Fender Jazz Bass
The
Jazz Bass was the second model of electric bass guitar created by
Leo Fender.
First introduced in
1960 as the "Deluxe Model", it was renamed the Jazz Bass as Fender felt that its redesigned neck - narrower and more rounded than that of the Precision Bass - would appeal more to
jazz musicians. The Jazz Bass has two bipolar "Jazz" pickups. As well as having a slightly different, less symmetrical and more contoured body shape (known in Fender advertising as the "offset waist contour" body), the Jazz Bass neck is noticeably narrower towards the nut than that of the more common
Fender Precision Bass. Note that while the Precision Bass was styled similarly to the
Stratocaster guitar, the Jazz Bass's styling was inspired more by another then-recently introduced series of Fender guitars, the
Jazzmaster and
Jaguar, with which the Jazz shared its offset body theme and other styling cues.
The original intention was to make it easier for upright-bass players to make the switch to electric bass. The original jazz bass had two stacked knob pots with volume and tone control for each pickup. Today it has three control knobs (instead of the two of the Fender Precision Bass), two of them controlling the volume of the two pickups and one for the overall tone. A fourth, push button control is available on some models of Jazz Bass produced after mid-2003. Known as the "S-1 Switch" this feature allows the pickups to operate in standard,
parallel wiring, or alternatively in
series wiring when the switch is depressed. While in series, both pickups function as a single unit with one volume control, giving the Jazz Bass a sound similar to the Precision Bass.
Some "Deluxe" Jazz Bass models have been produced which feature active pickups rather than the traditional passive ones. In place of the usual single passive tone-rolloff control, these models have three separate equaliser controls: bass and treble response are controlled by the base and top, respectively, of a stacked double panpot, while midrange is controlled by a second panpot.
The Jazz Bass has a warm, fat, funky sound, with more high end than the Precision. This makes it ideal for pick playing as well as finger-style players (bassists who pluck the strings with their fingers rather than using a pick), and the sound of the fretless Jazz Bass became a classic of
jazz fusion music thanks to famous bassist
Jaco Pastorius. It also became a classic in the hands of bassists such as
John Paul Jones of
Led Zeppelin,
Noel Redding,
John Entwistle (in the 1960s) and
Geddy Lee of
Rush,
Flea of the
Red Hot Chili Peppers and
Matt Freeman of punk band
Rancid, to name but a few. Vintage examples from the 1960s and 1970s are now highly coveted and fetch four and five-figure sums - when they can be located - and the new models remain a popular choice today of Rock, Jazz, and Fusion musicians.
In the present bass guitar models made in Mexico, a simple bridge and pickup set is present. It has been complained by many accomplished bassists, particularly
Geddy Lee, who uses the popular Leo Quan
Badass Bridge II. This particular bridge model allows for longer sustain and better control of harmonics. They are very easy to install and are made solely for the purpose of replacing the stock bridge to provide a better, original sound. The pickup sets are also easily replaced by American pickups. The criticism for cutting corners is shortlived, as you can pay only a total of about $150 to improve the standard Jazz Bass to something more adequate. This should not discourage one from buying a standard Jazz Bass, for you still get the great original sound either way.
A sampling of other available styles
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From left to right:
1. ‘64 Jazz Bass NOS (New Old Stock, as if an older instrument had be found in the modern era unplayed with no wear and tear) in 3-color Sunburst with chrome pickup and bridge covers, thumb rest, and tortoise shell pickguard with an alder body and rosewood fretboard [1]
2. Deluxe Active Jazz Bass V (5-String) in Candy Apple Red with alder body, pau ferro fretboard, and tortoise shell pickguard. [2]
3. Black Custom Classic Jazz Bass V with inlaid fretboard block in a pau ferro fretboard. [3]
4. American Deluxe Jazz Bass FMT (Figured Maple Top) Tobacco Sunburst finish on a flamed maple top with alder body and a maple fretboard. [4]
5. American Deluxe Jazz Bass FMT V Tobacco Sunburst finish on a flamed maple top with alder body, inlaid blocks in a pau ferro fretboard. [5] |
*
BassPlaza.com - Bass resource website.
*
Virtual Jazz Bass*
Fender*
BajoElectrico.com - El Club del Bajista.
* {{cite book
last = Bacon | first = Tony | title = 50 Years of Fender: Half a Century of the Greatest Electric Guitars | publisher = Backbeat Books | location = London | year = 2000 | id = ISBN 0879306211
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