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American Fender Zone Deluxe

#2
I can only tell you what the internet tells me.

Lifted from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Zone_Bass
The Fender Zone is a fretted electric bass, introduced in 2001.

It has a slightly lighter and smaller body than previous Fender basses. The 2004 models were made of solid Mahogany and Walnut or Alder and Maple timbers and have a pair of Zone humbucking pickups powered by an 18V active 3-band preamp. The model appears to be designed to appeal to adventurous and innovative players, rather than traditionalists. Part of the best-selling American Deluxe Series, the Zone Bass replaced the Japanese P-Bass Lyte Deluxe (which featured a mahogany body, an active humbucking Jazz Bass pickup in the bridge position and a single 9V powered 3-band active EQ preamp), which was gone a year earlier.

The Mexican made Fender Zone bass is essentially the same design as the Fender Precision Bass Lyte, which was manufactured in Japan, except for the addition of a set of custom-wound hum-cancelling P/J pickups and a 3-band active EQ powered by a single 9V battery. The J-style bridge unit is supposed to be a customized version of a pre-2004 Deluxe Active Jazz Bass pickup. On the five-string Zone, it's essentially a Vintage Noiseless Jazz Bass pickup with solid covers. The Zone replaced the P-Bass Lyte after its discontinuation in late 2000. Despite their similarities, the Zone costs slightly less than the P-Bass Lyte. A five-string version of the Mexican Zone Bass was launched in 2005. Both the American and Mexican Zone basses were gone from the Fender pricelist at the end of 2006, due to low quality wiring.
Click to expand...

I don't think I've ever even seen one, IRL.
 
#3
Out of production. 2 models, one with a flamed maple top and back over an alder core, and one with a 5-piece body (walnut top and back, maple accent layers, mahogany core). One-piece maple neck and 22-fret rosewood fingerboard on both models. Fender Zone soapbar humbuckers and 18-volt 3-band preamp.

The one and only time I've seen and played one of these (the walnut/mahogany model), I wasn't that impressed. The construction was great, and it was definitely a totally different and cool bass for Fender to put out, but I thought it sounded a little bland. I was expecting more for the $2,000 price tag.

That's my limited experience, anyway.


EDIT: Just read the post above mine. Bass Player had a review of the walnut Zone (it got glowing reviews, of course. :rolleyes: ); that had to have been the messiest birdsnest of a control cavity I've ever seen. Poor wiring seems a cheap excuse to kill a decent design, IMHO. Fender could have easily fixed that if they wanted to. More than likely, it was a non-traditional design for Fender that didn't see the sales they were hoping for, so into the rubbish bin it went.
 
#5
I have a Mexican Zone. It's a really good, well built bass. The preamp did start to make noise, so I put EMGs in it...that left an empty hole or 2 in the control area that bugged me, so I put an EMG BQS preamp in it too. The original pups are now in my fretless and sound pretty good passive, IIRC, they are a little on the hot side.

The neck on the Zone is a little thicker, front-to-back, than the Lyte and the body is Alder instead of basswood. The Zone also has the bridge they were putting on the American basses at the time, where as the Lyte has a high mass bridge. So even though the body shape is the same, they are very different basses. Mine weighs between 8 and 8.5 pounds.
 
#6
Here is a pic before the EMG mods....it is in really bright sunlight so the color is off...it's not nearly as "hotdog" looking in person.

zonefront.jpg
 
#7
Here is a picture of the bass:
Will have to take the control cover off and take a look and maybe post some pictures as well.
I like the sound and playability of this bass she looks good to :-)
 

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#16
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#17
THand said:
For a never been owned, still able to warrenty, basically new American Zone...I don't think that's a bad price to start negotiating with. Have you seen the price of the new deluxes? If that Zone has the features someone wants, and they have the budget, why not?
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Never having seen one in person, I'd say that it's main feature is its unique look. Put for that kind of $$$ I'd want to check out in person before reaching for the wallet.

