I'm really impressed that after 60 something years Fender still finds ways to innovate and do new things. This new 3 string bass is proof of that. I like the 1 piece pickguard, but I'm hoping they release a 4 string one soon.
Believe it or not, Tony Levin had Music Man make him a custom three string Stingray back in the nineties to be a quiet comment on all the people buying six strings and never learning to play them properly.
I love that you’re making these types of reviews. These terrible QC jobs from Fender and others need to be put on blast. Unacceptable at the price point. 👎
Unacceptable at any price point. A brand new item, whatever it is and whatever it's price, should be fit for purpose as described. I don't understand why guitar manufacturers seem to be exempt from this.
Called my local shop asking if they had this bass, planing a visit to check it and maybe buy it. Dude instantly told me about the tragedy Fender produced and send them all back to Fender. The gentleman responsible for distributing basses to stores here, got offended and said no one has complained about that, plus it is how that pickup works... Thank you Fender for being useless at this point.
Yep I own a fender made Jackson dinky and it had QC issues when I bought it new and I fixed all the problems and it plays good but I'm about to get someone to install Fishman Fluence pickups and a rechargeable battery box and hipshot locking tuners.
I'm falling out of my chair with laughter. Good on Lobster for shooting this arrow straight. One wonders about Fender at times. Will be interesting see how this gets resolved. Thanks man!
Competition between Fender and Gibson is clearly at a fever pitch - just in the wrong direction. On a side note, I really do appreciate your assessment of neck dive on your reviews. That's missing on so many guitar and bass reviews on UA-cam.
ANY mom n pop or traditional company faces this. When the original people who lived for the craft retire, it's up to Corporate (who lives forever) to buy a name, hire college mba grads to run things and pay stockholders. Other choice is a name dies. Whether it's s farm, restaurant, guitar or pliers factory.
I think that after so many decades of experience in the production of electric guitars and basses, companies should be able to learn how to make instruments without neck dive problems. At this point, I believe that neck dive should be perceived by everyone as an obvious design defect and those instruments should not even go into production.
Fender is getting into the bass kit world. This is their first outing, where you get to mod it how you want. It comes as a three string, but you can convert it to a four string if you want. All the parts are there! Thanks Fender. BTW great review Mr. Lobster.
Me and my wife own multiple guitars and basses by both Fender and Gibson, and had way more issues with Fender guitars. The QC of Gibson guitars hasn't really been an issue since they revamped everything under the new management.
It’s hit and miss but I’ll just say my 5 squiers have all been great. A bullet strat, affinity strat, classic vibe strat, classic vibe JM and a bullet telecaster.
I enjoy waking up, rolling over, grabbing my phone and watching a video of a guy who looks like he just woke up, rolled over and made a video. 😂 Love the PJ look Lobster, and I don’t mean pickups!
Lobster usually has the PJ look in his videos. Sometimes he fixes bed head, but not this time. He must have been excited to put Fender in its place for this no claw rated bass.
Thank you so much for an honest assessment on this brand. I've been a Fender loyalist since '95 and I am frankly shocked that this is allowed to leave the production facility in such a sorry state. I'm glad that folks like yourself are holding their feet to the fire.
I've never been a fan of Fender. They're too cheap to match the headstock to the body as some others do. Hell, they're too damn cheap to just paint all the headstocks black!
@@jlw1785that’s not being cheap, that’s literally a stylistic choice. Some people really like matching headstocks, but a lot don’t. It would look horrible if a sunburst Strat had a black headstock. This is just an absolutely brain dead take.
Thanks for the honesty Lobster! I really hope someone at Fender sees this and takes notice. I've been hearing a lot of bad things about Fenders QC the last couple years across the board from their guitars, amps and basses.
My American Original Stratocaster for nearly $2K was the worst piece of shit I've ever played. I ranted and raved about the specifics but the reviews were "mysteriously" deleted. Meanwhile, a 2015 $600 Strat Plus Top is my favorite. Prices mean nothing, so nobody fall for this latest Fender con job. They should properly solder and wire the pickups they have, not make new ones for a premium.
Sir, you are a national treasure. I've been following since the days of 2k subs and have always believed you have the potential to go big on youtube. Keep doing your thing man!
Hey, just wanted to say that I'm a guitarist who's been looking for a first bass and your channel has been really helpful. Seriously eyeing the paranormal jazz bass
I agree, the 3 strings did sound great. It's a shame that we can't get that tone out of the box with the low E! I guess you could tune it BEAD and just have EAD hahahahaha
This video it a public service announcement to the community. Thanks. Can't believe Fender messed up the bridge placement. They dtill holes with CNC machines. This show not happen. I've read others say the same and pictures clearly show this. In my opinion the QC on the MIM Fenders seem lacking. On the other hand I have 2 Squier basses and 3 paranormal series guitars (all from China) that have great quality and out perform the MIM Fenders I've tried. Shame on Fender for these issues. Great video Lobster.
