My Fender Jazz Am Deluxe Has to Go - Talk Me Out of It

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by RaginRog

That preamp is the reason I returned both American Deluxes I bought within days of their purchases.

Do you suppose you could be persuaded to expound on this issue - just a bit? For the benefit of those of us who do not have direct, personal experience with the stock Fender Deluxe onboard preamp?

MM

[Misterwogan]

Originally Posted by MysticMichael

Do you suppose you could be persuaded to expound on this issue - just a bit? For the benefit of those of us who do not have direct, personal experience with the stock Fender Deluxe onboard preamp?

MM

Yes, what a good idea. After all, the explanation might just be similar to the one I've tried to make in this thread.

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by Misterwogan

Ah, so now it all becomes clear. You're a man, and I'm a girl.

Well, that explains a lot. I guess we were all thrown off by the fact that your user name is "Mister" Wogan. And that you referred to yourself as a "bass guy". And that your TalkBass profile identifies you as male.

Other than all that, yeah, we should have been able to figure it out...

MM

[Misterwogan]

Originally Posted by MysticMichael

Well, that explains a lot. I guess we were all thrown off by the fact that your user name is "Mister" Wogan. And that you referred to yourself as a "bass guy". And that your TalkBass profile identifies you as male.

Other than all that, yeah, we should have been able to figure it out...

MM

You guys - my American cousins, need to spend less time on this Gun Control stuff and start working on your SARCASM and starting to understanding mine.

PS - just checking presence of penis, oh ****...
No - panic over - it's still there... I think...

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by Misterwogan

You guys - my American cousins, need to spend less time on this Gun Control stuff and start working on your SARCASM and starting to understanding mine.

Hey, first things first, y'know? Remember, we're not as evolved as you.

Step 1: Emerge from the primordial ooze.
Step 2: Venture forth from the caves.
Step 3: Get a handle on this gun control stuff.
Step 4: Start drilling on subtle, abstruse European intellectual concepts - like sarcasm, irony, and ennui.

MM

[Misterwogan]

Originally Posted by MysticMichael

Hey, first things first, y'know? Remember, we're not as evolved as you.

Step 1: Emerge from the primordial ooze.
Step 2: Venture forth from the caves.
Step 3: Get a handle on this gun control stuff.
Step 4: Start drilling on subtle, abstruse European intellectual concepts - like sarcasm, irony, and ennui.

MM

That's it. I'm off to find a French bass forum. They may be smelly, duplicitous bastards - but at least they have an air of superiority that challenges me.

[Stone Soup]

Originally Posted by Misterwogan

That's it. I'm off to find a French bass forum. They may be smelly, duplicitous bastards - but at least they have an air of superiority that challenges me.

That's the funniest thing I've read all day!

[Gougedeye]

Originally Posted by MysticMichael

Do you suppose you could be persuaded to expound on this issue - just a bit? For the benefit of those of us who do not have direct, personal experience with the stock Fender Deluxe onboard preamp?

MM

I can tell you a little about mine. When I got my bass, a 2010 American Deluxe Jazz V, it had serious ground/hum issue. I would have sent it back had it not taken 7 months to get it! you can imagine my dissapointment when, upon plugging it in, it was so noisy as to be unplayable. But the one thing that stayed my hand was the impeccable fit and finish. Really a nicely made bass. Absolutely great neck! So I did a little reading here on the forums and found a few solutions to try. What I did was shield every cavity in the bass. Both pickups, the control, the battery and the underside of the pickguard. I located the ground screw and loosened it and retightened it. Plugged it back in and it was dead silent! Never a glitch in any room. As with most of us bass players, my fancies wandered to another and I sold it. I miss that bass. A new one is coming on Monday, different color, but another American Deluxe Jazz V. The platform is really very viable for modding.

[Gougedeye]

here are some threads
Did Fender fix the hum issue on the new Am Dlx Jazzes?

