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NBD! Fender Aerodyne Jazz

#23
JakobT said:
My latest purchase arrived today - a Fender Aerodyne Jazz.

It’s a thing of beauty, and light as a feather. I’ve never been particularily concerned with weight before, but it does make a noticable difference, to the point where I actually notice a slight tendency to neck dive. Since I use 4" suede-backed straps, I wouldn’t really call it a problem. Fit and finish is superb, and the bass was well set up from the factory - I only had to tune it, and I was up and running.

I’ve gathered that some don’t like the pickups, but they sounded pretty good to me, so I’m not going to change them anytime soon. The only thing that puzzled me a bit was the fretboard, which is listed in the specs as stained rosewood, but which looks like plain old unstained rosewood to me. No biggie, as I’ve heard that the stain fades over time, and the unstained rosewood does look very nice. I’d been a bit concerned over the lack of fretmarkers, but it turns out to be a non-issue.

All in all, very pleased so far. :hyper::bassist:

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Nice black bass, man. :) I have often contemplated grabbing one.
 
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#27
Eric Huber said:
Love mine. Exact copy of yours. I did replace the pickups with EMG Geezer P/J setup. This set is one of the best kits I have ever seen. All connectors without soldering. Made a giant leap forward in tone. Congrats I love mine.
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Interested in your thoughts about the “giant leap” change in tone.

My own impression is that the P was kind of break even. Geezer seems a bit darker and old-school sounding to me, but not night and day. I never recorded it to try to A-B it or anything, so I’m just working off memory.

The J, on the other hand, is much more present, growlier, AND significantly quieter. That’s certainly in “giant leap” territory. :thumbsup:
 
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#31
JakobT said:
My latest purchase arrived today - a Fender Aerodyne Jazz.

It’s a thing of beauty, and light as a feather. I’ve never been particularily concerned with weight before, but it does make a noticable difference, to the point where I actually notice a slight tendency to neck dive. Since I use 4" suede-backed straps, I wouldn’t really call it a problem. Fit and finish is superb, and the bass was well set up from the factory - I only had to tune it, and I was up and running.

I’ve gathered that some don’t like the pickups, but they sounded pretty good to me, so I’m not going to change them anytime soon. The only thing that puzzled me a bit was the fretboard, which is listed in the specs as stained rosewood, but which looks like plain old unstained rosewood to me. No biggie, as I’ve heard that the stain fades over time, and the unstained rosewood does look very nice. I’d been a bit concerned over the lack of fretmarkers, but it turns out to be a non-issue.

All in all, very pleased so far. :hyper::bassist:

View attachment 4396608
Click to expand...
Always loved the look. No one would need to twist my arm to get a good one used. Yours looks fantastic
 
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#35
Congrats! I wanted one ever since I saw a BL friend (and local competition band) play one. That was at least 10 years ago. I finally built one from parts that I finished this year. EMG PAX active electronics, Gotoh high mass bridge, Warmoth Ebony fretless Jazz neck. It took me a bit to warm up to it but it has become my #1 for the last few months. I am loving it more and more each time I play it (it had to beat out my highly coveted Jazz basses and a not so highly coveted PJ). I'm sure you will enjoy it.
20210721_125726.jpg
 
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#38
Congrats. I bought one just like it a couple of years ago and I love it. I also thought I might upgrade the pickups, but decided to play it for a few months first, and haven't felt the need (yet). And the neck is superb - very fast, and "accurate" (if that's a thing).

I have a fretless in my near future, but if I was only allowed to own one bass for the rest of my life, I'd be happy if it was the Aerodyne.
 
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#39
The nicest of all.Jazz basses, IMO. The only caveat being a relative fragility of the finish, but that applies to any basswood body bass. Baby it a little if you want to keep that piano-black finish intact. Its worth the tradeoff for that light weight. I actually like the Japanese version with a pickguard, but they are rare as hens teeth. The binding doesnt bother me at all because it follows the forearm contour. My nephew owns one, and i covet it!
 
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