Mikey R Posted August 25, 2013 Share Posted August 25, 2013 In a moment of weakness today, I took home this beauty. Its a 2005 MIA Fender Jazz, black on black with a rosewood board, currently completely stock but ripe for modding. Frets are clean, action is a nice medium, its a really good player with classic Jazz tone. I'll play it for a while and decide if its a keeper. If I keep it, it'll likely get a high mass bridge, a pair of super hot pickups wound by a local friend and some clever homebrew wiring. Theres tonnes you can do with a jazz plate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey R Posted August 26, 2013 Author Share Posted August 26, 2013 (edited) Ive had a bit of a noodle around on it this morning - plugged straight in to my Ashdown LB throught the Barefaced Compact. I was initially struck by how rounded the Fender is, the tone is very mellow. Its also surprisingly easy to play with medium action. Notes sound with plenty of control, which is always something I look out for. Some Fender type instruments can feel a little 'sloppy', like there is a slight delay between playing the note and the string starting to sound, this bass has none of that. I did a few A/B comparisons next to my blue P type bass, which is a very agressive, snappy instrument. The blue bass is very fast to play, with plenty of tonal variation depending on how you pluck each string, but that makes it a wholly unforgiving experience - you mess up a note, you'll know about it. The Fender, on the other hand, gives a much more balanced playing experience. Ive optimised the setup of the blue bass to play best around the 5th to 7th fret, as thats where I tend to find myself playing the most. There are a few buzzes above and below that position, nothing that really comes through the amp but you can feel them under your fingers. Its a little unfair to compare the Fender with the blue one, as the action is totally uncomparable, but as it is the Fender plays well at every position. I did miss the upper frets on some chord playing - the blue bass has 24 frets, its odd to think how much I uses the upper end of the neck. Maybe its just psychological, and I'll get used to it, but even if Im not using the dusty end in any songs, its nice to know its there. More to follow... EDIT: Forgot to say, even though this is an 8 year old instrument, it looks like its had a sheltered life living mostly in its original Fender flight case. No scratches, its not even chipped around the headstock like most guitars are. Edited August 26, 2013 by Mikey R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bh2 Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 Very nice Mikey... I'd keep it stock. Maybe a tort guard... Super. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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