While I'm not a Fender fanboy, I have owned (and still own) many of them. All have been great instruments. The fact that Fender let this out of the factory and into the hands of an endorsed artist should result in several job losses.
I went and played one of these . I wanted to ask because I can't see the point of a single low output pickup. Thank you Lobster as you saved so many people.
A very refreshing reprieve from all the "this new so-and-so is AMAZING" no matter-what reviews without coming across as overtly negative. Thank you for your integrity 🙌
When companies give you stuff and you're a shill, you tend to give glowing reviews about the folks giving you stuff. That's why lobster's reviews are top tier
Great review as always lobster, really funny too! If i'm not mistaken, these basses (not this specific model, but the "premium" MIM Fenders) used to cost 900$ a few years ago. Now they cost 1300$+. You'd think that with such a high price increase, the quality control would've gotten better, but the opposite seems to be the case. It's baffling, honestly.
Good Morning Mr. L.E. Lobster, I have to give Kudos to You for your detailed, in depth analysis and never boring reviews! I've been a Pro Drummer for 50 years. I play whatever style is needed, no problem. Back around 2007 I was working with my own group rehearsing to record a free form Progressive Jazz CD. Our Original Bassist parted ways. We had finished the Guitar Drums and Keys and couldn't find a Bassist to finish the bass lines. So I told the Producer, get me a Bass, I'll finish the bass lines. So he got me a MIM Fender Jazz Deluxe and I layed down the tracks the best that I could. I'm not a Bassist, I dabble, as well as guitar, piano and Alto sax. I've never received any formal music training, as I am ear trained and know music structure pretty well. No one is around to teach me the technicalities of those other instruments, as I am now working on my own music playing those other instruments. I came across your channel and I am so thankful for the information you provide. It helps me understand the technical side of what a bass guitar can do and how to make it sound better if need be. Your knowledge and experience are trustworthy and much appreciated. Please continue with your valuable reviews and wish you much success. Thank you so much, Steven Castro Drummer Extraordinaire
You're not wrong. I bought one of those CNZ Audio Mini JB's (videos coming soon).... I got one of the nicer colors and it was $200 shipped to me after taxes. It is a FUN little bass plus the fret work is solid and the bridge is straight LOL. It just needed a truss rod adjustment and fingerboard oiling and it was good to go (dry boards are common on overseas 'rosewood' basses)
@@LowEndLobster Even though the quality control is horrible, you could fixed the bass in like a half hour. It sounding better than a 70$ instrument, after that. But, I get that it shouldn't be this way at all.
@@spacedaddy5517 Half an hour to re position a bridge and buy / file / fit a new nut? I don't think so. Assuming you have the tools already. Don't forget the time to unstring, it take the neck off and adjust the truss rod. The bass is a joke.
What a shame. I was really interested in this bass when I first saw it announced. I also saw several glowing reviews by other UA-cam channels. Thanks for being the crustacean that we can trust!
I have one and I actually love it. I don't have the volume issues he's describing/showing. The low E string is above the gold foil for me. So they're not all like this.
Don't let this foolishness deter you... this is a 2 second fix and a pretty standard thing to deal with... he's making a big deal out of nothing, you can pull any neck to the side like that... he needs to learn how to set his gear up.
@@theworkshopstudio2069 I see this to some degree on literally every Fender that lives in a case that holds the neck near the headstock. It's SO common.
This is why I've sworn off MIM Fenders for good. Off-center nuts and bridges and completely unfinished fret ends are very common and have been for a while. And neck dive standing up at that weight? Come on, Squier is so much better at half the price or less. Anyway, love the Donny t-shirt!
Idgaf if this channel ain’t about nuthin’ but bass, basses and just generalized bassotry; YOU ARE THE GREATEST THING ON UA-cam AND MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS. For you have my sub, my updoot and my feeble usage of witty vernacular.
“How much does the Fender Golden Shower Jazz Bass weigh?” Lobster you seem like such a cool dude but daaammmnnn 🤣🤣 absolutely roasted this bass with that line
Movie Trailer Voice: "From the makers of the J neck on the P body.... One bass.... One mission... No options left. They said he was a Jazz Bass, but he was so much more." Ralph Wiggum voice: "I'm a P bass!" This Spring, align the bridge to your heart with "The Fools Errand", Rated NSPC - Not Safe for Public Consumption
I was a bit surprised when I saw these basses released. Like, how many 60’s style J-basses can you have? I have a 60’s Vintera Jazz, which I love, but mostly because I’ve modded the hell out of it to get it the way I wanted it.
My thoughts… damn, I’ve really underpriced what I do. Anyways, the frets have practically no bevel on them. It doesn’t take much time, with the right tool, to angle those fret ends to match the way the hand lays across them. Then, round the sharp points and you have a premium feeling neck. As for bridge alignment… good lord Fender! Establishing and adhering to a centerline is bass building 101!! In the end, I’m glad to see this.
