Bass Gear Review

Reviewer	Nigel Puttick
Experience	4 on bass
Review date	April 03 2003
Manufacturer	Fender
Model	American Deluxe Jazz FMT
Price	UKP1100
Item owned for	1-2 years

Bass type	4 string fretted
Neck join	Bolt-On
Neck construction	maple, graphite reinforced
Fingerboard	Rosewood, 22 frets, 34' scale
Body	Quilt Maple over alder
Finish	amber
Pickups	2 fender noiseless jazz
Hardware	gold, schaller / fender
Electronics	active 3-band

This was "the one" from the moment I picked it up, despite the price tag. Beatiful quilt finish on body, fast satin (block inlay and bound) neck with 22 frets and good upper fret access due to (small) heel cutaway - very like a P-lyte neck. Slightly smaller body, which balances very well, unlike standard Fenders which I find neck heavy. Looks absolutely wonderful, better than many "boutique" Jazz basses. Very usable 3-band EQ: unfortunately, turning up the mid boost ruins the sound for me, but instead I use it scooped which is great. Pan pot for pickup selection gives wide range of tones from bridge growl to smooth neck. Wind down the treble and max the neck pickup for liquid fingerstyle. The "noiseless" pickups work as described for me! I changed strings from the OE Fender taperwound E set which were very bright and piano-like, to standard longscale D'Addario XLs which suit it, and me, perfectly - and still allow through-body stringing. It came with an expensive Vintage style brown tolex case - I would have preferred a (much lighter) plastic hardshell case. The only problem was the poor quality of the factory fret job - it really needed a full fret dress with some re-crowning to eliminate the odd rattle or buzz and polish out some rough spots. Not really good enough at this price, you might say, but to my mind having an instrument professionally set-up is an essential part of the pleasure of ownership and now it is perfect, with a very low, rattle-free action. The graphite reinforcement doesn't seem to add to neck stability, though, I find I need to give the truss rod an eighth turn or so every month to keep it just where I want it. I have tried many other quality basses since, and nothing has yet come close.

Construction	90%
(needed fret dress and setup)
Appearance	100%
(simply beautiful)
Playability	95%
(needs monthly truss rod adjustment)
Sound	95%
(but not so good with OE strings (taperwound E))
Customer Service	90%
(Fender UK supplied replacemant string retainer foc)
Value	90%
(good)
Overall	95%
(Very happy)