NBD: Fender Player Series Jazz (first Fender)

[Tokalo]

I’ve avoided Fenders since I took up bass 7 years ago because the broad  opinion here at BC is that you can quite easily get more bass for less money.
 

But this MIM came up at a low enough price that I reckoned I could sell without losing if I didn’t get on with it, so I took a punt.

 

First impressions were:

1 It’s really light (8lb/3.3kg on bathroom scales);

2 Played acoustically, the tone is phenomenal;

3 It’s grimy (yuk) - it’s 3 years old;

4 Through an amp, the alnico 5 pickups might as well have been made of jelly for all their supposed punch.

 

However… I then noticed the neck pickup was set really low - over half an inch from the strings. I guess it hadn’t been setup since it was purchased.

 

So I swapped the full old strings for Pressurewounds and did a full setup (using the Fender Owner’s Manual for measurements), including raising the pickups to their recommended height.

 

Oh boy is it good now! I don’t understand why the pickups are so noiseless (through headphones), but I do now understand how these pickups were pushed as an upgrade to the Standard series. They’re very direct and resonant.
 

And talking of upgrades - that seems  to be something smart about a Fender: replacing parts is so easy (there’s a black pickguard on its way already because the white one looks like it’s yellowing - and I think all black will go better with the maple fretboard).

I have a couple of questions, if anyone can help:

1 What is the ratio of standard Fender machine heads? These move a bit inconsistently especially compared to the tuners on my G&L Tributes;

2 How do I degrease a gloss maple fretboard- I don’t think water alone will cut through the grime?

 

Several reviews elsewhere mention sharp frets and dead areas on the fretboard, but that’s not the case with this example. And isn’t that the problem with MIMs? You just don’t know if you’ll get a duff one.

 

As for me - I feel very lucky today.

[Guest]

Congratulations on your new bass. I don’t know the ratio of the Fender tuners but I do know that HipShot HB6 are a drop in replacement that are a big improvement. I have a Player Precision in the same colour as your Jazz and it is getting the HipShots. I also replaced the white pickguard with a black one. Looks much better. 
 

For degreasing I use Goo Gone and it works wonders on a maple board or for removing stickers residue on the body. Make sure you follow the instructions on the bottle. Use a Q-Tip or soft cloth when cleaning the board to avoid scratches.  I bet someone here will have a good home remedy that can be used as well. 
 

Enjoy the bass!

[Lozz196]

If I recall correctly Fender tuners are something like 19:1 in comparison to Hipshots which are about 26:1 - I read this stuff a while back so numbers might be a bit off, but I did replace the stock Fenders on a Mex Precision with Hipshots which are much smoother.

[dub_junkie]

That's a lovely looking Jazz -black/white/maple always draws me in.

 

Don't get me wrong, the black guard will look great too but I like it as is. 

[CJPJ]

Congrats on new purchase. Looks lovely. I have a MIM P Bass and have just been blown away for the quality and playability of it. I suspect its Jazz sister is much the same. I've upgraded to the HiMass Fender Bridge and added a flats and Hipshot drop-tuner. Interestingly I have no issue at all with my machine heads and I wonder if there is some servicing that would help them be smoother. 

[Tokalo]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Upgrading will be a fun project to brighten up the dark winter months.

 

The pickguard arrived today. The original wasn’t shielded; I presume that’s normal (because it doesn’t sit over any wiring?).
 

For me, it makes a very satisfying improvement.

[pst62]

38 minutes ago, Tokalo said:

Thanks for all the suggestions. Upgrading will be a fun project to brighten up the dark winter months.

 

The pickguard arrived today. The original wasn’t shielded; I presume that’s normal (because it doesn’t sit over any wiring?).
 

For me, it makes a very satisfying improvement.

Nice! IMHO You Can't go wrong with Black on Black, whether it be in conjunction with a Maple or Rosewood board.

[BillyBass]

10 hours ago, Tokalo said:

The pickguard arrived today. The original wasn’t shielded; I presume that’s normal (because it doesn’t sit over any wiring?).

Correct.  P bass pickguards (should) have shielding over the control bit but Jazzes don't need it, swapping them is straightforward.

 

And congrats on you first Fender!

[Reggaebass]

10 hours ago, Tokalo said:

Thanks for all the suggestions. Upgrading will be a fun project to brighten up the dark winter months.

 

The pickguard arrived today. The original wasn’t shielded; I presume that’s normal (because it doesn’t sit over any wiring?).
 

For me, it makes a very satisfying improvement.

Looks cool , a big improvement, they are great basses 

[merello]

Black body. Maple neck. Immense. I always like a contrast between the body and neck. (Why? I have nob idea!)

[msb]

Fender manage to put out Jazz basses at quite a few price points , and even the lowly Squier is generally a fine playable instrument , or on the other hand you can get a hand built custom shop version for considerably more money.
I got my first Fender back when there was just one Pbass in the catalogue . You had some colour options and it seemed no two at the time felt the same . You’d play a dozen to pick out the “one”.  There was just one Jazz bass too. And they were equally inconsistent.

The builds are a hell of a lot more consistent today. Play it for a while before you get carried away modding it. They’re quite nice just as they are.

Looks lovely! Congratulations! 
edit … I’d tort that thing!

Edited August 27, 2022 by msb
afterthought