I kept replaying this video for the “subtle” comments on the bass quality. I couldn’t stop laughing when Lobster said “Golden Shower” jazz bass at 4:28. 😂😂😂😂😂 Bravo!!! Fender aught to hire Lobster for QC and to review their R&D department. Leo may be rolling in his grave.
I had the same bridge problem on American professional II p bass and jazz bass too. In fact I returned 4 fender basses with same bridge problem last year. And yes. It was all american pro models. So I bought a MIM one and upgrade it. I don’t understand it..
The nut issues and the misaligned bridge are common problems on about 75% of all Fender and Squier basses and guitars I have looked at in this online seller's website for the last 3 years. Even the USA made instruments. It's been almost impossible to find a Fender instrument worth buying. I've had the best luck with dealers an hour or so from me. I think we know why Fender fired all those people... After playing mostly Fender made instruments for 53 years, I am so saddened by the issues seen in this video. They need to fix this. Thanks for the honest review.
Loving the tone and aesthetics, a fully functional one of these must be great. I don't know why it's called a jazz either when it sounds halfway between that and a precision (due to single pickup?). But at that price none of it matters, it's a lemon.
What an embarrassment, assuming that the current Fender is capable of feeling anything other than greed. I just LOVE all of your different nicknames for it. A complete nickname Hall Of Fame in a single review! Five Claws for the Lobster!
So sick and tired of fender constantly releasing "new" models and special run editions at the obvious expense of concentrating on building their products to the required standard. Thank you LEL for having the guts to speak out about this crap. Love your humour too sir!
😂😂😂😂 I love all the shade. It definitely sounds like you had a brainstorming session to come up with any offensive names you could that sounded close to gold foil. Made my day 😂😂😂😂😂😂
They have rumor of MIM Fenders, which said they are the worst in product line. But I think this masterpiece has nothing to do with MIM factor. If i have to buy a Fender style bass, I would go straight to FGN or Moollon ;)
I briefly considered buying a meteroa and then I thought: 'oh wait it's a fender, can't risk that'. Nothing beats the second hand sire v7 with curved edges which I got for only 100 euros.
LOL. I like how you act like we're punishing you for liking the video! Also, when I bought my first real bass, I chose Schecter over Fender. Not being made of money, I've always had a little buyers removers and thought "What if...?" After the issues you reported with Gretsch, and now an actual Fender, I'm going to go apologize to my amazing Schecter for coveting some harlot.
I build high-end guitars and basses, and Schecter is my favorite budget bass brand. They're incredible for the money. Every time I play one, I'm blown away by the quality, features, and versatility. You definitely made a great choice. I'd be happy to play a Schecter full-time. With some fretwork and a good setup, they're great!
@@TheAtlantaThrasher Yeah, those are excellent basses! Even their $500 basses are a steal for the price. Their higher end models are very good quality.
Fender has always been hit or miss in my experience. I remember trying out a Roscoe Beck 5 string at a Musician's Friend back in 2003 or so... the frets nearly sliced open my hand and the tech there said "yeah, and that's AFTER I took a file to them!". Then I pointed out how there were at least three anchor screws missing from the bridge. You could clearly see the finished body through their unoccupied holes. That all said though, I still own a few and I love the ones in my bass stable. It just seems that sometimes they are more concerned with churning out a quota than being consistent about quality.
I like the sound and the look of it… but that’s about it. Sonic blue and tortoise is a classic color combo, and I like how the gold foil pickup sounds. It seems to be placed in the P-Bass sweet spot (correct me if I’m wrong). But if the fret work is cutting up my hand playing it, and the nut is cut wrong, AND the bridge is in the wrong spot, Fender needs to re-evaluate some things.
Thank you I recently just bought my new Squier Jazz Bass and then this came out. I was beating myself up that I should have waited. I am so glad I didn't wait for this.
Funniest review ever - so well done on that. Hmmm, I tend to think that these will become truly collectible, especially the coveted "pre-recall" models and 'unmodded condition' examples. I'd be watching for run out specials myself... And yes, 3 strings do sound quite good.
I just got an email from a music shop today that featured this bass and I was stoked. Glad I saw your review! Unbelievable that a major manufacturer would be so negligent, (but not really.) Keep at it Claw-man!
This video illustrates why all my fenders are actually squier… after I set them up and do all the fine tuning they pretty much smoke a stock fender! - The elite series is the only fender I would spend any money on.
I know the same time they came up with the most Amazing set of new guitars and basses "The American Ultras" they all are five Star beauties.........why did they make this?
$1299 for any MX build was already outrageous. This is... wow. Practically speechless. I do have those lollis on my Adam Clayton green Jazz and they're not a problem and I love lollis and bring them back more fully pls. :D
@@zildjianrickenbacker8492 the different lines are coming from different factories. I'm sure the majority of the Player Plus and Vintera models out there are really nice. That said, I'm going to be wary of the couple I did have my eye on and think twice (Duff special with dat cream pearl, am I right?).
