Fretless Fender Player Jazz Bass Unboxing and Demo
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- Опубліковано 26 сер 2023
- I just can't quit Fender. (tl;dr Maybe I can… a couple of weeks later, I returned this bass. More on that in a future video.)
After dealing with too many frustrating QC issues with both Mexican and American Fender basses, and my delight at the superior QC of Indonesian-made Squier instruments that are 1/2 to 1/5 the price, I said I was swearing off Fender for good.
A couple weeks later, I decided I needed to buy this fretless Fender Player Jazz Bass. Here I tell the story of how I came to this place, unbox the new bass, get it set up to my (reasonable) satisfaction, and demonstrate its - genuinely great - sound.
Here's the original version of my solo fretless bass piece, "Recrudescence of Symptomatology" recorded 3 years ago with the "Frankenstein" bass… and wearing the same t-shirt!
• Room 34 - Recrudescenc...
That truss rod position is wild, have never once seen that
“Restless Instrument Owner”
Thank you for the perfect description of my affliction.
You are not alone. 😂
That hole is for the CNC machine. There's another one in the neck pocket. This is something you only find on Mexican Fenders.
My American Series from 2003 has it. Transparent pickguard is not an option.
Gorgeous composition. Bravo
$200 cheaper and I'd be more forgiving of the typical factory QC issues shown here. Glad you've made it your own and have it dialed in!!!
Wow, that is a lot of issues to have with a bass. I've bought and sold many Fender basses over the years. My MIM 50s classic had a nut that where the A string was filed in the wrong spot. And I've had pickups misaligned. How that happens is beyond me. And then I got a Lakland bass. Pure perfection. I sold my Fenders and now I have 3 Laklands. Top craftsmanship and excellent customer service. Hope you are enjoying the Fretless Jazz. Fretless is fun to play.
I returned it a couple weeks after I shot this video! Still on the lookout for another fretless. I'm leaning towards the G&L Tribute Kiloton, but they're backordered everywhere.
Been using Carvin/Kiesel basses since 1992, also just got my new Kiesel JB-5 5 string fretless back in April 2024 and as usual not one issue with my bass. I won't play anything else. I have a fretted and fretless 5- string version of the Fender Jazz bass , and a 4 string version of the P bass. No flaws /issues etc.. in all the years I've been playing Kiesel/Carvin basses professionally .
Like your composition
Been through a ton of basses, Steinberger, Rick and the rest.
The 2 I really miss were the Tokai 80's Jazz basses. A Candy Apple Red fretted and the Sunburst fretless. Block logo. Both 1972 copies.
To replace them I got a Squier VM fretless ( nice bass) and a CIJ Geddy Lee sig. I have to say the Geddy is the best bass I've ever owned or played. If Fender released a fretless version I'd order one in quick time.
Cool vid geezer, subbed.
I've got a Player P-Bass and I just don't get why Fender couldn't make rolled edges in this price range. I mean, all Fenders should have edgeless fretboard.
I agree, especially since they’re doing it on at least some of the Squier models now! (My Squier 40th Anniversary P and J both have rolled edges and they’re great.)
@@room34 Yes! Fortunately, my Player Plus basses have nicely rounded edges. How do they want to be competitive if Sire offers this for half of the price?!
All of my Basses are Squier, except one, which is the Gretsch Short-scale G2220 Bass.
My modified Squier 40th Anniversary P Bass, is my absolute Fave Bass now, plus my CV Mustang Short-scale Bass, partially modified with Gotoh Vintage Tuners and La Bella Mustang Flatwound strings. ❤❤❤
Yeah, I have both the P and J versions of the Squier 40th Anniversary and they are my main basses now!
To me the best fenders are the made in Japan models. I have the same problem with the neck pickup on my jazz. I think the hole isn’t routed large enough.
The one Japanese-made Fender I have owned was excellent. Shouldn't have sold it. I think if I were absolutely determined to own another Fender that is what I'd go with… but for now I am more than happy with the pair of Squier 40th Anniversary basses I recently acquired! For now though I really do think I'm swearing off Fender. This bass was a final test for me.
I got a 1994? MIJ fretless jazz bass for cheap at a pawn shop. It has a gold 50th anniversary sticker and the SN U031649. For years this was just a mediocre bass but I watched videos about adjusting the action, put a Basslines PU near the the bridge and replaced the bridge with a hipshot, new pickguard and electronics. Now it plays very well and is valued! I notice many Fender fretless Basses have the fret lines but my bass has no lines. So perhaps this is odd or typical?
Right there with you on Fender! Maybe its the OCD? Just picked up a American Vintage II Daphne P Bass. The music Nomad Fretboard Oil is the best.
