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Fender American Professional II Neck

#21
nphinity said:
Hi!

I just received a brand new Fender American Professional II Jazz Bass in Olympic White and have a question regarding my new bass (I'm not a professional). At the lower part of the neck, where it is attached to the body, is a small ridge. The body and neck are not flush and I was wondering if this is 'normal' as I do not have another bass guitar to compare it to.

Also, as you can see in the pictures, the small 'ridge' (i don't know what to call it) is just painted and has no smooth finish on it. This makes it feel a bit sharp ... is this 'normal' and to be expected ?

Wondering if you guys could give me some clarity on this and make me feel better about my purchase. Maybe i'm way to nitpicky, but it was a pretty expensive purchase... so yeah :)

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Fender AM Pro II - Neck / Body
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I am picky person, But, i will keep the bass if sound good and play well, ...... try ask for partial refund, maybe around usd500......

It is maybe cause by a unfine sanding on body neck join wood or poor spray paint job.
Far better than gap on neck join which possible make the neck move.
 
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#23
IME, that amount of "edge" is not normal at all on a new Pro II, and for me would be totally unacceptable. When the neck is properly aligned it should be (generally) flush with the body side. Mine certainly is. I would definitely return it.
Pics of my Roasted Pine Jazz which I bought about 3 week ago....


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IMG_1459.jpeg
 
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#24
Meh, I'd be more interested to see how the alignment is on the other side of the neck pocket and the total alignment with the pickups before I decide to return it. Yes, cosmetically it is not great, but if the neck is otherwise straight in alignment and the neck is fitting nice in the pocket on the other side I don't see a problem. You wouldn't really actually touch that area much at all. Even playing the higher frets, at least for me, my fingers wouldn't be touching that part at all so it wouldn't bother me if the bass played and sounded good.
 
#25
If you want "hand built" I don't think Fender is the best choice to be honest... The main difference between a MIA Fender and a Squier is where the CNC machine is located (+ choice of hardware/pickups). They're both mass manufactured instruments, just like Leo Fender intended.

What you're seeing is sadly just one of many examples of poor quality control from Fender USA. I've seen far worse lately. QC at Fender USA took a dive around the time when the American Pro and Original series were introduced. At least that's my personal experience. Don't get me wrong, I love Fender basses but some of the MIAs I've seen over the last couple of years have been shockingly poor and should never have left the factory.

If the bass sounds great and plays nicely I would probably keep it. Returning/replacing it means another round in the Fender lottery. You risk getting one with FAR worse issues.

There's nothing quite like a good Fender bass but unfortunately they make a lot of average ones these days, as well as some shockingly poor ones. QC doesn't really improve as much as you would expect when you go from Squier to MIM to MIA. Fender USA hit a peak with the last generations of the American Vintage series IMO. Those were truly outstanding instruments. These days there are far better options in that price range. Still, nothing quite nails the Fender vibe so I totally understand why people still buy Fenders. You just need to lower your expectations and understand that you're paying a LOT of money for that logo on the headstock. Don't expect a $2000 Fender to be comparable to other $2000 basses. At least not when it comes to craftsmanship and QC. You're not getting a "hand built" instrument if you buy a Fender USA production model. You're getting a mass manufactured instrument that doesn't involve much real craftsmanship in the building process. Pretty much anyone can put together something equally good from CNC made parts at their own kitchen table. Of course you might be lucky and get a great Fender but you really need to try before you buy with Fender these days. There are still lots of great ones out there but the amount of poor/flawed ones is really quite shocking for this price range.
 
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#26
Thanks for the reply's everyone, i'm learning a lot. I just took some new pictures after seeing the pictures in this thread, so it's easier to compare.

I also received some comments about the fretboard being dirty. The guitar was bought new, received it yesterday .. is this just factory wood dust ?

Edit:
Fender mailed me back stating that "it might be out of tolerance, and you should visit a Fender dealer and let them check it out" ...
 