Just for reference, 1699 is more than they're asking for this:

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-American-Deluxe-Precision-Bass?sku=423729

I'd be wanting to check that also. Looks sweet. If I was in the market (which I'm not) For MIA Deluxe's I'll just live with my '92 P bass + (the one in my avatar)
 
#18
Lifted from some promotional material:

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) will release two edgy new basses this summer with the introduction of the American Deluxe Zone Bass and the Deluxe Zone Bass at the 2001 Nashville NAMM show. Both of the new Zones Basses offer cutting edge features including newly designed pickups and electronics, and in the case of the American Deluxe version, a choice of exotic woods.
"This is a very ambitious step for Fender basses," says Richard McDonald, vice president of electric guitars for Fender. "We’ve put a great deal of effort over the past few years in finding out exactly what players want in a contemporary bass. What we’ve come up with is this new line of Zone basses, and we are very proud of the results."
The American Deluxe Zone Bass is one of Fender’s first ventures into the realm of exotic wood basses, offering a choice of either a highly figured maple top over alder, or a walnut top over mahogany. Engineers in Fender’s Research and Development have spent the last two years designing an entirely new electronic platform to match and maximize the tonal characteristics of each of the options, including new hum canceling pickups designed to increase the low frequency response and extend the upper frequency range.
Both neck and bridge pickups are designed with ferrous steel pole pieces contained within the core of each bobbin. They are driven with low-profile, wide area ceramic magnets located at the base of each pickup, with the ceramic magnets offering optimal strength and excellent string transfer characteristics that result in incredible clarity and articulation.
The unique sonic nature of the exotic woods and their body mass require electronics that can bring the most out of these instruments. To accommodate this, the new American Deluxe Bass circuit is tweaked at the input stage - pre-shape, boost and EQ settings - to match and compliment the instrument’s characteristics.
The Bass frequencies are centered at 40Hz± 12db with a 4db per octave slope, while the Treble is centered at 8 kHz± 10db with a 2db per octave slope, with the Treble cut working as a more passive control for warm, organic tones. The Mid control is centered at 500Hz± 10db and -15db, with a wide-band slope to bring out the growl and new distinctive voices of the electronics. The circuit is powered by a new 18 Volt supply.
The bridge on the American Deluxe Zone Bass is deluxe chrome plated steel. The maple neck is C-shaped has a 34" scale, 9.5" radius with a rosewood fingerboard and 22 frets. This bass is made at Fender’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Corona, California. US MSRP is $1,949.99.

+++++++++++

You did well getting that for $650...I paid more but was happy with the price as the axe is quite like new....a maple/alder 2001 model (below) that I just bought a couple weeks ago. It sounds and looks great but had a terrible set-up. It is in the shop now getting necessary adjustments--I'll report back after I've gigged it. It is intended to replace my 1980s Precision Lyte and feels much like it, though some neck dimensions are slightly larger (by feel). The MIM Zones are clearly the next-generation Lytes, much like the MIJ Lyte Deluxe. Note that the MIA Zone in maple also has a 5-layer body. There is some mahogany (I think) between the alder and flame-maple veneers. From what I've read it seems the maple/alder jobs are a tad lighter than the walnut. I may keep my eyes open for a Walnut to use as back-up as I just sold my spare P-Lyte.

orig.jpg
 
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#19
bassplayer8953 said:
Never having seen one in person, I'd say that it's main feature is its unique look. Put for that kind of $$$ I'd want to check out in person before reaching for the wallet.

Just for reference, 1699 is more than they're asking for this:

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-American-Deluxe-Precision-Bass?sku=423729

I'd be wanting to check that also. Looks sweet. If I was in the market (which I'm not) For MIA Deluxe's I'll just live with my '92 P bass + (the one in my avatar)
Click to expand...

I like the Zone better. Nothing wrong with the new MIA Deluxe tho, but I like the neck and body on the Zone. I agree, I'd want to check it out in person before spending that kind of $ too. It seems several people were having trouble with hum on the new Deluxes...even more reason for a personal inspection.
 
#20
I love my AD Walnut Zone. The 3 band EQ gives a great range of sound on the fly. It's beautiful, light, has a fast neck, and a nice setup for slap/pop.

I love it so much I even bought a new one to keep mint. I played it about 5 minutes, loosened the strings, put it back in the case and put the case back inside the original cardboard shipping box. I am pondering picking up a AD Maple Zone to complete the set.

I have read about the supposed wiring problems, but I have never had any problems. Batteries last me a few months, but always seem to give up mid-gig. Go figger.
 

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