Fender Jazz Bass Totally Explained

Everything about Fender Jazz Bass totally explained

The Jazz Bass (or J-Bass) was the second model of electric bass guitar created by Leo Fender. The bass is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange with less emphasis on the fundamental harmonic. Because of this, many bass players who want to be more "forward" in the mix (including smaller bands such as power trios) prefer the Jazz Bass.

History

First introduced in 1960 as the "Deluxe Model", it was marketed as a stablemate to the Jazzmaster guitar which was also marketed as a "Deluxe Model" in its own right; however, 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 single coil pickups with two pole pieces per string. This gave the bass a stronger midrange sound to compete with the Rickenbacker bass, which had been introduced in 1957 and which was famously "bright." 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 at the nut than that of the Fender Precision Bass. While the Precision Bass was originally styled similarly to the Telecaster guitar (and, after 1957, the Stratocaster), the Jazz Bass' styling was inspired more by the Jazzmaster guitar, with which the Jazz shared its offset body and sculpted edges that differentiate it from other slab-style guitar bodies.
   The original intention was to encourage upright-bass players to switch to electric bass guitar. The original Jazz Bass had two stacked knob pots with volume and tone control for each pickup. Original instruments with this stacked configuration are highly valued in today's vintage guitar market. Around 1961 it received three control knobs: two controlling the volume of each pickup and one the overall tone. Despite this new feature, many stack knob models were made until about 1962. A number of cosmetic changes were made to the instrument since CBS purchased Fender in 1965. During 1965/66 the Jazz Bass received bound rosewood fingerboards with pearloid dot position inlays (which replaced the older "clay"-style of the early '60s) and oval-shaped tuning machines. Block-shaped fingerboard inlays and an optional maple fingerboard were introduced after 1966/67. Fender switched to the 3-bolt neck fixing in the mid-'70s before reverting to the normal 4-bolt neck fixing and dot-shaped fretboard markers in 1983. White pickup covers and a pickguard/control plate were introduced the same year.
   Jazz Basses produced between 1989 and 1992 featured a larger body shape and a 22-fret neck, similar to that of a Precision Bass Plus. Usually known as Boner models, they've been discontinued in 1993 and can't be confused with the Fender Jazz Bass Plus, which has the same 22-fret neck design, but utilizes a different body styling, Lace Sensor pickups, Schaller fine-tuner bridge and active electronics.
   A fourth push button control is available on American-made Jazz Basses produced between mid-2003 until 2008. 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 more similar to the Precision Bass. The two pickups are built to be opposite from each other in both magnetic polarity and electrical phase, so that when heard together, hum is cancelled -- the humbucking effect. The Highway One Jazz Bass is a moderately priced American-made bass introduced in 2003, featuring a BadAss II bridge with grooved saddles, Posiflex graphite neck support rods, '70s styling and a Greasebucket tone circuit since 2006.
   In 2008, the American Series models were replaced by a new American Standard line which is totally different than the first-generation American Standard Series basses introduced in 1994. The differences between the 1994 and the 2008 versions are the American Series rolled edge neck with highly detailed nut and fret work, as well as the familiar rounded body shape with the vintage body radius. The S-1 switching system has been discontinued in favor of new features such as a new high-mass vintage bridge, Hipshot lightweight vintage-style tuning machines, a richer and deeper neck tint, glossed maple or rosewood fingerboard and satin back for smooth playability. The new American Standard Jazz Basses had a thinner finish undercoat that lets the body breathe and improves resonance.
   Although the original Jazz Bass is made by Fender, 'boutique' bass manufacturers also make bass guitars with many of the same features and some of the design sensibilities of the Fender Jazz Bass.

