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Fender Jaguar Bass
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 1:35 pm
by dean712
Hey,I just saw this new model:
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0259505506
Anybody read any reviews on it or seen one? Is the neck like a Jazz or a P-Bass or neither? Just curious, had never seen one before....
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 7:17 pm
by jingle_jangle
Pups borrowed from Jazz Bass, neck like one I would guess judging from the photo. This one will go on my Xmas list for next year.
BTW, with 80 different models of Strats and 47 different Teles, the bellybutton guitar afficionados out there should have a field day!
Can you believe it!
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 7:31 pm
by alanz
I saw that in the MF catalog this morning and nearly dropped everything to order one.
Toss the bridge for a Badass, toss the pick ups for Barts, refin it in... tangerine, maybe...
Ultra bitchin'!
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 7:46 pm
by jwr2
hmmm ... 4-2-5 ...
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 8:22 pm
by jingle_jangle
Gotta be Candy Apple Red, man!
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2006 9:18 pm
by dean712
I do like the plentiful chrome. Love the vibe, too, from the looks of it. One I would try out in a shop, that's for sure.... If it performed, it could be quite cool.
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 3:19 am
by cheyenne
What do all the little switches do??
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 3:20 am
by marc61
There's pictures of the red on music123 site. Looks cool with the matching headstock.
Now is this a Mexican made? Japanese made? Can't be USA for that price.
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 3:23 am
by cheyenne
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 3:43 am
by leftyguitars
Fender J(aguar)azz bass!
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 4:09 am
by bassman
I ordered one in Hot Red yesterday with matching headstock. Apparently Fender has them in stock which means I should have it by the end of net week.
They're made in Japan. (CIJ)
The switches allow the bass to be active or passive, switch pickups in and out of phase (series parallel). They also are the control each pickup on and off.
There is a 9 volt battery in the back of the bass to power the active circuitry when switched on. You have the choice of using the bass in either active or passive modes.
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 4:58 am
by jingle_jangle
Interesting. The website says next winter for availability.
About the switches:
I'd assume it's wired like a Jaguar. (Otherwise why HAVE all them li'l thangs?). So, here goes:
The guitar's circuitry (Jaguar) was supposedly Forrest White's idea, and he built a hollowbody with the circuitry after watching Alvino Rey struggle to change tone settings from lead to rhythm in a live situation. This was back in '41!
So White designed a circuit which allowed for two completely adjustable presets which could be changed at the flip of a switch. This uses rather standard two-single-coil, two volume two tone circuits, wired parallel with each other.
The topmost switch on the chrome plate on the upper horn is the Magic Switch that does the selecting between the two circuits. In photos, the other two black rectangles on the plate are in fact the tone and volume pots for the second (rhythm) circuit, but instead of space-hogging knobs, they are mini pots with thumbwheels. These have a real quality "feel", by the way, unlike the slide switches, which feel rickety and always have.
The squarish chrome plate on the other horn is the pickup selector/"lead tone modifying" switch. The two ones closest to the neck turn the pickup circuits on/off, and the one furthest from the neck passes the signal through a cap to thin it out a good deal--it becomes quite reedy-sounding.
The bottom-most chrome plate is standard Fender stuff, with the lead circuit tome and volume pots and the output jack.
So you potentially will have a great deal of tone variation (especially since one of the circuits is active) and the capability to use two different sound palettes in a live situation with the flick of a tiny switch!
Brilliant--why are they wasting time building a personal Strat for every guitar player on the planet when these quicky ideas are out there floating around?
Uh Oh--how long before we see a three-pickup Strat Bass?
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 6:14 am
by marc61
I like the quality of the instruments from Fender Japan. They made a bass similar to the bass VI called the Jaguar Bottom Master. I sold a whole bunch of them on Ebay, not thinking to keep one for myself. Nice workmanship, and they sounded great.
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 1:44 pm
by 86kubicki
Interesting that only the red model has the matching headstock. I have to admit that I find this bass highly appealing! It has a very cool retro vibe to it.
Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2006 1:48 pm
by sloop_john_b
Too cool! Love the idea of matching headstock, which means i'd probably wind up with a red one if I got one. Also, I agree with Marc that MIJ/CIJ Fenders are top notch.