Don't you hate it when you're playing bass and you play those pesky low notes? It's so frustrating! This is the first innovative instrument to truly address this issue LOL
This is quite innovative on the part of Fender, in that it saves on the necessity of buying a compression and perhaps an EQ pedal. Allow me to explain. Having the open E off the PU takes care of the unwieldy loud dynamics of that string in relation to the other quieter strings. In this sense, it's a value added instrument, and therefore is perfection by simplicity.
I'm really impressed that after 60 something years Fender still finds ways to innovate and do new things. This new 3 string bass is proof of that. I like the 1 piece pickguard, but I'm hoping they release a 4 string one soon.
XD Great comment!
Believe it or not, Tony Levin had Music Man make him a custom three string Stingray back in the nineties to be a quiet comment on all the people buying six strings and never learning to play them properly.
Fender had a 4 string Telecaster model a couple years ago. 😆
😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂😂👍👍👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Bottesini played a three string bass. Italian orchestras included four string basses on late XIX century.
Someone protect this man at all costs! Big guitar will be looking for him after the Gretsch and now Fender investigations lol. Thanks Lobster!
Both FMIC lol. Fender gotta get it together in general
death by falling Steve Harris Bass.
LowendLobster, he knows too much. The agents from the Matrix are coming.
@@traviswrigg5158 Still better than Gibson qc
@@devlintaylor9520 a drunken duck could do better QC than Gibson
"Around back we can see pretty much nothing, just like the level of QC that was put into this instrument" Genuine lols on hearing that.
I will now forever call these the "Golden Shower series" 😂
I love that you’re making these types of reviews. These terrible QC jobs from Fender and others need to be put on blast. Unacceptable at the price point. 👎
Unacceptable at any price point. A brand new item, whatever it is and whatever it's price, should be fit for purpose as described. I don't understand why guitar manufacturers seem to be exempt from this.
This is unacceptable at ANY price point!
Lobster delivering the hard hitting investigative journalism the bass community needs and deserves!
Called my local shop asking if they had this bass, planing a visit to check it and maybe buy it.
Dude instantly told me about the tragedy Fender produced and send them all back to Fender. The gentleman responsible for distributing basses to stores here, got offended and said no one has complained about that, plus it is how that pickup works...
Thank you Fender for being useless at this point.
Yep I own a fender made Jackson dinky and it had QC issues when I bought it new and I fixed all the problems and it plays good but I'm about to get someone to install Fishman Fluence pickups and a rechargeable battery box and hipshot locking tuners.
We can hide him here in Australia 🇦🇺
I wonder what Leo would say? They have gone to far and should be ashamed of themselves. Fender won't even tilt their head stock anymore.
Hey Brindle, awesome idea! You will be bearing some significant heat when you're done 👍
@@davejones7475 Fender headstocks were never angled
I'm falling out of my chair with laughter. Good on Lobster for shooting this arrow straight. One wonders about Fender at times. Will be interesting see how this gets resolved. Thanks man!
Competition between Fender and Gibson is clearly at a fever pitch - just in the wrong direction. On a side note, I really do appreciate your assessment of neck dive on your reviews. That's missing on so many guitar and bass reviews on UA-cam.
Thanks Chris! It really is nuts! I'm glad you like the new balance assessments! Something new for 2023 reviews and beyond :)
A race to the bottom, I guess
ANY mom n pop or traditional company faces this. When the original people who lived for the craft retire, it's up to Corporate (who lives forever) to buy a name, hire college mba grads to run things and pay stockholders.
Other choice is a name dies. Whether it's s farm, restaurant, guitar or pliers factory.
I think that after so many decades of experience in the production of electric guitars and basses, companies should be able to learn how to make instruments without neck dive problems. At this point, I believe that neck dive should be perceived by everyone as an obvious design defect and those instruments should not even go into production.
Yes!! Thanks for that!!
Fender is getting into the bass kit world. This is their first outing, where you get to mod it how you want. It comes as a three string, but you can convert it to a four string if you want. All the parts are there! Thanks Fender. BTW great review Mr. Lobster.
Gibson-“I know our quality control sucks but at least we over charge”
Fender- “Hold my beer”
I've been saying for years that fender has way better quality control than Gibson. I think it's time to reevaluate my statement.
Me and my wife own multiple guitars and basses by both Fender and Gibson, and had way more issues with Fender guitars. The QC of Gibson guitars hasn't really been an issue since they revamped everything under the new management.
They're all thugs. I've sent Custom Shop Strats back.
Love ne some gibson❤
Gotta love how they play tribute to the guitars of the 60s not just in looks, but in QC as well. Bravo fender.
I appreciate the variety of phrases used for "gold foil"
haha thank you :)
Golden showers wins.
@@dookmucus Agreed Randy! Good thing I wasn't drinking a beverage at that point of the video.
Old Moyle was a good one too.
It finally happened. Squire has now become the high end segment of Fender.
Squire is producing some quality stuff.
