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Fender Aerodyne Jazz


rob_89
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I had an Aerodyne Jazz, so can offer the following

Positives
Very light, good sound with both pickups on full, nice easy to play neck, incredibly good looking bass

Negatives
Each pickup on their own seemed to lack a bit of "oomph", lack of neck markers can make things a bit difficult in dark venues, finish of the bass is sooooo nice you won`t want to take it out of the house

I swapped out the stock J-pickup on mine for a Seymour Duncan Hot Stack - eliminated all the buzzing, and gave a much better sound, very similar to that of Duff McKagan (which is why I bought the bass).

Also, to my ears, it was a great bass for holding down the bottom end and locking in with the drums, plus the J-pickup gave a nice presence, but it wasn`t a very good "lead-bass" if you know what I mean.

2nd hand you`re probably looking £500ish, as new they are £700+

Edited by Lozz196
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[attachment=68434:047.JPG][quote name='rob_89' post='1084882' date='Jan 10 2011, 09:30 PM']Anyone got any views on the Fender Aerodyne positives and negatives?

Also, what should I be expecting to pay for a 2nd one in good nick?

Thanks

Rob[/quote]
Hi Rob

I have an Aerodyne jazz that you are welcome to come and try out ( I am in Leeds very close to M1 North and A1 )

Mine has neck markers on both fingerboard and side!!!!

I may be putting it up for sale shortly!

Will.

Edited by 2x18
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I still have one. Very light but a great sound, nice tone great for all styles. I agree with lozz, as I'm gonna change the J pickup to the vintage SD pup, that said, I think it's because it has a high output for a passive bass. I've got Trubass strings on them and they sound lovely, but round stings a great to. I'm a true fender fan, but I love this bass, its a good mix of P/J bass and the jap basses always turn heads..

Second-hand price about £500, a but less if you can look hard, like I did, but those go very fast..

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I had one which I didn't keep very long. Looked fabulous, but I wasn't blown away by the sound, mine buzzed a fair bit (although I admit it was hardly a pristine example). Personally I don't get on with the offset Jazz body shape-of course this applies to all Jazzes but this happened to be the first one I'd owned. The main criticism I've seen here more than once is the discomfort of the bound edges digging into your arm.

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I actively gig with a beautiful black aerodyne which I got cheap via eBay (£400 inc shipping and hard case + strap) - I got lucky

Positives
Nice light weight, excellent neck, beautiful to look at (see negatives), very flexible soundwise ranging from a cutting J to a heavy P bass. These are stock pups.

Negatives
Hated the bridge so I swapped it to a more blocky chrome / locking saddles - much better than the 'classic' bent metal version
J-pickup buzzes a bit on full treble and is a bit weak - recommend replacement, but not crucial to do so. Once again, so beautiful to look at that you'll be scared to let yourself go.. My bass was also a bit out of line and needed to be radically adjusted. Nut is cheap...

Despite the negatives, most of which I have now addressed, this is the best bass i have for playability and is my gigging weapon of choice

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Thanks to everyone for your time and opinions...they did have one in a local shop so il see if its still about and give it a go.

The only thing that worrys is the digging into the arm part...obviously a few have said about weak pick ups but if i find this a problem for me i ca always swap them...pretty stuck with the fact it digs into you!

That red one looks pretty smart! il keep an eye out for that if you decided to sell...also thanks for the offer of a tester; may get back to you with that!

Thanks

Rob

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[quote name='rob_89' post='1085424' date='Jan 11 2011, 01:04 PM']Thanks to everyone for your time and opinions...they did have one in a local shop so il see if its still about and give it a go.

The only thing that worrys is the digging into the arm part...obviously a few have said about weak pick ups but if i find this a problem for me i ca always swap them...pretty stuck with the fact it digs into you!

That red one looks pretty smart! il keep an eye out for that if you decided to sell...also thanks for the offer of a tester; may get back to you with that!

Thanks

Rob[/quote]


Don't play your bass like marcus miller and you'll be fine :-) Just lengthen the strap a bit, in the long run it's easier to play and more comfortable, see (look left at my avatar)

Edited by algmusic
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I brought one from Switzerland a couple of years ago, I paid about £475 for it.

It was in white (which is very rare apparently), it had fret markers (front and side), a beautiful dark ebony fretboard.

