MusicRadar

• Review
• Manufacturer's Description

Many years ago, Fender produced what many players consider to be the ultimate bass guitar. However, it hasn't stopped tweaking its trusty Jazz, so much so that there's a relatively new generation of Jazz Basses that have abandoned the traditional look for a much more streamlined appearance.

Curiously, this design ethic was championed by other manufacturers and gave rise to the 'super-J' breed of basses.

Using a combination of exotic woods, high-quality components and powerful active electronics has allowed them to become pretty well established over the last 10 to 15 years, so some may view this as a bit of a pointless (and rather late) exercise.

However, many players await any developments on Fender gear with baited breath, and if you're one of these people then this bass could be something of an event. Thankfully, and true to form, the results aren't a disappointment.

Jazzy

Although there's little here that hasn't already been addressed by those would-be usurpers of the Jazz Bass crown, the very fact that this is made by the people who should have done it in the first place is bound to make it that much more attractive - and doubly so when it's offered at such an affordable price!

The extended and sleeker upper body horn offers improved balance and, along with the disposal of the scratchplate, presents a cleaner, more modern stance, allowing the flame top to shine through.

Many designers would have gone for gold-plated hardware to complement this natural look, but Fender has stuck with chrome and we actually prefer this. Things stay traditional as far as the adjustable bridge styling goes, but close inspection shows that it sensibly offers a choice of surface or through-body stringing.

The Seymour Duncan Basslines pickups also stay true to the established design. They use twin poles, but beneath the body surface they're supported by advanced active circuitry, coupled to the control array, to give the player a vast choice of tones and audio dynamics.

To help keep the surface controls to a minimum, a stack-knob has been employed. While we acknowledge the practicality of this, we can't help wishing it was smaller so it didn't protrude from the body so much.

This is actually a general gripe, but surely a 'top hat' profile with the lower knob offered as a thinner 'brim' could be developed to reduce this cumbersome double-height design.

In complete contrast, the licensed Hipshot tuners are extremely neat in their design, and while they retain the traditional 'shamrock' button appearance, they're much smaller than the conventional Fender tuners.

As a consequence, a reduction in headstock size has been made possible, and not only does this enhance the new, sleek look, but it also improves the overall balance.

At the rear of the body, a six-bolt neck plate takes over from the regular four-bolt fixing, and along with the control cavity and separate battery compartment, the back also houses the individual chrome-plated string anchors.

In stark contrast to the flame top, the finish here is the darkest hue of the sunburst, but it's still just about translucent. All in all, this is a very cool-looking bass…