All user reviews of 3/5 for the Fender American Standard Jazz Bass [2008-2012]

I bought this "Made in Mexico" Jazz Bass at Music Star in Fort Wayne, IN as part of a package deal which included a trade-in of a Mexican Tele and the purchase of the bass guitar, a gig bag, and an amp. I figure I have approx. $220 invested in the bass. I had been playing a 5 string Ibanez bass almost exclusively for several years and wanted to get a 4 string for the narrower neck and wider string spacing. Some of the material I'm playing just lends itself to a 4 string bass.

What I like about a Jazz Bass in general is the narrow neck at the nut, the characteristic single coil sound, and I just think a Jazz Bass is a good looking bass. This one is finished in Candy Apple Red.

When I got this bass, the action was terrible. The body/neck joint wasn't tight and there was quite a bit of positive relief in the neck. I have worked on all my guitars and basses over the years so this wasn't a big problem for me to fix. However, the pickups were quite weak and the single-coil hum was way out of the norm. I knew this was going to take some money to fix - but I felt I would wind up with a decent bass for relatively little money when all was said and done.

The factory pickups and wiring were, in my opinion, really crappy. I bought some Fender Vintage Jazz Bass pickups and a white pearloid pickguard and went to work. The pickups came with a lot of extra cloth insulated wire, so I was able to replace almost all of the original wiring. The original pickguard had no grounded foil backing for shielding. I added this to the new one. The neck joint was loose and may have contributed to an overall "weak" sound. I shimmed the joint (being careful to not mess up the alignment) and made sure the screws were cranked down tight. I also took some of the relief out of the neck which resulted in really nice, low action. The original frets are crowned nicely, but the edges weren't done well at all. It gave the neck a notchy feel as I slid my fingers along the edges of the fretbord. A little work with a micro-file took care of this.

In the end I wound up with a great looking, sounding, and playing Fender Jazz Bass for less than $400. Originally, it was a cheap "knock-off" of a real Jazz Bass. But some time and money invested turned it into a real gem. Other bass players have been stunned when they play it and I tell them it's a "Made in Mexico" standard. I guess my advice to any serious player considering one of these would be to look at it as good raw material. It's a crappy bass as it comes from the factory - and it's priced low because it isn't refined and crafted. But with the right modifications and "tweaks", it can be turned into a really sweet bass guitar.

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