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Fender Jazz Bass Gold Foil
- Thread starter iamone101
- Start date
Anyone who wants to buy one can go ahead and buy one, I'm just saying it stopped me from buying one.
Yes it is obvioulsy a heel adjustment, I can clearly see that by looking at any of the stock photos.
My point is that it uses this vintage style of truss rod as opposed to a standard allen wrench on pretty much any other bass guitar.
Depending on how inset it is, it can sometimes require removing the neck altogether for a simple truss rod adjustment, it most defintely will need the pickguard removed each time and a special tool or the right sized philips screw driver.
I prefer the standard/modern accessible truss rod is all i'm saying.
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Exactly.
That's one reason I won't buy a Vintera or any other bass that isn't user friendly...especially since better basses are available that are.
There might be an argument for Gibson and the often maligned three-point bridge, but there really isn't any feasible argument for this truss-rod design.
I was excited when I first saw this new Jazz bass, even more so than when Fender introduced the Meteora, despite their poor finish options.
Hats off to Fender for trying.
Too bad they didn't try hard enough.
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You can install a pickguard with a notch and just jam a flathead in there without removing the neck.
I do find the wheel mechanism at the end of the fretboard a much nicer truss rod adjustment implementation though. Most of my guitars have them. I'm surprised they aren't more common on basses.
I do find the wheel mechanism at the end of the fretboard a much nicer truss rod adjustment implementation though. Most of my guitars have them. I'm surprised they aren't more common on basses.
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No not necessarily. This pickguard has a notch and you still can't access it properly.
Also good luck finding an official or even a decent quality third party Jazz bass pickguard that's routed properly for a gold foil pickup.
You're using the wrong screwdriver. use a "cabinet" type, it has slimmer sides and works perfectly.
Got mine today. Fit and finish are good. No high frets and nicely polished. Neck pocket is perfect, though thats not a deal breaker for me when its funky if the bass sounds and plays well.
Mine is heavier than I normally like to play at 8.75 lbs, but completely manageable. The neck is very chunky for a Jazz Bass, in my opinion thats a miss. They should have went with a more modern profile. It sounds good, on the darker side - I have some TI's laying around and we shall see how that goes.
Output is on the lower side which is weird given that the tone is dark-ish.
No meaningful gigs for a few weeks but looking forward to the road test.
Mine is heavier than I normally like to play at 8.75 lbs, but completely manageable. The neck is very chunky for a Jazz Bass, in my opinion thats a miss. They should have went with a more modern profile. It sounds good, on the darker side - I have some TI's laying around and we shall see how that goes.
Output is on the lower side which is weird given that the tone is dark-ish.
No meaningful gigs for a few weeks but looking forward to the road test.
I got one of these today. Here are some thoughts:
The fit and finish is good but not perfect, with a couple tiny black marks in the white binding and black stains on the back of the nut. The neck pocket looks fine, the action is good, the fretwork is good, etc. It looks stunning in person and I have no complaints there.
I love the sleek feel of Jazz basses but I do not like the sound. I am much more of a P-bass guy. This bass is great for someone like me as it has the easy-playing neck of a Jazz but is much closer to a P in sound. Comparing this to my Nate Mendel P bass with a Quarter Pounder, the Gold Foil has much less of a mid forward sound and much lower output. I would say it's a pretty balanced pickup, frequency-wise--less treble and zing than I was expecting, although it's there. At first I wasn't super happy with the sound plugged in, but after juicing the mids and treble a bit on my amp I am loving it.
One thing to keep in mind is the pickup is a true single coil, with all the noise that entails. The pickup is also very sensitive to mechanical vibration. Hitting it with a pick, or even a finger, can be heard through the amp.
I love the neck. It has a really nice satin finish and a warm amber tint. It's also very comfy for my small hands.
The fit and finish is good but not perfect, with a couple tiny black marks in the white binding and black stains on the back of the nut. The neck pocket looks fine, the action is good, the fretwork is good, etc. It looks stunning in person and I have no complaints there.
I love the sleek feel of Jazz basses but I do not like the sound. I am much more of a P-bass guy. This bass is great for someone like me as it has the easy-playing neck of a Jazz but is much closer to a P in sound. Comparing this to my Nate Mendel P bass with a Quarter Pounder, the Gold Foil has much less of a mid forward sound and much lower output. I would say it's a pretty balanced pickup, frequency-wise--less treble and zing than I was expecting, although it's there. At first I wasn't super happy with the sound plugged in, but after juicing the mids and treble a bit on my amp I am loving it.
One thing to keep in mind is the pickup is a true single coil, with all the noise that entails. The pickup is also very sensitive to mechanical vibration. Hitting it with a pick, or even a finger, can be heard through the amp.
I love the neck. It has a really nice satin finish and a warm amber tint. It's also very comfy for my small hands.
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That’s just the protective film.
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This has been discussed before elsewhere, but one does not need any special tool. There are old Fender instructions on how to do this from back then. No notch is needed-there is zero reason to remove the pickguard. It is a super "simple" process for me if I just use a capo on the first fret, the only inconvenience being loosening up the neck screws. But there is an old way in which this even isn't necessary, but have not done it myself this "proper" way. Removing the neck up to a certain point is good enough by me, while allowing me to use a regular, large screwdriver.
Once you get past this initial fear of the unknown, it is even easier than soldering pickups, which many of you are experts at, but does require more work and care.
I think the Vintera basses are great enough to lure any of you into learning to deal with these vintage styled necks. Of course it is more convenient any other way. But it's not a problem or challenging to do. If I can do it, so can any or you. No need to get a repair man/woman for this.
Back in the day we simply relieved the pick guard if required with a rats tail file and used a long shafted screw driver. A period correct mod. Nobody would tolerate having to unscrew the neck.
Also if you are setting the relief with a feeler gauge the neck would be on and off more times than a tarts knickers.
Form follows function!
not only did lowend lobster make it clear that there was no quality control on this whatsoever,.. also, if you look at the width of that gold foil,… Even if the bridge was aligned properly, the E-G BARELY has any clearance on the outer edges.. where we will get away with it on the G string, but on the E for finger players, we pluck Towards us, pulling the string away from the pick up, which is already at the edge, thus there is going to be volume problems on the E, no matter what.. that pick up design should’ve been made WIDER for the bass guitar to accommodate sonic clearance of all strings.. Heck, I can’t even use that pickup in another bass if I wanted to. And they’re charging $1300 for that piece of sh… steer clear of that bass.
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I wonder if they went with an off the shelf part from a pickup maker. Seems silly to not have a bespoke pickup made for this model.
Silly, but not surprising, given the QC issues...
