Here comes a special one, the Fender Deluxe Jazz V . it was designed by John Suhr who later started his own guitar company. It's still preferred by many players and highly in demand after 25+ years.
Background:
Circa 1996 model. This bass is best known as the 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. The signature part of this bass is the Suhr designed active electronic and the single large pickup magnets, split coil pickup in jazz housing, and 5 in-line tuning machine.
Specs:
- 34” scale
- 22 frets
- Circa 1996
- 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
- Gotoh tuner, 5 inline
Sound / Playability:
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: