Fender American Standard Jazz Bass review

The best Jazz bass ever?

  • £949
  • $1749.99
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Fender has made the best use of modern technology while retaining the essential elements of the classic bass guitar

MusicRadar Verdict

Overall, it's a spectacular job. If you like Jazz basses, you must try one.

Pros

  • +

    Everything - a Jazz bass for jazz bass players and everyone else.

Cons

  • -

    Nothing - any shortcomings were dealt with years ago!

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Fender's never-ending quest to reinvent the wheel is a constant source of amazement. Case in point is this latest American-built Standard Jazz, which looks exactly as it should, but the devil is in the detail.

"Clean, vibrant and sonically versatile are all terms associated with the Fender Jazz"

Along with all the usual appointments is a tinted maple fingerboard with hand-rolled edges and a comfortable C neck profile, lightweight Fender tuners and a beautifully designed high- mass raised tail bridge with vintage saddles and added style.

This offers through-body stringing, but can also hide the ball ends if you prefer top- loading to avoid the sharp break angle on the strings that's created by feeding them through the body.

Sounds

Clean, vibrant and sonically versatile are all terms associated with the Fender Jazz, along with its sweet spots and delivery. If you're going to stick with two pickups and passive electronics, this is the benchmark.

So, what's different about the sound here? Well, nothing, except it's cleaner, more vibrant and even more sonically versatile - a Jazz Bass Plus might be a better name.

What's most appealing about this model is that Fender has made the best use of modern technology and design while retaining all the essential elements of what is a truly classic bass guitar.

Roger Newell