It was definitely one of the nicest looking basses I have ever seen, and great to play.

BUT!

To me, it sounded very thin, almost like my very first Squire Affinity bass I had years ago.

Tried all types of strings and amp settings, maybe I should have tried different pups!

Anyway, I sold it on eBay for what I paid for it, but maybe I should have kept it a bit longer, as they are going for silly money now.

and especially as my one was not the usual black, and was in absolutely pristine condition.

Sigh!!!

Here's some pics of it.

Edited by thebrig
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[quote name='thebrig' post='1087061' date='Jan 12 2011, 07:05 PM']I brought one from Switzerland a couple of years ago, I paid about £475 for it.

It was in white (which is very rare apparently), it had fret markers (front and side), a beautiful dark ebony fretboard.

It was definitely one of the nicest looking basses I have ever seen, and great to play.

BUT!

To me, it sounded very thin, almost like my very first Squire Affinity bass I had years ago.

Tried all types of strings and amp settings, maybe I should have tried different pups!

Anyway, I sold it on eBay for what I paid for it, but maybe I should have kept it a bit longer, as they are going for silly money now.

and especially as my one was not the usual black, and was in absolutely pristine condition.

Sigh!!!

Here's some pics of it.[/quote]

We've all done that. I did that with drumkit and there's no way I'll be able to buy it back

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Controversial post...

I bought mine new for around £400 and sold it to a basschatter at the silly price of £150! I would have wanted £200 plus off anyone else though. :)

Why? Well it was a good bass, especially after I swapped the J pickup out for a NOS US Fender one. But at the end of the day the one I had just didn't play well enough. I like a fairly low action and it had a typical fender "hump" down the dusty end and try as I might I couldn't get the action how I liked it.

Was it worth £400? Just about. Are they worth more? IMHO, no. I now have a Retrovibe Aero2 which is basically a Chinese made Aerodyne copy but with a different scale length and set neck and it blows it out of the water. You can get the Aero1 which is the bolt on version for around £200 and have plenty left over for new pickups if you choose.

Would I have paid the current asking prices for a new Aerodyne? Not in a million years.

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[quote name='paul h' post='1087575' date='Jan 13 2011, 08:36 AM']Controversial post...

I bought mine new for around £400 and sold it to a basschatter at the silly price of £150! I would have wanted £200 plus off anyone else though. :)

Why? Well it was a good bass, especially after I swapped the J pickup out for a NOS US Fender one. But at the end of the day the one I had just didn't play well enough. I like a fairly low action and it had a typical fender "hump" down the dusty end and try as I might I couldn't get the action how I liked it.

Was it worth £400? Just about. Are they worth more? IMHO, no. I now have a Retrovibe Aero2 which is basically a Chinese made Aerodyne copy but with a different scale length and set neck and it blows it out of the water. You can get the Aero1 which is the bolt on version for around £200 and have plenty left over for new pickups if you choose.

Would I have paid the current asking prices for a new Aerodyne? Not in a million years.[/quote]

I call it this unicorn of the fender jazzes. Even though I have two jazzes, I won't call my self a fender fan. I have the this one and a roadworn and they both sound much different to loads of others I've tried maybe my ones area special

It's funny, I love the J pick up, but the volume of the PUP is the issue not the tone.. I'm gonna try a Seymore Duncan QTR pound.

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[quote name='rob_89' post='1084882' date='Jan 10 2011, 09:30 PM']Anyone got any views on the Fender Aerodyne positives and negatives?

Also, what should I be expecting to pay for a 2nd one in good nick?

Thanks

Rob[/quote]
I brought one from Switzerland a couple of years ago, I paid about £475 for it.

It was in white (which is very rare apparently), it had fret markers (front and side), a beautiful dark ebony fretboard.

It was definitely one of the nicest looking basses I have ever seen, and great to play.

BUT!

To me, it sounded very thin, almost like my very first Squire Affinity bass I had years ago.

Tried all types of strings and amp settings, maybe I should have tried different pups!

Anyway, I sold it on eBay for what I paid for it, but maybe I should have kept it a bit longer, as they are going for silly money now.

and especially as my one was not the usual black, and was in absolutely pristine condition.

Sigh!!!

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