Fender US Geddy Lee

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

From your experience, does the US Geddy Lee Jazz capture that authentic 70’s Jazz bass tone that was standard for the era?
Does is bring something different , something more , or something less to the table ?

I have always loved the look of a late 60’s - 70’s Fender Jazz Bass. But everyone of the reissues that I owned just didn’t do it for me. They were always ash natural bodies with white blocks. Some had period correct pickup placement , some didn’t . I had a Sire V7 Vintage with correct spacing black blocks and alder body. That bass made me realize that 7.5 radius and U shape was not for me. Just ever felt right in my hands and their again the sound wasn’t quite right .

My Geddy Lee seems to checking all the boxes for me. Neck radius and neck shape feels great on my hands . But I’m trying to pinpoint why this particular bass is working for me in the tone department .
Is it the hot pickups? Is it the high mass bridge? I seem to get more out of tone knob on this bass than previous models.

What is making the difference ? Are these custom shop pickups voiced differently than 70’s Jazz bass pickups ?

 

[garp]

Paging @Dr. Cheese...Dr. Cheese, please pick up the BadA$$ courtesy phone. Thank you.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I think the alder body makes the Geddy a bit warmer than a traditional Seventies ash body Jazz Bass. I know my SB5000 sounds much like a scooped Marcus Miller or Sekou Bunche sort of tone than the Geddy. The Geddy has a much stronger midrange.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I agree that the alder body is making some difference.
Do you find the pickups to be voiced differently as well?

It can be bright and it can be warm This bass sounds great under the thumb and the fingers . This seems to be what stands out to me from my other 70’s style jazz basses.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I agree that the alder body is making some difference.
Do you find the pickups to be voiced differently as well?

It can be bright and it can be warm This bass sounds great under the thumb and the fingers . This seems to be what stands out to me from my other 70’s style jazz basses.

I think my Geddy does warm better than bright, at least compared to the Carvin. That said, my E string sounds dead, and that kills the slap tone. I do think my Geddy is one of the best sounding passive basses I have ever played. My Skyline DJ5 was probably as good. It did not have the Seventies mojo, but then it also had a great B string. Either bass sounded it great live with no tweaking. I think either one would be great in the studio with very little tweaking.

 

[Slater]

…Just for future reference, and in case anyone is curious, here’s the DCR for my US Geddy Lee stock pickups:

Neck - 7.33k ohms

Bridge - 8.30k ohms

I think the hot bridge pickup has quite a bit of impact.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

This is as bright Geddy gets with that dead E string. I guess it is pretty bright after all.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

This is as bright Geddy gets with that dead E string. I guess is pretty bright after all.

Oh yes !! Nice and bright and funky!! Nice playing Doc. That’s the magic in the Geddy. It does bright and warm. That’s what I was talking about . Very versatile jazz bass. It just seems to me that it does it all well.

 

[Double Agent]

This is my experience too. I’ve had several Js over the years (all Fenders) and I’ve liked them all. The two best ones were an American Std Jazz V from 2008 and a CIJ Geddy from the first year (want to say 97). The 5er was very warm and versatile, but sometimes lacked character. The CIJ Geddy had too much character, it was difficult to tame that beast.

I just got my US Geddy this week, but so far I’ve noticed that it seems to have the best attributes of the other two Jazz basses I loved in a single instrument. While I am admittedly in the honeymoon phase, I can’t see where I would find fault with anything. Notes high on the neck are full and sweet, but it has plenty of bark in the lower notes. The neck I feels great and balances nicely on a strap. I think it’s the best execution of a 70s style Jazz that Fender has ever put out. I haven’t been this happy with a new bass in quite some time and I expect to be playing this one for a long time to come.

 

[Kukulkan61]

It's a Fender...

 

[REV]

IMHO the Geddy Lee Jazz bass is the best Jazz bass Fender has ever made, both MIJ and MIA. To me the MIJ has a little more growl but the MIA seems to be more solidly built. The neck is a little thicker on the MIA. For the life of me I cannot say why the Geddy Jazz is better than other Fender Jazz basses but I certainly like it better. As the OP has stated there seems to be a little more of everything. A little more top and a little more bottom.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

This is my experience too. I’ve had several Js over the years (all Fenders) and I’ve liked them all. The two best ones were an American Std Jazz V from 2008 and a CIJ Geddy from the first year (want to say 97). The 5er was very warm and versatile, but sometimes lacked character. The CIJ Geddy had too much character, it was difficult to tame that beast.

