Fender Standard Jazz Bass – Aqua Marine Metallic With Maple Fingerboard

Impressive tonal versatility

While preamp-equipped models of the Jazz Bass with active EQ may offer the ultimate tonal customization, the classic passive Jazz Bass provides a surprisingly broad sonic palette without having to deal with added complexity and dead-battery angst. With both pickups full up and the instrument’s tone pot fully open, the Jazz Bass produces a wide-range, hum-canceling signal with blooming bottom, sparkling highs, and slightly scooped mids. It’s this tonal richness that funk players exploited with the new playing techniques that emerged in the 1970s. On its own, each pickup brings something different to the tone party. While the bridge pickup delivers the aggressive Jazz Bass growl that can easily plow through a thick rock or fusion track, the neck pickup (which is actually positioned in the middle of the body) serves up a warm, rounded tone that can approximate an upright bass, making it ideal for sparser arrangements, ballads, and of course, small-ensemble jazz.

Balance, comfort, and speed

Radical when it was introduced, the offset waist of the Jazz Bass body moves left-side body mass toward the neck in a way that aligns with the angle at which most bassists hold their instrument when standing. When playing seated, most (right-handed) players rest the guitar on their right thigh, and the offset design, in this case, aligns the rear body contour with your torso, where it belongs. Another significant feature of the Jazz Bass is its neck shape. The nut on a 4-string Jazz Bass neck is 1.5 inches wide, whereas most other 4-strings on the market have a nut width of 1.625 inches or more. This detail makes a world of difference in playing feel, particularly when playing in the low register — the meat and potatoes range. Jazz Bass aficionados at Musiekwereld like that the shorter distance between strings in the low register allows for greater dexterity and speed, as they don’t have to stretch as far to reach, say, a low G. This makes the Jazz Bass better suited to players with smaller hands. The Jazz Bass neck profile is also quite rounded, making it comfortable for a variety of fretting techniques, including thumb-over. Whatever your playing predilections, you can’t go wrong with a Fender Jazz Bass!