Deluxe Active Jazz Bass

[JoobyFoo]

Hey everyone! I was wondering how you people feel about the Fender Deluxe Active Jazz Bass. I've been recently looking for a nice Fender under a thousand $$. Currently I am playing on a nice Warwick Corvette Standard and I'm planning on selling it to get a nice bass at a cheaper price... what can I say? I have textbooks to buy. Any help would be great!

Jooby

 

[Brandt Scanlan]

I say go for it. If you like jazz basses, then the deluxe is a pretty good way to go. I had one for the last two years or so, and the only thing I didn't like about it was the bridge. The saddle screws actually fell out a few times, so I put on a Badass II instead. It really rocked after that. See if you can find one used, perhaps. Just sold mine for $350, which I happen to think is an amazingly good deal.

 

[Mike Money]

They are awsome.... and they suck.

Well.. either or. Mine sucked... had neck issues. But it sounded awsome... tons of usable sounds, tons of fat-ass bottom end.

 

[sigkill]

I don't know, I could have tried a lemon, but I wasn't super impressed by the one I tried. The pickups and tort were the only upgrades I actually saw. The preamp killed it for me though. To me, it seemed to be the most useless I've ever seen. A boost of any type seemed to be overkill. The highs would turn piercing, the mids distort out, and the lows turn to mud. Again though, this was a Fender, so it is quite possible I tried the bum deal. By the way, I'm speaking of the MIM.

Still, if your goal is under a thousand, I think that puts you in the market for a used version of any Fender you want. I see the American Deluxe's go for less than a grand on e-bay all the time. There may even be one in the TB classifieds for less than that. Also, a lot of board members seem to rave about the Geddy and Marcus Miller sigs, and both of those can be had for under a grand, as well. I know there are some Marcus Miller sigs in the classifieds, and there is a Geddy on e-bay right now.

 

[adrian garcia]

i love the american deluxe jazz basses, they are awesome and a good deal used..go for it!!

 

[pyrohr]

i love the american deluxe jazz basses, they are awesome and a good deal used..go for it!!

Yeah I was wondering if he was talking MIM or MIA? I own both and must say, The MIM bass is decent but the MIA bass is pretty awesome! Only my Victor Bailey beats it in the active dept when it comes to Fenders.

 

[Mike N]

I had both the MIA and MIM, and I preferred the MIM version.

Nice Bass, especially for the price.

 

[Zirc]

I'd kill to try a lefty one

 

[paniak17]

I own a 5 string and i love it, id suggest you go for it.

 

[pyrohr]

I had both the MIA and MIM, and I preferred the MIM version.

Nice Bass, especially for the price.

Hey Mike, what did you like more about the MIM version, do tell.
And for what it's worth the MIM bass has American electronics, the pups appear to be the same but the pre-amp on the older MIA (97-98) basses were designed by John Suhr. I don't think the MIM bass has the Suhr pre-amp. I didn't care for the noiseless pups until I bought a Victor Bailey jazz.

 

[Trevorus]

I have a 98 with the suhr electronics MIA, and I wouldn't trade it for anything! Sweet bass, and TONS of usable sounds. Great feel, as well.

 

[B'Aces High]

Just for the record incase no one noticed.
Fender apparantly "upgraded" the MIM Deluxe Active Jazz bass at Summer NAMM.

Stats found on Fenders site here.

Invalid Link Removed


That vintage white looks cool.

 

[pyrohr]

Just for the record incase no one noticed.
Fender apparantly "upgraded" the MIM Deluxe Active Jazz bass at Summer NAMM.

Stats found on Fenders site here.

Invalid Link Removed


That vintage white looks cool.

OOH Yes! that bass is lookin really nice! Yes the MIA bass ( and all other dlx's like FMT, QMT, V.B. jazz) get the Bill Lawrence pups. The MIM bass gets last years "noiseless" pups from the MIA basses.
Win win situation!

 

[freshmeat1989]

I saw that upgrade and I'm real excited cause I plan on gettin that bass for Christmas. I tried the (now) older version with the single-pole pickups and loved it! It sounded great and played really well, although I could barely hear a D and G strings because they were set up so high at the music store. The EQ was very useful and I thought the preamp sounded very nice. The Candy Apple Red with Tort. gaurd was beatiful. I expect more out of the one with the new pickups!

