| Reviewer
| Rick Huff
|
| Experience
| 32
|
| Email
| hawkhuff@msn.com
|
| Review date
| July 31 2001
|
| Manufacturer
| Fender
|
| Model
| Active Jazz Deluxe V
|
| Price
| $545
|
| Item owned for
| 2-5 years
|
| |
|
| Bass type
| 5 string fretted
|
| Neck join
| Bolt-On
|
| Neck construction
| Maple with skunk stripe
|
| Fignerboard
| Pao ferro
|
| Body
| Poplar
|
| Finish
| Lacquer black with tortoise shell pickguard
|
| Pickups
| 2 active J bass
|
| Hardware
| Gotoh tuners, active J bass pickups
|
| Electronics
| active
|
| |
|
Made in Mexico. My axe came with a gig bag and two Allen wrenches for
adjusting the neck and bridge. American deluxe pickups and preamp which
requires a 9 volt battery, installed in a little compartment in the back of
the guitar. The body and neck are large and this baby is heavy, if weight
is a concern. The body is made of poplar wood and the neck has 20 frets
which is comprised of maple with the walnut skunk stripe running down the
back. The fingerboard is pao ferro and is a very, very nice wood. The head
has Gotoh tuners which are smaller than the conventional elephant ear
Fender tuners (I am a traditionalist). The bridge is a standard bridge with
individual saddles. The knob control configuration is: master volume,
pickup, stacked bass-treble, and a small midrange knob at the end. The
instrument has a 34" scale. Comes equipped with Fender nickel plated
steel round wounds (7250's).
Sounds like a Jazz Bass which is what I wanted in the first place! The axe
came with a dirty tone pot which I had cleaned to clear up that problem.
This is the first active electronics bass (and my first 5 string) I've
owned and it is very impressive, to say the least. One especially notices
the difference using the active electronics after putting in a new battery.
Wow! The axe has great bottom end with a super midrange punch. There are
many sound variations available which makes it a very flexible instrument.
The bridge cable B string is strong and deep with no mud, while the G
string is mellow to bad and punchy, which ever setting one chooses.
Came out of the box with what I call medium action. It was easy to play
but the B string, for me, will take some getting used to. The neck is nice
and wide and one feels like there is a lot of room to move around. All in
all a very comfortable neck. And I love the pao ferro wood on the
fingerboard. The axe I purchased is black with the tortoise shell pick
guard. The paint job is flawless and gorgeous. I had trouble with the
intonations being off on the lower strings and it became difficult to set.
Out of curiosity I decided to put on a Leo Quan Badass II bass bridge for a
5 string and what a difference in the sound! The strings now have a
beautiful ring to them and the intonations are set more easily. The attack
is much better than it was before and this seems hard to believe.
It's a Fender. One aspect that I consider when looking at reliability is
whether the instrument stays in tune. This one does and seems overall to
be a very stable instrument.
I have always been a Fender man and this axe has done nothing to change my
mind. Overall this is a super guitar; except the bridge left something to
be desired. The addition of the Badass II bridge took me over the top. I
love this guitar. The sound is great and flexible, it is easy to play, it
is comfortable, and it looks great. I would definitely buy another right
away if lost or stolen.
| Construction
| 95% | 
|
| (Especially for the price)
|
| Appearance
| 98% |
|
| (Nice paint job and overall appearance.)
|
| Playability
| 98% |
|
| (Excellent but you should have longer fingers. And it is heavy.)
|
| Sound
| 100% |
|
| (Versitile.)
|
| Customer Service
| 90% |
|
| (Very responsive via the internet & email.)
|
| Value
| 98% |
|
| (The more I play it, the more I like it.)
|
| Overall
| 98% |
|
| (A great value.)
|
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