The neck on this bass is thicker which I found to be a plus. The pickups I find are an upgrade from the standard ones. There are two issues I have with my bass both of which I first noticed four months after I bought it. The first is that there is a significant rattle in the bridge esspecially when you dig in on accents in the groove, but this does not transmit when plugged in so it does not bother me that much. The second is much more annoying but easier to fix, when I strum down when playing palm muted with my thumb the a string pops up out of its nut slot. I would replace the short nut that is stock on this, but the binding on the bass makes it slightly harder. I've learned to live with it but it is annoying.

This is as far as you can get with a MIM J-Bass. The block inlays are just wonderful and the tuners are cool (you can see the mecanics, I love it!). Of course you should do a complete overhaul when you get it - you should always do that with a new instrument - but after you are gonna have lots of fun. People always compliment my bass and they love the Vintage style.

All I can say about that bass is that the pickups are kinda weak. You can manage to get a great and versatile tone but the output is very low.

I've owned this bass for about 4 months now. It's been on the road with me already and I really think it's a great bass for what I paid for it - before the 30% hike!

Features - it's a Jazz Bass. It is what it is, nothing fancy, but so classic a sound that it pretty much can be used for anything. I really don't think the neck on this bass is all that chunky....I mean unless you're used to a Geddy Lee neck then I can see the neck being a little off-puting, but I love the profile on this thing.

Quality - Very, very well built bass. Way better than any real 70's Jazz I've played. Neck pocket's very snug, overall fit and finish was flawless until - 2 months down the road the 13th fret came unseated. I took it to a professional who said that it looked like it had never been completely seated properly. Other than that - the pickups sound good, but seem weak to me. Much less output than my other basses (epi jack casady, rick 4003) so I replace the pickups with SD hot stacks - sounds much better and the output is much closer to where I need it to be. The bridge on this bass is pretty flimsy, but hey, it's a vintage RI bass with a vintage style bridge, so I know why it came like that. I replaced mine with a Hipshot A style and I'm much happier with it now.

Value - again, I think it was a great value for what I paid for it. I'm a former employee of a large chain guitar store, so I got it just above cost. If I had to pay what the current street value is, I would have passed and started looking for a used MIA jazz instead.

Overall, I still love this bass, despite having to make some mods and the fret issue. It's really great looking (especially in sunburst), it's really sturdy, and it just *feels* right. And it just *sounds* right through a nice tube head and 8x10! I'm really impressed with the quality of all the classic series instruments that's coming out of Fender Mexico, and up until recently, I would have said they're the best value on the market. Hopefully this price increase will level out at some point.

I originally aquired a 72 Jazz Bass when my Teisco Del Rey got stolen when I met Little Miss Loosie. A professional bassist friend brought me the Fender for $200 in 1975. I played it until 1999 when I sold it to buy 400 feet of lakefront for Loosie and me. By then I was being pestered by people who wanted to buy it so I got a Peavey Forum for public performance. The Fender was rock solid in staying tuned and the electrical parts survived smoke filled environments perfectly. Now that Loosie's out of my long hair (our boy graduated college)I have a G&L L2000 and an old gold plated Yamaha. Fender is perfect for the "Fender Bass sound."

I've had this bass for about five months now. The first thing that drew me to this bass is the beautiful neck. I am a sucker for blocks and binding; this bass delivers. It is pure eye candy. I put on a tort pickguard and it made it look even sharper.

I love how the instrument feels. It is a joy to play. There are only two bad things about the bass that I can find:

1) The electronics are not to my liking. After the initial lust for the bass wore off, I realized that I am too fond of active preamps. I recently put an Audere in and it has done wonders. I fell in love with it all over again.

2) Neck thickness. I wanted a Jazz bass because of the thin neck profile. This neck, though beautiful, is chunkier than I would like. I have grown used to it and it feels great in my hands. I just had to get over that initial shock at how thick it is (front to back).

The price is also a slight drawback. It is still a Mexican Fender yet priced high. It is a great instrument and I don't regret the purchase at all. It is worth the price.