Fender Fretless Rosewood Jazz Bass User Reviews at zZounds

"Excellent first Fretless bass" submitted December 27, 2007

By a customer from yahoo.com

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Features

Ease of Use

Quality

Value

Manufacturer Support

The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Aspiring Active Musician

Music Style: jazz

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Sound: Excellent way to play jazz and get a warm woody sound without having to buy an acoustic upright bass or electric upright bass. This bass is quite light, even though it is physically big. With my Eden amp, I can really get a great sound from this bass that works well with jazz, folk, blues. Any music where an upright would be used. Feature: it came with a so-so case. Ease of Use: The fret 'cheat lines' make is very easy for a fretted player to start playing fretless right away. They really help me a transition between the two. The electronic controls are simple and easy to use. I find the bass very easy to play standing up, but, a bit difficult to play sitting down, as the shape of the body does not fit with my right leg. The bass sounds great right away. I can get a really great jazzy upright sound from this. Of course, with a fretless, to get the best sound, you have to rethink you entire way of playing if you've been using guitar fingerings on a fretted bass guitar. You've got to think like an upright bass player and use upright fingerings to keep in tune and play well without having to look at your fingers. Quality: My units is well made. I like passive pickups because I don't worry about the battery dying out. (my other bass has active pickups) Manufacturer Support: I have not needed to contact tech support for problems. However, there is a wealth of technical setup information on Fender's website, so people can help ourselves. All the details of the instrument are there, as well as a "how to setup the bass" guide, with explanations of terms and practices.. The Wow Factor: the midnight wine colour is quite nice. Hey it's a Fender, it has that classic beauty going. Overall: The pickups are perhaps the weakest link. I'll upgrade the pickups with another set of passive pickups before I change anything else. Well, I might change the strap hook on the horn to be on the body, so it hangs more vertical. I may research changing the bridge (to Badass) and if I really get the upgrade bug, maybe the tuning pegs. Even with expense of all these third party upgrades, the total price will still be quite less than a 'Made in USA' Fender Jazz Fretless.

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"Some Pros, some cons" submitted November 20, 2007

By a customer from MSN.COM

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Features

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The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Guitar Enthusiast and Musician

Music Style: Rock, Blues, Jazz

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Sound: sound is great, it's the great thing about this bass. Big, fat, jazzy sound which can also be boosted for rock. Feature: The tone and volume are both nicely done. They work logically by not cutting out completley after it turns down to 8.5, and they make a hue difference which allows for a nice variation in available sounds. Ease of Use: The neck is huge and the action tends to be extremely high. I was the only one in my group who could even bar to play it for more than a few minutes. If you've got big strong hands then good for you, you'll get a workout. Quality: made OK, like I said my action was wacked out, way too high and the neck was super bowed but adjusting the truss rod didnt seem to make a difference. Value: Value's not great. Although I guess fretless are hard to come by. I traded mine for a mexican strat in semi-poor shape a little while ago. I wouldn't pay this much if I knew how uncomfortable it would be to play. Manufacturer Support: Never dealt with support The Wow Factor: Gotta say that I feel pretty cool playing this monster on stage. Its big, with sound to match, and the fretless part allows you to really slide around, although I hope you can handle the heat, because all that sliding will also tear up your fingers. Overall: Overall great sound, tough to play. NOT NOT NOT for beginners, you'll give up if you start on this mug.

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"Jaco...Here I Come!!!" submitted December 25, 2007

