Fender Special Edition Deluxe Ash Jazz Bass Natural Ash Rosewood Fretboard

This version of the classic Jazz Bass is as good as any in Fender's regular line. The special-run models are used to get rid of extra wood, parts and finishing materials. My FSR Jazz Bass has a three-piece ash body that is not matched in any way, but the grain is still pretty and the overall color combination of unstained ash, rosewood board and tortoise pickguard work together nicely. This bass weighs just a bit less than my 20-year-old alder-body Jazz Bass. Once set up and adjusted to my taste, it equals the US-made models in tone and playability. I did polish the satin neck to a near-gloss sheen, and will probably paint the body cavity with shielding paint next time I take it apart. Overall, this is an instrument worthy of any skilled player.

I have owned this bass & gigged regularly with it from 2011 till about 2013. I no longer play this bass live due to the pickups being very weak, however I do rehearse with it. My MIM P Bass is nearly twice the volume as this bass. I have @ least 10 gig quality basses, high end Fender & Gibson & 30 + years of experience as both a bass & guitar player on which I am basing my review. The bridge is typical jazz bass, does the job but can be improved with many high quality after market bridges. The neck is great. Stock tuners & nut are fine. The 2 volume & 1 tone pots work just fine for me, I normally run tone @ 1/2 & volume full. I plan on replacing the stock pickups with Seymour Duncan jazz bass pickups & a high end bridge (Badass II) All in all this is a nice bass, looks great on stage, but @ this price point I would expect quality pickups. This is a beautiful bass that will make a fun quality project bass. I did not mention the setup, because I believe setup is subjective & ALL instruments must be setup upon receipt. Once improvements have been made, I plan on gigging with this bass once again.

I purchased this MIM 2014 on eBay in 2015 for $350. It had Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders, that didn't have much drive. I changed them out for a set of Bartolini 9J1's, then set it up. It is much better than when i first got it. The set up changed the entire bass. IMHO, Jazz basses really need a blend, as opposed to 2 volumes. I changed my rear volume to a blend. I know they've been making these since the early 60's the same way, but a blend really does this bass a great service. All in all, this is a good bass. I play it every other weekend for hours with friends in Marin, and leave it at the studio. It's solid, has great tone (now), and is well balanced. Love the Blonde with rosewood. Gives it a great overall look and tone.

Ash body at this price is a rare find! Ash costs about twice as much as alder, which is what most fenders are made out of. This bass has excellent sound, however I recommend replacing the pickups and bridge. DiMarzio Model J‘s sound great on this bass. The BA II bridge that is on the geddy lee adds a killer look and keeps that string spacing consistent, which the stock bridge does not do. I get compliments on my tone at gigs/practice. Can get some bright, yet heavy tones using d'addario roundwounds. So even though it needs a couple upgrades, I still give it a 5 because it can sound incredible for an extra ~$200 and is really comfortable to play even for our 5 hour practices. Incredible value over the mexican std! I also forgot to mention this bass is beautiful.. the picture doesn't do it justice.

This Fender Jazz Bass sounds awesome; it is very light compared to my Yamaha and it sounds great. I didn't have to make any adjustments except change the strings. It is very high quality and it is very well made, no complains on this one. It is made in Mexico but don't let that fool you, it is very close to the American Fender in sound and quality even with the original pickups in my opinion.

This FSR run J bass is very high quality. Better than the typically MIM basses in this price range.Great entry point into a J bass, approaching American standard quality/tone.It does need some minor setup work out of the box (truss rod and saddle heights).

This is a great bass to have, it's perfect for any genre, plays well. Quality sound is great, not as good as american standard sound but a close second. Stock pick-ups overall have great sound. Needs to be set up after purchase and better strings. Has beautiful looks!! This bass can hold it's own just fine, if you have the extra money to dish out for an American Standard then go for it, but if someone is just looking for something to gig with and practice with this bass will do. I recommend Elixer Nanoweb roundwound strings, or d'Addario chromes flatwound strings.