Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

New bass... week


goblin
 Share

Recommended Posts

It's taken me a while to get around to posting this as I've been mad busy with gigs. But, I've taken on a new big gig which will have me playing even more than I currently am (bearing in mind I play solely for my living), and the size of the Infinity was going to get in the way with first fret being a trek away.

So after much deliberation, research, trying basses on extended test drives. I finally settled on the new Fender American Elite. Two provisos, it had to be a 5 stringer, and it had to be in Tobacco Sunburst... which is turns out is an absolute nightmare to get hold of at the minute!

So after a day of phone calls and several days of internet searches, my local Fender rep did some digging and found out where the last one was ordered to, and put me in touch. So, a 270 mile round trip, a tyre blow out thanks to a pot hole and a large amount of money, here she is! I'll let the pics do the talking for now.

[url="http://s88.photobucket.com/user/goblin92/media/Basses/24CE5A48-1192-4BBF-8E0D-8BA48C97235C_zpsawx5mc0c.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s88.photobucket.com/user/goblin92/media/Basses/0A55F355-E239-4443-8741-488E0D9CCBAF_zpst54ni7zu.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s88.photobucket.com/user/goblin92/media/Basses/F5C4BCC9-96CB-425C-9EF5-8AF0F1A0A17E_zpsaham7yms.jpg.html"][/url]

[URL=http://s88.photobucket.com/user/goblin92/media/Basses/2985A317-4A32-413B-B827-B18F95A16892_zpsa1bumgxi.jpg.html][IMG]http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/goblin92/Basses/2985A317-4A32-413B-B827-B18F95A16892_zpsa1bumgxi.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s88.photobucket.com/user/goblin92/media/Basses/843C8862-0C27-4A6E-AB47-A57E82581CDB_zps64yrpdmp.jpg.html][IMG]http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/goblin92/Basses/843C8862-0C27-4A6E-AB47-A57E82581CDB_zps64yrpdmp.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s88.photobucket.com/user/goblin92/media/Basses/843C8862-0C27-4A6E-AB47-A57E82581CDB_zps64yrpdmp.jpg.html][IMG]http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/goblin92/Basses/843C8862-0C27-4A6E-AB47-A57E82581CDB_zps64yrpdmp.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


I borrowed a newish Jazz Deluxe before buying to see how I got on with the feel of a Jazz, and the quality of this in comparison surpasses the Deluxe, which was hardly a poor quality product. It sounds incredible in every situation I've had it in so far, and the attention to detail is second to none. This one seems like a keeper!

Edited by goblin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried one of these out at GuitarGuitar in Camden last week, same model, same colour. Looked and played absolutely fantastic. Really stood out among all the basses they had out including numerous Fender Custom Shop instruments.

If you've got the one I tried you're a lucky man... and you've probably saved me some money... :blink:

Edited by CamdenRob
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just picked up a new Elite 5 and totally agree they sound awesome and build is great. First thing I checked was if it has a battery. Good luck getting the cover off!! I had to carefully pry it through the screw hole. Once off I had to gently sand it all the way round!! Seems crazy on a $1900 bass, but that's the only issue. There's quite a difference between active and passive. The eq is lovely. It doesn't have crazy amounts of boost. Awesome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I'm just under two weeks in, and it's all settled now and will be having a set of Elixirs put on it. So, how is it?

Absolutely incredible. I've never really been a Fender fan, I only bought my first Fender in Nov '15 as a whole "I've got various studio jobs in, I could do with a P / throw around bass", I wasn't really looking though and stumbled across my '96 MIJ 50th Anniversary CAR P for £345... I couldn't not do it! But other than that, I hadn't really thought much about Fender and thought they were a tad overpriced etc. And let's face it, there are still a lot of people who understandably have that thought too.

This thing has really stepped up to the mark though, and I'm reliably informed that Fender USA have really upped the game across the board, and I'm inclined to believe it. Now it's settled, there are still no rattles and everything's very even. The preamp is wonderful, when you choose to use it! The passive sound is THAT good, I've sometimes forgotten that it was in passive mode. It sounds just like a good friend's 70's Jazz. It's a very bright sounding bass, I was on a big theatre gig last week, and running on IEMs, the techy didn't want to put a high cut on the bass in the mix, despite my turning down all the HF on the preamp, which helped a lot, but when he wants a Pre Fade DI out of the amp, you're a bit limited in what you can do there! ... He got the message when I set the preamp flat! A set of nickels will also help that along though, it's currently on SS strings and you can tell. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's all down to personal preference. The range of tones you've got at your fingertips really is incredible!

My only real gripe is that it's not the best thing to tune, but I reckon that's how it's been strung. Tunes up fine, if you're going down (I always purposely overshoot and go back up anyway). I've found I've had to pull the strings and then tune up. Time will tell with that one, it may end up getting a better set of heads on it. It's a professional working bass for me at the end of the day, so I don't mind if I have to make some tweaks. It's to be expected!

I like how it turns heads on the gigs I've taken it on too, it really does look good. I'm very happy overall :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...