@@giantrobot95
Yeah....sometimes 😂
No, it really hasn't, Fender Mexico is currently suffering from poor QC, but Squiers are on another level of poor QC these days I'm afraid.
@@codyreynolds-shaw7332 it's hit and miss, but so is fender at a premium price.
It’s hit and miss but I’ll just say my 5 squiers have all been great. A bullet strat, affinity strat, classic vibe strat, classic vibe JM and a bullet telecaster.
I enjoy waking up, rolling over, grabbing my phone and watching a video of a guy who looks like he just woke up, rolled over and made a video. 😂 Love the PJ look Lobster, and I don’t mean pickups!
Thank you! To be fair, I did hahahahaha (I filmed and edited this yesterday LOL)
Agree totally LOL
Lobster usually has the PJ look in his videos. Sometimes he fixes bed head, but not this time. He must have been excited to put Fender in its place for this no claw rated bass.
Perfect attire for this bass.
At least he was hitting it out of the park.
What's wrong with that look? I have that look, so does half my family.
finally a bass where my drummer wouldn’t complain about competing in the same sound frequency as his kick drum
Thank you so much for an honest assessment on this brand. I've been a Fender loyalist since '95 and I am frankly shocked that this is allowed to leave the production facility in such a sorry state. I'm glad that folks like yourself are holding their feet to the fire.
I've never been a fan of Fender. They're too cheap to match the headstock to the body as some others do. Hell, they're too damn cheap to just paint all the headstocks black!
@@jlw1785that’s not being cheap, that’s literally a stylistic choice. Some people really like matching headstocks, but a lot don’t. It would look horrible if a sunburst Strat had a black headstock. This is just an absolutely brain dead take.
What’s hilarious is that these came out right on the heels of the Vintage II line which was like everything everyone wanted
Thanks for the honesty Lobster! I really hope someone at Fender sees this and takes notice. I've been hearing a lot of bad things about Fenders QC the last couple years across the board from their guitars, amps and basses.
It's true my Jackson had QC issues and I fixed it on my own because I didn't want to send it back to buy an ESP LTD EC-10.
My American Original Stratocaster for nearly $2K was the worst piece of shit I've ever played. I ranted and raved about the specifics but the reviews were "mysteriously" deleted. Meanwhile, a 2015 $600 Strat Plus Top is my favorite. Prices mean nothing, so nobody fall for this latest Fender con job. They should properly solder and wire the pickups they have, not make new ones for a premium.
@@ReeseChown I just bought a donner p bass and it's better than the squier classic vibe I used to own
I love it that he doesn’t attack the pickup, he compliments it (slightly) and then continues to publicly execute this bass
Yeah and that pickup sounds fine on the three strings it's correctly positioned under. >__
@@stoutlager6325 exactly! It’s not the pickup that’s the problem
I’m just glad that I was alive to witness the greatest bass review in the history of the world.
Keep up the honesty. That’s rare and valuable.
Sir, you are a national treasure. I've been following since the days of 2k subs and have always believed you have the potential to go big on youtube. Keep doing your thing man!
Thank you!
Hey, just wanted to say that I'm a guitarist who's been looking for a first bass and your channel has been really helpful. Seriously eyeing the paranormal jazz bass
If you wanna add a preamp checkout the player series
@@sicilianmammalian I'm mainly looking at passive because I don't have a bass amp anyway lol
@@Bovineicide passive doesn't mean acoustic, it means it has no on-board preamp..
Those three stings sound great. Fender is really betting hard on its name to sell stuff. It’s quality rep sure isn’t making any new fans
I agree, the 3 strings did sound great. It's a shame that we can't get that tone out of the box with the low E! I guess you could tune it BEAD and just have EAD hahahahaha
Well from what I heard of those 3 strings, I may be looking into some foil pickups. With that pick I’m hearing some great punk rock tones!
Thank you Lobster and thank you Bully. That's pretty bold when Fender hooked you up
This video it a public service announcement to the community. Thanks.
Can't believe Fender messed up the bridge placement. They dtill holes with CNC machines. This show not happen. I've read others say the same and pictures clearly show this. In my opinion the QC on the MIM Fenders seem lacking. On the other hand I have 2 Squier basses and 3 paranormal series guitars (all from China) that have great quality and out perform the MIM Fenders I've tried.
Shame on Fender for these issues.
Great video Lobster.
While I'm not a Fender fanboy, I have owned (and still own) many of them. All have been great instruments. The fact that Fender let this out of the factory and into the hands of an endorsed artist should result in several job losses.
Unbelievable! Unless this golden pickup is actually made of gold...
This was a genuinely hilarious yet still informative review!
I went and played one of these . I wanted to ask because I can't see the point of a single low output pickup. Thank you Lobster as you saved so many people.
A very refreshing reprieve from all the "this new so-and-so is AMAZING" no matter-what reviews without coming across as overtly negative. Thank you for your integrity 🙌
When companies give you stuff and you're a shill, you tend to give glowing reviews about the folks giving you stuff. That's why lobster's reviews are top tier
Great review as always lobster, really funny too!
