Fender Jaguar Bass & Pino Palladino Precision Bass

Something Old, Something New

With its blur of chrome and switches, the Fender Jaguar Bass was one of the flashiest basses to debut at this January’s NAMM show. The new bass is cosmetically based on Fender’s surf-tastic Jaguar, which debuted in ’62 as Fender’s top-of-the-line guitar. The Jaguar Bass, which has a few differences (such as a non-vibrato bridge and unbound fingerboard with block inlays), also has an unusual and versatile electronics system that gives it its own identity.

Visually, the Jaguar’s vintage theme doesn’t miss a cue. In the spirit of Fender’s cool custom-colored basses from the ’60s, the hot-rod-red Jaguar Bass has a matching headstock and body (the black Jag has a natural-finish headstock). The pickguard’s light mint-green tint mimics that of aged nitrocellulose plastic, the pickguard material used on early-’60s Fenders. The yellowed pearloid block inlays and orange-tinted maple add to the neck’s vintage appearance.

What’s with the field of switches and knobs? At its heart, the Jaguar’s electronics are similar to a Jazz Bass’s, but with a lovably quirky—or head-scratchingly complex—layout. Here’s how it works: Each pickup has an on/off switch mounted on the pickguard. The third switch selects between series and parallel wiring. The two large rotary knobs control volume and passive treble rolloff. The switch on the upper bass bout’s chrome plate selects active or passive electronics. The two adjacent roller knobs, which control bass cut and treble cut, function only when the switch is in the up, or active, position. All of these controls offer a bucket-full of onboard tone shaping.

The Jaguar has options not available on any other Fender, which results in the bass having its own sound. In passive parallel mode with the tone control wide open, the Jaguar sounds a bit like a Jazz Bass, but with slightly hollow mids and a brighter high-end bite. The series circuit works only when the bridge pickup is engaged, either solo or with both pickups on. The series sound is fatter and louder, with more pronounced mids. Soloing the bridge pickup with the pickups in series also silences the single-coil’s hum, allowing for a quieter bridge J-pickup sound than I’m used to in a passive bass. Playing both pickups in series delivers the biggest sound: It’s corpulent, articulate, and great for pickstyle rock lines. Rolling back the tone knob delivers a convincing P-Bass sound ripe for Motown fingerstyle.

The active circuit’s output is well matched to the passive output and sounds nearly the same, with the exception of a pinch more booty and high end when popped. Fender says the active tone controls are cut-only, but having both full up produces loads of treble and bass, while rolling them off is very similar to the passive sound. In other words, they sound like they’re boost-only. With the switching system, you can set the bass to offer both active and passive sounds; for example, you could keep your passive tone for the main groove and switch to the active circuit, with a preset bass and treble boost, for a slap passage. Sweet.

The unusual electronics also allow for some uncommon possibilities. You can completely mute the instrument without moving your volume knob by simply switching off both pickups. (Of course, that means you could accidentally turn off your sound if your picking action gets a little wild.) The Jaguar’s passive tone control continues to function in active mode, further adding to the instrument’s already extensive tone-shaping options. The lack of individual volume controls or a blend knob might turn off some players, but I didn’t miss it.

The Jaguar’s C-shaped neck, which is like a thin Jazz Bass neck, was comfortable to play and free of obvious dead spots. At ten pounds, it was a little heavy. It balanced well when played standing, but was head-dive-prone when seated. The body’s finish was extremely rich and intense. Even though the Jaguar Bass already drips retro-cool, it would be even cooler if it were also available in other ’60s surf-style colors, like Lake Placid Blue or Sea Foam Green.

The Jaguar’s looks alone might be enough to draw some players or repel others, but there’s a uniquely flexible electronics system hidden behind that bright façade. Those who might be initially put off by the Jaguar’s appearance might do themselves a favor by exploring this cool new twist.

Signs Of Distress

The new Fender Pino Palladino Signature Precision Bass is the first bass I’ve tested that didn’t have me stressing about dings and scratches. That’s because it came out of the wish factory known as the Fender Custom Shop, where it received Fender’s Relic treatment. As Fender describes it, Relic instruments are brand-new basses that show wear and tear as if they had years of heavy use. Since the Pino Palladino Precision is an Artist model Relic and not a Tribute model’s attempt at an exact copy (like the Jaco Pastorius Tribute Jazz Bass), it doesn’t try to mimic the dings and belt buckle scratches of Pino’s bass. Instead, Fender tried to capture the spirit and amount of wear on Pino’s favorite P-Bass, a Fiesta Red ’62 he’s used on tour with John Mayer, the Who, and Simon & Garfunkel.

If it initially seems weird to purposely damage and cosmetically age an expensive instrument, I found it difficult to argue with the results. The Pino looked—and more important, felt—old and fonky. The Custom Shop is tight-lipped about how they corrode the metal parts and damage the body, but someone at Fender is making every last screw rusty and every piece of nickel-plated hardware look like it came off an old instrument that’s never been cleaned. Even the body is peppered with dimples and nicks. The body is finished in Fiesta Red, over an earlier Desert Sand finish, just like Pino’s favorite bass. One detail Fender overlooked was tightening the knobs: Both knobs came off the bass immediately after arrival.

The bass’s neck is copied from another favorite P-Bass, a sunburst ’61. The full, C-shaped neck was smoothed on the edges for a worn-in feel, and its lacquer finish was stripped, leaving a smooth, woody texture under my thumb. The rosewood fingerboard had perfectly crowned vintage-style frets. I found no dead spots. All in all, this was one sweet-feeling bass.

As you might expect from an expensive Custom Shop repro, the Pino signature has details that vintage freaks dream about, like the Fender “spaghetti” logo, reverse-gear tuners, and cloth-covered wires. Still, the bass isn’t an exact duplicate of early-’60s Fenders. For instance, there’s no Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, because Brazilian rosewood is a protected species. Fender Custom Shop’s Mike Eldred says that the dot inlay material, while close to the original dot’s composition and color, is not the same material as the original “clay” dots, which are rumored to have been cut from asbestos floor tile Leo Fender repurposed after a factory remodel.

The Pino bass sounds like a great vintage P-Bass. The pickups are wound to the exact specifications of Pino’s bass. Remaining faithful to Palladino’s original, the signature bass arrived with medium-gauge Thomastik flatwounds. With flats, this bass was the very definition of thick, old school tone. The bass sounded warm and punchy when I cranked the tone knob and played with a light touch, and responded with a woody bark when I dug in hard. The sound mellowed to a fudgy thickness when I rolled back the tone knob. In short, this bass doesn’t offer you anything you haven’t heard on the radio a thousand times, but that’s sort of the point, right?

Why would someone go for a brand-new bass that costs nearly as much an actual refinished early-’60s Precision? Perhaps to get the vibe, sound, and feel of an older bass, but without the worries that come with owning an expensive vintage instrument. By coming out of the gates as a great representation of a vintage P-Bass, the Fender Pino Palladino Signature Precision Bass manages to be a modern “vintage” treasure.