Fender Rarities Flame Ash Top Jazz

[JFLbass]

@Gothic It's just flame ash! To keep a classic tone! No fancy unique top wood!

 

[Gothic]

@Gothic It's just flame ash! To keep a classic tone! No fancy unique top wood!

Yeah, I know, it's just how it strikes me. If it's anything other than the usual alder or ash grain, I just can't get used to it. It's not that it's ugly, it just seems strange to me. Don't know why.

 

[Pet Sounds]

It seems that many players don't care for fancy tops on Fenders, hence the brief existence of the American Select model.

 

[mihayloff]

I just played one of these in a shop. Very nice. The neck was great if you like a girthier Jazz neck, and I liked the binding with dots. It comes with the chrome pickup and bridge covers, uninstalled with no holes drilled. It had reverse tuners.
The sound was very wide-ranging, and the tone knob had a greater sweep than is often the case.
The Plasma Burst finish was much redder than the pictures and video on this thread. There was some fairly subtle flame on the top.
It was very noisy. The hum was very pronounced, especially with the tone knob turned up.
The weight seemed very reasonable and the bass felt balanced, though I didn't play it standing with a strap.
Overall, it struck me as a somewhat more upscale (in terms of aesthetics) version of the American Original.

I saw your comment about the "girthier" jazz neck and I agree and am somewhat surprised by it. I just received mine the day before Thanksgiving and it's a wonderful bass but a little disappointed by the neck feel and profile. Every description of the neck I've read states it's a slim '64 C profile neck. I've played the AVR '64 Jazz that was out a few years back and that was what I considered a comfortable slim C neck and expected this to be more like that. This one reminds me more of the American Original '70s neck although that one is a U shape.

 

[JFLbass]

@mihayloff I own an authentic Fender Jazz Bass 1965. And, I assure you, the neck is not slim like all the re-issue I have tried! The neck was thicker back then! I hope Fender made a real 64-65! Just like it should. I Will go try one next week, and perhaps grab one if the feel is there!

 

[FunkHead]

Anybody tried it in store ???

I think this is a good demo. A little pick and slap at the end but mostly finger-style.

It seems that many players don't care for fancy tops on Fenders, hence the brief existence of the American Select model.

Yes but this one is more subtle(Edit: Referring to the video). I like it better than the American Select anyway.

 

[mihayloff]

@mihayloff I own an authentic Fender Jazz Bass 1965. And, I assure you, the neck is not slim like all the re-issue I have tried! The neck was thicker back then! I hope Fender made a real 64-65! Just like it should. I Will go try one next week, and perhaps grab one if the feel is there!

Maybe this Rarities is closer to an authentic neck. They've obviously slimmed down the AVRIs such as the '64, but they probably shouldn't advertise this one as a slim profile neck. I like that this neck has a gloss back though as I prefer it to satin. A little aesthetic nitpicking is the headstock logo was placed on top of the gloss finish rather than underneath. That was unnecessary unless this was meant to be a true-to-form vintage '60s model from top to bottom which it is not. Let me know what you think after you try it next week.

 

[kengleason]

Maybe this Rarities is closer to an authentic neck. They've obviously slimmed down the AVRIs such as the '64, but they probably shouldn't advertise this one as a slim profile neck. I like that this neck has a gloss back though as I prefer it to satin. A little aesthetic nitpicking is the headstock logo was placed on top of the gloss finish rather than underneath. That was unnecessary unless this was meant to be a true-to-form vintage '60s model from top to bottom which it is not. Let me know what you think after you try it next week.

I'm eager to hear as well- I think this is gorgeous but no place local has one to try. Sweetwater's return policy might be great, but it's a PITA to repack and send back (yes, I'm lazy ). [btw I've been a member for a while but finally de-lurking. Hi!]

 

[mihayloff]

I returned my Fender Rarities Jazz and bought a new top-of-the-line Yamaha BBP34 (made in Japan) from another retailer for $1,150 less than the Fender, which illustrates just how overpriced Fenders can be. The Yamaha is one of the best basses I've ever owned.

 

[BigBigGuy44]

Bump to see if anyone else has any experiences with these.

 

[A32167]

I went to the local store to get a Jazz bass (this is my second bass after many years playing a cheap-ish ergodyne Ibanez), and I compared some of the basses in store.
The review by @Pet Sounds is accurate.

I just played one of these in a shop. Very nice. The neck was great if you like a girthier Jazz neck, and I liked the binding with dots. It comes with the chrome pickup and bridge covers, uninstalled with no holes drilled. It had reverse tuners.
The sound was very wide-ranging, and the tone knob had a greater sweep than is often the case.
The Plasma Burst finish was much redder than the pictures and video on this thread. There was some fairly subtle flame on the top.
It was very noisy. The hum was very pronounced, especially with the tone knob turned up.
The weight seemed very reasonable and the bass felt balanced, though I didn't play it standing with a strap.
Overall, it struck me as a somewhat more upscale (in terms of aesthetics) version of the American Original.

I initially eyed the American Performer. But when comparing the two you hear both punch about the same with lows, but the clarity in mids is much nicer in the rarities version. Plugging it into DI and recording didn't show that much noise (I believe passive pickups and impedance match is the reason), but indeed - given the really extended range of tone knob at the very highs you will hear more hum. Given the store gave a discount and the bass was 1850 compared to 1500 for the American Performer I ended up taking it.