuners and bridge if I'm on a world tour, but otherwise I could rely on it. Play without a backup? Are you mad?

Fenix are a dead company, and Young Chang now have something to do with keyboards. I found this out after setting Deep Thought and Big Blue on a week's engine-searching. Don't expect a replacement bridge saddle to come winging your way after a quick 'phone call.

I got this for a silly price because only sad gits with no life check ebay auctions the day after New Year. Others have subsequently sold for about #150. I reckon the price of a used Fenix (particularly a '90, using the best stock) is going to go the way of the Tokais, MIJs and command silly prices. That's a shame, because this is a fine beginner's bass. Something to be enjoyed and learn with. Anyone can spend a tenner replacing the jack and pots with Switchcraft and CTS. At my price, I can upgrade the pups. They're OK, but I don't go for low output, passive stuff. Some Seymour actives are on their way, hopefully an EMG BTC and perhaps a Badass bridge. I can do this because it won't ruin some stupid 'classic' value. Once done, I'd rate this overall against any Deluxe or Hot Rod and it'll eat a Mex without pausing. In fact, all mods to this Fenix I would do to a Mex and I'd still have to put up with the Mex neck. Squiers? Last time I picked one up I nearly dropped it - it was so horrible.
Even at #140, and not being able to replace anything other than the jack, I still rate this a 9.

This is a 4 string fenix jazz bass (fender copy) I got it 2nd hand and i predict it was made in early 1990 some time. It has 20 frets, i dont know what strings but i upgraded to some ernie ball bass hybrids. It has your usual 2 volume and tone, pretty good and varies the sounds you can create some good sounds, sharp or bassy. It obviously has 2 jazz pickups, fenix i suspect. It is a passive electronics bass. It has a 'white wood coloured' neck varnished to a nice yellow wood colour, probaly mahogany? It has a nice dark green finish with a tortise shell pick guard. It has a bolt on bridge, seems a very durable strong bridge. Its neck has a thin fret width and a fat back to it. This is probaly the bass style.

I play thrash funk and funk kind of music. I use a lot of fast pops and slaps. I was actuall y very suprised when it suited me completely! This is my 2nd bass and i have been playing 2 yrs. I use a roland cube with it and it suits it very well. I also works well with the effects such as wah and flanger and chorus. The controls can create a very good sharp wah sound. It isnt that noisy, with the volumes full it doesnt really make much difference if both are on. It can create many sounds, rich warm soundds to sharp greasy funk sounds. Good for playing some primus classics. I occasionally play on stage with it, it copes very well. I'd even go on with out a backup.

It seemed to be set up reasonably well and the neck seemed to not fit completely well. But this in no way affects what your playing. In fact if ound it much easier to bend my notes using the neck (bending the neck back and forth to make a wammy bar effect) because of it slight lose. The pickups seemed screwed on a bit tight, maybe the previous player preferred this but i losened them a bit. I have noticed that the soldering on the electronic is starting to wear but then again i got it 2nd hand and it seems like a quite used bass. Action was very good for playing fast, slap or picking. Although it seemed that the fret were quite high, this seemd a bit arkward but i got used to it and found it complemented the popping and slap sounds.

It would be good for small gigs. the hardware in my opinion should last a while, maybe i need to re solder the electronics. The strap buttons are solid and i may go to a gig with out a back up but however i dont play many gigs!

NA

I have been playing for 2yrs and apparently extremely good-pros told me this. I was very happy with this bass and my previous was a crappy fender p bass. I wouldnt buy it again im afraid if it were stolen, instead maybe a real fender jazz if i wanted another jazz or a musicman stingray. (if i get the cash) I hated the strings i first got on it, very worn and harsh although it was 2nd hand. I love the action on it though as im sure when i get a new bass ill be even better as this bass in my opinion is very hard to play! (like ankle weights) I chose this bass mainly for its appearance at the time and i was interested in jazz basses. It doesnt compare to other basses but that is everyones opinion when they see or play another cool bass, but this does show up some other crap basses. I am pretty much ok with its set up and dont wish for much else. Maybe some white pearl block inlays on the neck but i have no money!