I have been playing bass for six years, and to a professional level for over four of these year. I got the Fender Bass nearly four years ago, and it has been used for all my live and studio work since then. I started out in a local youth big band and jazz quartet, and progressed to working in a more prestigious modern small ensemble and a well-renowned big band from the Nottingham area. This bass has accompanied me to many different venues, from pubs, function rooms and hotels for weddings, charity events and private parties, large venues-Derby Assembly Rooms supporting the Cinematic Orchestra (a well know, award-winning jazz group) on their Man With A Movie Camera tour, as well as outdoor festivals. It has also been used for studio recording in a number of venues, with a jazz quintet, and a female pianist singer-songwriter (in the style of kate bush/tori amos) over the summer. The bass has been more than able to cope with the heavy demands I have placed upon it.

The model I currently own and play is a 2002 Fender American Jazz Deluxe bass. This particular model is active (has two 9v batteries) with extra tone controls than the standard model. There are five control knobs on the bass-volume, pick up blend, bass, with the treble control knob stacked on the mid control. Owing to this it has a great tonal range, though, like most players, it is likely you will find the tone setting you like and do little tweaking to it whilst playing/gigging. This bass is perfect for all styles-I am a musician playing mainly jazz, funk, soul and latin, but it is far more versitile than that-you really could do anything with it! Its tone can be adjusted easily to fit in with any style. The additional tone controls also allow you to get a good balance for techniques such as slap and pop, and disco/funk styles, as you can boost the bass and treble fequencies, whilst cutting out the middle range. It is incredibly easy and comfortable to play, certainly not too heavy (I am a young female, and have played this bass since my mid-teens), but sound is not compromised as a result of this. The pickups generate little/no background hum. Another nice feature is the shape of the neck join towards the body-it is rounded to allow greater access to the higher notes. The bass looks stunning, in a gorgeous red sunburst, a slightly "aged" effect scratch plate, and lovely lightweight tuning pegs.

I bought this bass from a shop called "Play it Again Sam" in Derby, though I think it is no longer called that (It's called "Sound Contorl" or something now-I don't really live in Derby anymore), and their follow up service was excellent. They set up the bass for me soon after I got it, and provided free set-ups and cleaning on the bass for a year, including changing the strings. All in all, a very good service.

Simply put, this bass is fantastic, and I would urge anyone who is serious about bass playing to consider this option. I tried out a number of other basses in a similar price bracket, and in terms of sound, playability, looks-everything-they just did not hold their own against this bass. Well worth the £1100 i paid for it!