Behold this Stunning Custom Shop Jazz Bass!
Fender’s elite luthiers have handcrafted an instrument for bassists who want an absolutely stunning instrument. The Fender Custom Shop Artisan Maple Burl Jazz Bass flaunts a gorgeously figured AAAA maple burl top and 4-ply brown shell pickguard atop its solid select ash body. Fitted with a AAA roasted flame maple neck with a comfortable “U” profile and a round-lam rosewood fingerboard, the instrument's playability is off the charts. And equipped with Custom Shop hand-wound ‘60s Jazz Bass Heavy Beveled Alnico V pickups and vintage wiring, a bone nut, and an RSD Designed HiMass bridge, this bass sounds every bit as good as it looks and plays. Complete with a deluxe hardshell case, the Fender Custom Shop Artisan Maple Burl Jazz Bass represents an incredible value in a boutique-grade, heirloom-quality instrument. However, it is available in very limited quantities — be sure to reserve yours at Sweetwater today!
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The iconic Jazz Bass
Back in 1960, Fender launched its “Deluxe Model” bass as a stablemate to the company’s upmarket Jazzmaster guitar that had been recently introduced. It was soon renamed the Jazz Bass, however, as Fender felt that the instrument, with a thinner neck and greater tonal flexibility than the Precision, would appeal to jazz bassists. Indeed it did — in addition, it caught the attention of rock, funk, and fusion bass wizards such as Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones, Sly and the Family Stone’s Larry Graham, and Weather Report’s Jaco Pastorius, who famously removed the frets from his axe, and in the process created a new instrument category: the fretless Jazz Bass. As different as their music was, these musicians (and countless others) were drawn to the Jazz Bass for its fast, slender neck and the expanded tonal spectrum offered by its two single-coil pickups, which can be blended to taste using the individual volume controls.
Impressive tonal versatility
While preamp-equipped models of the Jazz Bass with active EQ may offer the ultimate in tonal customization, the classic passive Jazz Bass provides a surprisingly broad sonic palette without having to deal with added complexity and dead-battery angst. With both pickups full up and the instrument’s tone pot fully open, the Jazz Bass produces a wide-range, hum-canceling signal with blooming bottom, sparkling highs, and slightly scooped mids. It’s this tonal richness that funk players exploited with the new playing techniques that emerged in the 1970s. On its own, each pickup brings something different to the tone party. While the bridge pickup delivers the aggressive Jazz Bass growl that can easily plow through a thick rock or fusion track, the neck pickup (which is actually positioned in the middle of the body) serves up a warm, rounded tone that can approximate an upright bass, making it ideal for sparser arrangements, ballads, and of course, small-ensemble jazz.
Balance, comfort, and speed
Radical when it was introduced, the offset waist of the Jazz Bass body moves left-side body mass toward the neck in a way that aligns with the angle at which most bassists hold their instrument when standing. When playing seated, most (right-handed) players rest the guitar on their right thigh, and the offset design, in this case, aligns the rear body contour with your torso, where it belongs. Another significant feature of the Jazz Bass is its neck shape. The nut on a 4-string Jazz Bass neck is 1.5 inches wide, whereas most other 4-strings on the market have a nut width of 1.625 inches or more. This makes a world of difference in playing feel, particularly when playing in the low register — the meat and potatoes range. Jazz Bass aficionados at Sweetwater like that the shorter distance between strings in the low register allows for greater dexterity and speed, as they don’t have to stretch as far to reach, say, a low G. This makes the Jazz Bass better suited to players with smaller hands. The Jazz bass neck profile is also quite rounded, making it comfortable for a variety of fretting techniques, including thumb-over. Whatever your playing predilections, you can’t go wrong with a Fender Jazz Bass!
Fender Custom Shop Artisan Maple Burl Jazz Bass Features:
- 2-piece select ash body with AAAA maple burl top and 4-ply brown shell pickguard
- Nitrocellulose lacquer body finish with WLS undercoat
- AAA roasted flame maple bolt-on neck with’ 60-style “U” profile, nitro finish
- Round-lam rosewood fingerboard
- Custom Shop hand-wound ’60s Jazz Bass Heavy Beveled Alnico V pickups
- Vintage wiring; per-pickup Volume controls and master Tone
- Bone nut; RSD Designed HiMass bridge
- Vintage Oval Paddle tuning machines
- Nickel/chrome hardware
- Custom Shop deluxe hardshell case included
- Meticulously crafted in the USA
