Here comes the little brother of that special Fender Deluxe Jazz V I played early this year . This was the famous John Suhr era Jazz bass who later started his own guitar company, their boutique killer at the time and it's still preferred by many players and highly in demand after 25+ years.
Background:
1997 model. This is the 4 string version of that Suhr era Jazz bass V and later this line became the “American Deluxe”. Also the Sharay Reed bass he used on Joy to the World, check out this church bootleg that had over 4mil views on youtube(he played a 5string). The signature part of this bass is the Suhr designed active electronic and the single large pickup magnets, those are actually split coil pickup under the jazz housing. and this guys has that really nice transparent blue aqua burst, it's really even in today's standard.
Specs:
- 34” scale
- 22 frets
- Circa 1997
- Ash body
- Maple neck with rosewood board
- 9.5lbs
- Vol / Pan / stacked Hi/Lo / Mid boost n Cut
- String thru body or top load bridge
Sound / Playability(copied from the Deluxe V):
This bass is a truly gem. The overall sound is slightly modern / compressed. Pickups are actually split coils with single pole magnets, it’s quieter than most of the newer US made active basses. 3 band boost/cut EQ are efficient yet musical even up to today’s standard. Some veterans once told me this was Fender’s answer to other boutique nyc builders/brands at the time and it certainly did not disappoint. the 5 in-line headstock reminds me of Jimmy Coppolo, they used to work together and I certainly believe they've figured out some secret receipt about vintage Fenders instruments. I believe John was also involved with design work of Jimmy's preamps.
The fretwork and playability of this is also fantastic, not sure if it came out from the shop like that but it's certainly top notch.
Here's the link to Sharay Reed's Joy to the World .. always fun to watch this shxtty bootleg .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pATcvr3zAhg
Gallery:
Video: