NBD: Fender American Pro ii Dark Night Limited Edition Jazz Bass

[Old Horse Murphy]

So I took this today as part for a deal from one of my favourite independent guitar shops for my Thunderbird, Geddy Lee Jazz and some guitar bits I moved on. It's a new 2021 American Pro ii Jazz Bass in Dark Night but as it has a rosewood fingerboard rather than the standard maple board, it's a limited edition run. I much prefer rosewood boards on Jazz basses, so it suits me just fine. 
 

It's a lovely weight (8lbs 14oz) and plays really well. I'm not really a Jazz Bass fan as the ergonomics don't work for me but it was a compelling deal. I won't unwrap it as such as I may well move it on imminently.  It's a very striking colour scheme and the built quality is excellent as it has been on the other American Pro II's I've seen. 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Old Horse Murphy

[Reggaebass]

Really nice 

[Lozz196]

That is pretty stunning

[theyellowcar]

Nice. How does the finish look in person? It looks like blue-to-black burst in the pictures, but how does it respond to light?

[theyellowcar]

Edit: accidental Double post

Edited February 22, 2022 by theyellowcar
Double post

[naxos10]

That looks really nice and I'm not a jazz bass fan either.

[Old Horse Murphy]

11 hours ago, theyellowcar said:

Nice. How does the finish look in person? It looks like blue-to-black burst in the pictures, but how does it respond to light?

It's even better in the flesh and is quite difficult to photograph. It's basically a reverse sunburst and is more of a lighter blue to a darker blue colour. 
 

The neck is gorgeous and the rosewood is a lovely dark colour. It's a lovely bass and is as good as any Jazz I've played and the build quality is superb. I'm still not a massive Jazz bass fan though and expecting it to be anything other than a Jazz bass would be unfair. 
 

I'll persevere a bit longer I think but I'm not sure it's a keeper. 

[TrevorG]

That's a beaut! Especially with the Rose wood board. Congrats.

[NancyJohnson]

The thing I want to know is you traded all that stuff for that?

[tegs07]

30 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

The thing I want to know is you traded all that stuff for that?

They cost around £1700 plus new so not far off what the 2 basses were being sold for. I’m a bit gutted as keep hankering after a Thunderbird and was trying to decide whether to sell my MIJ Geddy Lee with Status Graphite neck to fund it but was too slow …. 
 

That’s a nice looking Jazz though.

[uk_lefty]

I've wanted one of these, in this colour for a while... I tried a white one in a shop but it was all top end and no bass or mid. Hope that was just a poor setup and a bit of a dud bass... How is this soundwise?

[NancyJohnson]

22 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

I'll persevere a bit longer I think but I'm not sure it's a keeper. 

 

In our drive for betterment (combined with the desire to get shot of old equipment in trades/part -exchange), this quote alone upsets me a little. 

[krispn]

It'll be sold in three weeks  - OHM you have an affliction sir 😀

[Old Horse Murphy]

11 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

In our drive for betterment (combined with the desire to get shot of old equipment in trades/part -exchange), this quote alone upsets me a little. 

oh well, I'm sure you'll get over it 

[Old Horse Murphy]

5 minutes ago, krispn said:

It'll be sold in three weeks  - OHM you have an affliction sir 😀

Possibly, but then that's my concern I guess 🙂

[Old Horse Murphy]

33 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

I've wanted one of these, in this colour for a while... I tried a white one in a shop but it was all top end and no bass or mid. Hope that was just a poor setup and a bit of a dud bass... How is this soundwise?

I've only played it for a short while but it actually sounds quite bassy to me. I'll take it to rehearsal on Monday to try it at a bit higher volume but it certainly didn't sound thin. 
 

I don't mind the sound of Jazzes on their own, it's as part of the overall mix that I find it's a bit lacking to my ears. It will be interesting to see how I fare with it. 

[krispn]

Try boosting in and about 350Hz

[Reggaebass]

Well imo, you don’t know if your going to get on with a bass until you live with it for a while, if you buy or trade sensibly you can always move it on without too much if any loss , if you don’t try you’ll never know 🙂

[T-Bay]

1 hour ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

I've only played it for a short while but it actually sounds quite bassy to me. I'll take it to rehearsal on Monday to try it at a bit higher volume but it certainly didn't sound thin. 
 

I don't mind the sound of Jazzes on their own, it's as part of the overall mix that I find it's a bit lacking to my ears. It will be interesting to see how I fare with it. 

I tried one in that exact colour but ended up going for the ultra instead. I certainly didn’t find it lacking bottom end either. Build quality is superb and the colour is very popular so should be easy to move on if you choose to.

[dub_junkie]

Looks lush😍
 

I too prefer rosewood on a jazz profile neck.   Always have, always will. The fact that the one I own has a maple board is neither here nor there. 

[uk_lefty]

How does it look without the pickguard 🤤

[Old Horse Murphy]

23 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

How does it look without the pickguard 🤤

I don't know but I'd imagine it's got the horrible Fender routing underneath 😔

 

I'll try and check later. 

[Eldon Tyrell]

Great looking bass. Congrats 👍 I had the P bass twin. Sounded and looked great. Very nice neck profile too. Only sold it as I got an Ernie Ball Cutlass and both basses were sonically in the same ballpark (pun intended ;- ) I decided to keep the Cutlass and sell the Pro II. I think it sold in one or two days and I hope the new owner is very happy with it! 

[fretmeister]

That is a lovely finish. Quite innovative for Fender too!

[T-Bay]

Just now, fretmeister said:

That is a lovely finish. Quite innovative for Fender too!

According to the guy at Guitarguitar in Birmingham when I was looking at them they were selling as many in that colour as all the other colours put together. Nice to see Fender being a bit braver with the colour options.