OutToPlayJazz

"Cuddly toy!"

[b][size=6]F[/size][/b]or the 2010 50th birthday celebration of the Jazz bass, Fender wanted to create something different from just another reissue of a classic model, so the 50th Anniversary model combines elements from several eras of the instrument's history, making for a special bass not only for collectors, but for players, too. Working from the top of the bass downwards, the tuners are from the current American Standard, lightweight Hipshots & the logo on the body colour headcap is the original "offset contour 60's logo." The neck is from the American Classic 62RI model with the "most comfortable shape ever", but incorporates the posiflex graphite rods as well as a modern bottom end hex wrench operated truss rod. The selected maple neck is also beautifully figured and lacquered with a gloss nitro finish. Fretwork is also excellent & the rosewood fingerboard is of excellent quality, the edges of the 'board being polished to match in with the gloss neck. The fingerboard also features pearloid block inlays which as flawlessly fitted flush to the wood. Another piece of excellent work. The neck plate is a special commemorative anniversary edition, bearing the inscription, "50th Anniversary JAZZ BASS, since 1960" across the background of the "big F" & has the standard four-bolt fixing. The neck pocket join is as near perfect as a bolt on neck is going to get & detail finishing around this area is highly impressive with none of the over painting or jagged edges that are found so often on mass produced instruments. The body is made from select alder & has through body stringing & the pickups are taken from the American Vintage series 75 reissue model. These pickups are a little noisier than the almost silent [with flush polepieces] models you get with the American Standard, but having owned a 75RI, they do produce the creamiest tone of all the stock Fender pickups. The positioning of the rear pickup is one quarter inch further back than the standard model in the '70's position", giving the 50th Anniversary model a slightly harsher tone to the back pickup than you'll find on either an American Standard or a Road Worn when the rear pickup is solo'd. An interesting fact linked with the 70's positioning is that it was originally moved because the back pickup poked out from the pickup cover a little. The happy coincidence to this move was a much brighter and sharper sound which is still popular to this day. The bridge is the vintage high-mass model first introduced on the American Standard at the beginning of 2008. This design caters for both base stringing & through body options and saddles are ribbed for greater accuracy in placing the strings between the pickup poles. The nitro candy apple red finish is flawless and seems to have a lot of silver in the colour mix. It really is a striking paint job! The chrome pickup & bridge covers are a nice touch, but make playing in modern styles difficult. The "Marcus" pickup cover tends to make a good thumbrest if you can play with your right hand that far away from the strings, but does create an extra metallic shimmer within the sound when played fingerstyle. The "F" embossed bridge cover is huge and only leaves a gap of 2-3 inches between itself and the pickup cover, so playing fingerstyle back there with the covers on is a little on the tight side if you're blessed with big hands like me! That leads to my only complaint about this bass - Fender are shipping these basses out with the chrome covers pre attached, whereas American Vintage models are supplied with them separately in the accessory kit, leaving the owner with the choice of whether or not to put them on. I personally prefer to play without the covers and it's unfortunate that on my example of the 50th, the bridge cover has left a couple of small indentations in the nitro finish. It's not a big deal, as the bass is going to be played, but it is mildly annoying on a bass at this price point. Sound-wise, the bass is pure Jazz, but an interesting mix of the creamy 75RI sound, the growling graphite-rod equipped sound of the American Standard and a lot of additional rich tone, courtesy of the thin nitro finish. Well played examples of this bass are going to be seen as very "cool" by the relic fraternity in a few years, as the nitro finish will undoubtedly mark very easily. The aforementioned neck is indeed very comfortable to play and the nitro gloss isn't in any way sticky feeling like on some of the lesser models. So, what do you get for your money? Well, as well as all of the aforementioned features, you get an embellished version of the American Vintage luxury Fender plaque'd hardshell case & the [b]CASE CANDY[/b] pack includes the same strap and cable pack as the AV series, bridge mutes of two varieties & a commemorative booklet of the history of the Jazz bass. There's also the usual T-shaped trussrod tool & various imperial sized hex wrenches. All in all, this is an excellent celebratory version of the Jazz bass we all know and love. Great to play & great to look at, with a once in a lifetime combination of specs from different periods of the Jazz's history, making for quite an individual sounding bass to play. Looking at the bass from a potential buyer's point of view, it looks expensive, even for a limited edition, but when you start to look at the quality & the custom shop like attention to detail, you can almost forgive Fender's bass division a little monetary indulgence! Highly recommended.

[quote name='bassace' post='836876' date='May 14 2010, 09:17 AM']Sorry to disagree but (is it just me?) I have an aversion to brushes. They don't give the crispness that sticks give, they seem to mask my playing and I never have a problem cutting through stick playing. Playing against brushes is like playing through porridge.[/quote] It all depends on how dynamic the drummer is. I love brushes for swing (for example) and hate drummers killing the feel with sticks. Ugh! In terms of volume, I use my Genz Shuttle 6 with one cab - I use something like 40 percent of the volume and play the db very gently. No point in working too hard when you have plenty of amplification to do it for you, is there?

Hey Shep, nice 1006 you have there. I still miss my TRB-6 II. I'm sure another one will turn up someday.

Yes, if you want a plethora of active sound options, the SR300 is a great bass for very little money. Apart from that, the Squier Classic Vibe 60's Jazz comes highly recommended as well. Both great instruments for budget money.

That looks really good quality as well, BRX...

[quote name='dood' post='838037' date='May 15 2010, 11:58 AM']Beat me to it! The same three I thought of too![/quote] Hehe - DRAW, Dood!

In the first instance, you can buy monorails direct from [url="http://www.status-graphite.com"]www.status-graphite.com[/url] They're also available at [url="http://www.ABM-mueller.com"]www.ABM-mueller.com[/url] & [url="http://www.allparts.com/ABM-Single-String-Bass-Bridge-p/bb-3501-010.htm"]http://www.allparts.com/ABM-Single-String-...bb-3501-010.htm[/url]

Celtic harp.

One of my pupils had the black MM2 which was fine for the money. A decent enough sounding bass for the price. But I had the active twin humbucker MM22 with the five position switch, which was very good for again, very little money. So they may not have made the finest kit around, but they were fit for purpose at the price.

I've never seen these before, but they definitely look good quality and the prices are really reasonable.

Le SID rocks, Clarky!

Just sold the holy-grail of Precisions to John & thankfully he loves it! John is a true gent to deal with and a fast, fuss free transaction was had by all. Highly recommended!

Thanks, Tom & John. Yes, the RW Jazz was a truly stunning bass & the AV62 Precision was simply the best of it's breed, but the replacement to these two was worth the effort and the sacrifice. And to think I almost bought a new Deluxe Precision! This is much better Thanks to you both & hopefully we're all now happy bunnies all round!

Quite true - And it does fit in with the 60's fashion sense (or lack of!)

Worth watching to see if some bozo actually buys it! Try taking a zero off the price and it's viable, but none of the purists are going to go for a sparkle gold colour - Hardly original Fender, is it?

Bloody hell! I've been paying £350 for mine. Git!

I'll buy them off you at the full price if you don't like them. How's that for an endorsement?

If you're used to the more flexible flats, I'd say you'll love these strings in 40-100 for not only your T-Bird, but other basses as well. I have a pupil who uses them on his Epiphone T-Bird (the passive one) and it sounds monstrous & plays like a demon. I only wish they did them in 30-90 or 30-115 sets. If they did, they'd be on the Status basses, too!

On the MusicMan & Jazzes it's always been the 40-100 set. They give massive tone, but feel like 35's to play. Very soft and flexible. I tried the 45-105 set on my Precision & they were also flexible, but too thick & ponderous for my personal tastes - They were, however, better to play than the Ernie Ball Slinkys I bought beforehand which were like trying to play on iron bars! I've got the FatBeams 40-100 on the new Jazz and it utterly sings. Highly recommended.

I'd give the FatBeams a try as well, Clarky. They've significantly improved the sound of every bass I've used them on so far.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='836449' date='May 13 2010, 06:28 PM']This jazz has it all.....lovely lovely bass..its got a lovely warmth that alder gives...sorry if i missed it but whats the weight Rich?[/quote] It feels around the 8.5-9 pound mark. Slightly lighter than my last American Standard was. They say the bodies on these are made from "selected alder", so I'd guess they picked the nicest light pieces for these lovely basses.

[quote name='Spoombung' post='836494' date='May 13 2010, 07:18 PM']Is that for one of your students? [/quote] Nope, this one is all minezeseses And the T-Bird pro I bought the other week was definitely for a student - Tom loves his trans black Epiphone I got him a scorching deal combined with an Ashdown EB180 15" combo. Not bad for your first bass setup, eh?

In terms of a Jazz, it seems to increase the bottom end richness a little, but that's all. Just think of a top loaded instrument as a little dryer and grittier. As Mart says, I always use the string-through option if it's there.