Fender Aerodyne Club!

[bdplaid]

Good. The p pick-up is closer to the neck making it sound deeper while still retaining the pbass tone and mojo.
The body is sculpted and rounded making it light, more comfortable and generally more graceful.
The binding is so classy.
The finish is like a mirror.
Generally lighter in weight. Mine is 7lb 9ozs.

 

[DrThumpenstein]

There are a few things that the classic export Aerodyne brings together to make a unique bass.

The neck is a thing of beauty and my favorite feature. Thin profile, 7.25 in radius, rosewood board, silky fast finish; it's a pleasure to play.

The body is gorgeous and feels good to me. Piano black with that creamy binding. Not too heavy. Basswood is somewhat soft, but I've been gigging and taking mine out for 6 years and it still looks great. Caveat: Some people find the edge annoying, being a bit of an angle rather than rounded. But it's comfortable to me. It balances well and I can play it as long as I like.

The stock PJ pickups sounded fine. The P pickup was meaty with a classic P tone, although the J was a little weak and noisy for my liking. I upgraded to the EMG Geezer Butler set, which was simple and solved that.

I also upgraded to an active preamp, which brings up another thing people like about it: it's easily modified to suit your needs as they might change.

It's made with excellent craftsmanship in Japan, and the fit and finish is equal to anything I've seen built here. It vies with my Fodera for gigs; it sounds and plays great and I don't get nervous about leaving it unattended. We play 4-hour shows and it is never uncomfortable. Played through a Mesa rig, I get frequent compliments on the tone.

 

[Dincrest]

I love my Aerodyne because...
-top-notch Japanese craftsmanship
-basswood body in a downsized/slimmed down jazz shape makes the bass lighter than your average Jazz (mine's about 9.1 pounds) (I think basswood is an underrated tonewood)

I think because Fender Japan makes basses more for Japanese tastes, they have a different vibe. I love my Aerodyne's sleeker take on a classic. Tradition with a twist if you will. A previous owner modded mine with an EMG Geezer PJ set and I like them a lot.

I've never really been a Fender guy. Even a recording engineer's incredible vintage P-bass didn't sway me. But this Aerodyne I acquired from a TBer is #1 bass material. It's the Fender that makes me feel like, "Yeah, NOW I get it."

 

[Snakeman1066]

Hey guys...

I recently took a Japanese Made Export Aerodyne model in a partial trade deal...

I honestly do not like the look of the export models mainly because of the un-marked fret board, the placement of the jack and lack of a pick guard...

However i recently bought a CIJ Geddy neck for another project...and the Japanese neck did not fit the MIM neck pocket very well on that project...so i set it aside for use later...

Well...

Behold the Geddy-Dyne

I'm actually loving this combo and the one advantage to the export models over the non-exports...is the bridge can be easily replaced...

 

[Lucky Chuck]

Looks pretty fine to me!

 

[Snake101st]

Do you all think a Lusithand NFP II preamp and battery would fit in the P Special's cavity?

Double NFP MKII (new attack feature) - Lusithand Devices

Our 'Double NFP MKII' filter preamp consists of two Resonant Peak filters, one for each pickup, that will totally flip your Bass game around. You can set the filters to very different frequencies and mix them together using the active Blend control to achieve unique and personalized tones that...

lusithanddevices.com

 

[Snake101st]

Welp, I scored a deal that comes with the knobs for $270, so I'll try it and report back!

I had dropped my bass off to be assembled (it was just a body that I'm getting routed for a Delano double j pickup right next to the Delano P I got) the other day, will just tell them to hold off on putting the pots and electronics together

 

[rayzak]

Just got this a couple hours ago! Blown away!! I’ll talk about it tomorrow. Pic until then!!

 

[Armani 077]

I'm looking at the Blue 5 string (of course). Other then changing to DR Black Beauties String, would you change the bridge?

Guess I will respond to my own post. I pulled the trigger on it.

 

[DrThumpenstein]

Guess I will respond to my own post. I pulled the trigger on it.

Nice pickguard! Congratulations on the new Aerodyne!

