Foreign Fender Basses (Photo)

I have two Fender Jazz Bass guitars.  The one on the left is my Chinese Fender and the one on the right is my fretless Fender Jazz Bass, made in Mexico.

Are they REAL Fender basses?  Yes, absolutely, authorized by Fender and made to specifications.

I purchased the Chinese Fender a few years back.  My first bass guitar was a 1960 Fender Jazz Bass, purchased for me by my father.  It too was sunburst with a tortoise shell pickguard.  I was sentimental about it and wanting to replace it as closely as I could afford.  The Chinese Fender only cost $500.  It is a lovely three-color sunburst with a black pickguard.

I recently acquired the fretless Fender because I am now focusing on jazz.  It only cost $650, and I bought it not for the excellent price, but for the availability.  It came with a white pickguard, which I replaced with a tortoise shell pickguard.  The tortoise shell looks much better on a sunburst finish.

Got My New Fretless Fender Jazz Bass

My new fretless Fender came in.  I like it.  It is liberating not to worry about hitting frets.  The neck is very fast.  The sound is great, though the new Fender flatwound strings sound a bit tinny.  This should pass when the strings are broken in.  They will stretch over the next few days, and I will have to tune them often, but then they will be fine.

I can't help but wonder what Fender was thinking, putting a bright white pickguard over a sunburst finish.  The white does not complement the dark finish, in my opinion.  I ordered a tortoise shell pickguard from EBay, for only $15, which includes shipping.  I will swap out the white pickguard when the tortoise shell one arrives.

Tomorrow I practice with my yet unnamed jazz quintet, which now may be a quartet.  The sax player is dropping out.  He says he only wants to jam now and then, has no time for gigging or practicing for gigging.  Now is the time for serious musicians to separate themselves from the dilettantes.  

A-N-T-I-C-I-P-A-T-I-O-N: Still Waiting for my New Fretless Fender Bass

I thought I would have my new fretless Fender Jazz Bass by now, but it only just left Salt Lake City (a UPS hub) this morning.  Looks like Guitar Center stores inventory somewhere in the Midwest.  However, UPS tracking says it should be delivered by the end of the day tomorrow.  I should have it by the weekend.  That's good, because I have a practice with my fledgling jazz band on Sunday.

I Bought a Fretless Fender Bass Guitar!

Yesterday my friend Rafael Espanol let me try his Rondo fretless bass guitar.  I liked it.  So today I went over to Guitar Center in Gilroy and ordered a fretless Fender Jazz Bass.  I should have it in my hot little hands in a couple of days.  My wife will complain, but all progress involves some pain.  An hour or two of nagging is a small price to pay for a $650 Fender bass.

The biggest advantage of a fretless bass guitar:  no fret noise.  No making that awful boink sound when your finger hits a fret by mistake.  I would rather be a tad sharp or flat when stretching for a note than to hit a fret and make that awful noise.

My bass will look exactly like the one on the left.