Why does Japan get all the cool stuff?
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Fender Japan Elemental Series Bass
- Thread starter Bikeguy57
- Start date
trey le parc
Someday...
https://images.reverb.com/image/upl...,t_large/v1672775605/wuf5phzkvvzzhd9uz3bt.jpg
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Because they are 80 million people and they are among the first ones, as a highly skilled and developed country? Seriously: why? They systematically have so special treats... I am so envious, too
Fender Japan JBR-80 Damn!!! 
As a first step, Stone Black with an ore motif from "ground" and Nimbus White with a snow clouds motif from "water" are available in a satin finish. We are planning to release a limited edition color suitable for "Element" in the future.
When you get first japan instrument, you can't stop acquiring more !
This is true. I got my first MIJ, a new Aerodyne Special Jazz, in January. Currently plotting to buy 2 more MIJs, this Elemental in white being one of them!
Yep, I have one. LOVE IT!
It doesn't SOUND like a Jazz at all. It VERY MUCH is in the vein of an active Thunderbird, and I LOVE it! My only slight complaint is that the EQ is boost-only, no cut. I don't like a lot of fret noise, zing, etc, so normally I roll back on the tone knob (passive basses) or cut some treble (active basses) but I can't do that here. I generally play this one with the highs completely flat, and just a little low-boost to kinda get a similar hi-cut effect.
This thing gets MEAN and snappy when you play down towards the bridge, and it's a hoot! The Jazz feel (slim neck, easy playability) is all there, and I love the Aerodyne contoured body. Mine was purchased as new, and came direct from Ikebe Music in Japan. Finish, fretwork, and setup were really good right out of the box. I did have to adjust for some intonation issues, but about 5 minutes of work had it singing beautifully. I live in Nashville, TN and I had to add just a touch of relief last week, as the drier air of the last few weeks resulted in a little more buzzing than I enjoy. However, fret ends, etc, are still perfect.
I am usually a maple fretboard guy, but the rosewood boards on this Elemental and the Jino feel just wonderful. The hardware is all top notch and I have not found any issues in any respect with ANY of the three Japanese basses I got this year. They are all very different from each other in sound, but somehow very similar in feel/playing at the same time. I'm in love.
Feel free to ask any other questions. Good luck!
It doesn't SOUND like a Jazz at all. It VERY MUCH is in the vein of an active Thunderbird, and I LOVE it! My only slight complaint is that the EQ is boost-only, no cut. I don't like a lot of fret noise, zing, etc, so normally I roll back on the tone knob (passive basses) or cut some treble (active basses) but I can't do that here. I generally play this one with the highs completely flat, and just a little low-boost to kinda get a similar hi-cut effect.
This thing gets MEAN and snappy when you play down towards the bridge, and it's a hoot! The Jazz feel (slim neck, easy playability) is all there, and I love the Aerodyne contoured body. Mine was purchased as new, and came direct from Ikebe Music in Japan. Finish, fretwork, and setup were really good right out of the box. I did have to adjust for some intonation issues, but about 5 minutes of work had it singing beautifully. I live in Nashville, TN and I had to add just a touch of relief last week, as the drier air of the last few weeks resulted in a little more buzzing than I enjoy. However, fret ends, etc, are still perfect.
I am usually a maple fretboard guy, but the rosewood boards on this Elemental and the Jino feel just wonderful. The hardware is all top notch and I have not found any issues in any respect with ANY of the three Japanese basses I got this year. They are all very different from each other in sound, but somehow very similar in feel/playing at the same time. I'm in love.
Feel free to ask any other questions. Good luck!
That's great, thank you
That's a good looking bass!
I've had some bad experiences with the U.S Fenders when it comes to quality control, so that made me look to Japan, and that's how I found this and I've fallen in love with the looks of it, classic and very different at the same time. Good to hear that the quality is on point.
I've always liked the sound of a thunderbird, but I hate the look of it so I never got one, so to hear that you can get a similar sound on this made me want it even more.
The EQ is not an issue really as I play through a pedalboard, but I was curious if there was a tone control in passive mode?
The pickups looks like they are Bartolini BC size, is this right?
Do you have any sound clips? Not much to find on youtube, nothing with good quality sound anyway..
Cheers
Espen
Hey Espen!
The current Fender Japan stuff is truly next-level in the quality department. Having bought 3 new ones in 2023 across 3 different models, I am still head over heels for all of them. The second half of this year has brought some challenging financial situations, but I may be starting a new, much better job in a few weeks. Hopefully 2024 will have one of the Fender Japan Junior Jazzes and maybe a Hybrid II P for me, haha!
Yea, I really think that the Elemental is, if not inspired by, then at least not wholly un-influenced by some of the Thunderbird ethos - especially the unique for Fender pickguard.
I just checked and while there is a passive mode (pull up on volume knob) I don't hear any tone control happening in passive. With this bass being set up as boost-only, that makes sense, as there is no roll-off of anything possible. I am still contemplating changing out the preamp for something a little more traditional, either an Audere or my buddy Brian Barrett's LowEnd classic 2 band pre. I also have a preamp pedal for running direct, but at the same time I like having some on-the-fly control at the bass for certain songs or whatever else pops up.
