Fender Jazz (1960)
Another great cornerstone of electric bass making, the Fender Jazz has had an impact comparable only to the Fender Precision of which it is a further evolution. Once again the main revolution concerned the pickups (nerve center), the Fender Jazz was in fact fitted with two pickups, destined to become a further highly imitated standard, wired together to avoid electrical noise. Like the subsequent P/J configuration, this coupling ensured greater tonal variety.
The other differences compared to the Precision were a narrower fingerboard and a more proportioned neck, a certain asymmetry of the body, the possibility of accessing the hole in the body containing the potentiometers and the output jack without removing the whole pickguard.
Let’s also see a model with the plates that cover the bridge and the pickups (which many bassists removed), to note the typical rectangular markers introduced in 1966.
An interesting variant of the Fender Jazz is the model signed by Marcus Miller in 1977, with active electronics and a sturdier bridge (Badass II).
Of course, this Fender model is, together with the Precision, among the most imitated, especially as regards the configuration with the two single coil pickups. Here are some models inspired by the Fender Jazz.
ESP J-204
