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Fender American Special Jazz Bass

#22
I call it the space to fill where the price of the real American Standard Jazz Bass was priced. It doesn't seem that long ago to me that American Standard fenders were priced at 1000-1100, and now they sit at 1200.00. I have played a few of these now. Generally not impressed, for the money build a warmoth and get a much better instrument.
 
#23
Not sure that a Warmoth is better than an American - even Special - jazz....maybe.

I'm having trouble finding a 4 string, passive jazz I like. The Geddy is too thin, the American Standard is a little fat. I thought the Special was a nice middle ground. The best "jazz" I've had was a Saowsky RV4, but they aren't passive - although they have the bypass I guess. Sadowsky is just a little more than I want to pay. Maybe Lakland or something like that.
 
#25
I played one of the Jazzes today for about 10 minutes or so. I thought it sounded fantastic. I have an '08 Am. Std. Jazz that I really like a lot, and this one felt and sounded on a par with mine. This one was a sunburst/rosewood, and what I didn't like was the white (or parchment) pickguard. On a burst/rosewood combination, I feel that a tort or black guard is mandatory. ;) Neck felt great, and the build quality was very good.

Also, these do not come with a case - just a Deluxe gigbag. All-in-all though, I was impressed with it. And for some reason, I expected not to like it... :D
 
#27
BigOldHarry said:
Lord, how many "lines" of Fenders are there? Of Squiers? Of "StarCasters" - all owned by the same company, all making P-bass, J-basses, Strats and Teles?

Insanity. Whoever the VP of marketing is at Fender needs a Benny Hill smack in the forehead.
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Yeah, that's why I had a negative opinion before I even picked one up. I see no reason for introducing this series; and if I were in the market in that price range, I'd go ahead and get the Am. Std. Nevertheless, unnecessary though it might be, it did feel and sound very nice.
 
#28
Spoke to my local store, they advised the word from Fender Australia that this is the replacement for the highway one.

Which is interesting, because over here the highway ones are doing very well, outselling american standards.

I had a play on one, and i wasnt too impressed.
 
#29
Hey, i went to my local store this week to look for a mid-highish end bass.. i looked at Sterling ray34, 2 American specials and a highway one.

In the end i went away with the American special. to me it has a nicer sound, also the thinner neck meant the neck felt less sticky as less of my hand was in contact with it which as a convert from guitar a while ago i like. the finish is personal preference and isn't a selling point for either as i prefer the high gloss and mate preferred the hi 1 finish. The difference is tone, neck and bridge(causes some of the tone).
The badass bridge while bieng in some people's opinion better i probably will not upgrade to as i am loving the sound of the american special.

TL;DR

American Special:
Small bridge creating a different tone
Thinner less sticky neck
Glossy
Greasebucket tone

Highwayone:
Thicker neck giving more resistance
different(almost more powerful) tone
not glossy
badass bridge

the whole special v highway is really personal preferance and what the guitar feels like

(i was going to go with highway one as they were on a offer of £130 less thats about $200 but when i picked up the other american special it felt far nicer then the one i played previously which was why i got that one)
 
#30
the only problem that bugs me about the new special series is that they are using the same cheap tuners on these that are on the mim line. if this series is going to be American AND special, throw on the Hipshot keys and a vintage bridge. maybe this is just a pet peeve of mine but it just seems like they could have up'd the quality on the hardware a little.
 
#31
SDMFJay said:
the only problem that bugs me about the new special series is that they are using the same cheap tuners on these that are on the mim line. if this series is going to be American AND special, throw on the Hipshot keys and a vintage bridge. maybe this is just a pet peeve of mine but it just seems like they could have up'd the quality on the hardware a little.
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I hear ya and fully agree!. I like everything but the tuners and the bridge. Upgraded my bridge to a BabicZ FULL CONTACT HARDWARE BASS BRIDGE CHROME. I love the way you adjust height of each saddle and can lock the saddle by unlocking the rotary bridge saddle and turning the adjustment setscrew rotating the saddle to the preferred height then locking it down.

Babicz Full Contact Hardware - With "eCAM" Saddle Technology from Babicz
 
#32
Jeff K said:
Yeah, that's why I had a negative opinion before I even picked one up. I see no reason for introducing this series; and if I were in the market in that price range, I'd go ahead and get the Am. Std. Nevertheless, unnecessary though it might be, it did feel and sound very nice.
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I read a post where Fender may be doing away with the Hwy one in favor of the American Special. If so I totally agree with that move. It is "Special". Never cared much for the thin laquer coating that wears through easily.
 
#37
RS said:
Played a couple of these today and was not impressed. Felt kinda cheap for $1k. The necks were slim but the tone was thin also.
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Really, I have played 5 American Specials, 2 American Standards and they all sounded the same and very good compared to the 6 G&L's and 2 MIM's I played. There was nothing thin about the sound or cheap feeling about any of the American Fenders I tried
 
#38
LoveThatBass said:
Really, I have played 5 American Specials, 2 American Standards and they all sounded the same and very good compared to the 6 G&L's and 2 MIM's I played. There was nothing thin about the sound or cheap feeling about any of the American Fenders I tried
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Possible the 2 I played were anomalies. 2 isn't a huge sample size. From a marketing perspective, I don't really get the price point or where they fit in the product line. I'd rather spend another $100-200 for an American standard, and if I couldn't afford that, I'd go for a HWY1 or Geddy Lee.
 
#39
I am of the opinion that whenever there is some kind of "special" series coming out, there must have been some extra parts left over or they got a good deal on some cheaper hardware.
Or something along those lines.
 
#40
madmatt said:
I am of the opinion that whenever there is some kind of "special" series coming out, there must have been some extra parts left over or they got a good deal on some cheaper hardware.
Or something along those lines.
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Can't argue that fact at all but I am happy with it having a thinner neck (front to back) than the American Standard and all but the bridge, tuners and case being same quality as the American Standard. Gibson did the same with the Les Paul Special. They left off the nice trim work on the body, put dot inlays and lowered the price $200-300. I put a BabicZ bridge on it and it has sustain out the wazzoo plus easier to adjust string height with the ecam technology. Great bridge![Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 

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