FENDER: Vintera 60s Jazz

A Fender Jazz in Firemist Gold isn’t a common sight, but does this J offer anything other than a pretty finish? Mike Brooks finds out

- Mike Brooks

Fender’s recent Vintera range has been a decent replacement for the Big F’s Mexican-made Classic range, and its 60s Jazz basses come in three color options—three-tone Sunburst, Daphne Blue and Firemist Gold. The last of these is so easy on the eye, and Fender have imbued the Vintera Jazz with so many vintage 60s features, that we had to check one out. We reviewed a Vintera Precision earlier in the year—so how does the J stand up?

Build Quality

Weighing in at 8.6 pounds, this bass sits somewhere in the middle of bass weights—not especially light but not overly heavy either. The offset body-shape and classic curves, coupled with contouring front and back, add up to a totally familiar playing experience, and looks-wise, the body color fits very well with the three-ply red tortoiseshell scratchplate and the warm color of the 20-fret pau ferro fingerboard.

The bass is reasonably well set up, with no sharp frets that I could feel along either side of the neck, but the action was a little high for my tastes. This is easily remedied, of course. White dot position markers have been incorporated along the side and front-facing of the fingerboard, and with easy access to the upper frets via the lower cutaway, the player can quickly get to grips with this bass.