I just got my US Geddy this week, but so far I’ve noticed that it seems to have the best attributes of the other two Jazz basses I loved in a single instrument. While I am admittedly in the honeymoon phase, I can’t see where I would find fault with anything. Notes high on the neck are full and sweet, but it has plenty of bark in the lower notes. The neck I feels great and balances nicely on a strap. I think it’s the best execution of a 70s style Jazz that Fender has ever put out. I haven’t been this happy with a new bass in quite some time and I expect to be playing this one for a long time to come.

Over the years, I have generally had good luck with Fenders, but my American Geddy Lee is certainly the best I have ever owned. I am afraid to say it out loud, but could Fender make a five string version of this bass? I doubt if it would ever happen because Geddy Lee is not a five string guy, and I think authenticity means something to him, and his image. Since that is the case, maybe Fender could a Fender Professional Jazz V Seventies style bass that just happened to be very much like an American Geddy Lee Jazz?

 

[packhowitzer]

I have a CIJ Geddy Lee from one of the last years before it moved to being MIM - a 2007 maybe? The neck is incredibly thin. I swapped out the original tone pot for a stellartone tonestyler (the old style with 16 settings [but mine has no detentes]). I also recently changed the pickups to DiMarzio Model Js and I must say, it is a high-output beast. It still doesn't sit in the mix quite as well as a p bass, but, given a little sonic space - it will tear your guts out.

 

[Chrisk-K]

You will never be able to pinpoint why a certain bass works for you. So, stop analyzing and stop asking. Just play the darn thing!

 

[Smooth_bass88]

This is my experience too. I’ve had several Js over the years (all Fenders) and I’ve liked them all. The two best ones were an American Std Jazz V from 2008 and a CIJ Geddy from the first year (want to say 97). The 5er was very warm and versatile, but sometimes lacked character. The CIJ Geddy had too much character, it was difficult to tame that beast.

I just got my US Geddy this week, but so far I’ve noticed that it seems to have the best attributes of the other two Jazz basses I loved in a single instrument. While I am admittedly in the honeymoon phase, I can’t see where I would find fault with anything. Notes high on the neck are full and sweet, but it has plenty of bark in the lower notes. The neck I feels great and balances nicely on a strap. I think it’s the best execution of a 70s style Jazz that Fender has ever put out. I haven’t been this happy with a new bass in quite some time and I expect to be playing this one for a long time to come.

Do you know what pickups the US Geddy comes with from the factory?

 

[Gefilter1001]

IMHO the Geddy Lee Jazz bass is the best Jazz bass Fender has ever made, both MIJ and MIA. To me the MIJ has a little more growl but the MIA seems to be more solidly built. The neck is a little thicker on the MIA. For the life of me I cannot say why the Geddy Jazz is better than other Fender Jazz basses but I certainly like it better. As the OP has stated there seems to be a little more of everything. A little more top and a little more bottom.

I concur...although for me, I give the edge to the MIJ/CIJ versions.

 

[ELG60]

I am also a fan of the CIJ/MIJ Jazz basses of which I have two. They're not Geddy Lee models, but rather JB75-94US models equipped with the US-made pickups from the factory.

The necks are identical to my '69 and they definitely have higher output than most of my other JB's. The 2005 has 60's pup spacing and the 2010 has the more correct 70's spacing.

With rounds on the former and flats on the latter, I do think that they can capture the early and mid 70's tones when necessary.

Keep in mind that my understanding, based (sic) upon their own website, is that Fender didn't move the bridge pup position until some time in '72 and iirc, Geddy Lee's bass is a '72 so it could have the later spacing.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[murphy]

This is as bright Geddy gets with that dead E string. I guess it is pretty bright after all.

Good quick slap demo Herr Doktorrr...Lovely tone...Mmmmm I want one now

 

[Bleecker]

Now I want one...thanks a lot!

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

It's a Fender...

It’s a darn good one !! They seem to be very consistent . And that says a lot about this certain Fender offering.

Fenders are a dime a dozen but when you get a good one ..... wow!!