Fender Jaco Pastorius Jazz Bass

The Jaco Bass is a serious collectable piece and I didn't have plans to purchase a fretless model - 'cos it's too priceful to pick one from a local music store!

Good fretless bass - the Jaco Pastorius Model is in fact a sunburst 1962 Jazz Bass with a 20-fret lined rosewood fingerboard, finished with a clear-coated epoxy gloss and three knurled flat-top chrome knobs. The pickguard is not present on the body, but Fender offers also an optional pickguard in a beautiful 4-ply brown tortoiseshell finish for giving to the Jaco Bass the look and feel of that Custom Shop 1964 Jazz Bass Re-Issue.

I disliked the fact that the fretted Jaco Pastorius Jazz is available only with a rosewood fingerboard, as Jaco himself appears briefly with a maple-cap neck model on some photos. For that reason, Fender could also offer the fretted Jaco Pastorius model with an optional separate laminated maple fingerboard with black dot markers.

Absolutely perfect, this is the finest attention to detail I've ever seen on a Fender. While this is a production bass it is very limited and quite close to a custom shop job in terms of hand-work and detail. Gorgeous!

Jaco Pastorius was a beacon for generations of aspiring bass players, bridging the gaps between R&B, rock, jazz, classical and Caribbean music. He changed the musical world with his uncanny gift and visionary approach to the instrument, and he did it with one fundamental tool - a Fender Jazz Bass. No comments about the Custom Shop Relic model, of course: a tribute to the great Jazz Bass master! This is a faithful re-creation of Jaco’s famous “distressed” bass and is a result of meticulous research done in cooperation with his technician. Jaco’s J Bass features a select alder body, special shaped maple neck, epoxy coated fretless rosewood fingerboard and knurled chrome P Bass control knobs.


This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com