HeadlessBassist

Thanks - I was mainly interested in the process and how the order comes out. Let me know what you think when it arrives

Agreed. And the CNC machine can't account for wood density or other variables. We were talking about this the other week on Mike Brooks' channel, where Warwick made several examples of the same model bass from the same tree, and they all still sounded very different to each other.

Absolutely, Terry. Yes, a certain Squier may have the right sound for you and may outplay all the Custom Shop Fenders you might try. But I still maintain that even though some of the prices are ridiculous, you are getting (given you pick the right one for you) a better bass by buying from the American ranges.

Depends on how acutely you listen, I suppose. (Unless you have those ears that say 'a bass is a bass'.) I could even tell you which of my three Americans is which while blindfolded - they all have unique voicings. The nitro finished American Original has it's own free-sounding singing tone from the finish and the Pure Voiced 64 pickups. The open pore Ash FSR has a very different punchier bottom end from the 2008 Am.Std pickups. The American Elite has more sparkle at the top end and a distinct active shove to the bass frequencies.

Yes, there are undoubtedly some mutts in every Fender range. As I always say, you get one diamond in every 10-20 basses with Fender, so it is very difficult to generalise. I've been lucky with my main three Jazzes. They're all fantastic working tools that I love the feel and sound of and all three earn me a large chunk of my living. Again, obviously they're still not a patch on my Status basses, but then you're talking another ballpark entirely.

Yes, if you have good ears, you can hear the difference in the resonance with the better quality woods, through body stringing, and the better quality pickups make a huge difference, too. I also use identical 40-95 Elixir sets on all of them, so you can acutely pick out the differences

No, as a professional musician, I'm telling you that my American Jazzes feel and sound superior. This is not to say that the Squier 40th isn't a very good Jazz. It definitely is.

I like the individual sounds of my Fenders, if I'm honest. They all have their own individual sound characters. All instrument makers have had to deal with increased costs in parts and labour in recent years, and Americans (and Mexicans) want financial security, houses, cars and pensions (same as us here in the UK!), so everything gets more expensive. Food, cars, houses, etc have all doubled in price in recent years. Unfortunately, musicians' earnings seem to be ignored when it comes to said increases, so instruments seem to get ridiculously pricey to us. I recently bought and set up a Squier 40th Anniversary Jazz for a pupil. Yes, it's a great sounding & playing bass, but a good American Fender bass still sounds and feels superior. But yes, that difference is definitely getting smaller while the price differential gets ever larger.

The Dimension was a serious contender. Its lack of sales was saddening, as in HH Elite spec it was a serious MusicMan crusher. I owned and played one for eight years until it sadly had to be sacrificed as a trade-in towards my KingBass Mk-II. I have a feeling it will be back at some point, as it was one of those hyper useful Swiss Army Knife basses.

Agreed. The Ultra II model's use of the top side truss rod adjuster and rear truss rod skunk stripe smacks of production streamlining/cost cutting. The Elite was a definite quality high point. Mine is sublime and one of the best Jazzes I've played. (It's up against some stiff competition in my own collection as well!) I played one of the early Ultras when it was newly launched and the setup from factory was utterly unplayable.

We both drove a huge way out of our way yesterday evening and met on the M4 for a very good sale/trade. Highly recommended!

Rounds if you're predominantly playing live.. Jazz Flats for if you're in the studio.

Yes, it's rounds. Sounds like he's got the tone control about 50% down. Nice sounding 70's/early 80s natural Ash Precision too. It's not a bass he's documented in his videos - probably one belonging to the studio or someone else.

Looks like it was intonated by dragging it through a field behind a tractor.

Yes. The Vintera II Mustang is very vintage P-bass like. My American Performer Mustang does a huge P-bass sound (or a Jazz on steroids sound if you want!) But the regular Player series P&J Mustang sounds exactly like a Precision. That's why I got shot of it, LOL!

I've had a look through some of the iPlayer videos and I'm definitely feeling my 55 years. Very few bands/acts I've ever heard of and lasted a max of five minutes with any of the videos. I am officially old. Did notice that the bass player in Wet Leg was using a JMJ Mustang 😎, sadly with a pick and a terrible sound though. 😢 Feel free to lambast me for being old, gittish and utterly out of touch, LOL!

This. Exactly. It may be seen by some as badge snobbery, but who cares?

Agreed - the AVRI/American Vintage/American Original/American Vintage II line instruments can be sublime. You still have to try before you buy, but these instruments are always very faithful to the period they are copied from. The nitro finishes in particular make a huge difference to the sound/character of the bass, and they always have that 'just right' feeling to them.

You really have to treat the various mass produced Fenders the same way per model/series, in that you really need to try before you buy. You can usually find one diamond in a batch of 10-20. I've owned a lot over the years, and currently have a 2018 American Original Jazz, 2012 FSR Limited Edition Hand Stained Jazz & a 2016 American Elite Jazz, with a couple of Mex/USA Mustangs as well. Generally speaking, the current higher end Mexican ranges (Vintera II & Player II Modified) are very good. They really seem to have bumped up quality a lot at the Enchilada plant. The American Standard/Professional series seems to go in two steps per series - the 2008s were great, whereas the updated 2012s with the custom shop pickups were a bit meh. The 2016 American Pros were great and the later Pro II less so. They seem to have a habit of making something great that appeals to the pros and then dumbing it down a bit to appeal to more players. (Obviously they're there to sell as many instruments as possible!) In my own personal opinion, the peak for the 'Deluxe/Elite/Ultra' line was between the 2010 Deluxe (with N3 pickups) and the 2016 Elite. The Ultra models produced since are showing signs of production cost cutting, with a return to the cheaper neck construction with the skunk stripe at the back and top loaded truss rod. You'll have to ask someone else about the Custom Shop offerings. I have no experience. So yes, I do believe that you do benefit from the higher up ranges, but they are getting very expensive now and musicians' earnings aren't keeping up.

I have the Thomastik Jazz Flats on my Vintera II Mustang. They have less tension than others listed and they do have a very characterful sound.

That looks very nice! Congrats 😊 Played a couple of these over the years - hated the vintage one, but quite liked the modern 2010’s model. Enjoy!

After getting my Competition Burgundy Vintera II back from the workshop on Friday (it was suffering from a lot of hum and turned out to have an earth wire missing from factory), I suddenly found this morning that I have a 'Tale of Two Mustangs' on show.

Lovely Conklin you've scored there - you'll be able to iron your shirts on the fingerboard in between string changes!