Review: Fender Modern Player Short Scale Jazz Bass

[Byo]

I saw that GAK had these in stock and I happened to be around Brighton today (amazing weather btw) and decided to test drive this interesting and super affordable bass.

I tried the Candy Apple Red one and I these are my impressions (never done a review before, so please be nice )

It felt heavier than I expected. I have a Fender Precision Bass Junior which is a rare short scale that I bought in Wunjo Guitars London back in 2010 and the Jazz Bass was way more heavier than the P (not good or bad, just heavier).

The neck is finished in a high gloss poly finish which kind of sticks to your hands sometimes, it is a shame as the neck would be super fast. Really nice size and not deep at all (good as I have smaller hands).

The Candy Apple Red was lovely, also finished in a glossy finish compared to the other Modern Player (double humbucker JB) that are satin finished, and the colour really popped out.

The pickguard was a 1-ply black guard that looked a bit cheap, the 2vol + 1tone controls (jazz style) are mounted to the plastic pickguard (similar style to the Fender Mark Hoppus Sig. Bass), so no metal control plate here (a shame, as I like the contrast of the chrome on JB´s). The knobs had a nice feel to them, not to hard and not to wobbly, just the right ammount of resistance.

The bridge is Fender´s take on the Badass II. Looks the same but has Fender written on it. No complaints regarding the bridge, it felt solid and did not rattle.

Tuners looked the same as the ones on my Squier VM Fretless P-Bass, generic Fender-style tuners that do their job. Nothing fancy here.

The neck plate is nicely decorated with Fender written on it (nice touch).

Now the sounds: (I was plugged into a GK combo with the EQ all flat)

The bass lacked some low end, when compared to a full sized P or J, but it had enough body so it did not feel like a toy.

With both p/ups full and tone wide open, the JB sounded nice and modern, slightly mid scooped and perfect for some finger style and felt at home for some slap.

P-Bass p/up solo sounded a bit boomy/undefined (I believe it was the amp´s location in the room), so I backed of the bass eq on the amp and I ended up with a standard P-Bass sound that has something going in the low-mids that I love.
Playing with the tone knob gave some interesting flavours, but the knob had only 3 distinctive sounds (full, half-way, off), so not very touch sensitive (but I like it that way, I am not a knob tweaker).

The J-Bass p/up solo sounded a bit thin and with less volume when compared to the P p/up, some hight adjustment could cure the issue.
The sound was nassal and burpy (as expected) and good for harmonics and detailed finger style.

The bass had plenty of sustain, and the string tension was really nice. I could bend easily but still have enough tension in the strings so that they did not feel floppy (pretty nice setup from the guys at GAK).

My favourite playing style was palm mutted, this bass had some nice thump going on.

No fretting noise, could bend nicely around the 16-20 frets without the notes farting out (bass only has 18 frets).

The factory strings are nothing special, I would change them straight away for some quality flats or rounds.

Overall:

PROS: Lovely size. Confy sized neck (speciall if you have smaller hands). Versatile (best of both worlds, P and J in one bass). Candy Appel Red is always a great colour for a Fender bass. Amazing price (300 quid).

CONS: the pickups are nothing special. They do their job, but do not have character. The pickguard felt cheap. The neck finish was a bit sticky (even the guy from GAK mentioned that this was one of the flaws of the bass). Only 18 frets (bad if you really need them).

The bass is made in China and it felt like a Squier with a Fender decal on it. Nothing wrong with that (I own several Squier basses and guitars) but do not expect a "Fender USA" finish and sound from it.

Would I buy it? Yes but sadly I would probably spend some money in a set of p/ups, flatwound strings, sand the neck finish down and give it a good setup... and that would cost me a few bob extra, so not pretty sure.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Byo

[theyellowcar]

Thanks for the detailed write up! I've been considering one of these since I stumbled upon the Thomann link and it's good to a get a first hand opinion of how it plays/sounds!

[redstriper]

Thanks for the excellent review

It would be interesting to compare this bass with the J&D model, which is more like a 'real' Jazz and much less expensive:
[url="http://www.musicstore.de/it_IT/ITL/Bassi/Bassi-elettrici/Jack-and-Danny-JB-Mini-SFG-Surf-Green/art-BAS0007169-000"]http://www.musicstor...-BAS0007169-000[/url]

.

Edited August 4, 2014 by redstriper

[spaners]

Nice review, I got one on Saturday in Candy red. Pick guard is three ply BWB and in my opinion nice. Build and finish are as good as my Pawn Shop Mustang (also in Candy Red) Set up spot on, not a single buzz or rattle. Fitted Chrome flats, much improved the tone that was previously a bit uhmmmm zingy for my taste.
Anyway here is a link to another post with some pics

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/240842-fender-modern-player-short-scale-jazz-bass/page__st__30"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/240842-fender-modern-player-short-scale-jazz-bass/page__st__30[/url]

[Byo]

Now that I have checked some photos, I may have got confused with the plastic cover on the pickguard.

As you say, the bass was lovely and if I was looking for a shortscale I would probably go for this bass.

Enjoy yours!

[quote name='spaners' timestamp='1407181491' post='2518162']
Nice review, I got one on Saturday in Candy red. Pick guard is three ply BWB and in my opinion nice. Build and finish are as good as my Pawn Shop Mustang (also in Candy Red) Set up spot on, not a single buzz or rattle. Fitted Chrome flats, much improved the tone that was previously a bit uhmmmm zingy for my taste.
Anyway here is a link to another post with some pics

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/240842-fender-modern-player-short-scale-jazz-bass/page__st__30"]http://basschat.co.u...ss/page__st__30[/url]
[/quote]

[Open E]

Don't suppose you would like to sell the short scale Jazz?