Bass Lab – Fender® American Ultra Jazz Bass® V

The Fender Jazz Bass is the archetype for the electric bass guitar. This American Ultra Jazz Bass V is a modern 5-string bass that lives up to its 60-year heritage. It’s priced around $2,100 street, which puts it in a crowded, but sweet, place in the market. That area between $1,800 and $2,500 is where most committed bassists find themselves, at one point or another. Higher than that, and you have to be making some coin; lower than that, and you start taking on compromises that you may not like.

This bass looks like a traditional Jazz Bass. From a distance, you might not even see it’s a 5-string. The silver flake white finished body is made from alder. The maple neck sports a bound maple fingerboard with huge late ‘60s to early ‘70s style block inlay. The inlays are smart-looking, Smoky pearloid blocks.

Its wears higher-end active electronics, starting with a pair of Fender Ultra Noiseless Vintage Jazz Bass pickups feeding into Fender’s current proprietary higher-end preamp. The circuit is stamped from 2017 design, made in late 2019. It features master volume, blend, stacked treble and bass, stacked midrange and passive tone, that oddly only works when the bass is switched into passive mode. Fender indicates that the bass has conductive shielding paint in control and pickup cavities. I was unable to see or measure the conductive shielding paint, but I will note that I did not hear any unwanted noises.

Tuners are Fender stamped open-frame clover-style, similar to the early ‘80s open-back sets, but with a newer take on it. The bridge is a Badass-style, Fender-branded, lower-profile setup with stamped or molded chrome-plated saddles; functional, good-looking, and serviceable. In addition to the single-action truss rod, the neck is also equipped with Posiflex support rods.

Fender makes basses to a higher standard of quality than ever before, especially given how many they crank out every year. The fretwork, fit and finish are all excellent, especially for the price point. The finished is well-applied and super hard; durable no doubt. As with most factory instruments, it is sprayed heavy and thick. The satin on the neck is a great choice. The neck feels slick and comfortable. The whole feel of the neck is quite good, in fact; comfortable and clean.

The ergonomics and design are classic Fender right out of the ‘60’s and ‘70s, just with one more string. It’s comfortable and familiar. The bass sounds like a great Jazz Bass should. It plays as well as anyone would ask for a $2,100 bass. In fact, everything you could ask for a sub-$2,500 instrument is right here. Fender has really got it right with these instruments. It’s light. Well-made for the price point. Great looking – classic, in fact. Finally, Fender has moved to the front of the pack with this instrument at this price point. Fender shape, Fender decals, Fender sound, modern appointments, under $2,500 … this is a big win.