 

[Mike N]

Hey Mike, what did you like more about the MIM version, do tell.
And for what it's worth the MIM bass has American electronics, the pups appear to be the same but the pre-amp on the older MIA (97-98) basses were designed by John Suhr. I don't think the MIM bass has the Suhr pre-amp. I didn't care for the noiseless pups until I bought a Victor Bailey jazz.

My MIA was a 97 that probably had the Suhr preamp. The pickups were the ones with the single pole per string, and had "Noiseless" written on them. I found them to be toneless.

The MIM was 00 or 01 model, and the pickups looked like the passive ones you'd find in any J (two poles per string). I found that particular Bass to have a sweeter sound than the MIA.

Naturally the hardware and fretwork on the MIA was a little nicer, but for a MIM this one had an excellent neck.

Fwiw the MIA was string thru, while the MIM had a Badass 2 bridge. Both were strung with D'Addario Slowounds, and both played thru a Fender Bassman 200. I even got comments from the drummer about the MIM's tone vs the MIA (and when a drummer notices anything, it must be obvious )

I regret selling the MIM, but not the MIA.

 

[pyrohr]

My MIA was a 97 that probably had the Suhr preamp. The pickups were the ones with the single pole per string, and had "Noiseless" written on them. I found them to be toneless.

The MIM was 00 or 01 model, and the pickups looked like the passive ones you'd find in any J (two poles per string). I found that particular Bass to have a sweeter sound than the MIA.

Naturally the hardware and fretwork on the MIA was a little nicer, but for a MIM this one had an excellent neck.

Fwiw the MIA was string thru, while the MIM had a Badass 2 bridge. Both were strung with D'Addario Slowounds, and both played thru a Fender Bassman 200. I even got comments from the drummer about the MIM's tone vs the MIA (and when a drummer notices anything, it must be obvious )

I regret selling the MIM, but not the MIA.

Now that's weird!
My MIA dlx Has the slugs but does not say "noiseless" and my MIM dlx which is a 01 bass w/badass bridge has the same pups on it. All the MIM dlx jazz basses iv'e seen up til now have the one pole slugs. The new one just introduced has the two pole "noiseless" pups in them.

 

[jerry]

I love my American Deluxe Jazz5!! Nice neck & great tone!

 

[sdguyman]

I'd have to also agree, my MIA Deluxe V is now my main bass. SOld my Stingray for it and I'm glad I did. I'm going to alway keep my G&L 2500, and am considering getting the American Ash Deluxe Jazz 4.

 

[Mike N]

Now that's weird!
My MIA dlx Has the slugs but does not say "noiseless" and my MIM dlx which is a 01 bass w/badass bridge has the same pups on it. All the MIM dlx jazz basses iv'e seen up til now have the one pole slugs. The new one just introduced has the two pole "noiseless" pups in them.

I bought the MIM used from GC, which may explain the weirdness. I never asked if anything had been changed, because when I plugged it in it just had that sound, and felt good so I bought it.
The only upgrades I made were the Badass bridge, and Schaller straplocks.

I still dont know why I ever sold that Bass.

 

[Cantstandsya]

My MIA was a 97 that probably had the Suhr preamp. The pickups were the ones with the single pole per string, and had "Noiseless" written on them. I found them to be toneless.

The MIM was 00 or 01 model, and the pickups looked like the passive ones you'd find in any J (two poles per string). I found that particular Bass to have a sweeter sound than the MIA.

Naturally the hardware and fretwork on the MIA was a little nicer, but for a MIM this one had an excellent neck.

Fwiw the MIA was string thru, while the MIM had a Badass 2 bridge. Both were strung with D'Addario Slowounds, and both played thru a Fender Bassman 200. I even got comments from the drummer about the MIM's tone vs the MIA (and when a drummer notices anything, it must be obvious )

I regret selling the MIM, but not the MIA.

My MIA Deluxe was a 98 that i got on clearance for $550 at GC in 99.The pickups did not say noiseless on them.My MIM Deluxe was purchased used for $200 so I don't really know what year it was but everyone noticed how much better it sounded than my MIA.The MIM was much fuller and louder although the fretwork at finish were not as nice as the MIA it still sounded way better.Mabye my MIA was a dud,it had very weak output for an active bass.I even tried switching out the pickups for DiMarzio Model J's and I still didn't like it.I ended up trading it for a 2001 MIA 5-String Jazz which I then traded two weeks later for my 2001 Stingray 5 which I am verry happy with.I think the MIM Deluxe is such a good bass i'm pondering the idea of getting a 5 string as a backup for SR5 although the Geddy Lee model also has my attention right now.