Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass

[Danny Bolen]

Adam
I love F1 and wanted to ask you:

I'm looking at purchasing a 2001 Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass. I love the natural ash body but notice it to be really "light". The tuners have plastic "bodies" of which I've never seen on a j-bass before. Can you tell me anything about "Deluxe's". I understand that the pickups are discontinued, vintage single coil noiseless pickups. Thanks
Sanodano

 

[adamnitti]

Adam
I love F1 and wanted to ask you:

I'm looking at purchasing a 2001 Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass. I love the natural ash body but notice it to be really "light". The tuners have plastic "bodies" of which I've never seen on a j-bass before. Can you tell me anything about "Deluxe's". I understand that the pickups are discontinued, vintage single coil noiseless pickups. Thanks
Sanodano

hey there-

i have to be honest and tell you i don't know a whole lot about the deluxe's... i have a bunch of fender basses but none of them are deluxe's currently... i used to have a 5 string early 90's jazz bass deluxe but it had gotoh style tuners. mine had the fender lace sensor system that had 2 active modes and a passive mode. i remember really loving that bass, as the dimensions and ergonomics were awesome and it sounded great. some folks are not fans of the lace sensor system but on my bass it seemed to work ok. i always ran it in the active 'boosted' mode as it seemed to offer the fullest tone. hope that helps!

 

[WesJett]

I have a 2000 Am Deluxe in natural ash with the same tuners you describe.

the tuners are Schaller brand, these tuners are very similar to the hipshot ultralites. The plastic you see are simply covers over the chrome gears, dont worry, there aren't any other plastic parts in there, I assure you they're very solid. they are awesome tuners, probably the best I've ever had on a fender.

the noisless pickups are great, I read somewhere that they're designed by Bill Lawrence who makes great stuff. I think they might be stacked coils but i'm not 100% on that. All I know is that they have tone for days, especially when combined with the ash body.

the bass is lighter due to the fact that ash just tends to be lighter than alder. in addition, the am. deluxes from 2000 to about 2004 or 5 have a slightly smaller body to accommodate the extra frets.

it's seriously an awesome bass, if you have found one for a good deal I would go for it.

I've owned several basses since this one and I always seem to find myself going back to this one.

hope this helps!

 

[SlingBass4]

I have a 2000 Am Deluxe in natural ash with the same tuners you describe.

the tuners are Hipshot brand, an early version of the ultra lights I believe. The plastic you see are simply covers over the chrome gears, don't worry, there aren't any other plastic parts in there, I assure you they're very solid. they are awesome tuners, probably the best I've ever had on a fender.

+1 on that. I had them on a bass (Fender), and they worked flawlessly as long as I had the bass...which was a couple years.

 

[modder5s4s]

I have a 5 string American deluxe jazz bass (2012), natural ash body with a maple neck and finger board. This bass has great action and playability. The only issue I've had with it, is I didn't care for the preamp. Though the sound of the preamp and noiseless n3 pickups by any means didn't sound bad however it just didn't quite get the sound I wanted. I also have a 4 string Fender American deluxe jazz bass (1999) and I love the sound of the preamp and Fender jazz pickups. I'll never change it. However on the 5 string I installed a Pope flexcore and the bass sounds incredible and I now have greater tone flexibility matching even the besf of high-end basses.

 

[AmericanFenderJazzMan]

I own a fender American deluxe 4 string jazz bass.....smoother action and feel than my Rickenbacker 4003....sad my rick is laying in its case because I have the action on my deluxe jazz bass set up better then my rick. you can set the action lower than a rick without getting a buzz from the frets. the only thing negative about the fender deluxe jazz is the knobs seem kind of loose and the pot post area is not protected enough,,,they could have done a better job in that area. besides that its one of the best action and smoothest feel I have ever played on a bass in my 23 years on basses.

 

[kidikongkoyla]

It has been my dream to own a fender jazz bass MIA. Finally last month, i got it, at last! American deluxe jazz bass V MIA. I love everything about it from the sound to playability to looks and specially the active-passive switch in which the output is well distinguished. I have been using a MIM 1995 active w/ bass and treble boost 4 string deluxe special and a MIJ 1970 passive 4 string jazz bass years before and up until now. For me, the Am deluxe V is a combination of both basses + more.. There's just one disadvantage though, considering my physical built and travels in between gigs/venues, is the weight. It's a bit heavy, of course its a 5 string bass. So i got a trolley as a solution. But while playing on stage, weight has never been an issue because i'm enjoying the music!

 

[blastbass]

I have a '08 mia dlx, great bass.

 

[Rumble Thunder]

I own a fender American deluxe 4 string jazz bass.....smoother action and feel than my Rickenbacker 4003....sad my rick is laying in its case because I have the action on my deluxe jazz bass set up better then my rick. you can set the action lower than a rick without getting a buzz from the frets. the only thing negative about the fender deluxe jazz is the knobs seem kind of loose and the pot post area is not protected enough,,,they could have done a better job in that area. besides that its one of the best action and smoothest feel I have ever played on a bass in my 23 years on basses.

Although Rics are more difficult to play, the tone makes it worth it! Please pull out your 4003 and play Tom Sawyer! It will do you some good. I also use Rickenbacker strings from the factory which makes it a little easier to play and the sound is matchless.

 

[Xteen]

I have a 5 string American deluxe jazz bass (2012), natural ash body with a maple neck and finger board. This bass has great action and playability. The only issue I've had with it, is I didn't care for the preamp. Though the sound of the preamp and noiseless n3 pickups by any means didn't sound bad however it just didn't quite get the sound I wanted. I also have a 4 string Fender American deluxe jazz bass (1999) and I love the sound of the preamp and Fender jazz pickups. I'll never change it. However on the 5 string I installed a Pope flexcore and the bass sounds incredible and I now have greater tone flexibility matching even the besf of high-end basses.

Hi i know this is a very old thread but i need some help.There is a 1999 usa fender deluxe bass for sale.I asked the seller if the pickups are active and he said yes because the guitar needs a 9 v battery.
I think he is wrong the pickups are passive with the pre amp needing the battery.
What do you think please..if I buy the guitar i want to install a active /passive switch
Thanks