By a customer from aol.com

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Sound

Features

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The Wow Factor

Musical Background: Hobbyist

Music Style: Classic Rock, Jazz, Fusion, Alternative, Rock, Metal, etc

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Sound: The sound is sweet (which you should expect with any fretless). Nice lows with the twangy highs. Harmonics are great on it. On higher notes, it sounds like an upright bass which is great for jazz (hence the name Jazz Bass). Feature: Of course, it's not active, so the sound is limited to the two jazz pickups. But if you're me, I prefer just the bridge pickup so it's all good. But some players might prefer a more variable sound. It's up to you. I wish these came stock with a Hipshot detuner so that I could drop to D (like Tony Franklin). Also, it would be nice if they offered a birdseye maple fretboard in the standard, along with no fret markers too. Ease of Use: It's easy to use if you have played bass for awhile. It's tougher to fret notes because you have to push down until contact with the fretboard (obviously). I hope players have caluses because I have played for 4 years and this thing tears 'em up still. The sliding is the only problem really. Quality: It's not no American series. The neck is pretty bowed and I'm not sure if that's natural (maybe so there's less fretbuzz?) or if the MIM version is really that bad. Everything else is great though. Coating is flawless, pickguard is extremely white, etc. Value: Great bass for a low price. It has the quality of a Fender product all for a good price. Definately a great bass for starting fretless playing. Manufacturer Support: I haven't had to call support yet. I received this bass as a gift for Christmas and have had no problems so far. Even if I do run into a problem, I'm sure Fender will help me with ease. The bass comes with a limited lifetime warranty for craftsmanship and materials I think, so that's definately a plus. The Wow Factor: Sex appeal is average. I got the brown sunburst and it looks great. I might add a tortoise shell pickguard instead because the white one doesn't look all that good (in my opinion). And besides the extremely white neck (which I hope will yellow with age), it's a good lookin' piece of wood. Overall: I'm probably gonna stick with this bass until it breaks or I'm a millionaire. There's really no need to get another, unless you want an American or another brand. It sounds like Jaco's bass and looks like it too.

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"The perfect starter fretless" submitted August 14, 2006

By a customer from gmail.com

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Musical Background: Active Musician

Music Style: Classic Rock / Punk / Alternative

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SPOTLIGHT REVIEW

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Sound: The sound is surprisingly good for a low-end Fender product. In the past, I've played a Warwick Proline Fretless, an American Standard J-Bass (Fretted), as well as a Rickenbacker 4003. This doesn't approach the Warwick in any way, but for the price, you get more than you pay for. This is a recording-only bass, and I play it through an SWR LA-10 amp. The combination of the two make for a very nice sound if you can get past the hum when your tone is turned all the way up. Feature: Standard J-Bass features. It would be nice if Fender would add the S-1 switch to this line as well, but I can't imagine that ever happening. Ease of Use: Transitioning from my Warwick fretless to this one was a bit of a nuisance. The Warwick's neck dots are *at* the fretting position, whereas the Fender's neck dots are in the middle of it. So while you're trying to learn intonation positions, it's kinda hard to find the fret markers. Quality: Having owned a Mexican J-bass from about 6 years ago, the new models seem to be substantially improved in construction. It's a pretty solid instrument, and dare I say it feels a little lighter than the old one. Value: Like I said before. You get a lot more than you pay for where quality is concerned. The unit that I have was a NAMM demo, so I think Fender went a little farther in getting it nicely set up. Overall, It's quite sweet. Manufacturer Support: Never had to deal with Fender The Wow Factor: It's a Fender... I don't think anyone has ever said that Fender has sex appeal. If you want a sexy bass, get a Warwick. If you want a retro bass, get a Rickenbacker. If you want nuts and bolts, Fender is perfect. Overall: Overall, it's a great buy for the price, especially if you're starting out with Fretless. I started out in fretless on a $2700 bass, which in retrospect was probably overkill. The Fender standard would have served me just as well.

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"this thing will sound good no matter what" submitted March 26, 2005

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Musical Background: active musician

Music Style: punk

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Sound: this thing sounds freakin awesome. you just cant beat it. it goes with all most any music style except for maybe metal. its got a great punk rock sound. me personally, i think its one of the best basses you can buy. i cant wait to get back home and rock out with my band on this thing Feature: this things has everything you need and nothin you dont Quality: the quality is the best. this thing is a tank. my strap slipped and it hit solid wood floor..... not one crack all i had to do was retune it. oh about what i said about the tank thing. it doesnt weigh as much as a tank. Value: go buy it Manufacturer Support: havent had to deal with them The Wow Factor: look at it. is awesome Overall: buy it now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Fender Standard Jazz Fretless Electric Bass (Rosewood)

User Ratings

"Excellent first Fretless bass" submitted December 27, 2007

"Some Pros, some cons" submitted November 20, 2007

"Jaco...Here I Come!!!" submitted December 25, 2007

"The perfect starter fretless" submitted August 14, 2006

"this thing will sound good no matter what" submitted March 26, 2005