Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass V 5 string

[bassbenj]

Very odd. If they are humbuckers, then why does Fender say they are single coil? Here is a snip from Fender's website regarding the N3 Noiseless Jazz bass pickups (the ones in my American Deluxe Jazz):

General
Model Name: N3 Noiseless Jazz Bass® Pickups
Series: Fender
Color / Part #:

Black
099-3117-000

Black
099-3117-001

Black
099-3117-002

Miscellaneous
Additional Comments: DC Resistance: 9.2K (Bridge) or 8.0K (Neck); AlNiCo 5 (Bridge) or 3 (Neck) Magnets; Single-Coil Pickups with Black Pickup Covers

If they say (and are) "noiseless" you can be sure they are not single coil. But what they actually are seems to be a mystery!

I own a MIM Fender Deluxe V that came with "noiseless" pickups. Tone was FAR less than optimum. I lived with it a couple of years and finally scored a set of Fender SCN humfree pickups to replace them assuming the problem was the usual tone of "stacked coil" pickups.

Now here's where it gets all fuzzy. So I install the SCN pickups and the bass simply comes alive! But dig. the original pickups were NOT "stacked coil" They were side by side coils (Like most after market humfree pickups) and the new SCN pickups that sounded so great actually WERE stacked coils! What? And I read that the SCNs (in spite of being discontinued for sale separately) were supposed to be the "standard" pickup on the American Deluxe Vers. But now you look at your reference from Fender and that seems wrong too! Who knows what they are putting in there now?

From what I've seen all recent model Fender Deluxe 5 strings have been reworked and have wonderful B strings. (Mine unfortunately is older with less than stellar B string, though MUCH better with new pickups) But I've seen people rave about the tone and others complain and change pickups. Is it due to pickups differences or just people's taste in tone? I don't know, but there does seem to be a Fender consistency problem here.

 

[Doug Parent]

Fender also listed on their website that the nut width on the 5 string basses were 1.50 or 1.65 " wide, clearly a mistake as they are actually 1.81" wide. So food for thought, evidence shows they're data on the webpage is highly suspect. And, they don't put single coil pickups in American Deluxe models, period. American Standard, yes.

Also, "Noiseless" pickups were discontinued in 2004 (I think) when they went to the Bill Lawrence design "SCN" (stacked coil). They probably went to the new Neo (N3) design because Bill did not get a cut of the action that way. Yes, the Noiseless design had many pitfalls one of them being poor B string output. There is no mystery about it, it was a bad design.

 

[meercatzbass]

I suppose the bass itself still should be ok to purchase or not? As explained before I have very little understanding about the technical side.

 

[chadhargis]

The B string on mine was just "Ok" until I raised the bass side of the pickups a full turn. Now it's great.

 

[Doug Parent]

I suppose the bass itself still should be ok to purchase or not? As explained before I have very little understanding about the technical side.

It's a very nice playing/sound bass. I think it's in league with other choices in the 1800-2200 range. However, it may be a little noisy, just heads up. If you buy it from Sweetwater or Guitar Center, and you don't dig it, you can send it back.

Good luck.

 

[Argali]

They are "noiseless", but no single coil is going to be dead quiet.

Actually I have an DiMarzio Area T in the bridge of my Tele, and it is silent.

 

[Doug Parent]

Actually I have an DiMarzio Area T in the bridge of my Tele, and it is silent.

Fenders "Noiseless" pickup isn't a single coil. (Split coil or stacked, either way, not a single.) Area T is side by side, right?

 

[guy n. cognito]

I've been down this road before. The pickups are stacked coils, humcancelling. I've shielded the control cavity, it did not completely eliminate the noise. The next owner of my bass (I sold it yes) shielded the pickup cavity and reported an improvement in the noise situation.

My two cents: Great bass. I prefer passive basses unless they have high quality preamps that have circuitry that is fully shielded from RF and etc noise. The Fender pre-amp itself is not shielded nor is the control cavity.

I think this has been beat to death in other threads.

Fender are you listening?

Shielding does very little good without grounding the cavities as well. If you just applied shielding, it won't complete the job.

 

[Doug Parent]

Shielding does very little good without grounding the cavities as well. If you just applied shielding, it won't complete the job.