Design Features

Some "Deluxe" Jazz Bass models feature an active pre-amp (usually with three bands of equalization) in place of a single passive tone control, these basses have three separate equalizer controls: bass and treble responses are controlled by the base and top of a stacked double pot, while midrange is controlled by a second knob. They came with 22 frets, abalone dot position inlays and an 18-volt power supply on some models. Known as Jazz Bass Deluxe since 1995, these active basses had been renamed American Deluxe Jazz Bass as of 1998. The American Deluxe Jazz Bass features two Samarium Cobalt Noiseless Jazz Bass pickups, designed by pickup designer Bill Lawrence. Models produced before 2004 came with special-design Jazz Bass single-coils featuring a single pole-piece per string (1995-1999) and Vintage Noiseless pickups (2000-2003). Fretless and 5-string versions are also available. Other refinements included a strings-through-body/top-load bridge, graphite reinforcement bars, rolled fingerboard edges, highly detailed nut and fret work. Five-string versions are presented with a 4+1 tuner arrangement and two Hipshot string trees since 2002 (from 1995 to 2001 the tuners were arranged in a straight line on one side). An asymmetrical 5-bolt neck plate and a smooth contoured heel that allows much easier access to the upper registers replaced the previous 4-bolt neck fixing found on the American Deluxe models manufactured during the late '90s. Bound fingerboards with pearloid block inlays were added with the introduction of the American Deluxe Jazz Bass FMT & QMT in late 2001, featuring flamed or quilted maple tops and gold-plated hardware. Fender discontinued the FMT and QMT Jazz Bass models in 2007.
   The Mexican Deluxe Active Jazz Bass combines many of the features of the American Deluxe models with a traditional Standard Jazz Bass body, vintage-style hardware and a 20-fret rosewood (4-string) or pao ferro (5-string) fingerboard. It also sports a 3-band active circuit powered by two dual-coil ceramic Noiseless Jazz Bass pickups and a 9V supply.
   The Custom Classic model is made at the Fender Custom Shop. This Custom Shop Jazz Bass blends an American Deluxe model with a classic 1960's-era vintage re-issue. Features include an oversized select alder or premium ash body, a modern 34"-scale C-shape maple neck with an unbound rosewood, pau ferro or maple fingerboard featuring triangular pearloid block inlays and 21 medium-jumbo frets. Available in 4 and 5-string versions, all Custom Classic Jazz Basses came with a pair of custom-wound dual-coil Noiseless Jazz Bass pickups, a 3-band active preamp, 5-bolt neck plate, 18V power supply and a Deluxe string-through-body/top-load bridge with milled nickel-plated brass saddles.
   The Jazz Bass has a bright sound, with more high end than the Precision Bass. This makes it ideal for slap playing as well as finger-style players. This bright sound is due to the fact that there are two pickups at different points in the string's length. The bridge pickup gives a tone with more treble, while the neck pickup will yield a rounder sound. The ability to blend the volume of both pickups allows for a wider variety of tones than the Precision Bass can produce. Pickups are RWRP (reverse wound, reverse polarity) from one another, so all hum will be canceled when both pickups are at full volume.
   Vintage examples from the 1960s and 1970s are highly desirable. The new models remain a popular choice today of rock, jazz, and fusion musicians.

Notable Jazz Bass players

24-Fret Jazz Bass

In July 2005, Fender introduced its first 24-fret instrument, the Fender Jazz Bass 24. The Jazz Bass 24 featured a 34”-scale length, modern “C” shaped maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and 24 medium-jumbo frets. It is currently featured in the Fender pricelist as part of the Deluxe Series line. A 5-string version of the instrument has been introduced in 2007.

Fender Jaguar Bass

In 2005, Fender introduced the Fender Jaguar Bass. This is more or less a variation on the traditional J-Bass design - the difference being that it has additional switches to turn the active J pickups on and off and it has a switch to turn it from an active to a passive bass.
The Jaguar bass retains the slim Jazz neck, bi-pole pickups, Jazzmaster/Jaguar body design and the trademark Jazz growl.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Fender Jazz Bass'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://fender_jazz_bass.totallyexplained.com">Fender Jazz Bass Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.