FENDER – 60th Anniversary Jazz

Now a sexagenarian, is the Jazz Bass still sexy? Chris Gill takes this Sixties-inspired model for a swing

The Fender Jazz Bass is celebrating its 60th birthday this year, but it isn’t making any retirement plans soon, as it remains as vital, popular, and essential as ever. In celebration of this milestone, Fender is offering the 60th Anniversary Jazz as a limited production run. This commemorative model is not a reproduction of any particular vintage Jazz, but rather a hybrid of sorts that combines several features from throughout the Sixties. Could this be the ultimate bass for the Sixties-style J-Bass aficionado?

Build Quality

Two features that prominently draw attention are the Arctic Pearl gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish on the body and headstock face, and the pair of concentric control knobs. The finish exudes a silver glow under low light, with sparkling metallic flakes catching the eye under brighter spotlights. The stacked concentric volume and tone knobs for each pickup—a beloved, but the short-lived configuration that initially lasted from the model’s 1960 debut until late 1961—provide a wider range of tones than the volume/volume/tone setup that replaced it. The knurled dome knobs for the volume controls turn with a smooth silky feel, while the black knurled outer-ring tone controls click into 11 distinct positions.