A Bit of the Jaco Magic in This Signature Bass
The Jaco Pastorius Fretless Jazz Bass pays tribute to the hugely influential bassist and his unique playing style along with his equally unique bass. There are many stories about how Jaco's favored fretless Jazz Bass became the bass that's represented here, but one thing's for sure — every aspect of this bass contributed to Jaco's signature sound. His fusion of R&B, rock, jazz, classical, and Caribbean music inspired countless bassists to take their playing to the next level, and the Jaco Pastorius Jazz Bass Fretless brings a touch of Jaco to bassists everywhere.
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This J-Bass has some serious mojo
The select alder body is loaded with a pair of vintage Jazz Bass Single-coil pickups and shrouded in Jaco's 3-color sunburst nitrocellulose finish. The traditional Jazz Bass control knobs have been replaced by beefier knurled chrome P Bass knobs. The neck joint is adorned with a special Jaco Tribute neck plate. Jaco's personal Jazz Bass was devoid of a pickguard, and the Jaco Pastorius Fretless Jazz Bass is, as well, though it ships with a 4-ply brown shell pickguard (unmounted, but included in the case).
Ultra-swift and comfortable neck
Much of the mythos surrounding Jaco's original Jazz Bass (dubbed the "Bass of Doom") is exactly what did he do to the neck during the fretted-to-fretless conversion? The widely held belief is that he ripped the frets out and patched the holes that remained with wood filler, and then coated the fingerboard with several coats of marine epoxy to withstand the use of roundwound strings. This Fender re-creation of the "Bass of Doom" sports tidier white inlaid fretline markers in place of the suspected wood filler and the side dot position markers are centered between the fretlines. The Jaco Pastorius Fretless Jazz Bass ships with Fender Stainless Steel Flatwound strings.
A tribute to the master
From the pickguardless body to the modified fretless neck, every detail of the "Bass of Doom" is painstakingly re-created here. Few bassists have left a mark as profound as Jaco Pastorius, with his ring of influence crossing all genres and barriers and inspiring legions of players to pick up the bass. The Fender Jaco Pastorius Fretless Jazz Bass is a fitting tribute to this masterful player, whose playing is heralded as some of the best the world has ever seen.
Fender Jaco Pastorius Fretless Jazz Bass Features:
- Own a bass that pays tribute to the “Bass of Doom”
- Alder body in the comfortable Jazz Bass shape
- Your hands will glide over the fretless pau ferro fingerboard for ultimate speed
- Ultimately comfortable "C"-shaped neck
- 20 fretline markers to keep your place on the fingerboard
- Vintage Jazz Bass single-coils output mojo for R&B, rock, jazz, classical, Caribbean, and more
- Special Jaco tribute neck plate
- Comes with a 4-ply brown shell pickguard for mounting at your discretion
