Riffs Worth Their Weight in Royal Blood
Royal Blood blends elements of garage, psychedelic, and hard rock, with bassist/lead vocalist Mike Kerr serving up thundering bass parts that pull double duty with guitar-range sonics. To fulfill such a multifaceted role, just any bass wouldn’t do. Fender’s luthiers pulled no punches in crafting an instantly iconic take on the Jaguar bass, engineered to meet the exacting needs of Mike’s menagerie of musical moves. This signature Jaguar bass’ distinctive electronics include a mini-humbucker in the bridge position and a middle-position Wide Range humbucker, crafted to capture the full scope of performance possibilities required by Mike’s distinct, spectrum-spanning riffs. Premium tonewoods, arresting aesthetics, and a custom neck plate ensure this signature bass is far more than your standard Jaguar, impressing Sweetwater’s groove-rock gurus with its meticulous mix of comfort and style that pack plenty of sonic firepower.
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Potent possibilities from premier tonewoods
An alder body serves as the Mike Kerr Jaguar Signature bass’ tonal anchor. Warm and full-bodied, alder serves up superlative sustain with resounding bass and slicing mids, weighing toward the lower end of the frequency spectrum. A maple neck balances the alder body’s low-end predilection with excellent articulation that maintains note separation throughout the spectrum, resulting in tight basses, mids, and highs with a brightness throughout. Rosewood comprises the fingerboard, known for its shimmering qualities and supplementing your tone with a crystalline veneer, serving as the final balancer to back up this signature Jaguar bass’s distinctive growl.
Engineered for cutting-edge flexibility
If you know Royal Blood’s tunes, then you understand Mike Kerr’s distinct sonic responsibilities, hammering down heaps of low end and raucous guitar-level riffage in equal parts. While Mike is not the first bassist to pull double duty, he and the minds at Fender saw fit the chance to conjure a solution at the source, rather than leave it to a complex collage of pedals, effects, and dynamics. Instead, Fender’s opted for a set of precision-engineered humbuckers to handle the range: a custom mini-humbucking pickup in the bridge and a Wide Range humbucker in the middle position. While the latter serves up focused, articulate tones, the former ensures plenty of hearty oomph to execute thundering riffs across the spectrum.
Nothin’ but neck
When range is as important to your studio and stage performances as it is with Mike Kerr’s Royal riffs, then the right neck can make a world of difference. The band’s modern sound requires modern solutions, and Fender’s Modern “C” neck profile is the answer. Balancing speed and comfort, the neck’s satin urethane finish accommodates a host of playing styles. The neck also ensures uninhibited access to the higher registers of its 20-fret range, paired with a 9.5-inch fingerboard radius to keep every string within reach. Vintage-style open-back tuning machines and a 4-saddle HiMass vintage-style bridge bookend your tone, and a 1.5-inch synthetic bone nut keeps you buzz-free and in tune.
Fender Mike Kerr Jaguar Signature Bass Guitar Features:
- Signature Mike Kerr bass masterfully blends classic Jaguar aesthetics with contemporary tone-crafting versatility
- Alder body provides rich lows, searing mids, and superlative sustain
- Maple neck imparts a brightness throughout every register, with lively highs and excellent articulation to meet Mike’s spectrum-spanning performance needs
- Rosewood fingerboard reinforces lows while taming highs to provide a shimmering, well-rounded tone perfect for bass- and guitar-range licks
- Bridge-mounted mini-humbucker provides focused tones while middle-mounted Wide Range humbucker delivers ripping, robust riffs
- 3-way blade switch and accompanying master volume and master tone controls make sound shaping a breeze without compromising aural range
- Modern “C” neck profile is satin-finished for unmatched speed and comfort to accommodate countless playstyles
- 20 medium-jumbo frets sprawl the fingerboards 30-inch scale and 9.5-inch radius to ensure unfettered access in every register
- Vintage-style 4-saddle HiMass bridge and open-back tuners mean reliable, in-tune performances
- Custom neck plate is engraved with original Royal Blood artwork
