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Thoughts on Fender Modern Player Satin Jazz

#22
Picked up the bass today & plugged it in at the store to see how it sounded. Everything's working, but I'm going to have to tinker with it at my jam tonight to really get the effect. IMO, it needs heavier strings. They're quite slim. The setup out of the box was spot on, but that will change when I step up to DR Lo-Riders. :P

I was pleasantly surprised to see that it has a 1 piece neck, though. :)

I'll have proper pics and a review by the weekend.
 
#24
awilkie84 said:
Picked up the bass today & plugged it in at the store to see how it sounded. Everything's working, but I'm going to have to tinker with it at my jam tonight to really get the effect. IMO, it needs heavier strings. They're quite slim. The setup out of the box was spot on, but that will change when I step up to DR Lo-Riders. :P

I was pleasantly surprised to see that it has a 1 piece neck, though. :)

I'll have proper pics and a review by the weekend.
Click to expand...

Yup I love that neck
 
#25
Hello guys,

Thanks for all this information. I'm interested in the MP Jazz Bass 4 strings too but I'm worried about the weight because I saw that's the main point raised about the five strings version?

Have you got anything about the weight of the 4 string version?

Thanks :)
 
#27
I bought and returned the Fender Modern Player Satin Jazz 4. I may have gotten a lemon, but the noise issues on it were beyond reasonable. Regardless of pickup blend and coil mode, the noise and hum were out of hand. It was WAY noisier than my MIM fretless jazz. I switched amps, rooms, cables, etc. and couldn't tame it. The tech at GC couldn't figure it out either. So I returned it.

I hope my experience was unique, because I really liked everything else about the bass! It had a very powerful tone. Good luck!!
 
#28
Low Key said:
I bought and returned the Fender Modern Player Satin Jazz 4. I may have gotten a lemon, but the noise issues on it were beyond reasonable. Regardless of pickup blend and coil mode, the noise and hum were out of hand. It was WAY noisier than my MIM fretless jazz. I switched amps, rooms, cables, etc. and couldn't tame it. The tech at GC couldn't figure it out either. So I returned it.

I hope my experience was unique, because I really liked everything else about the bass! It had a very powerful tone. Good luck!!
Click to expand...

Definitely an issue with it, I had to play with hi-gain with singlecoils solo'd to hear any hum at all. In all practical situations, it was the quitest Jazz I'd owned.

If I wasn't going through a Precision phase I'd still have one, lovely instrument for the price, quite weighty though. The quality of finish, fret ends, even set up out the box were all top notch.

If they made an MP P-bass in that black satin/maple combo, I'd snap it up instantly.
 
#29
Thanks so much for your answers !

I need to buy a new bass for my next gigs and I was hesitant between the black satin and a Mexican one (US is definitly too expensive for my intermediate level in bass).

How is the Satin finition? Is it not too fragile compared to a normal finish?
 
#30
Falgo said:
Thanks so much for your answers !

I need to buy a new bass for my next gigs and I was hesitant between the black satin and a Mexican one (US is definitly too expensive for my intermediate level in bass).

How is the Satin finition? Is it not too fragile compared to a normal finish?
Click to expand...

I definitely fond it easier to 'ding' (metal buckle on my strap marked it a couple of times); but I found it more comfortable, which was worth the damage potential. It kind of glossed up where my forearm would rub while playing, which happened very quickly.
 
#31
Falgo said:
Thanks so much for your answers !

I need to buy a new bass for my next gigs and I was hesitant between the black satin and a Mexican one (US is definitly too expensive for my intermediate level in bass).

How is the Satin finition? Is it not too fragile compared to a normal finish?
Click to expand...

The satin vs gloss thing is really no different. It's the same thickness, just with a matte clear coat instead of gloss.

I picked mine over a MIM, too. As much as I'd love an LPB Jazz with maple neck, the cost difference isn't enough to pass this beauty over! Also the 1 piece maple neck is a total selling point!
 
#35
awilkie84 said:
The satin vs gloss thing is really no different. It's the same thickness, just with a matte clear coat instead of gloss.

I picked mine over a MIM, too. As much as I'd love an LPB Jazz with maple neck, the cost difference isn't enough to pass this beauty over! Also the 1 piece maple neck is a total selling point!
Click to expand...

Thanks for your feedback on this :) I can see that the Satin finish is not a problem and I'm not confident with it :smug:

Regarding the weight, am I wrong to say that it's quite similar than a standard JB? I'm personally not very comfortable with US metrics but we are talking about 100 or 200g of difference? Is this making a difference during gigs? :help:
 
#36
I just snagged the old version 4 string from someone here and love it. I thought I was going to trade it but i like the tone better than my 90s USA jazz bass. Played with a wedding band last week that had full horn section and this baby sat perfectly in the mix. I'd live to be able to split the buckers but they are very versatile.
 
#39
awilkie84 said:
So, I've narrowed down my pick of a NEW (don't start on about "buy used", I want a warranty & financing) bass to a Jazz. Despite being a Precision guy for years, I want a jazz for variety.
I'm looking at the Modern Player Jazz Satin & would like to know what everyone thinks about it. The Satin black with maple neck would be my choice.

I'm also curious as to whether it's possible to wire it to get all 9 pick-up combinations, given that each pick-up has 3 options on its own.
Click to expand...
awilkie84 said:
So, I've narrowed down my pick of a NEW (don't start on about "buy used", I want a warranty & financing) bass to a Jazz. Despite being a Precision guy for years, I want a jazz for variety.
I'm looking at the Modern Player Jazz Satin & would like to know what everyone thinks about it. The Satin black with maple neck would be my choice.

I'm also curious as to whether it's possible to wire it to get all 9 pick-up combinations, given that each pick-up has 3 options on its own.
Click to expand...


That's what I did….

Body-Closeup.jpg


Vol. Balance… 2 three way coil select and Tone. It's my studio Bass and can do vintage to modern with some huge grunt on the series coil end (very G&L) with both pickups together.
 
#40
Could anyone please shed some light on the differences between the older and newer versions?

I have the 5 string satin in sunburst and pretty much only use humbuckers on full with tone halfway. I'd like a 4 string as a lighter backup so might get a gloss but I'm worried the tones wouldn't match since the controls look different. Do they both have the same core sound?

I might look at other bases with a similar tone. I like the powerful passive withoutility the "hifi"
 

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