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Which Fender Jazz or not at all?

Which would you buy if you had the money?

  • Fender American Jazz Ultra

  • Fender American Original 60's Jazz

  • Fender American Original 70's Jazz

  • Fender American Professional II Jazz

  • EBMM Stingray

  • Ibanez Premium SR 2400 W/Aguilar pups

  • Warwick Thumb

  • Spector Euro 4

  • Other

Results are only viewable after voting.
#44
TrevorG said:
You will find some basses in each range will be incredible. Many will be average. Some will be bad. I don't think it comes down to the model at all. It's down to you and which particular bass you get your hands on. I think all suggestions here are neither wrong or right. I think they're about who got lucky with what. I've played basses in the same range as mine that I would never buy but the one I have I will never sell. Go figure. Good luck.
Click to expand...
I love the classic Fender designs but getting my hands on some really good specimens has taken some doing (as in: buying, selling and part swapping).
The J that finally put my quest to rest is an Allparts neck [with a nice, thick rosewood slab], Warmoth body and Lollar pickups. Just had to keep throwing stuff at the wall until something stuck! ('76, ESP, Nash, MIJ...)
For me, the neck is key. Once you find one that plays and resonates well, hang on to that! Bodies of a suitable wood/weight/color/layout are comparatively easy to source, as are world-class pickups.
 
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#46
Bret Music said:
How is the feel of the neck? Says it has a Custom Thick "C" profile and a 9.5" fretboard radius. How much thicker than a normal jazz neck? I have a Squire P/J Bass and the neck is much thicker than what im used to.
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The neck feels perfect. I like a chunky neck and I didn't expect to like a jazz neck, but this one feels great. I have a 1974 Jazz Bass with basically the same neck. I was a P-Bass player and i like "C" necks.
 
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#47
Out of those listed, I'd pick a straight-up passive American Pro, but as others have said, the 2012-2016 American Standards with Custom Shop pickups are seriously great and worth considering.

Or, if you definitely want an old-school passive Jazz, a G&L USA JB might be better. Unlike the Fenders, they come with Plek fret-leveling from the factory, which does make a difference IME. If you order a G&L, you can choose from a huge range of finishes and select nut width, fretboard radius, fretboard wood, body wood, neck blocks and binding, matching painted headstock...it goes on and on. Yeah, it gets expensive with lots of options, but it's essentially a custom shop (not to be confused with the actual G&L Custom Shop) at much lower prices with slightly higher quality than regular US Fenders IMO. G&L's finishes, in particular, are better than Fender's.
 
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#48
I ended up selling it to the guy that plays bass in my surf band but only because I wanted this bass in my band.

C609F2F1-21A1-4001-8635-53F5EB6847E3.jpeg
 
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#49
Since it's still possible to try out all these lovely basses, the OP doesn't need to set too much store by the recommendations (and slamming!) within the thread, although it's always useful to get to know other options you may not have considered at first, such as the Geddy Lee Fender or Sadowsky.

Since any of the basses mentioned are all great quality, it's really about the prospect of long-term ownership and suitability of their character to the music you play. If you play rockabilly, will you get weary of the Warwick's "always-on" active sound? Will the initial elegance of the Jazz melt away, as you start cursing its elongated, offset body ever time you clatter it into some furniture? And what about the weight? I've always found Music Men to be heavy. Is that a factor?
 
#50
Jefenator said:
I love the classic Fender designs but getting my hands on some really good specimens has taken some doing (as in: buying, selling and part swapping).
The J that finally put my quest to rest is an Allparts neck [with a nice, thick rosewood slab], Warmoth body and Lollar pickups. Just had to keep throwing stuff at the wall until something stuck! ('76, ESP, Nash, MIJ...)
For me, the neck is key. Once you find one that plays and resonates well, hang on to that! Bodies of a suitable wood/weight/color/layout are comparatively easy to source, as are world-class pickups.
Click to expand...
Sounds like great advice. I just bought Fender's top of the line as I have no interest in anything but practicing getting better as a player. To be fair I've never had a better sounding bass and the neck is sublime. I envy your workshop skills. Very useful if you don't have as many fine music shops nearby as I do.
 
#51
TrevorG said:
You will find some basses in each range will be incredible. Many will be average. Some will be bad. I don't think it comes down to the model at all. It's down to you and which particular bass you get your hands on. I think all suggestions here are neither wrong or right. I think they're about who got lucky with what. I've played basses in the same range as mine that I would never buy but the one I have I will never sell. Go figure.
Click to expand...
0000_1.jpg


yeah, OP, it's not about makes and models, IME: it's about how it fits in your hands, hanging from your shoulder(s). good luck with your "$1000 bass" quest! :thumbsup:
 
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#52
Bret Music said:
I have never owned a bass that cost more than $1000 and i'm thinking its time at 51 years old to do something crazy and spend some money on a once in a life time bass.
1. Fender American Jazz Ultra
2. Fender American Original 60's Jazz
3. Fender American Original 70's Jazz
4. Fender American Professional II Jazz
5. EBMM Stingray
6. Ibanez Premium SR 2400 W/Aguilar pups
7. Warwick Thumb
8. Spector Euro 4
Looking for positive and negative reviews if anyone has had the pleasure to own any of these.
Click to expand...

I'm 54 an apparently cruising the same neighborhood. I recently moved away from a rather heavy (10.5 lbs.) parts Jazz with a rock-solid Warmoth neck. Decent player, but too much of a load to cart around all night.

If you're looking for a rather nice Jazz, the two labels that have wow'ed me as I've looked around are Sandberg and Bacchus. Sandberg might knock it out of the park for me just because the necks on their 4-string basses have a 39.5mm width at the nut (actually the zero fret) which is right between a traditionally narrow Jazz and a wider P-bass. Their "import" Electra models have a 37mm nut width - too narrow for me - but a typical P-bass neck is usually a little more spread out than I prefer.

If you look over a few examples of Sandberg's offerings, you'll probably see that these guys are among the truly serious builders out there. You can spend a LOT of money on one of their brandy new instruments, but their popularity seems to be taking off and affordable Sandy's in the used market seem to be popping up more and more.

Bacchus is a Japanese company that makes all sorts of funky premium J-style basses. They also have cheaper import lines (I think the Global Series and maybe also the Universal), but their instruments that are built in Japan are just smokin'. Again - more narrow necks on their 4-strings, which don't work for me, but so be it. Very glad that I've tried a couple of these.

Also forgot to mention Wilkins. One more Jazz that just might take possession of your soul if you can get your hands on one.

I've owned more than one or two Fenders in my day and none of them turned out to be keepers. Fender is fine - I'm just picky. Anything with a price tag of more than a couple hundred bucks has to give me perma-grin before I give it a home (unless it's from a shop that will let me return it). It's not easy these days, but do what you can to sample anything you have your eye on out there.

On that note... If you've never played a Warwick Thumb or a Spector, proceed with caution. I was seduced by a nice Warwick Corvette some years ago, but the layout of that bass was a recipe for serious neck dive. The Thumb bass does indeed sound awesome, but its stubby little upper horn can be even more troublesome for balancing on a strap. Play one on your shoulder to check this for yourself if you can manage it.
 
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#55
I’m a Pbass guy always have been always will be, Ive tried at least a dozen Jazz basses in the past and never warmed up to any of them, they were nice basses even a couple of D Lakins, I found this bass on GC used gear, it’s a Fender Roadworn 60s Jazz bass and let me tell you it’s a great bass and the only Jazz I have that I alternate with 3 Pbasses, I warmed up to it instantly. I know this bass isn’t on your list and if you can get by the Roadworn look I highly recommend it!
E4A7621C-DC05-4425-846C-C47096603E1B.jpeg
 
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#57
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#58
satjhmo said:
Since it's still possible to try out all these lovely basses, the OP doesn't need to set too much store by the recommendations (and slamming!) within the thread, although it's always useful to get to know other options you may not have considered at first, such as the Geddy Lee Fender or Sadowsky.

Since any of the basses mentioned are all great quality, it's really about the prospect of long-term ownership and suitability of their character to the music you play. If you play rockabilly, will you get weary of the Warwick's "always-on" active sound? Will the initial elegance of the Jazz melt away, as you start cursing its elongated, offset body ever time you clatter it into some furniture? And what about the weight? I've always found Music Men to be heavy. Is that a factor?
Click to expand...
Weight is not a factor, but i am used to a light body bass. My Yamaha has active/passive switch, which is in passive 90%. So active all time, probably not what i want. I played around about an hour on squire p/j bass last night. It has a precision neck on it. Pretty junkie neck, was trying to decide on how much bigger neck i would be ok with. Currently have Yamaha trbx 504 and previously owned Ibanez SR400,SR800,SR500 and a SR750. So small necks, and i am open for a change. I play about any song that has a good groove. I have lets say Queensryche, Tool type sounds down. I am looking for the sound from Ronnie Milsap's Stranger in my house bass tone. I believe Warren Gowers was the bassist and all videos that show him, he is playing a fender jazz 5er that looks like a Jaco type fender. I can play the song pretty descent on 4 string, but I want that extra growl he has.
 
#60
Someone mentioned Sandberg and I second that you check them out. I have a TM4 (Jazz with bridge hum bucker) and it's just phenomenal. I don't think I'll ever need anything else other than maybe another Sandberg with a P-bass setup (VM4).
 
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