After reading the past few posts I went looking at Mark's site and spotted this... https://classicandcoolguitars.co.uk/portfolio/sandberg-tt4-black/
At the moment I've a Cort A4 Artisan in spalted maple and a 2017 MiM Jazz in a very similar colour arrangement to the TT4 here. What I want is to keep the Fender tone but add in the Cort's richness.... I play passive most of the time and the Cort oozes this creamy rich smooth neck pickup. Where it falls down (for me) is the bridge - it's not Jazzy enough, it's too modern. It's actually exactly what I was after at the time and then I got the Fender.
Tried an Ida Neilsen TM4 at Bass Direct and loved the tone but couldn't get along with the distance between the PG and the strings. Have only just seen an interview with her where she explains that the pattern on the PG is sandwiched between 2 sheets so it's thicker and that suits her. Ida definitely doesn't have sausage fingers like wot I have. I wasn't exploring everything on the bass at the time as I was buying the Magellan amp - the only thing that I would like to explore is TM versus TT. But hell, look at it. Yes, after all the diagnosing and pontificating, it still comes down to looks
So... what's pointing me at Sandberg are probably the things some of you have already found. I want a Fender Jazz sound but with more tone options if I want them along with better build quality (and no nose dive). Can't see me shoving nearly £2k at a USA Fender.