At this price-point, this bass is a homerun! $750 USD for a Japanese made Fender that is well-constructed, visually appealing, sounds great, tonally flexible, and unique. This bass is not a Japanese re-issue of some American Fender from the '60's - it is a bass conceived of in the 21st century in top quality by Fender Japan with a generous nod to Fender's storied past.

Sound
Sounds essentially like a jazz bass, but due to the series/parallel option, and active electronics, can go far beyond jazz bass tonally. Pickup spacing is wide, a la '70's jazz bass... It sounds "Fender-y"... The bass seems to have no problem going from Motown thump to smooth fingerstyle jazz (bridge p/u solo'ed, passive tone rolled back slightly, and a touch of active bass boost) with no loss of bottom-end, to classic '70's jazz bass slap (both pickups on, passive tone up, active electronics off) to modern gospel slap (active electronics on), to more modern rocking tones (p/u's in parallel, active ON)... Background hum may be an issue in a recording, but live shouldnt be a problem. If too much hum, modifications such as copper shielding and/or pickup change can be done.

Features
Again, this is a jazz bass - well made, with '70's pickup spacing (allowing for more top end on the slap tone, like the Marcus Miller bass). The series/parallel option as well as the passive/active option allow much greater tone options than a typical J- or P-bass… read more would. Some may lament the absence of individual volume knobs for each pickup, but I think this "lack" of flexibility is more than made up for by presence of the active electronics and series/parallel switch.

Ease of Use
The switches may be intimidating at first, but just by playing around with the instrument and exploring its creative possibilities, any fear of complicated electronics layout will be overcome. This is a four-string Fender bass guitar with great flexibility. The neck is feels like a nice, comfortable, thin jazz bass neck. Truss rod adjustments are made at the headstock (like a '70's Fender), allowing the player to make adjustments in neck relief without having to remove the neck.

Quality
Fender Japan is a close second in quality to US made products. In fact, I prefer this bass in terms of construction, aesthetics, and tone to the basses coming out of Fender USA and Mexico. It is a great value - a lot of bass for the money. It is well-constructed, no paint or technical issues that I can find. Frets were level, tuners were smooth, neck fit nicely in the body...

Value
At this price point, we have a Fender bass that is well constructed, looks cool, and sounds fantastic. Resell value of this bass should be high given that it is Japanese-crafted and is unique.

Manufacturer Support
Have not dealt with Fender regarding this instrument.

The Wow Factor
This is totally Fender - looks like a re-issue of a late-60's Fender bass. The colour, the chrome, the matching headstock (hot red red only), and the pearlioid block inlays over dark rosewood make this bass visually appealing. A close look at the vintage-tinted maple neck shows prominent wood grain pattern running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the neck... delectable!

Musical Background:
Active Musician / 20+ years

Musical Style:
Jazz/Funk/R&B/Rock/Blues read less