LeftyBassist.com

Anyone have much / any experience with the Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass? I have one on the way and I haven't heard much comment on the board about them?

Retail: $1,499.99
MSRP: $2,149.99 - $2,280.00

The premium Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass represents the production Fender bass guitar at its very best. It's beautifully crafted and finished and features great hardware and electronics. Equipped with Lite-Bass tuners, a deluxe chrome-plated bridge that allows both string-thru or top-loading, and 2 dual-coil Samarium Cobalt Noiseless Jazz pickups. The Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass also has 3-band active EQ with master volume and a pan pot for pickup blending.

Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass Features:

Select alder body
Graphite-reinforced maple neck with modern C shape and a satin polyurethane finish
Rosewood or maple fingerboard
9-1/2" radius
22 medium-jumbo frets
Chrome-plated hardware
Deluxe bridge that allows either string-thru or top loading
Chromeplated brass bridge saddles
Lite-Bass tuners with vintage cloverleaf keys
2 dual-coil Samarium Cobalt Noiseless Jazz pickups
Master volume and pan pot for pickup switching
3-band active EQ

.... with all our mighty lefty arsenals, surely at least one of us has experience with a lefty Fender Deluxe Jazz? Somebody? Anybody? Nobody?


....I guess I'll be writing a review when it gets here?

I've played them in stores before. They made a lot of improvements with these basses, but for me they went far enough from the traditional touches of a jazz bass in looks and vibe that they didn't win me over.

My experience was similar. I tried a lefty one out at a nearby Sam Ash well over a year ago and it's still hanging up on their wall. I'm not crazy about the preamp, and if I were to go the active J route I'd probably just buy a passive one and modify it with a J Retro or Aguilar instead.

I've used my friend's '99 Deluxe a few times; he hasn't played it in years, so I offered to set it up for him if he let me borrow it. It's a pretty bass, but not a very inspiring instrument. The tone is sterile, and the neck isn't as comfortable to me as a regular Jazz. Still, it is pretty.......

I have owned and played one since 2000. This bass is flawlessly built with premium alder woods. Unfortunately, the electronic and the pick-ups on the older models (like mine) was terrible. Since I don't care for active electronics in first place (I bought this bass because the Lefty US jazz bass was no longer produced at the time), I took it out and changed the pickups. Now it has a passive electronic with some awesome Lindy Frailin pickups. It sounds great.

In the last models they have upgraded the preamp (the new one has two 9v batteries instead of one) and upgraded the pickups and the bridge. I tried one at Guitar Showcase in San Jose and it sounded very, very good. A sound very close to a Sadowski.
In a nutshell: They most recent ones are worth it if you like active JB's but stay away from the older models. Personally I like passive Jazz Basses.

Another thing you need to know and this applies to all recent Fender American basses. They are sold strung "thru-body" but they always sound more punchy and less harsh when strung through the bridge like a vintage Fender. You lose a little sustain but the tone is much nicer that way.