Bass Gear Review

Reviewer	John
Experience	4
Review date	April 08 2002
Manufacturer	Fender
Model	American Series Jazz Bass
Price	$750
Item owned for	1-6 months

Bass type	4 string fretted
Neck join	Bolt-On
Neck construction	Maple
Fingerboard	Rosewood
Body	Alder
Finish	Black
Pickups	2 Jazz Pickups
Hardware	Chrome everything, good tuners, versatile bridge
Electronics	Passive: Volume/Volume/Tone

My first bass was a Squier and it was great until it started it's long, slow road to suicide. Since my band was getting ready to play out I went on what can only be described as a very spastic search for a new bass. I went through a Fender Hot-Rodded P-bass (P/J pickups), a Stingray, and a Jazz bass with a maple neck before I decided on this one. The main problem with the other basses was that I wasn't satisfied with the combination of growl and bass. The Fender Hot Rod was close, but the jazz pickup just sounded to thin and nasal to add growl. The Stingray had growl, but the low end was too low, almost subsonic. The maple jazz lacked bass and sounded thin. But this is the one. It is perfect. It can get as smooth and warm as I like, as fat and punchy as I need, and growls like a (insert big animal name here). The neck is infinitely more playable than the Stingray and P-Bass. And the variety of sounds is wonderful. Everything I look for in the range that I play (indie rock, punk, ska, a little bit of reggae). I like knowing that the neck is invincible with the graphite reinforcements, and I like being able to hold a note forever with the string-through body bridge. It's great to be able to go from a CCR thump to a Greenday snarl to a hard rock growl. I can immerse a song in deep deep bass or cut through and do a dance line with the bridge pickup. I'm happy.

Construction	100%
(Feels like a rock but sounds better than one.)
Appearance	100%
(Prettiest bass ever made. )
Playability	100%
(Real nice like.)
Sound	98%
(Could maybe* use a bit more low mids on the neck pickup.)*
Value	100%
(Great bass for under a thousand clams. And clams are expensive, boy howdy.)

Overall	100%
(It be real good.)