Bad fretwork on American Standard Jazz
 

I was at the local guitar store today and picked up a brand new American Standard Jazz bass. Man did it have bad fret finishing! Felt like a cheese grater on both sides of the neck, every last one would catch your finger. I was pretty shocked. Other than that it played great. The Squier VM I tried out had a better neck. I can't believe an $800 bass had such a bad feeling neck, what gives? Just an exception to the rule? I'd think that if one person had actually played this thing before it was sent out to the store they would have caught it.

I have noted the same thing concerning their products in this price-range.

Fret sprout?

+1
It happens to a lot of brands. I tried 3 Sterling by MM basses and all of them will rip your hand up.
I have seen a lot of MIM Fenders to. It's nothing a small file can't cure.

Agreed on the fret sprout - it can happen to just about any fretted instrument. I've got a touch of it on my very new Am Std. P bass. It has happened since the weather got cold and dry around here. Not bad, but I can feel it. Other than that, I found the fretwork to be just about perfect.

It's too bad every manufacturer can't do what warwick does with their frets - they don't go all the way to the edge, so (as I understand it) their necks are virtually immune to fret sprout.