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#27
nphinity said:
The body and neck are not flush and I was wondering if this is 'normal' as I do not have another bass guitar to compare it to.

Also, as you can see in the pictures, the small 'ridge' (i don't know what to call it) is just painted and has no smooth finish on it. This makes it feel a bit sharp ...
Click to expand...
nphinity said:
For future reference, does this look 'way off' the norm ?
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That part of your bass should NOT be "sharp."
 
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#28
Those frets do not look seated properly. The neck looks like it has a reverse shim in the pocket or is not seated properly. Sanding marks in the opposite direction at the end of the finger board look rough.

Use air to blow everything off and then oil/treat the finger board. The over extended pocket ledge is not really that bad. The neck could actually be thinner and the pocket is fine. Perhaps reset the neck. At this point you need to get a tech involved or send it back. IMO, new basses at that $ amount should be much cleaner looking and better fitting.
 
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#29
BlueTalon said:
That part of your bass should NOT be "sharp."
Click to expand...

Well, it's hard to describe what it feels like. But as you can see in the pictures it's a bit rough- that's what it feels like when I
let my fingers run past it. The 90 degree angle makes it feel a bit 'sharp'. Maybe sharp isn't the right word for it.

I'm not sure if it will cause issue's down the road, that's why I created this thread. I really needed some feedback from
professional players.
 
#31
MotorCityMinion said:
Those frets do not look seated properly. The neck looks like it has a reverse shim in the pocket or is not seated properly. Sanding marks in the opposite direction at the end of the finger board look rough.

<snip> ...
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I haven't cleaned the fretboard yet. I didn't want to fiddle with it too much if I wasn't sure on keeping it. I just took some closer-up pictures. Thank you for your advice.
 

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#32
Fernando Costa said:
No, this is not normal. Make sure the neck plate and the 5 screws are aligned. See if the strings are lined up from the nut to the bridge. Make sure the strings are correctly aligned with the pickup poles. If all this is correct and the bass plays well it's just an aesthetic defect. If it happened to me I return it and get another instrument.
View attachment 4374722
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Alright, i'll try to check it out. The shop I bought it from told me they would
set it up for me. They supposedly do this for every instrument they sell.
 

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#35
Yeah, I agree. I received a Fender AM Performer Jazz a month or so ago which had none of these issue's. The paint job had
a lot of defects in it, so I had to send it back and exchanged it for this AM Pro II Jazz.

I'll make sure to buy my next (replacement) bass guitar in a physical shop, so I can hold it and check it for any blemishes and defects. I was expecting more from this AM Pro II. Maybe I received one made at the end of a friday, or a monday morning.
 
#37
Although there seem to be very poor quality control cases - especially in the USA - it may just be a misleading impression. I moved to Lisbon a few years ago, I couldn't bring my gear, I've already bought 3 impeccable Fenders MIA here, in German online stores. No details, perfect. I bought a Strato MIM in Portugal, online, also perfect, as well as a Gretsch guitar made in Indonesia, also perfect.

I have two Sandbergs, they are German, but they were bought online and they also arrived impeccable. I think a few people might be a little less lucky, but I don't think the quality of manufacturing and quality control is going down, especially on cheaper instruments made in Asia which are really great right now.

Well, there are conspiracy theories that claim that "some good" instruments go to some places/countries/markets and the "not so good" ones go to others, but I don't believe that.
 
#39
I ordered my AM Pro Jazz II 5 string 2 months ago from large European store. Every detail was fine, except the E/A string retainer. I needed to move it 2mm to B string side to avoid E string slipping under it. I filled old hole with wooden sticks and glue and drilled new hole. Old hole is luckily hidden under the retainer.

Another story is V-Mod II pickups that needed to be replaced because of lack of general output and B string punch. Probably no problem for 4 string version.

200€ for new pickups and little wood craftsmanship and now I have bass that I really like. Expensive and annoying extra work but I didn't have any luck in the second hand market (Northern Europe) over a year. Buying a new one was the was only solution to have 5 string AM Jazz bass.
 
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