Reviewer	Ken
Experience	10
Review date	January 29 2002
Manufacturer	Fender
Model	1974 Jazz Bass
Price	1700
Item owned for	1-2 years

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Bass type	4 string fretted
Neck join	Bolt-On
Neck construction	Maple
Fingerboard	Rosewood fretboard with Pearloid blocks
Body	not sure
Finish	Sunburst with Tortise Shell guard
Pickups	2 Jazz Pickups, Bridge and Neck
Hardware	Fender
Electronics	Passive, Two volume knobs, one tone knobs

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I bought this bass a couple years ago, my first 'vintage' instrument. Previously, I played only newer Fender Jazz Basses (Mexican-Made). For me, it has lived up to the vintage hype - it plays, looks, and sounds great. It is all original, including covers, case, and tags, with only minor finish checking and a few nicks on the edges. The frets are worn a bit. The neck is slim and fast, and feels so much more "solid" and "stable" than my Mexi bass. Yet, the fretboard is soft and smooth. The sound is incredibly warm. You can get a variety of tones, from punchy to plain, and with the bridge pickup only, it sounds quite like an upright bass. It has a great "mmmuhhwah" to it, slides and hammer-ons, etc, sound fabulous. Pretty quiet, only a little buzzing with bridge pu. When played through a loud amp, it reminds me exactly of the bass tone on the first two Led Zeppelin albums-super warm-just like John Paul Jones, (and it looks like his bass too). The one down side, is that it is very heavy - probably about 10 or 12 pounds. But overall, this is the real deal. Worth every penny, the kind of bass that you want to save only for the studio.

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Construction	98%
(Perfect but not lightweight)
Appearance	100%
(Classic, will never go out of style)
Playability	100%
(Lovely, like a dream)
Sound	98%
(Warm and comfy)
Value	90%
(Expensive but worth it)
Overall	100%
(The Real Deal)

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