Name: Fender American Original '60s Jazz Electric Bass Guitar, Rosewood Fingerboard, Candy Apple Red
Brand: Fender
SKU: FE190130809
Price: 2149.99 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 4 (4 reviews)

Fender American Original '60s Jazz Electric Bass Guitar, Rosewood Fingerboard, Candy Apple Red

Fender American Orig '60s Jazz

Fender

Fender American Original '60s Jazz Electric Bass Guitar, Candy Apple Red

Adorama

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Fender American Orig '60s Jazz 

Buy: Fender American Original '60s Jazz Electric Bass Guitar, Rosewood Fingerboard, Candy Apple Red Body Material: Alder, Handedness: Right-Handed, Strings: 4 String

Released in 1960, the upscale Jazz Bass quickly found favor among working bassists thanks to its premium appointments and versatile sound. The narrower neck seemed tailor-made for fast, dexterous playing, while the pair of single-coil pickups added a bold new dimension to Fender bass tone. The American Original '60s Jazz Bass has all the tone and style of its earliest incarnation, with modern playability. The Pure Vintage '64 Jazz Bass single-coil pickups are as period-correct as possible, from the enamel-coated coil wire to the cloth-covered output wires, fiber bobbins and alnico 5 magnets. There's no mistaking the sound of these pickups-from a deep growl to articulate punch, they are the voice of this legendary bass. The slim "'60s C"-shaped neck profile and 9.5"-radius round-lam rosewood fingerboard combine for an agile playing feel. Other authentic touches include vintage-tall frets, original-era body radii, vintage-style hardware-including a four-saddle vintage-style bridge-vintage-style hard-shell case and a lacquer finish that not only lets the wood "breathe" naturally with resonant tone, it also wears in a distinctively appealing way. An inspiring instrument, the American Original '60s Jazz Bass is the best way to add original-era Fender tone and style to your sound.

This is a fabulous looking and sounding bass. I had a candy apple red Fender Jazz Bass in the mid 1960's, which was unfortunately stolen about 10 years later. I used a P-Bass after that but had long pined for my Jazz Bass. This has the feel and sound of the original 1960's version. The paint is not as sparkly as I recall from 55 years ago, and I think Fender is using a different paint process now than they did in the 1960s. Other than that, it is spot on.

Great bass; clean sound, excellent vintage electronics

Smaller neck works great for smaller hands.

Real cherry

This is supposed to be top of the line recent model with a hefty price tag. Was very disappointed when I tried it, right the way I noticed the balance was off and the neck pulls down both sitting and standing. In addition, the 4-6 frets area on the G string was very weak and dull. I would never expect that kind of imperfections for top of the line Fender.

Neck dive and deal notes, Fender not what it used to be.

Got my American Original 60's Jazz purchased here from Adorama, who I've been buying video & photo gear from for as long back as I can remember... it was everything I'd hoped it would be.

Incredible instrument, PERFECT fit and finish, and I love the color & attention to detail like the aged clay dot markers on the fretboard and the gold grounding strip (in front of the bridge) as present on the 60's Jazz Basses.

The American Original series was produced by Fender as a 'replacement' so to speak for their AVRI or (American Vintage ReIssue) series... For anyone curious about what makes this series different from the AVRI basses a lot of us came to know and love, here are some quick facts:

- There's a 9.5" radius on these vs 7.25" (I believe) on AVRI 60's instruments, this makes the board a little flatter and it feels great under my fingers

- Vintage tall frets on these Originals vs (standard) vintage frets on the AVRI

- Pickup/bridge covers don't come pre-mounted on Original series, unlike the AVRI where they were pre-installed on the instrument (kinda yucky if you hate those big chrome covers)

- Vintage G&G case here (see pic, great poodle interior) on these vs the AVRI's vintage Fender case

The AVRI was year-specific vs these Original's being decade-specific... so essentially, they're trying to capture an essence of the instruments of the decade vs the exact specs for an exact year... even though they fouled up on the headstock logo of the older aforementioned AVRI for one of the 70's basses they produced with an incorrect logo for that year

I am really pleased with mine and it plays well, feels great and is true to the vintage-format. For anyone considering a jazz bass, this is killer. If you're on the fence because you want one with a preamp, remember that the Audere JZ3 is only $158 shipped in the US and installs in a breeze (without soldering - just screws) and sounds killer.

**Below is a demo someone did of the Audere in the 70's version of the American Original Bass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h2fdF8JiIE

Anyhow, pic of mine is attached // no filter. The candy finish on this bass makes it kind of change from dark red to bright under different light/shadows -- beautiful metallic flakes in it.

Candy Nitro finish is killer. Remember that these are coming from NY and feature a Nitrocellulose finish and as such, you should let them sit in your home for a couple days before unboxing them just to let the finish and instrument regulate temps to your climate. 

For anyone considering these, get one! And grab the VIP360 membership, I got mine in a record 2 days to California, alongside  the reward points on the order which I used for free strings and other accessories with the points I've stacked up... plus you've got 60 day returns, all for $50... fantastic.

Thx Adorama