 

[Malak the Mad]

Nice pickguard! Congratulations on the new Aerodyne!

Friendly correction; it's not an Aerodyne, but rather, a Made In Japan Modern Jazz Bass V. That being said, it does draw a bit of it's body's aesthetics from the Almighty 'Dyne.

Guess I will respond to my own post. I pulled the trigger on it.

I may be "jellin' like a felon", but worry not. It's not a four-banger, therefore it is safe from my insidious clutches.

 

[Dincrest]

Yeah, blue swirl pickguard looks sharp!

 

[DrThumpenstein]

Friendly correction; it's not an Aerodyne, but rather, a Made In Japan Modern Jazz Bass V. That being said, it does draw a bit of it's body's aesthetics from the Almighty 'Dyne.


I may be "jellin' like a felon", but worry not. It's not a four-banger, therefore it is safe from my insidious clutches.

I thought it was one of the non-export Dynes, although I think those had matching headstocks, on closer inspection.

 

[Armani 077]

I'm not sure where they are made as far as terada, fujigen, etc. maybe @Malak the Mad would know.
I'm more knowledgeable of the colors.
UGB (US Gunmetal Blue) - tricky to photograph. i have a MIM jazz in this color and it looks a lot like the 1st picture below. more pictures here [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
v
View attachment 4177038
most photos of UGB online look like this. washed out. it can look like this in certain light.
v
View attachment 4177039

DFG (Dolphin Gray) - lighter and hardly any blue tone. more of a warmer color.
View attachment 4177040

GMB (GunMetal Blue) - much darker. much more blue. one of my favorite modern fender colors.
View attachment 4177041
View attachment 4177042
View attachment 4177043

Still looking for this one!!!! Help

 

[Armani 077]

Friendly correction; it's not an Aerodyne, but rather, a Made In Japan Modern Jazz Bass V. That being said, it does draw a bit of it's body's aesthetics from the Almighty 'Dyne.


I may be "jellin' like a felon", but worry not. It's not a four-banger, therefore it is safe from my insidious clutches.

Lol. I can't find a Dark Blue Aerodyne!!

 

[just-1-more]

Still looking for this one!!!! Help

The GMB colour is quite rare. I don’t think I saw any come up over the 3 or 4 month period when I was looking for an Aerodyne. You’d probably have a better chance finding one in Japan.

The UGB is probably my favourite colour when it’s new. It looks really sharp. But I’m not a fan of the greenish tone it takes on as the clear coat ages and yellows. Most examples I’ve seen are now getting to that point now and I guess they all will given enough time. I went with DFG In the end - mostly because it was the best bass available from the colours I liked.

Good luck with your search.If you’re set on GMB it will take some patience.

 

[Armani 077]

The GMB colour is quite rare. I don’t think I saw any come up over the 3 or 4 month period when I was looking for an Aerodyne. You’d probably have a better chance finding one in Japan.

The UGB is probably my favourite colour when it’s new. It looks really sharp. But I’m not a fan of the greenish tone it takes on as the clear coat ages and yellows. Most examples I’ve seen are now getting to that point now and I guess they all will given enough time. I went with DFG In the end - mostly because it was the best bass available from the colours I liked.

Good luck with your search.If you’re set on GMB it will take some patience.

Yes still trying. Worst case scenario is get a black one and have it painted.

 

[Malak the Mad]

D'oh! For whatever reason, I never put it together that UGB and GMB were two different colors!

Yes still trying. Worst case scenario is get a black one and have it painted.

Are you holding out for a non-export version with the pickguard and control plate, 'cuz Guitar Center has a couple of Deluxe Export 'Dynes that are less than $600.

 

[Armani 077]

D'oh! For whatever reason, I never put it together that UGB and GMB were two different colors!


Are you holding out for a non-export version with the pickguard and control plate, 'cuz Guitar Center has a couple of Deluxe Export 'Dynes that are less than $600.

Yes holding out!! Lol

 

[Armani 077]

Nice pickguard! Congratulations on the new Aerodyne!

Thank you, I'm looking for a non export BLUE 5 string!!