Not sure on the pickup size. I'm really happy with them so I haven't looked into what size, etc. they are for a potential swap.
I played the Elemental at a gig this weekend, but the memory card in the camera took a dump so I got nothing. I did play this one at church a few months ago, so here is that if you want to listen. This particular Sunday morning we had a number of the worship team on vacation or otherwise unavailable, so the instrumentation is very sparse. The upside is that the bass is VERY prominent in everyone else's absence so you can hear it well. The downside is that the bass is VERY prominent in everyone else's absence so you can hear it well - warts, mistakes, and all.
I believe I had the bass boosted at the bass itself, and then cut some highs and high mids on the Trace Elliot Transit B I was using that day. This was my first time playing it out, and in retrospect I went a little heavy handed on both the bass boost AND the high-mid cut. This bass can get really growly and throaty, and I kinda "neutered" it by pulling out some of that upper clarity and presence. I don't have any recordings of it with the less-extreme EQ settings I have used since. I have some compression dialed in at the Transit B, and I believe the sound engineer adds some more at the board sometimes. Not sure what he did this day.
Have a great day!
James
The current Fender Japan stuff is truly next-level in the quality department. Having bought 3 new ones in 2023 across 3 different models, I am still head over heels for all of them. The second half of this year has brought some challenging financial situations, but I may be starting a new, much better job in a few weeks. Hopefully 2024 will have one of the Fender Japan Junior Jazzes and maybe a Hybrid II P for me, haha!
Yea, I really think that the Elemental is, if not inspired by, then at least not wholly un-influenced by some of the Thunderbird ethos - especially the unique for Fender pickguard.
I just checked and while there is a passive mode (pull up on volume knob) I don't hear any tone control happening in passive. With this bass being set up as boost-only, that makes sense, as there is no roll-off of anything possible. I am still contemplating changing out the preamp for something a little more traditional, either an Audere or my buddy Brian Barrett's LowEnd classic 2 band pre. I also have a preamp pedal for running direct, but at the same time I like having some on-the-fly control at the bass for certain songs or whatever else pops up.
Not sure on the pickup size. I'm really happy with them so I haven't looked into what size, etc. they are for a potential swap.
I played the Elemental at a gig this weekend, but the memory card in the camera took a dump so I got nothing. I did play this one at church a few months ago, so here is that if you want to listen. This particular Sunday morning we had a number of the worship team on vacation or otherwise unavailable, so the instrumentation is very sparse. The upside is that the bass is VERY prominent in everyone else's absence so you can hear it well. The downside is that the bass is VERY prominent in everyone else's absence so you can hear it well - warts, mistakes, and all.
I believe I had the bass boosted at the bass itself, and then cut some highs and high mids on the Trace Elliot Transit B I was using that day. This was my first time playing it out, and in retrospect I went a little heavy handed on both the bass boost AND the high-mid cut. This bass can get really growly and throaty, and I kinda "neutered" it by pulling out some of that upper clarity and presence. I don't have any recordings of it with the less-extreme EQ settings I have used since. I have some compression dialed in at the Transit B, and I believe the sound engineer adds some more at the board sometimes. Not sure what he did this day.
Have a great day!
James
Hi James!
That settled it, just ordered one
Should be here in the middle of November.
I think you deserve some commission from Fender
I've only been playing traditional passive p and jazz basses for the last 5 or 6 years now so I'm very excited to try something a bit different. And it looks so good too.
It sounded way fatter than I expected in the video, and I think your playing was pretty tight too.
I'll probably be looking to change the preamp also eventually for a more flexible one, but I'll get to know it as it is first. Maybe I'll dial my presets with som bass and treble boost on the preamp to have som cutting options at hand.
The Audere preamp looks great, but they don't ship internationally I think, so that makes it hard to get here in Norway.
Have you checked out the Lusithand NFP preamp? I think it sounds quite interesting with the filters instead of a normal EQ.
Cheers
Espen
That settled it, just ordered one
Should be here in the middle of November.
I think you deserve some commission from Fender
I've only been playing traditional passive p and jazz basses for the last 5 or 6 years now so I'm very excited to try something a bit different. And it looks so good too.
It sounded way fatter than I expected in the video, and I think your playing was pretty tight too.
I'll probably be looking to change the preamp also eventually for a more flexible one, but I'll get to know it as it is first. Maybe I'll dial my presets with som bass and treble boost on the preamp to have som cutting options at hand.
The Audere preamp looks great, but they don't ship internationally I think, so that makes it hard to get here in Norway.
Have you checked out the Lusithand NFP preamp? I think it sounds quite interesting with the filters instead of a normal EQ.
Cheers
Espen
Haha! Awesome, and congrats! I think you're gunna love it. Thanks so much for your kind words.Hi James!
