So the bass arrived a day early and in good condition, although Fender really should double-box these things. I've made initial adjustments (truss rod, intonation) and greased up the Indian Laurel fingerboard, which was ridiculously dry. I left the frets alone for now, but they definitely need to be polished. The overall fit and finish is very nice - with a couple of puzzling exceptions: The binding on the neck narrows in width as it gets into the upper registers, and the position marker dots sit half on the binding and half on the wood. I'm assuming that neither of these features was intentional, but neither affects the playability or sound at all - the bass is comfortable and the J-Bass growl is there in spades. I haven't compared it to my other Js yet, but I believe it will stack up well against them, since none are high-dollar versions. A solid value at $239 - but at the "regular" price of $479.99 USD, I would expect more attention to detail. To be fair, though, most of the new, US-made Fender basses I've played of the rack have had various issues as well.