If i'm not mistaken, these basses (not this specific model, but the "premium" MIM Fenders) used to cost 900$ a few years ago. Now they cost 1300$+. You'd think that with such a high price increase, the quality control would've gotten better, but the opposite seems to be the case. It's baffling, honestly.
Good Morning Mr. L.E. Lobster, I have to give Kudos to You for your detailed, in depth analysis and never boring reviews! I've been a Pro Drummer for 50 years. I play whatever style is needed, no problem. Back around 2007 I was working with my own group rehearsing to record a free form Progressive Jazz CD. Our Original Bassist parted ways. We had finished the Guitar Drums and Keys and couldn't find a Bassist to finish the bass lines. So I told the Producer, get me a Bass, I'll finish the bass lines. So he got me a MIM Fender Jazz Deluxe and I layed down the tracks the best that I could. I'm not a Bassist, I dabble, as well as guitar, piano and Alto sax. I've never received any formal music training, as I am ear trained and know music structure pretty well. No one is around to teach me the technicalities of those other instruments, as I am now working on my own music playing those other instruments.
I came across your channel and I am so thankful for the information you provide. It helps me understand the technical side of what a bass guitar can do and how to make it sound better if need be. Your knowledge and experience are trustworthy and much appreciated. Please continue with your valuable reviews and wish you much success.
Thank you so much,
Steven Castro
Drummer Extraordinaire
I find it sad that you can get better quality out of a 70 amazon bass than a big-name brand. thank you for what you do.
You're not wrong. I bought one of those CNZ Audio Mini JB's (videos coming soon).... I got one of the nicer colors and it was $200 shipped to me after taxes. It is a FUN little bass plus the fret work is solid and the bridge is straight LOL. It just needed a truss rod adjustment and fingerboard oiling and it was good to go (dry boards are common on overseas 'rosewood' basses)
I just payed 10$ for a 9 volt battery, which I'm still not okay about. 6 more of those, I could just get a bass instead.
@@LowEndLobster Even though the quality control is horrible, you could fixed the bass in like a half hour. It sounding better than a 70$ instrument, after that.
But, I get that it shouldn't be this way at all.
@@spacedaddy5517 Half an hour to re position a bridge and buy / file / fit a new nut? I don't think so. Assuming you have the tools already. Don't forget the time to unstring, it take the neck off and adjust the truss rod. The bass is a joke.
@@SethTaylor1 I re positioned machines in less than a half hour, how would it take longer to drill 3 holes in a little piece of alder ?.
This is my favourite Lobster vid. He just looks gutted he had to get out of bed for THIS.
In the meantime Sire... Good luck Fender!
OMG If they did a gold foil D5 or something in response... XD
Best video you’ve ever made, in my opinion. Brutal review, but absolutely fair. Re. the quality issues, they’re obviously following Gibson’s lead.
Seems like a bad thing to me.
What a shame. I was really interested in this bass when I first saw it announced. I also saw several glowing reviews by other UA-cam channels. Thanks for being the crustacean that we can trust!
the crustacean you can trustacean
I have one and I actually love it. I don't have the volume issues he's describing/showing. The low E string is above the gold foil for me. So they're not all like this.
Don't let this foolishness deter you... this is a 2 second fix and a pretty standard thing to deal with... he's making a big deal out of nothing, you can pull any neck to the side like that... he needs to learn how to set his gear up.
@@theworkshopstudio2069 I see this to some degree on literally every Fender that lives in a case that holds the neck near the headstock. It's SO common.
@@theworkshopstudio2069 funny, never had to do that with my Ibanez basses...
Excellent review, really fun and a good warning to save money, thanks
This is why I've sworn off MIM Fenders for good. Off-center nuts and bridges and completely unfinished fret ends are very common and have been for a while. And neck dive standing up at that weight? Come on, Squier is so much better at half the price or less.
Anyway, love the Donny t-shirt!
Idgaf if this channel ain’t about nuthin’ but bass, basses and just generalized bassotry; YOU ARE THE GREATEST THING ON UA-cam AND MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS.
For you have my sub, my updoot and my feeble usage of witty vernacular.
Perhaps this could be marketed as a self-muting E-string for vintage Jamerson tones??
“How much does the Fender Golden Shower Jazz Bass weigh?” Lobster you seem like such a cool dude but daaammmnnn 🤣🤣 absolutely roasted this bass with that line
This might be the best review Lobster has done yet.
Most entertaining review ever!! Thanks Lobster!
Check out Lobster's Hardluck Kings Bombshell bass reviews,........you will thank me.
Even if they fixed all the issues, do you think its really necessary for Fender to have yet another instrument that is essentially a P Bass?
Movie Trailer Voice: "From the makers of the J neck on the P body.... One bass.... One mission... No options left. They said he was a Jazz Bass, but he was so much more."
