Fender's update on their American Deluxe Series of basses was quite ground breaking when it came out a few years ago. Despite having invented the Electric Bass back in 1951 and being on top of their game, Fender are not a company to rest on their laurels, so for 2016 they came with the new and exciting American Elite Series of basses and guitars.
At first glance these basses look quite similar to the previous American Deluxe series but upon closer inspection you start to see some coon new features that clearly make these the best modern Fender basses ever.
You get Passive-Active operation, meaning you can go from an old school type of sound (Passive Tone is really handy here) to a monster Jazz Bass sound in active at the flick of a swtich. The new 3 band active preamp is the best Fender has ever used for any of their basses and now it works at 18 Volts. The extra headroom will come in handy when you really push the bass and play that low B strong while you boost the onboard Bass control.
Pickups are Fender the new 4th generation Noiseless and these sound just amazing. These are humcancelling or noiseless Single Coils so you get the real sound and none of that annoying 60hz noise when you solo a pickup.
But wait, there's more:
- You get the choice of thru the body stringing (maximum sustain) or traditional top load (more attack)
- Graphite reinforcement bars inside the neck
-Compound radius for more comfort
- Improved neck heel with a new ergonomic shape.
- Easier than ever access dual way truss rod using the spoke wheel at the base of the neck (you can use just about any tool for that)
- Two string retainers at the headstock to give the strings the perfect break angle (better tuning and none of that open A strange noise anymore)
- High quality case included.
The Natural finsh over the ash body and the black inlays over the maple fingerboard give this bass a cool 70's style.
Special attention has been paid to the low B. It sounds fuller and more defined than ever.