All user reviews for the Fender Jazz Bass (1969)

This classic bass is an American made machine. The 69 jazz bass has a rosewood fingerboard (which changed to maple in the 1970s, making a 60s P-Bass preferable to some people). The bass has an alder body. The fingerboard is narrower than other basses, like the P-bass. There are two pickups which have two pole pieces for each string. There is a knob for volume, two tone knobs, and a three-way pickup selector switch, all of which are located at the bottom of the guitar. There is a 34" scale.

UTILIZATION

This bass plays very well. The fretboard is narrower than most basses, and therefore a little bit easier to maneuver around. The bass feels a lot more naturally melodic than some other basses I can think of. The bass is actually quite heavy in terms of weight, and wearing this without a supportive strap can definitely hurt those who have back problems.

SOUNDS

The Jazz bass has a lighter sound than that of the Precision bass, and many other basses which have been modeled closely after the P-Bass. The sound is lighter, with more emphasis placed on the lighter frequencies, giving the bass a warmer, more natural sound. Therefore, I would say that this bass would be nice for Jazz and lighter R&B. If you are looking for a more powerful, thump kind of sound, this probably isn't your best bet. I would go with something else for that. The idea that Leo Fender had with this bass was to produce an electric bass that more closely resembled that of an acoustic double bass. While nobody would probably ever mistake the sound of this with an actual double bass, I think that it definitely resembles the feel of that instrument more than the average electric bass guitar does.

OVERALL OPINION

I like this J-Bass more than any other similarly-modeled bass I've played. I'd say that the obvious advantage that this bass has over the later J-basses is the rosewood fingerboard, which I'm partial to. There's also something about older instruments that makes them unique, and somehow this 69 bass has aged really well. A highly melodic, warm sounding instrument, if you can find one of these at a decent price, I'd highly recommend it.

I own a Fender Jazz Bass made in the USA. I bought it used off EBay 8 years ago and is guitar of choice. I have 3 other basses but play live and record with this Fender Jazz Bass because it has a great sound. Mine has two centered pickups, volume and tone controls on the bass, and also a bass and treble eq controls on the bass which makes for easy sound equalization live. 23 frets just short of two full octaves. It has a maple wood neck made by Fender. This guitar feels great in your hands, easy to slide between notes. The only thing I wish now is that I would have bought it fretless! The bass has a 9 volt battery, so make sure to stash an extra battery in the case in case it dies live.

UTILIZATION

The Jazz Bass has extra wide frets making it easy to play and have a very distinct sound. The bass is a bit heavy so playing it all night with a strap on can end up giving you some back pains in the morning.

SOUNDS

I have had trouble with the input jack last year, but did a little home repair tightening the mount. Whenever the guitar cable would move in the jack a large static rush would come through the amp, which was not good for the speakers.

OVERALL OPINION

I paid 450 on Ebay used, but it was in perfect condition so I feel as though i got a good deal. Of course a hardshell case is recommended to protect this amazing bass. I have no plans to purchase any other bass in the future because this has the perfect sound. I have recorded over 4 albums, and played countless number of shows over the past 8 years with this bass. I reccomend this bass and wouldn't buy the Mexican made model, It is better to go for the USA model.