This video is just magnificent. Thanks for dropping so many truth bombs and helping those of us searching for their next bass to make better choices. What amp are you using? You've made some great tone there.
Glad you liked the video! Unfortunately I'm still hung up on Fender (more on that in my next video), but maybe I can spare others of a similar fate. Regarding the amp… this was actually just D.I. through a Focusrite Scarlett, with a bit of amp modeling added in Logic.
The off center truss-rod is nuts! WTF?
I know… I just can't believe it. I went back and looked at the other one Sweetwater had for sale, since they post pictures of each individual instrument, and it's a bit hard to tell from the angle, but it seems to have the same issue.
Try a Kiesel JB 4 or JB 5. KILLER fretless basses. Been using Kiesel/Carvin basses for over 30 years. Never once had to return a bass for any factory failures. My fretless is a J style bass with 2 H50A Alnico stacked hum buckers. Passive pick ups, active /passive electronics.
It's absolutely unbelievable what you had to go through to get a production line Fender in fairly decent playing condition. What is Fender doing these days 🤔
Killing their own business I guess, I rather go and get a Marcus Miller Sire instead Fender
@@UCEg7z1wK Yeah, on further consideration I am most likely going to return this bass. I've kind of cooled on how much I "need" a fretless right now, but I do think I'm going to go for either a Sire or a G&L Tribute next.
@@room34 Last year I try a $5k Fender reissue Jaco JBass fretless which been factory setup not CS setup, don’t had the sound then, that’s the business.
If we’re looking for playability but not some famous brands actually got a lot of choices with reasonable coins IMO. Good day Sir.
I just got the Harley Benton jb-40fl fretless. I only had to tweak the saddles and oil down the fretboard. Sounds great.
I also dislike glossy necks - they feel sticky. As well as my Fender basses - which I love now that I’ve made a few mods - I lusted after a Korean made Epiphone Jack Cassady, but it had the horrible glossy neck. I fixed that by using a fine grit wet and dry sandpaper after masking off the neck near the body and headstock. It now has a beautiful feeling satin-like neck. It had some other issues which I was able to address and now it is one of my favourites. The bottom line is that the neck finish shouldn’t deter you from choosing a bass that is otherwise what you want.
Thanks for the tip. I've considered sanding a glossy neck before but I've been afraid to do it!
@@room34 I was also quite nervous initially but in the end it’s quite straightforward and low risk. If it was a rare or high-end instrument I would want to preserve originality but for everything else it’s not going to detract from its value.
A scotchbrite pad will smooth the fret ends/fingerboard edge and take the neck finish from gloss to satin, both at the same time, in just a few minutes. Not that any of us should have to do that on an instrument of this price, but still. It works.
You should try a sire
They're inexpensive (relatively) and their quality is great
Check out my other videos. I bought a Sire P8 after this bass, and I really liked it at first, but there's a major design flaw in their output jacks. I had it completely cut out on me during a performance and I had to scramble to figure out what was going on. I never trusted it after that, so I sold it. Yeah, I could have installed a different jack, but their design is really non-standard and I didn't want to mess with it, since I also didn't like the way their stacked pots were designed and the knobs felt cheap… and were also a non-standard design where I couldn't get any different knobs to swap in.
Sounds nice, but I really hate the fret lines (as I also play upright). I had the Custom Shop build me a fretless jazz in '97 and was very clear about no fret lines. I had them do an unmarked ebony fingerboard. At the time, Fender had no production fretless jazz basses. The build quality from the Custom Shop was worth every penny. Enjoy the bass.
i think i'd return the bass if i had all these problems with my bass day one.
I did order a fretless and i hope it wont have any problems, but once i get it i will take it to a gutiarmaker in town and have him coat the fingerboard and give it a nice polished finish and round out the edges if they are sharp
I did end up returning it a few days after I shot this video. I tried to like it but I just couldn’t.
Good decision! Did you get a good one in return or? I hope mine turns out okay, prolly getting it around 1-8 december depending on how quickly shipping goes. @@room34
Fender QC went through the floor circa 2019. Unsure what happened but perhaps compounded by Covid and the surge in demand then the sacking and rehiring debacle. Must say the Sire Marcus Miller basses are a lot more promising at the moment. The amount of basses with shifted necks and bad pickup placement seem to be endemic with Fender. That truss rod hole placement would irk me no end.
I hadn't really thought about how covid might have affected staffing in the Corona and Ensenada factories. Interesting that it doesn't seem to have had the same effect on the Indonesian suppliers for Squier. Kind of ironic to have tanking quality simultaneously with surging prices. A lot of the new MIM Fender models cost more than most of the US models did just a couple of years ago.
6:51 Most Mexican Fenders that I've seen have this hole
Yeah... someone else mentioned it's for their CNC machines. I'm not sure I ever removed the pickguard on the other MIM Fenders I owned.
Its a reason why i dont by mexican fender i buy the american ones i have a 2008 am std jazz bass 5 string made few upgrades and love it to death
Thé hole in the body it’s to show that is MX made instead of US, to prevent scams
Kinda disappointing really I’ve been looking hard at finally adding a American Jazz to my collection, this makes me consider a sire instead tho,
Have you checked out Sire Marcus Miller basses? If you haven’t I encourage you give them a try. Good luck with your addiction.
I didn't mention it in the video, but I did also consider a Sire P5... but the fretless version seems to be kind of hard to come by.
I second this notion. I just got a Sire V5 Fretless Jazz Bass. One of the best musical purchases I’ve ever made, regardless of price. It is a wonderfully built piece that shot right to the top of my roster. It’s all I play now.
@@room34 Sire P5 (I suppose same thing for the V5) suffer of a GREAT neck diving. Great construction and finishes... but Sold! ciao :)
I have not had problem that with Fenders. I have a CIJ Boxer bass (perfect) Player P bass , 70s Vintera J bass , 60th & 75 anniversery J basses no real problems. My Sire V7s necks beat out the Fenders though 😊
I don't know if I'm extremely picky or if I just have bad luck.
If I'm ever gonna buy a brand new Fender bass today it will always be a Japanese made one either used or new. Just top quality through out. Heck, even they factory own brand Fujigen (FGN) make better bases then fender and cheaper (used market at least)
I have several Fender basses, and I've bought and sold many others. For the most part my American Professional II basses are excellent. However, last month I bought (and quickly returned) a 2023 American Professional II Strat from a reputable online dealer who also has a brick-and-mortar store. The rosewood fretboard was atrocious. ATROCIOUS. It was as if it had been purposely sabotaged in the Corona factory or at some point thereafter. Instead of beautiful rounded fretboard edges, as on my APII P basses and MIJ Jazz bass, the edges of the fretboard had been seemingly attacked with a rasp file. It had to have been either done on purpose or they'd accidentally glued an unfinished fretboard onto the maple neck, but nobody noticed. (How could it have gone unnoticed?) Oh, there were also several stains on the fretboard. Like Scott, I've had issues with MIM Fenders, but this was my first QC shock with an American Fender. Needless to say, I'm now leery about buying any Fender made in the US and Mexico. However, I don't share the same concerns about Fender products made in Japan and Indonesia.
Yep… I've owned a couple of American Fenders previously (a 2000 and a 2017, I believe) and they were both flawless, but the 2022 American Ultra Jazz Bass I bought earlier this year had a bunch of issues, and I sold it. (That rollercoaster is recounted in a couple of my previous videos.) Right now I honestly feel like the QC is more consistent with Indonesian Squier instruments than with anything bearing the true Fender name. Granted, Squier *does* use cheaper parts, but I don't mind tinkering with a sub-$500 instrument!
Wonder why people dislike glossy necks so much. I mean I would say more people dislike them than like them. I prefer glossy.
For me it's all about playability. If I have any sweat on my hands at all, the glossy neck sticks. With a satin finish my hand glides across the neck smoothly no matter what. (It's also a bit reason why I prefer flatwound or tapewound strings.)
It takes an expect guitar tech to properly setup a fretless bass and of cause you need to learn how to play fretless bass, then you want to test the right strings for your music
I'm not really sure basic setup of a fretless is any more complicated than a fretted bass. I'm not talking about things like leveling the fingerboard, just making truss rod adjustments, setting intonation and pickup height, etc. The issues with this bass were either basic setup stuff or fundamental build quality flaws that would have been an issue regardless of whether it had frets or not.
You learn something new every day. Just found out I'm an expert guitar tech... Superb.
Fender don’t deserve your loyalty man. Buy Ibanez or Yamaha and be happy 😎
I know, I know… I just don't like their designs! It's kind of ridiculous of me, Yamaha especially. I own several Yamaha keyboards and woodwind instruments, and they are consistently excellent. I just think their guitars and basses are… weird looking.
Dude! WAAAY TOO MUCH fixing you had to do. unacceptable. I would have returned It.
I did.
If you want a Fender with QC and attention to detail you need to go Japanese.
Very true. I have Fender Made in Japan Hybrid II and Traditional basses, and they are better quality than USA made Fender basses. Made in Japan Fenders are half the price and twice the value than USA Fenders.
Fender suck - never buying one ever again.
I've pretty much come to that conclusion as well. I did end up returning this bass a few days after I made the video. Just got a Sire P8 that I will be unboxing this weekend… video to come!
@@room34 I recently got a '97 EBMM sterling fretless - this one. its fabulous - ua-cam.com/video/K-fGSHSFCXU/v-deo.html