Ralph Wiggum voice: "I'm a P bass!"
This Spring, align the bridge to your heart with "The Fools Errand", Rated NSPC - Not Safe for Public Consumption
.ok you owe me another computer monitor because I just laugh spewed all my coffee on this one
I was a bit surprised when I saw these basses released. Like, how many 60’s style J-basses can you have? I have a 60’s Vintera Jazz, which I love, but mostly because I’ve modded the hell out of it to get it the way I wanted it.
this is the most entertaining bass review i've ever seen
My thoughts… damn, I’ve really underpriced what I do.
Anyways, the frets have practically no bevel on them. It doesn’t take much time, with the right tool, to angle those fret ends to match the way the hand lays across them. Then, round the sharp points and you have a premium feeling neck. As for bridge alignment… good lord Fender! Establishing and adhering to a centerline is bass building 101!! In the end, I’m glad to see this.
I kept replaying this video for the “subtle” comments on the bass quality. I couldn’t stop laughing when Lobster said “Golden Shower” jazz bass at 4:28. 😂😂😂😂😂 Bravo!!! Fender aught to hire Lobster for QC and to review their R&D department. Leo may be rolling in his grave.
I had the same bridge problem on American professional II p bass and jazz bass too. In fact I returned 4 fender basses with same bridge problem last year. And yes. It was all american pro models. So I bought a MIM one and upgrade it. I don’t understand it..
The nut issues and the misaligned bridge are common problems on about 75% of all Fender and Squier basses and guitars I have looked at in this online seller's website for the last 3 years. Even the USA made instruments. It's been almost impossible to find a Fender instrument worth buying. I've had the best luck with dealers an hour or so from me. I think we know why Fender fired all those people... After playing mostly Fender made instruments for 53 years, I am so saddened by the issues seen in this video. They need to fix this. Thanks for the honest review.
Loving the tone and aesthetics, a fully functional one of these must be great. I don't know why it's called a jazz either when it sounds halfway between that and a precision (due to single pickup?). But at that price none of it matters, it's a lemon.
The Church of Fender will come after you boy! :D Nice demo!
The look on your face when you said, "let that sink in, I'll wait" - "PRICELESS"
For everything else there's MasterCard 😂😂
The best thing about this bass is this video you made about. So many entertaining innuendos you slipped in.
What an embarrassment, assuming that the current Fender is capable of feeling anything other than greed. I just LOVE all of your different nicknames for it. A complete nickname Hall Of Fame in a single review! Five Claws for the Lobster!
great review Lobster! 👍 thank you! 🤘
I think this bass would be good in a cannibal corpse tribute. It’s truly a hammer smashed bass
So sick and tired of fender constantly releasing "new" models and special run editions at the obvious expense of concentrating on building their products to the required standard.
Thank you LEL for having the guts to speak out about this crap. Love your humour too sir!
In a way, I hope Fender releases more crap because this video was hilarious 🤣🤣🤣
All of my Fender Japan basses are superb. Thanks for this video, Lobster.
😂😂😂😂 I love all the shade. It definitely sounds like you had a brainstorming session to come up with any offensive names you could that sounded close to gold foil. Made my day 😂😂😂😂😂😂
"Let's throw some drums behind this thing before we throw it down the stairs!" LOL
This review was delightfully savage.
They have rumor of MIM Fenders, which said they are the worst in product line. But I think this masterpiece has nothing to do with MIM factor. If i have to buy a Fender style bass, I would go straight to FGN or Moollon ;)
Thanks for another honest and entertaining review!
I briefly considered buying a meteroa and then I thought: 'oh wait it's a fender, can't risk that'. Nothing beats the second hand sire v7 with curved edges which I got for only 100 euros.
Sire really kills it at the moment. The V5's and P5's are way better than any MiM Fender out there, for a fraction of the price.
The bass that finally boiled the lobster. LOVE the Donny B shirt by the way.
I'd take that Donny Bennet T-shirt over this bass at any time
You have great taste
I’m glad I have watched your video because i found this very bass in our local shop and I’ve been considering maaaaaaaybe buying it
LOL. I like how you act like we're punishing you for liking the video! Also, when I bought my first real bass, I chose Schecter over Fender. Not being made of money, I've always had a little buyers removers and thought "What if...?" After the issues you reported with Gretsch, and now an actual Fender, I'm going to go apologize to my amazing Schecter for coveting some harlot.
Schecters rule! You chose well
@@LowEndLobster TY, sir.
I build high-end guitars and basses, and Schecter is my favorite budget bass brand. They're incredible for the money. Every time I play one, I'm blown away by the quality, features, and versatility.
You definitely made a great choice. I'd be happy to play a Schecter full-time. With some fretwork and a good setup, they're great!
@@NautilusGuitars Thanks! I got the Riot 4. Same price range as this bass. So that tells me that it stomps this one in the ground.
@@TheAtlantaThrasher Yeah, those are excellent basses! Even their $500 basses are a steal for the price. Their higher end models are very good quality.
