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Fender Jazz 5 String Discussion

meatwad

meatwad

Apr 9, 2008
2,734
1,033
Smallville, USA
#1
Hello all! I am in the market for a Fender Jazz V, and I see lots of options are available these days. My greatest concern, over all other factors, would be this -

Which ones, out of the box, do not suffer from a weak B-string? I've played a few lower end Jazz-type basses that sounded great until you moved to the B-string, then things immediately went "hollow".

I'm needing a fiver in my arsenal, and have had Jazz fever for a while now. The only thing I want to change/modify is putting on a set of Chromes, and tweaking it's setup.

I did a search to no avail, but if this has been discussed already, I will gladly follow any links you could provide. Any advice is also much appreciated.

Thanks!
Wade
 
#5
I do believe the bridge has something to do with this as well. Every Fender 5 i've played that was strung thru-body (as opposed to thru-bridge) had a much more prominent sounding B (to me at least). One exception is the newer "badass" style Fender bridge, such as on the new Modern Player Jazz V Satin. I rock that down to B flat and it still rings true and fat. YMMV of course!
 
#8
meatwad said:
Well, I just purchased this -

in sunburst.

:hyper:

Seems like it would be hard to go wrong with this one. We shall see how this works out.
Click to expand...

Super nice bass! Since you asked about Fender B strings, you didn't get the word that Fenders pre-2008 tend to have meh B strings and those post tend to have that problem fixed. Mine (2002) took some effort to get a decent B out of it. But luckily you steered clear of the problem area with a nice new one.

I LOVE The look of your new bass and I'd be VERY surprised if it didn't play/sound as good as it looks!

Nice choice!
 
#9
bassbenj said:
Super nice bass! Since you asked about Fender B strings, you didn't get the word that Fenders pre-2008 tend to have meh B strings and those post tend to have that problem fixed. Mine (2002) took some effort to get a decent B out of it. But luckily you steered clear of the problem area with a nice new one.

I LOVE The look of your new bass and I'd be VERY surprised if it didn't play/sound as good as it looks!

Nice choice!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I love it's 70's look with modern appointments. Sort of how my SB/RW 2011 AmStd Precision has a 60's look, IMO.. I have GASsed over one of these for ages, and now the next few days will feel like an eternity waiting for it to arrive. But when it does, there will definitely be a NBD thread in the near future.
 
#10
meatwad said:
Hello all! I am in the market for a Fender Jazz V, and I see lots of options are available these days. My greatest concern, over all other factors, would be this -

Which ones, out of the box, do not suffer from a weak B-string? I've played a few lower end Jazz-type basses that sounded great until you moved to the B-string, then things immediately went "hollow".

I'm needing a fiver in my arsenal, and have had Jazz fever for a while now. The only thing I want to change/modify is putting on a set of Chromes, and tweaking it's setup.

I did a search to no avail, but if this has been discussed already, I will gladly follow any links you could provide. Any advice is also much appreciated.

Thanks!
Wade
Click to expand...

I've owned a couple & played a few others.

The Active Deluxe Jazz has a great B string, as does the Vintage Modified Jazz Bass V. The MIA Jazz V is good, too. They're not super tight, but they're not Ibanez SR floppy.

Chromes are iffy. You REALLY need to make sure the B string doesn't become twisted as you're installing it. It becomes a dead "thunk" sound if it does. :( Roundwounds work well, though. Not to mention that the bridges don't like to go above a .130 and most Chromes are a .132 for the B. The B saddle also ends up REALLY close to the bridge tail, so the break angle is almost too much for the thickness of the string to get a proper seat on the saddle. If you can, use a tapered B string for flatwounds.
 
#12
You can get any 34" scale to have a good B string,as long as it gets a proper setup with the right strings to suit your playing style.I had been using a .135 B up until a couple of years ago,and stepped down to a .130 in the same brand. Recently tried GHS Pressurewounds that have a .128 B. No problems at all.
 
#13
The bass you ordered is the same as the one I bought two years ago. You should not have any issues with the B string. I have found anything over a .130 B is hard to string through the body, it's a really tight fit. I have been stringing mine through the bridge and it works just fine. The B string on my American deluxe jazz sounds about the same as on my Peavey Cirrus with a 35 inch scale. They are both good to my ears.

By the way, I was using DR low riders for a while, then switched over to Chromes. I loved the flat wounds for a while, but finally switched back to round wounds last week. The .132 B string on the Chromes would not fit through the body and I had to string through the bridge.

I wish you well with your new purchase. I am still diggin' mine!
 
#14
I also have an American Deluxe V and after much experimenting finally found that Sadowsky Black Label flats really give me the sound I want. Great B having the 60's thump while retaining good articulation along with some high end.
 

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