Fender Coffee Table

[Mrbigstuff]

I’ve always thought I’d rather get a luthier to build a jazz over a Fender custom shop (and did for my fretless) but this is as beautiful a jazz as I’ve ever seen

 

https://www.fendercustomshop.com/series/artisan/artisan-maple-burl-jazz-bass-3a-rosewood-fingerboard-aged-natural/

[SurroundedByManatees]

It's truly nice indeed, I like it. But the cheap looking pickguards ruins it a bit for me to be honest.

 

At these price points they should have top quality tort guards fitted. People who pay Custom Shop kinda cash are happy to lay another 150 for a Spitfire quality pickguard.

 

A good looking pickguard would make a huge positive difference in the overall appearance.

Edited February 16, 2024 by SurroundedByManatees

[bubinga5]

Love it.. That has got to be a very expensive CS..  I never understood the love for Spitfire pickguards, to me they dont look like Proper tortoise shell at all, the figuring just doesn't look like TS imo, they look digitally printed for want of a better word.

[Burns-bass]

Just a weird mish mash of style with no coherence to me. Why the pick-up cover but not a bridge one? Why the modern hi mass bridge but 60s rest? Why the lollipop tuners? Weird.

[Bolo]

I'm sorry but that body looks like particle board. I like lush coffee table tops on basses, this looks like a 'build your own bass in six weeks at your local luthier's workshop' project.

[LukeFRC]

We used to have a piano growing up with burl veneer finish just like that. None of my family could play but it just sat there - it was a wooden frame too so couldn’t even be tuned. 

[Beedster]

9 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

Just a weird mish mash of style with no coherence to me. Why the pick-up cover but not a bridge one? Why the modern hi mass bridge but 60s rest? Why the lollipop tuners? Weird.

 

Absof***inglutely, what a mess. Add a old school BBOT bridge, remove the PUP cover, and it would be passable, at present it all looks like an afterthought as opposed to a plan

[Paulhauser]

As others said some parts look out of place and if I had a bass with such a top I might just as well put a clear pickguard and bell on it 

[Mrbigstuff]

I don’t think they’ll be making it in high numbers then 😂 For me it has the luxuries you would expect of a modern jazz bass but with a vintage vibe. At first glance, and before I learnt it was a burl top, I thought it might be a Lee Sklaar signature.

[LeftyJ]

At a custom shop price point they might as well have aligned those tuners properly. What a mess, and what poor taste. 

[itu]

"Other premium features include... strap and papers..."

 

Now that's what I call premium!

 

I do not understand the hype FMI is trying to include into their basic basses, except from marketing and higher price perspective. After all, Sadowsky et al. are in the high end J market with well thought concepts.

[Newfoundfreedom]

I'm generally not a fan of Fenders but even I like that. 

[PaulThePlug]

Expensive, albeit a very nice Parts-Bin Special.

The Options and Build Guide makes interesting reading.

I'm sure @Andyjr1515 could custom veneer a J body... I likes Quilted... then Fender Hi Mass Bridge, Bell Plate, Tone Riders or Kent Armstrongs - I'd go PJ 😉

Edited February 17, 2024 by PaulThePlug

[iconic]

I like it, reminds me of a 70s Cadillac dashboard, with the fake plastic wood and sudden colour combo. 😎

[Andyjr1515]

1 hour ago, PaulThePlug said:

Expensive, albeit a very nice Parts-Bin Special.

The Options and Build Guide makes interesting reading.

I'm sure @Andyjr1515 could custom veneer a J body... I likes Quilted... then Fender Hi Mass Bridge, Bell Plate, Tone Riders or Kent Armstrongs - I'd go PJ 😉

You mean like this one?    :

 

 

 

Sorry for the bling, folks, but - in my defense - it was a pretty dull dinted black Squier when it started... 

 

[Steve Browning]

I bought a 62 reissue when they first came out around 1983. I sent it back as I couldn't live with the dreadful supposed tort plate. It looked just like this. Horrible. 

[Beedster]

2 hours ago, itu said:

"Other premium features include... strap and papers..."

 

Now that's what I call premium!

 

I do not understand the hype FMI is trying to include into their basic basses, except from marketing and higher price perspective. After all, Sadowsky et al. are in the high end J market with well thought concepts.

 

They're lucky enough to have a safe marketplace in the shape of US fanboys for all things US Fender 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

That's just awful.

[Richard R]

The Fender is OK,  but I definitely prefer @Andyjr1515's bass.

 

[tauzero]

Nice wood, what a waste of it making a Fender.

[Baloney Balderdash]

Yes, why would you ever want to make something that weren't just an exact copy of something made before? 

 

Outrageous! 

 

Shame on you Fender! 

 

Edited February 17, 2024 by Baloney Balderdash

[Cosmo Valdemar]

12 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Yes, why would you ever want to make something that weren't just an exact copy of something made before? 

 

Outrageous! 

 

Shame on you Fender! 

 

Nobody's suggested that Fender don't try anything new.

[Baloney Balderdash]

Just now, Cosmo Valdemar said:

Nobody's suggested that Fender don't try anything new.

 

19 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

Just a weird mish mash of style with no coherence to me. Why the pick-up cover but not a bridge one? Why the modern hi mass bridge but 60s rest? Why the lollipop tuners? Weird.

 

[Misdee]

It just shows how much tastes can differ because I am not at all keen on Fender-style basses with exotic wood finishes. They don't fulfill the traditional Fender aesthetic, but because they are essentially Fender designs they aren't really boutique basses either, no matter what fancy wood you use. They end up being neither one thing or the other.

 

Burl maple is a beautiful wood, but these basses will probably sound like any old Jazz Bass, albeit a pretty good one I would hope considering the price they will retail for.

Edited February 18, 2024 by Misdee

[bubinga5]

On 16/02/2024 at 22:51, Burns-bass said:

Just a weird mish mash of style with no coherence to me. Why the pick-up cover but not a bridge one? Why the modern hi mass bridge but 60s rest? Why the lollipop tuners? Weird.

 

Edited February 18, 2024 by bubinga5