Agreed. I even think we've had this conversation before. Shielding without grounding the shielding is an excersize in futility but it sure is fun.

 

[Commreman]

Mine does not have the Fender pickups. Mine has the Aguilars, and they are spectacular. Mine does not buzz or hum, and I have zero noise issues.

 

[Lync]

I ordered this bass:

Played awesome (loved the asymmetrical neck vs. my 2001 AmDlx 5), but the buzzing was ridiculous. The buzz only went away when I touched the jack, not the strings, so it had to be some kind of grounding issue.

I didn't find it acceptable to have to attempt to repair such a brand new expensive bass, so I returned it.

It was sweet all around besides that though (great looks, killer action, and a super comfy neck). I returned it to MF who were very good and took it back.

 

[Overdrive777]

How is this bass comparing to a Lakland Skyline 55-60?
I need a new 5-string Jazz and found those candidates

 

[Shegmaface]

I have the fender American deluxe 5 and love it. Very solid. The neck feels great and I got used to the width very fast. I replaced the stock pickups with Joe Bardens and I like it even better now. You need a wide strap with this bass. It's a monster.

 

[MrCincinnati]

The B string on mine was just "Ok" until I raised the bass side of the pickups a full turn. Now it's great.

Think I'm going to try this tonight - noticed the B string not as strong as the B on my 2008...thought it might just be the difference between the '12s stock N3s and the Nords on the '08

hopefully this will fix

 

[Sketchy]

Ah, from the look of the replies to the thread, I will not be too dissapointed when mine eventually turns up. I ordered it on the recommendation of a friend of mine (who went to school with someone who had one of these).

 

[Session1969]

I know this is an old thread but I have to say that my American Deluxe V (a 2012) is an awesome bass. I was playing a Stingray 5HH for the last few months and I prefer what I have now for playability, eveness of the notes, and sustain. Very good bass that sounds great with the band.

 

[meatwad]

I know this is an old thread but I have to say that my American Deluxe V (a 2012) is an awesome bass. I was playing a Stingray 5HH for the last few months and I prefer what I have now for playability, eveness of the notes, and sustain. Very good mbass that sounds great with the band.

Just last night I whipped out my StingRay, and was told by my drummer that my 2013 American Deluxe Jazz V sounds better. Lol

 

[bassbenj]

I ordered this bass:

Played awesome (loved the asymmetrical neck vs. my 2001 AmDlx 5), but the buzzing was ridiculous. The buzz only went away when I touched the jack, not the strings, so it had to be some kind of grounding issue.

I didn't find it acceptable to have to attempt to repair such a brand new expensive bass, so I returned it.

It was sweet all around besides that though (great looks, killer action, and a super comfy neck). I returned it to MF who were very good and took it back.

Fender seems to have this problem that their shielding/grounding sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Why that is I don't know. But the above story is not that rare. So one is left with either sending it back or biting the bullet and installing working shielding yourself.

 

[John Bottom]

Nope. The hum that was generated from these basses was due to a lack of shielding, which is not eliminated by humbucking pickups. The bass I had was one with the current pickups and electronics, so they clearly do not solve the issue.

If you love the bass and it has shielding hum, it can easily be rectified by coating the cavities with shielding paint, then grounding the cavities.

Nope. The hum that was generated from these basses was due to a lack of shielding, which is not eliminated by humbucking pickups. The bass I had was one with the current pickups and electronics, so they clearly do not solve the issue.

If you love the bass and it has shielding hum, it can easily be rectified by coating the cavities with shielding paint, then grounding the cavities.

This is absolutely correct.. They can be noisy.. I also have a problem with the nut.. But none of this matters because any problems can be upgraded and the bass just gets better. I just bought a black one with the maple fret.. This is my second am/de.. I had it shipped straight to my guys at a shop here before I even lay eyes on it. I have the nut replace with bone, replace the pick ups, drop in an onboard pre (in this case a Sadowsky) and these guys dial in the set up to where it's just magic.. I have one tobacco sunburst I did the same thing to except I put in a graphite nut and John East pre.. Kills..absolutely kills! I love these basses but I do rip out the crap and upgrade..I have to. Once you do this you'll never play one off the rack again.

 

[John Bottom]

Oh..left out the most important replacement.. Replace the Fender input with a Switch Craft jack..any noise coming from that area will disappear..