Scratchy pots, poor build quality. Bitterly disappointing.

That's great, but if you need a Jaco's tone you need to work the nut or replace that.I don't n know why fender custom install a regular nut to a fretless bass.The second issue is the strings you need to install a roundwound to get the Jaco's tone.
This two issues only for the other thinks it's great instrument.
In my case I (my luthier) install a real bone nut and Rotosound Swing Bass 66 strings, and now I have a Jaco Pastorius bass.

I love the quality that went into the building this bass. It looks beautiful and sounds great. The pickups aren't as strong as other jazz basses but, as it turns out, the slightly weaker pickups enable it to be more expressive. The two issues that keep me from giving the Jaco bass a five star rating are (1) the tuners are tight which makes it a little harder to tune accurately (though it's a little better if the tuners are oiled), and (2) C# on the first string is half dead. That's why Fender invented the Fat Finger. Why couldn't they build weights into the peg head to fix the dead spot in the first place? Neither of these issues should keep you from buying a Jaco though. It's pretty perfect even with the flaws.

It's a great instrument except for the dead C# note on the first string. To mitigate the problem, I've had to put a Fender Fat Finger on the headstock just to produce some tone but it still isn't the same as the notes around it. I'm using D'Addario 45-100 tape wound strings. I haven't found anyone who has a fix for the problem.

It's pretty much everything I expected after reading rave review after rave review. My other custom J-style fretless bass, a custom J-style built by a noted luthier using Warmoth parts and Bartolini J-style, has a bad deadspot at C# on the first string. The Jaco bass has a slight volume drop at C# (common on J-style basses) but I haven't had any problems playing it out of the box. I did have to replace the crappy Fender strings with D'Addario black tapewound strings). If you're Jonesing for a Jaco bass, don't wait!

The most beautiful sounding, smooth bass. Truly star quality. Amazing.

I played a jaco bass about 20 yrs ago. I instantly wanted it. But finances kept me from it at the time, now I could get it and I did!! It plays great!! it's now my go to bass now. This is a great bass in every way!! If it was good enough for Jaco it's good enough for me!!. The guys at Sweetwater are the greatest ! Made the buying experience very easy. No problems and was delivered before it was due to get here. The Jaco bass is awesome!! get one, you'll be glad ya did!! Rick Kurtz

I wanted to add a Fretless bass for the obvious reasons (thank you Jaco for opening this door for all of us to explore). I"m just thrilled with this choice. Powerful pickups will give you whatever tone you need. The Pau Ferro fingerboard I didn"t know what to expect, but it"s a dream. This bass is beautiful. Plays amazing. Sounds amazing. Comes with a pick guard and pickup covers if you want to put them on. Definitely worth the price and more. Love this bass.

I'm a professional keyboard/piano player/music teacher and I do bass gigs occasionally. This beautiful bass is the 5th in my collection of jazz basses (MIM Ash, USA 2013 fretted, vintage modified fretless, vintage modified fretted). They all have a good amount of that Jaco sound through my Markbass 2x10, or even my ampeg BA108, when you favour the bridge pup. But by far, this Jaco Pastorius bass nails it the closest of the 5. I think it would actually be hard NOT to get his tone when playing this thing. The harmonics just jump out at you. That beautiful, rich singing tone in the higher registers, and rich funky tone down below. And what a great player! Feels so comfortable. I have to say though that I switched the flatwounds right away to rotosound rounds. And I love the craftsmanship. You can tell they took extra care to match the wood grain (absolutely beautiful) with the different body pieces- even more so than with my fretted usa sunburst. This was my 1st Sweetwater guitar/bass purchase and I'm impressed. I don't drive so being able to choose between 3 basses with pics and the weight listed is huge for me. And the service is tops. I had a question after the purchase so I called Dylan and he took care of me. The bass came in 3 business days. If you love that Jaco tone, don't hesitate!

I have had mine for a few weeks now and couldn't be happier with my purchase. I am hesitant to ship any guitar in the mail but when mine came in my worries were put to rest, the packaging was done wonderfully and all worries that something may have happened during shipping were put to rest. The guitar is flawless and so was the case it came with, anyone looking to get a fretless bass should pick this up as its one of if not the best choice you have. The fingerboard plays like a dream and then neck is buttery smooth. I would like to give a special thanks to Matt Fuller ext.1284 for all of his assistance in the process of getting this beautiful bass.