That settled it, just ordered one
Should be here in the middle of November.
I think you deserve some commission from Fender
I've only been playing traditional passive p and jazz basses for the last 5 or 6 years now so I'm very excited to try something a bit different. And it looks so good too.
It sounded way fatter than I expected in the video, and I think your playing was pretty tight too.
I'll probably be looking to change the preamp also eventually for a more flexible one, but I'll get to know it as it is first. Maybe I'll dial my presets with som bass and treble boost on the preamp to have som cutting options at hand.
The Audere preamp looks great, but they don't ship internationally I think, so that makes it hard to get here in Norway.
Have you checked out the Lusithand NFP preamp? I think it sounds quite interesting with the filters instead of a normal EQ.
Cheers
Espen
No, I haven't heard of Lusithand before, but will check them out!
Crazy enough, last night I ordered a friend for the Elemental.
The Fender Japan Aerodyne Specials have gone on sale for $800 here in the US. I paid $1,200 for my blue Aerodyne Special Jazz and I'm not even mad it's an $800 bass now. It's just THAT. GOOD.
The P bass version will just be such a cool match/pair with the Elemental, I think.
Hi,
I got an Elemental Jazz Bass two weeks ago. I haven't got too much time to use it a lot (lot of work), but my first impressions are that :
I got an Elemental Jazz Bass two weeks ago. I haven't got too much time to use it a lot (lot of work), but my first impressions are that :
- it is incredibly well made. You can tell the quality by just looking at it. It is the best instrument I've ever had in my hands. I can't find any defect. The neck, especially, is a piece of art. I could look at it for hours.
- it is usable right out of the box : the truss rod, the string height, the intonation, the pickup height... everything is perfectly set up.
- it has a strange sound to me. My two main basses (ESP Ltd Ap-4 and Fender Blacktop Jazz Bass) have EMG in it, but with flatwounds and the Elemental, even with new and clanky roundwounds sound far more... boomy ? Not in a bad way, but the Elemental has a very round/full low end, similar to my Bacchus with the « turbo » switch engaged. As soon as I played with it, I said to myself « the pickups sound quite like Bartolinis ».
- it might be difficult to sit it in the mix. I'm planing to try it with some overdrive but depending on the genre of music, it could get lost in the mix.
Haha! Awesome, and congrats! I think you're gunna love it. Thanks so much for your kind words.
No, I haven't heard of Lusithand before, but will check them out!
Crazy enough, last night I ordered a friend for the Elemental.
View attachment 5230509
The Fender Japan Aerodyne Specials have gone on sale for $800 here in the US. I paid $1,200 for my blue Aerodyne Special Jazz and I'm not even mad it's an $800 bass now. It's just THAT. GOOD.
The P bass version will just be such a cool match/pair with the Elemental, I think.
I think so too! Just found out the shipment date moved from the 11th to the 6 th, so almost a week earlier.
Haha, keeping them busy over at Fender Japan
The Aerodynes also look so great with the binding, been checking them out also, I just found the Elemental a bit more different all in all.
Cheers
Congrats!
Regarding the "boomy" tone, may I ask how you have the EQ set on the bass?
You may already know/understand this, so my apologies in advance, and I mean no offense. The Elemental has a bit of an odd setup in that the high and low eq are boost-ONLY. That means that "flat" is all the way "back" or fully counter-clockwise. If both EQ knobs are rolled midway up, or all the way up (fully clockwise) then the highs and lows are boosted significantly, which consequentially buries the mids that are so important to note definition and clarity. Notice that on the EQ knobs' rotation, there is no "center detent" to indicate "flat."
I played mine in a rock band setting over the weekend and just today got to listen to some GoPro recordings our guitar player took. I played the bass itself with both pickups on full with the EQs on the bass completely flat, and at the ToneHammer 500 I added just a little low and low mids, and cut some treble. Sounded great, and I didn't have to crank the volume to be present in the mix. Just level-matching and G2G.
You are right that it can have a massive low end, though! With the lows boosted, a pro-level friend of mine commented "Wow, that sounds a lot like some old Ken Smith action right there! So thick and meaty!" But with the lows flat/off, that side of things doesn't really come out too much for me.
I think so too! Just found out the shipment date moved from the 11th to the 6 th, so almost a week earlier.
Haha, keeping them busy over at Fender Japan
The Aerodynes also look so great with the binding, been checking them out also, I just found the Elemental a bit more different all in all.
Cheers
Cool! Sooner is better!
Yep, totally different beasts, but all wonderful. It truly is a painful decision for me to choose which ones to take to a gig now, haha! I always bring two basses in a Gator double gig bag. The light blue Aerodyne is in there almost all the time as either primary or the ultimate backup, and then it's a tie between the Elemental, a custom Relentless-loaded Jazz build, and the Fender Jino signature for the next-most-played basses. Various P basses, Stingray, and an MTD Kinston Super 5 sneak their way into the bag from time to time, but the Japanese Fenders are what hits the stage probably 85% of the time, haha!
