OK, the lil' Rascal came in yesterday and I got it home for a quick run. First impressions are very good. The finish is typical Fender, car showroom quality and depth. The little beast has some weight, which is a real improvement over the Musicmasters of old and current Mustangs. I've been gassing for a short scale jag type bass for some time and was going to build my own if I ever got around to it. I even considered the Squire short scale Jags. I figured I could always upgrade the electronics, but didn't really want to go that route.
Anyway, out of the box, I was pleased that it came in a nicely fitted gig bag. Better than a lot of Fenders at this price point that come with.....nothing! The first thing I noticed was the set up was totally wrong. The individual bridge saddles were cranked way up, the neck was bowed and action was terrible. Guess factory set up is not a forte of the Mexican factory! Of course the truss rod screw is at the heel, so I had to loosen the neck plate screws and tighten the truss rod. BTW, it was not tightened at all from the factory, so no wonder the bow. I gave it a few cranks and put the neck back on and now she's really in great shape. Got to adjust the saddles a little more and check intonation, but we're really close and I love the action I'm getting already. Love the individual saddles too. The Guild bridge is easy to set up.
The other big grin I got from this bass was the manual that came with it. Only in Spanish and no pictures for the visually dependent types. I tossed it. I don't think it was even specific to the model, just basses in general.
So, I've only played it for about 30 minutes and I'm loving it. The push-pull vol control and 5 way are great for providing tons of tonal options. Sounds great through the Mesa M-Pulse. The neck is Mustang like in its feel. Slim and really easy to play. As a SS fan, I'm gonna have to say this will get some playing time. It's going to practice tomorrow night with the M-Pulse. Can't wait!
I hate to make comparisons like this, but I'm hard pressed to see that it is any less quality than my USA Jazz bass. Well made, no obvious flaws. Feels good and sounds great. Enough quality ingredients and workmanship to make one happy with it and it didn't cost a grand to enjoy it!
The big difference I see between it and other Mexican and Chinese Fenders I've played or owned is the electronics. The pups in this bass are definitely better quality than many of the other non-USA Fenders I've seen. This appears to be a winning bass product. We'll see how it does over a couple weeks of playing and tinkering.