Thank you for the honest video. I was eyeballing this one for a while online thinking it looks beautiful.
This bass needs the 3-point Gibson bridge.
I love how the arrows in the thumbnail point to every string except the bad one
There are so many fender basses out there , Fender does not need to ever manufacture another one. All I can say positive of this bass is the color.
This is hysterical. Thank you. 😂
And, seriously, if Fender gave a crap at all, this would have never happened.
In an age when major magazines are afraid to give their advertisers even mildly positive reviews your site is a breath of fresh air.
Fender has always been hit or miss in my experience. I remember trying out a Roscoe Beck 5 string at a Musician's Friend back in 2003 or so... the frets nearly sliced open my hand and the tech there said "yeah, and that's AFTER I took a file to them!".
Then I pointed out how there were at least three anchor screws missing from the bridge. You could clearly see the finished body through their unoccupied holes.
That all said though, I still own a few and I love the ones in my bass stable. It just seems that sometimes they are more concerned with churning out a quota than being consistent about quality.
"Around the back [of the body] there's pretty much nothing, just like the level of quality control it's had..."
Love it.
I like the sound and the look of it… but that’s about it. Sonic blue and tortoise is a classic color combo, and I like how the gold foil pickup sounds. It seems to be placed in the P-Bass sweet spot (correct me if I’m wrong). But if the fret work is cutting up my hand playing it, and the nut is cut wrong, AND the bridge is in the wrong spot, Fender needs to re-evaluate some things.
.....and if you have to take off the neck to adjust the truss rod....
@@jlw1785 that is just friggin egregious in 2023
Thank you I recently just bought my new Squier Jazz Bass and then this came out. I was beating myself up that I should have waited. I am so glad I didn't wait for this.
Funniest review ever - so well done on that. Hmmm, I tend to think that these will become truly collectible, especially the coveted "pre-recall" models and 'unmodded condition' examples. I'd be watching for run out specials myself... And yes, 3 strings do sound quite good.
I just got an email from a music shop today that featured this bass and I was stoked. Glad I saw your review! Unbelievable that a major manufacturer would be so negligent, (but not really.) Keep at it Claw-man!
This video illustrates why all my fenders are actually squier… after I set them up and do all the fine tuning they pretty much smoke a stock fender! - The elite series is the only fender I would spend any money on.
Sounds great apart for this big issue. Thank you for this honest review ;-)
BE CAREFUL!! When Fender catches on to this they'll charge another $500 for vintage errors.
😂
Sounds plausible
Well…you saw my talkbass item on this bass.
I wish I knew this before, could have saved me from some stress.
Great review!
Hold up... they sent a bass in that state to one of their endorsees?
YUP
Complete epic fail.
'Golden shower Jazz Bass', '...before we throw it down the stairs...', 'Tin foil tuna fish sandwich' brilliant video!
Wow! Shame on you Fender... Thanks for brightening up my day Lobster, the funniest review you have made 👍..
okay... you killed me with the "golden shower"! LOL
Just when I think Fender is finally catching up with the competition in terms of build quality, here comes this joke.
I know the same time they came up with the most Amazing set of new guitars and basses "The American Ultras" they
all are five Star beauties.........why did they make this?
This may be my favorite review ever!
$1299 for any MX build was already outrageous. This is... wow. Practically speechless.
I do have those lollis on my Adam Clayton green Jazz and they're not a problem and I love lollis and bring them back more fully pls. :D
but….. its a GOLD mesh pickup cover!!!! easily worth $500 🤡.
tbf my Vintera 70s jazz looks, plays, and sounds phenomenal. it's unfortunate that, dor roughly the same price, the gold foil JB is a sorrowful miss.
@@zildjianrickenbacker8492 the different lines are coming from different factories. I'm sure the majority of the Player Plus and Vintera models out there are really nice. That said, I'm going to be wary of the couple I did have my eye on and think twice (Duff special with dat cream pearl, am I right?).
The Donny Benet shirt lets me know this is a man who can be trusted
I get it now, they solved the issue that nobody has with too much low E output.
Don't you hate it when you're playing bass and you play those pesky low notes? It's so frustrating! This is the first innovative instrument to truly address this issue LOL
This made my Monday morning. Love your reviews Lobster!
I would totally buy it used for 200 dollars and then bring it to my luthier for new nut and new bridge placement 🙃
It would bug me every time I looked at the paint. I also think the pickup could be a bit longer.
@@chrismassa5891 high mass should cover it lol
This is the best review roast I've ever seen. The Fender Fool's Gold Tin Foil Toad Boil. I am still laughing.
This is quite innovative on the part of Fender, in that it saves on the necessity of buying a compression and perhaps an EQ pedal.
Allow me to explain. Having the open E off the PU takes care of the unwieldy loud dynamics of that string in relation to the other quieter strings. In this sense, it's a value added instrument, and therefore is perfection by simplicity.