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

[uk_lefty]

25 minutes ago, T-Bay said:

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.

Part of my thinking is that hopefully the colour is a limited run, so buy one now and my kids may have something very valuable in twenty years or more. A bit like the Antigua finish that was spectacular but short lived 

[Old Horse Murphy]

6 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

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

No. As said in my original post it was of a deal for some gear I was moving on. I didn't feel it was necessary to list out the individual components of the deal, sorry

[Old Horse Murphy]

6 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

How does it look without the pickguard 🤤

Sadly as I suspected. 

[uk_lefty]

31 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

Sadly as I suspected. 

That is so disappointing for a bass that costs nearly two grand 

[bigthumb]

That rosewood fingerboard looks lovely. I've got the Pro II Precision and build quality and finish is excellent. I wish I were in a better financial position should you decide to move it on, I miss having a Jazz bass. 

[tegs07]

1 hour ago, uk_lefty said:

That is so disappointing for a bass that costs nearly two grand 

I take it the bass is passive in which case it’s to be expected.

[uk_lefty]

3 hours ago, tegs07 said:

I take it the bass is passive in which case it’s to be expected.

Why can't they rout a passive bass nicely? I don't get it. Cheaper basses can like a Sire V7 can be routed neatly.

[tegs07]

9 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

Why can't they rout a passive bass nicely? I don't get it. Cheaper basses can like a Sire V7 can be routed neatly.

They can eg The Aerodyne range. I guess it’s the traditional way of making them and the scratch plate and control plate covers the route anyway. There are pros and cons. I find rear cavities and covers a little ugly as well and have never been decided on the Jaco look of just a control plate either. It looks a bit “unfinished”.

Edited February 24, 2022 by tegs07

[T-Bay]

55 minutes ago, tegs07 said:

They can eg The Aerodyne range. I guess it’s the traditional way of making them and the scratch plate and control plate covers the route anyway. There are pros and cons. I find rear cavities and covers a little ugly as well and have never been decided on the Jaco look of just a control plate either. It looks a bit “unfinished”.

Same here, hate the rear cover and the lack of a pickguard just looks rubbish. But each to their own And all that…….

[Old Horse Murphy]

47 minutes ago, T-Bay said:

Same here, hate the rear cover and the lack of a pickguard just looks rubbish. But each to their own And all that…….

I agree re pickguard-less Jazz Basses, especially when they still have the bell plate added, so having a pickguard doesn't bother me at all. 

[Old Horse Murphy]

So it's been denuded and deflowered. I like it. We'll see. It's lovely though

[Guest]

11 hours ago, tegs07 said:

They can eg The Aerodyne range. I guess it’s the traditional way of making them and the scratch plate and control plate covers the route anyway. There are pros and cons. I find rear cavities and covers a little ugly as well and have never been decided on the Jaco look of just a control plate either. It looks a bit “unfinished”.

They absolutely can do it on a passive bass and did in the past with no rear routing. It’s a moment’s work with the right long thin drill bit with separate pickup routes but it’s tricky to automate and so is normally done by hand. I suspect these are all CNC routed and for basic contouring so basically a cost and manufacturing efficiency issue. Personally I think it looks awful and really like the look of a jazz without a pickguard (and with). 

[tegs07]

41 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

They absolutely can do it on a passive bass and did in the past with no rear routing. It’s a moment’s work with the right long thin drill bit with separate pickup routes but it’s tricky to automate and so is normally done by hand. I suspect these are all CNC routed and for basic contouring so basically a cost and manufacturing efficiency issue. Personally I think it looks awful and really like the look of a jazz without a pickguard (and with). 

Yep as I said they can and the aerodynes do. Tight fit and fiddly to change jack / pickups etc. There is always a trade off. Personally I think Sandberg have nailed it.

Edited February 24, 2022 by tegs07

[Cuzzie]

The above 2 points nail it

 

if I was routing I would use a long drill bit to link the pup cavity to the control cavity - it’s such a nice finish it gives you options of clear pickguard or even No pickguard should you desire.

Naughty Fender - but lovely bass

[Lozz196]

Yeo there’s a Japanese Fender Jazz up for sale on here that has no pickguard, looks great

[horrorshowbass]

Imagining this with white pearloid pg.

[Old Horse Murphy]

57 minutes ago, horrorshowbass said:

Imagining this with white pearloid pg.

I must admit, it's a bit too dark for me so i thought about Pearloid too or something similar. This is the only pic I can find where's someone's done it. Not entirely sure it works in a Strat but it should look better on a Jazz Bass IMO

Edited February 26, 2022 by Old Horse Murphy

[horrorshowbass]

28 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

I must admit, it's a bit too dark for me so i thought about Pearloid too or something similar. This is the only pic I can find where's someone's done it. Not entirely sure it works in a Strat but it should look better on a Jazz Bass IMO

Yeah thats cool

[T-Bay]

I prefer a lighter pickguard on a darker bass as well, the Ultra I have comes with a vintage white (or some other stupid name for light cream) and it works well I think.

[MacDaddy]

On 24/02/2022 at 17:12, Old Horse Murphy said:

So it's been denuded and deflowered. I like it. We'll see. It's lovely though

 

Love the finish 🤩

I may be in the minority, but I like the black scratch plate, although I would prefer all black hardware.

[CJPJ]

Congrats on owning a stunning bass - would be happy to have that in my collection and whilst it might not be your sweet-spot I bet it does sound and play beautifully.

White p/g would definitely look lush - I'd try that for sure.

[horrorshowbass]

This finish, the mercury and the mystic surf green are beautiful.

[Old Horse Murphy]

Well I took it to practice and it was fantastic. The pickups have been set just right and the balance between the neck and bridge is really close. I'm not really a bridge pickup type of guy but dialling it in more and taking the neck pickup down for some songs worked really well. 
 

The neck is sublime; it's not pencil thin like a Geddy Lee and it was just a revelation to play. I bought a set of EMG's to drop in to it as I thought I might find the stock pickups a little anaemic, but with the aid of my Laney Digbeth preamp the sounds I got where just what I wanted. Needless to say I won't be putting the EMG's in. 
 

Very happy 😊 

[horrorshowbass]

44 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

Well I took it to practice and it was fantastic. The pickups have been set just right and the balance between the neck and bridge is really close. I'm not really a bridge pickup type of guy but dialling it in more and taking the neck pickup down for some songs worked really well. 
 

The neck is sublime; it's not pencil thin like a Geddy Lee and it was just a revelation to play. I bought a set of EMG's to drop in to it as I thought I might find the stock pickups a little anaemic, but with the aid of my Laney Digbeth preamp the sounds I got where just what I wanted. Needless to say I won't be putting the EMG's in. 
 

Very happy 😊 

Glad to hear it dude. I will have an am pro ii one day.

[Sarlscharisma]

Sometimes, the old ways are just better.  This is my Am original 60s Jazz and the workmanship is really good here.  It sounds great too, but a bit more on the mellow side compared to the Am Pro 2.

 

Lovely bass by the way, and pleased it fits well in the mix.  I have quite a few different basses but find the Jazz is the most versatile for what I play.   It doesn't have the girth of the P bass in the mix, but sometimes that is not what is always needed imho.