American Deluxe Jazz bass series evolution?

[blast9]

Hi all,

i was wondering if anyone could shed light on the evolution of this model?

I have a lovely 1999 transparent Burgundy 9 volt model with Noiseless pickups, and silver decals - classy!

I know shortly after that they introduced the 18 volt preamps (2 x 9 volt batteries) - maybe when they brought out the Precision version (kick arse!).

Looking on the fender site, I see they now have an active/passive toggle (great idea!), and the decals are now black.

I also noticed they no longer have the Burgundy colour, which is a shame IMHO

Edited January 12, 2014 by blast9

[Dingus]

That colour is actually called Crimson Transparent , and it was indeed very nice.

The American Deluxe range first came out in 1996/97 , and originally had pickups with single 1/4 inch magnet slugs and a preamp designed by John Suhr, who was working for Fender at that time. I seem to remember that the transparent finishes on the first model had an ash veneer with an alder body wood as the core.

It sounds like your bass is the second incarnation that came out in 1999 with new colour options, new design noiseless pickups, lightweight tuners and solid alder or ash bodies, depending on the chosen finish.

There was another revamp sometime in the mid-2000's, with a host of new colour options again and the new Samarium Cobalt pickups.

The current version came out in 2010, I think.

[blast9]

Great! Thanks for your swift reply. Glad to fid out the proper name for the finish.