NBD: Fender 2012 American Deluxe Jazz V
 

It's been over 2 years since I bought a new bass. My Am Dlx P has been doing the trick nicely. However, I have run into a few situations where a back up 5 string is needed (my bass is currently in the shop and its a 4 stringer), so I decided to go on the hunt. After some back and forth, I landed on this beauty and I am very pleased so far:



I ordered it from AMS because the agreed to upgrade my shipping to next day if I paid for 2 day. I have a gig tonight and no bass, so it worked out nicely. I ordered it yesterday at around noon and it arrived this morning at 10:30.

Out of the box it played really clunky. I spent about 30 min setting the truss and bridge height and a tiny bit of intonation on the G and A string, and it plays beautifully now. I can't wait to slap a set of sunbeams on it!!! I really like the assymetrical neck and the modern feel. It's a nice contrast to my P. Soundwise, it is great. It sounds like a great J bass should. Punchy and articulate, just a funk machine. A little noisy on the active side, but I'm sure I can remedy that.

Overall, first impressions are very good. I'll report back after the gig week, as I will be using it exclusively in a number of very different playing situation. Yaaay for NBD!!!

Congrats! That is a beauty!

Beautiful wood grain. Too many strings, but pretty.

Very nice!! That's a sharp looking instrument.

I've been wanting to try out one of those, mostly because I want to check out the asymmetrical neck. the only other bass I've played that has that style of neck is my Tobias Growler, but I'd very much like to "feel" Fender's take on it.

Beautiful - I love the wood grain; too bad the pg covers it up.

Fist gig with the new bass was last night. I was very happy with how the bass sits in the mix, and how it still retains its character regardless of what the rest of the band is doing. I actually got quite a few compliments, one of which was from our sound man who said everything I played on the low b sounded "thunderous"!

I was playing through an Aguilar db659 and a LDS 121261. I was also using an FEA optifet comp and a darkglass b7k for overdrive. The tone was about as perfect a bass tone as I've had.

Also just wanted to say that the customer service and buying experience from AMS was exemplary. I would absolutely recommend them to any musician looking for gear. The gear selection is a little limited, but if you find something you want, they will help make it a painless experience.

Want.

Sweet bass!

Being a JB lover myself, congrats. Everyone should own at least one JB. I have two for my funk/slap bass needs.

Yeah, the slap tone was great. I was also surprised at how easily I could dial in a really nice, deep fingerstye sound.

Does anyone have any advice on how to reduce/eliminate the crazy amount of hum in active mode? Is this just the not so noisless pickups, or maybe a shielding issue. I noticed the hum is louder when the blend goes towards the bridge pup. It's not a big deal on the gig, but in a studio environment, it is almost unusable unless in passive mode. Even with the noise, it is an incredible instrument

I have the exact same bass as you and there was the crazy hum as well. Once you properly shield the cavities, the hum will go away.

For as much as these cost, Fender should shield them properly to begin with.
At least it's a fairly easy fix.

I always like the thin (front to back) and skinny (nut width) of Jazz basses.
Does this one follow in that tradition?

I completely agree. I have a huge problem with having to do work to a bass that sells for that much. It's incomprehensible to me why they wouldn't take the time to do the shielding properly at the factory. I can understand having to set a bass up out of the box because of temperature changes through shipping, but having to shield the control cavity...come on!

Neck wise, it is very thin from front to back. The neck is still pretty wide (it is a 5er), but does seem to have a little bit of a taper towards the nut. It is a great feeling neck and the fingerboard has a good bit of figuring to it. I'm also in love with the black pearl block inlays. Fender got so many things right with this bass. I am perturbed about the noise, though.

I am so jealous. Can I borrow it forever?

Thanks for the compliments everyone! I feel like I made the right decision for what I need right now.

@rockin mike: hehe I think I'll hold onto at least until the honeymoon phase is over!

My AM Deluxe JB made in 2012 has the same buzz issue. Noticable when both pickups are equal, when bridge is soloed but absolutly silent when neck pickup is soloed.

Quite disapointing for a bass with so called "noiseless pickups".
;)

Anyway, the built quality is as high as you can for a factory made bass, the B string is excellent and I can get a very low action.
:)