My expectations for music gear are extremely high so I'm going to make this a short review.
The Jaco bass exceeded all expectations.
Fit, finish and playability were off-the-charts. As one other reviewer stated, you cannot put it down.
So easy to play and I lover the flat wounds. I have three other basses all with round wounds so having a fretless with flats was perfect for me.

The price, IMO, was very reasonable given what I received.
Right out of the box it plays perfect. And for me, that's really saying something.
I didn't even feel the need to change the strings like I automatically do on any guitar I purchase.

If you've been on the fence about getting the Jaco then just do it.

Great work Fender.

Fender Jazz basses, in general, are all decent instruments. It really takes a special something for a Jazz bass to stick out of the crowd. The Jaco bass does just that. The smoothness and playability of this bass really sets it out from everyday Jazz basses. The tone of this fretless beast is outstanding. Fender even went the extra mile to make the whole apperance of the bass look and feel like a NOS vintage bass. The weather report on this bass is looking good.

This being my first fretless, I do not have any right to make comparisons. But all I know is that it makes a beginner sound awesome. And I can't stop playing it. Everything feels natural and inviting. Of course, I bought it so I might someday approach the articulation of its namesake. As it plays, those expressive sounds come out almost spontaneously at times. This casts the magical thought that someday you too could have a voice like Jaco's, and hopefully your own. Add to that the personalized service from Sweetwater, and the experience has been without par.

Stunning appearance and the neck is perfect. I am still getting used to the reverse tuners but don't use them too much as it stays in tune very well. Pretty amazing tone adjustments considering its all passive. Perfect balance.

There have only been two times before where I was completely awestruck by an instrument: my first Les Paul (early 70's) and a 1936 000-28 Martin I owned in the early 80's. I didn't think I would ever have that experience again, but this bass has the most awesome neck I have ever played. The fingerboard is silky smooth. I can't stop playing the damn thing! If you need a fretless, this is the one to get.

This is a solid, really high quality instrument with a few details that make it stand out, and at a price that is relatively accessible for a professional quality bass: nicely voiced, traditional sounding passive J pickups, beautiful, classic looks (I've put the pick guard on and will put standard J bass knobs on), great playing, easily adjustable, a nitro finish, and well balanced (mine is 9 lbs).

The instrument's finish is fantastic, really well done in nitrocellulose lacquer, and the joint in the two-piece body is indistinguishable. Here, especially with a transparent finish, the fact that Sweetwater has photos of the actual instrument is critical if you're buying something on-line.

It was playable out of the box, and with minimal truss rod adjustment, new strings (still flats, my preference) and no bridge saddle adjustment I've gotten it playing as I like it. The neck and fingerboard both feel really good to me. I have two fretted Jazz Basses, so this is familiar to me. The pickups sound like they should, the bass feels and looks great. Should be near the top of anyone's list of high-quality 4-string fretless basses, and obviously is at the top for me.

With Fender, as with pretty much any other maker in my experience, quality and qualities like feel vary from instrument to instrument. They're made of wood and are built with some to a lot of human craftsmanship, and things like weight, location and intensity of dead spots (wolf tones), neck pocket fit (an overemphasized issue IMO), and even the peghead profile vary. I find most higher-end Fender instruments to be really flexible and adjustable, and this one is no exception.

I was a bit hesitant to buy an 1800 dollar bass but I wanted a cool sound that I was lacking. After much thought and going back and forth I made that plunge and I do not regret the decision. I love this bass it is smooth and fast with the neck action and the sound is incredible. My band mates like the sound and tone I get. I am glad I made the decision to get this bass

After joining a jazz outfit recently I realized that a fretless was needed to achieve the sound I was looking for. As a big fan of Jaco's back in the day I was thrilled to find Fender's Tribute Jazz Bass. My hesitation about the price was offset the minute I had it in my hands. This is one beautifully built bass solid but finished nicely. Trying not to be impulsive I didn't buy it then and there and when I did go back to get it of course it was gone. Ordered one and in a few days I was the proud owner although I did have the shop swap out the flatwound strings for medium gauge roundwounds. I guess Fender doesn't want to encourage you to wear down the neck. This is strange however as Jaco played Rotosound rounds and it is a definite part of his signature sound. Once this was done the bass sang. Play the strings near the bridge and you got it. The band freaked when they heard it and frankly the fret markers and lines make it easy to play. I'm sure this is one of Fender's basses that will just appreciate in value and break in nicely. I guess you could go with a MIM fretless to learn or save some dough but I have always been of the opinion that you can't go wrong buying the best. You won't regret it if you invest in this beauty..