50 Years Of The Fender Jazz Bass

Because the late 1950s and early 1960s were such a boom for new musical instrument development, we are now coming upon some pretty impressive anniversaries, one of them being the 50th Anniversary of the Fender Jazz Bass.  To commemorate, Fender is releasing a Limited Edition 50th Anniversary model that combines the best features that have become available on the Jazz Bass over the last five decades into one amazing instrument.  We saw it in person at Fender’s booth and it looks and sounds tremendous.  Fender’s press release after the jump.

“To celebrate 50 years of its groundbreaking and ubiquitous Jazz Bass guitar, Fender introduces the limited edition 50th Anniversary Jazz Bass. The instrument stands out distinctively among Fender’s many variations on the Jazz in that it brings design elements from several important periods in the model’s history together in one beautiful new bass guitar.

Introduced in 1960 as a deluxe model, the Jazz Bass was designed as a sleek “sports car” instrument to complement the “muscle car” that was Fender’s one and only bass model to date, the Precision Bass® guitar. With its comfortably slim neck, curvaceous offset waist and guttural midrange growl, the Jazz Bass quickly became prized on stages and in studios worldwide for its smooth feel and broad tonal versatility. As such, it is one of the most successful bass guitars—if not the most successful bass guitar—of all time.

Although it has flourished for half a century now remarkably unchanged from its original incarnation, the Jazz Bass has undergone several noteworthy design improvements and refinements throughout its history, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. In celebration of the instrument’s remarkable 50 years on the scene, several of these features are brought together in the 50th Anniversary Jazz Bass. These include:

• ’60s-era nitrocellulose finish in striking Candy Apple Red, headstock logo, chrome pickup/bridge covers, “C” neck shape and white Pearloid block fingerboard inlays.
• ’70s-era bridge pickup placement and bass-side thumb rest.
• Modern-era tuning machines, high-mass vintage-style bridge and Posiflex® neck support rods.

The Jazz Bass is now poised to begin its second 50 years as the number-one bass of choice for discerning players worldwide, novices and seasoned professionals alike. Fender will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Jazz Bass throughout 2010 with this very special limited edition instrument.”