goblin Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) It's taken me a while to get around to posting this as I've been mad busy with gigs. But, I've taken on a new big gig which will have me playing even more than I currently am (bearing in mind I play solely for my living), and the size of the Infinity was going to get in the way with first fret being a trek away. So after much deliberation, research, trying basses on extended test drives. I finally settled on the new Fender American Elite. Two provisos, it had to be a 5 stringer, and it had to be in Tobacco Sunburst... which is turns out is an absolute nightmare to get hold of at the minute! So after a day of phone calls and several days of internet searches, my local Fender rep did some digging and found out where the last one was ordered to, and put me in touch. So, a 270 mile round trip, a tyre blow out thanks to a pot hole and a large amount of money, here she is! I'll let the pics do the talking for now. [url="http://s88.photobucket.com/user/goblin92/media/Basses/24CE5A48-1192-4BBF-8E0D-8BA48C97235C_zpsawx5mc0c.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s88.photobucket.com/user/goblin92/media/Basses/0A55F355-E239-4443-8741-488E0D9CCBAF_zpst54ni7zu.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s88.photobucket.com/user/goblin92/media/Basses/F5C4BCC9-96CB-425C-9EF5-8AF0F1A0A17E_zpsaham7yms.jpg.html"][/url] [URL=http://s88.photobucket.com/user/goblin92/media/Basses/2985A317-4A32-413B-B827-B18F95A16892_zpsa1bumgxi.jpg.html][IMG]http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/goblin92/Basses/2985A317-4A32-413B-B827-B18F95A16892_zpsa1bumgxi.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s88.photobucket.com/user/goblin92/media/Basses/843C8862-0C27-4A6E-AB47-A57E82581CDB_zps64yrpdmp.jpg.html][IMG]http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/goblin92/Basses/843C8862-0C27-4A6E-AB47-A57E82581CDB_zps64yrpdmp.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s88.photobucket.com/user/goblin92/media/Basses/843C8862-0C27-4A6E-AB47-A57E82581CDB_zps64yrpdmp.jpg.html][IMG]http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/goblin92/Basses/843C8862-0C27-4A6E-AB47-A57E82581CDB_zps64yrpdmp.jpg[/IMG][/URL] I borrowed a newish Jazz Deluxe before buying to see how I got on with the feel of a Jazz, and the quality of this in comparison surpasses the Deluxe, which was hardly a poor quality product. It sounds incredible in every situation I've had it in so far, and the attention to detail is second to none. This one seems like a keeper! Edited March 7, 2017 by goblin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Gorgeous. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 That looks amazing. Congrats on the new addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Ooh yes, bass porn for sure. And I'm not even a Jazz guy usually! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 I'm not usually a fan of sunburst finishes, but that it very nice indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raggy Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Congratulations, that looks stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crompers Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Lovely stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreeneKing Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 I'm not usually a Fender fan but that looks lovely. Hope it works out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 (edited) I tried one of these out at GuitarGuitar in Camden last week, same model, same colour. Looked and played absolutely fantastic. Really stood out among all the basses they had out including numerous Fender Custom Shop instruments. If you've got the one I tried you're a lucky man... and you've probably saved me some money... Edited March 7, 2017 by CamdenRob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burno70 Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Lovely - the maple, mother of pearl and black binding on the neck is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikki_Sixx Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Like a few others in this thread I've never really been sold on most kind of 'burst finishes, but that's absolutely stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopthebass Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 I just picked up a new Elite 5 and totally agree they sound awesome and build is great. First thing I checked was if it has a battery. Good luck getting the cover off!! I had to carefully pry it through the screw hole. Once off I had to gently sand it all the way round!! Seems crazy on a $1900 bass, but that's the only issue. There's quite a difference between active and passive. The eq is lovely. It doesn't have crazy amounts of boost. Awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire5 Posted March 9, 2017 Share Posted March 9, 2017 As someone on here once said before,I've just had a minor but pleasurable incident in my underpants just looking at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grahambythesea Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 Glad to see Fender have stabilised the necks better with an extra screw. Like the chandelier! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goblin Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 So I'm just under two weeks in, and it's all settled now and will be having a set of Elixirs put on it. So, how is it? Absolutely incredible. I've never really been a Fender fan, I only bought my first Fender in Nov '15 as a whole "I've got various studio jobs in, I could do with a P / throw around bass", I wasn't really looking though and stumbled across my '96 MIJ 50th Anniversary CAR P for £345... I couldn't not do it! But other than that, I hadn't really thought much about Fender and thought they were a tad overpriced etc. And let's face it, there are still a lot of people who understandably have that thought too. This thing has really stepped up to the mark though, and I'm reliably informed that Fender USA have really upped the game across the board, and I'm inclined to believe it. Now it's settled, there are still no rattles and everything's very even. The preamp is wonderful, when you choose to use it! The passive sound is THAT good, I've sometimes forgotten that it was in passive mode. It sounds just like a good friend's 70's Jazz. It's a very bright sounding bass, I was on a big theatre gig last week, and running on IEMs, the techy didn't want to put a high cut on the bass in the mix, despite my turning down all the HF on the preamp, which helped a lot, but when he wants a Pre Fade DI out of the amp, you're a bit limited in what you can do there! ... He got the message when I set the preamp flat! A set of nickels will also help that along though, it's currently on SS strings and you can tell. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's all down to personal preference. The range of tones you've got at your fingertips really is incredible! My only real gripe is that it's not the best thing to tune, but I reckon that's how it's been strung. Tunes up fine, if you're going down (I always purposely overshoot and go back up anyway). I've found I've had to pull the strings and then tune up. Time will tell with that one, it may end up getting a better set of heads on it. It's a professional working bass for me at the end of the day, so I don't mind if I have to make some tweaks. It's to be expected! I like how it turns heads on the gigs I've taken it on too, it really does look good. I'm very happy overall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wylie Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Wow--stunning bass. Congrats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Painy Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 I think that may just be the prettiest Jazz that I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Awesome finish on that bass, HNBD why is the truss wheel not standard on every single bass made in this day and age? To spend $2k on an Am Stnd and have to remove the neck to adjust the truss rod? in 2017? what the #$%& Fender ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Coffee Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 This is a beautiful piece of kit. Enjoy the experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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