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

I bought this guitar from the bass cellar in London for £520 on special offer

It looks cool and the sunburst finish is really nice, the neck is comfortable and fast and as far as slapping its the best ive played so far, very fast and bouncy, its made from Alder so its not too heavy either. wicked sound.

The bridge pick up was poorly fitted, it looked like the holes had been drilled in the wrong place and it exposed a wire, on returning it and getting another I found it had the same problem, Im not sure if it was a faulty batch or just badly set up,

The bridge pick up was poorly fitted, didnt affect the sound though, just the cosmetics

I would reccomend this bass to anyone with a midrange budget, the sound is wicked and it plays very well, however look out for that bridge pick up!

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