FENDER BASS ROUND UP In my ‘ other life ’ I play music outside the four walls of church and over the years have played bass on various albums and video games including a couple of incarnations for the Guitar Hero video game franchise . In addition to owning a ’ 57 P-Bass reissue from the ‘ 80s as well as a killer Squire Jazz P , my go to bass is an American Originals ‘ 60s Precision Bass . Noting how much I love this instrument ( and how well it has served me ), I must admit I was a bit sad when that line was retired . That said , each of the instruments reviewed does a great job of representing Fender ’ s quest to reflect upon its history while making forward progress .
FENDER GOLD FOIL JAZZ BASS
KEY FEATURES
• Alder Body
• Ebony Fingerboard
• White Pearloid Dots
• Bound Neck
• Matching Painted Headstock
• ‘ 60s ‘ C ’ -Shaped Maple Neck
• 9.5 ” Radius Fingerboard
• Fender Gold Foil Single-Coil Pickups
• Vintage-Style Hardware
the bunch , but there was no skimping on tone or quality going on here . One of the benefits I ’ ve heard Fender mention before is the fact that unlike overseas manufacturing , it ’ s relatively easy to pop over to Mexico from Fender ’ s SoCal offices .
This instrument does a great job of integrating the single pickup , volume , and tone P-Bass players love into a J-Bass form factor . The neck and body sound and feel like a Jazz Bass , while the straight-ahead controls have a level of familiarity that P-Bass lovers like me will appreciate . Be it the dual pickups and feature set , or the body and neck variation , I tend to find Jazz Basses to be a bit more tonally complex than the P . While it offers less sculpting ability , there is something ‘ just right ’ about the P-Bass that makes it work . This instrument is a great blend of the two , and if you ’ re a P player looking to kick the tires of the Jazz Bass world , this is an excellent place to start .
Noting how interconnected feel and tone are on a bass , this instrument delivers in both representments . I really liked the feel and response of the Ebony fingerboard and combined with the single pickup it eliminated any of the ‘ honk factor ’ I ’ ve found with some Jazz Basses when leaning on the bridge pickup . Before we get to how much I enjoyed playing this bass , the whole experience started with pulling this lovely instrument out of the gig bag . From the painted headstock , down to the Ebony fingerboard , Gold Foil pickup , and two-tone sunburst ( also available in Daphne Blue ) this bass is gorgeous ! Manufactured in Mexico , this is the most afforbale instrument in
Looks aside , my favorite thing about this instrument is how consistent it is across the strings in all registers . Well balanced is the phrase that comes to mind , which means you can focus more on playing the parts and less on how hard you need to pluck the strings . This bass is equally gifted in its ability to throw down the funk , enunciate the click of the pick , and not get lost in the mix when applying some muted thumbing or rolling off the tone control .
$ 1,299.99 MAP ( gig bag included ) www . Fender . com
Buy from Sweetwater
[ WM ] Affiliate Link
August 2023 Subscribe for Free ... 101