Grounding problems with new american deluxe jazz

The new American Deluxe fenders

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by Gougedeye

I can tell you a little about mine. When I got my bass, a 2010 American Deluxe Jazz V, it had serious ground/hum issue. I would have sent it back had it not taken 7 months to get it! you can imagine my dissapointment when, upon plugging it in, it was so noisy as to be unplayable. But the one thing that stayed my hand was the impeccable fit and finish. Really a nicely made bass. Absolutely great neck! So I did a little reading here on the forums and found a few solutions to try. What I did was shield every cavity in the bass. Both pickups, the control, the battery and the underside of the pickguard. I located the ground screw and loosened it and retightened it. Plugged it back in and it was dead silent! Never a glitch in any room. As with most of us bass players, my fancies wandered to another and I sold it. I miss that bass. A new one is coming on Monday, different color, but another American Deluxe Jazz V. The platform is really very viable for modding.

Good to know. Frankly I think it's inexcusable that an instrument of that overall quality - and price - should ever leave the factory with such obvious, easily-remediable electronics problems. But it does sound like it was well worth the hassle for you otherwise, so you made the right decision.

While I started out on a '66 Fender Precision, I haven't been a Fender guy for more than 25 years. But recently I've had my eye on both the American Deluxe Precision IV & the American Deluxe Jazz IV. From everything I've gathered, the build quality and components (for the most part) are first rate - far nicer than Fender has built for many, many years. Perhaps ever. I could easily see a swamp ash body / maple fretboard / natural finish version of each one in my hands at some point.

As far as modding is concerned, I've already invested in a P/J set of Bill Lawrence P46 + J45 pickups for the Precision, plus a J/J set of J45s for the Jazz - because I've heard such great things about what fine noiseless replacement alternatives they are for the stock Fender N3s...just in case I should ever want to make a switch...

MM

[GBassNorth]

I have a 2005 Am Dlx Jazz 5 and have experienced the same thing with the preamp and pickups. The neck is great and the fit and finish are perfect but I found the preamp on mine to be rather lackluster. I replaced the pickups with Bartolini classic jazz pickups and the preamp with a fantastic John East Jazz Deluxe (a great preamp made in the wonderful UK). It now sounds as good as it looks and is a keeper.
If I had it all to do over again, I wouldn't buy a Fender mail order again, and I would probably replace the stock preamp with the East or another quality pre before changing out or adding any pickups if I wasn't satisified with the tone of the beast.
As for the body size, I agree the Fender Jazz is a big bulky body style, there are others that are even bigger but if you are looking for something small and sleek the Spector Euro NS type basses are quite nice and can be had in a JJ or PJ or HH or MM configurations and are built quite nice.

[two fingers]

Let 'er go. I had a '97 Deluxe Jazz 5 that I couldn't stand. Sold it a couple months after I got it. Shame too. It had a really cool finish. Redburst I think they called it. Red clear showing the ash grain in the middle faded to red metal flake around the rim. Pretty. But played/sounded like crap.

[RaginRog]

Originally Posted by Road Bull

Glad you stopped by. I remember reading a number of your posts concerning the Fender Deluxe models. I also thought that you added a J pickup to one of your Precisions. Do you think that a proper shielding of the electronics would do the trick if one decided they wanted to keep it?

I know this worked for some, but not all. I don't own any active basses so I am not the best to answer. I have a P, a J, and a P/J, all passive. It seems to me that active electronics are not Fender's forte.

Shielding definitely helped with my passive Jazz basses, but I really didn't like the pickups either. Both of my passive Jazz basses are very quiet thanks to the shielding.

[SteveC]

There are so many other basses out there, why keep a bass you don't like? I thought I "should" have liked a Fender American Deluxe bass based on what everyone says...I have a beautiful Roscoe with another on the way. PLays better, sounds better, looks better. Sell. No regrets. Move on.

[One Drop]

If you've only been playing a few months, I would seriously recommend slowing down with swapping and adding basses, and spend some serious time on one bass to get used to how to pull various sounds out of it. Your ear will also be developing and you will start to hear the nuances better.

As to comfort, part of it might be just what you are used to rather than what really suits you ergonomically. If a bass feels completely wrong it probably never will be right, but if it feels a little off adjusting your strap might make a world of difference.

When I started playing I couldn't handle various size necks with any comfort, but after playing enough basses at stretches I can comfortably play most necks now, and have about two or three favorite shapes that really work for me.

Seriously, everyone here is trying to help. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, anyone that takes the time to post should be appreciated and thanked even if the info from one is more useful to you (or appears to be at present- you might realize later that others were actually the ones with the real useful answers).