Fender Pawn Shop Reverse Jaguar Electric Bass Guitar Candy Apple RedMaple Fingerboard

Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Reverse Jaguar Electric Bass Guitar:

I have been a big fan of humbuckers and I was really excited to to try out this bass. Good thing I returned it. It looks unique that its reversed. but its uncomfortable to play. i have thick hands and i cant reach beyond the 12 fret. Tone wise its okay but not what i would expect from 2 humbuckers. My Sterling Ray 35 by Musicman with one humbucker is way better.

Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Reverse Jaguar Electric Bass Guitar:

I have played bass since I was 12 (1970) I have been a Fender fan forever and this is the first Bass I (had to have) since my 1978 P-bass. It is totally mind blowing both in looks and sound. I had my guitar guy dress the frets,set the action and throw on some DR Red Devils and it's a sweet heart! Glad to add it to my fender line up. Only thing was the factory set up was terrible! Ought to be better for a fine insturment.

Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Reverse Jaguar Electric Bass Guitar:

I flipped when Fender offered this Pawn Shop Reverse Jaguar Electric Bass (translation right-hand body-lefty neck).
Yes it might be quirky to some, but way cool. The neck is beautiful and feels good in your hands. First 32 inch scale bass I have ever played, very comfortable, more "guitar-like" , but with a very low-end sound. Does it sound like a Jazz bass or a Precision? No it's it own sound. It may take the world a bit to see the potential in this bass, don't wait until it's a collector item out of your price range.

Comments about Fender Pawn Shop Reverse Jaguar Electric Bass Guitar:

It is a great bass that has some quirks as I mentioned above.

First quirky aspect is the scale length: 32". There aren't tons of 32" scale Fender basses that are readily available. This is one. Hands down, this is one of the nicest necks I have encountered on any bass, at any price. The frets were finished perfectly and it has a fantastically fast, comfortable feel to it. The "C" shaped neck has the same width as a P bass at the nut, but it is thinner, back of neck to fretboard, than my Am. Std. P. This is my first bass with a maple fretboard and it really looks superb. The 32" scale is terrific for me because I like the shorter scale. Overall, the neck is smooth and fast.

Next quirky aspect is the "upside down" neck. My guitar player in one of my bands asked me if I had restrung a bass upside down. The tuners are on the bottom of the headstock and therefore the E string travels the longest distance from bridge to tuner, rather than the G string.

Another quirk is the reverse body (hence the name). It tends to hang differently on one's body than the typical J, P, or even regular Jaguar shape. It seems to hang a little more to the left (for a right handed player) than any other Fender bass I have played, if that makes any sense. Another issue for some is the impeded upper fret access present on the bass. This does not really impact me a whole lot for most of the stuff I do, but it could be a deal breaker for anyone playing the E string above say the 14th fret. Anytime I need to access those frets (like a slide up to that area of the fretboard, I pull my hand off the neck and press down harder with my fingers to get where I need to go. If you are a soloist, then this may not be your cup of tea, but for many players it's not a big deal.

Most players will want to use a thin vintage strap with this bass. The way the strap button is positioned behind the neck makes it nearly impossible to use a wide, thick, modern strap. In fact, what I do is turn my Levy's leather strap upside down and use the thin end at the front and the thick end on the back. This works great and does not cause any shoulder discomfort because mine is a light weight bass. I haven't weighed it, but I am confident that it is less than nine pounds.

Final quirk: Have you ever wanted to play a Fender bass that feels a little more like a Gibson than a Fender? If so, this is THE bass for you. It feels a little like a Gibson SG bass or even a Thunderbird. It just has this feeling that everything is "shifted to the left" more than a regular Fender offering. I guess I don't know how better to articulate it. If somebody were to place this bass on my shoulder while blindfolded without being able to touch the headstock and asked me to name the brand, I would say Gibson. Sounds silly, but there you have it.

As far as the sound goes, it has quite a bit of variety and it sounds excellent. I play both with a pick and fingerstyle. I think this is a bass that really wants to do Pop, Rock, Classic Rock, Country, and so on. It might not be my first choice for something like smooth jazz, but I think it could cover that area, too. I will probably use it for pit work at some point, depending on the show.

Overall, this bass has a strong voice. It has sort of a stringy or "zingy" character to it, especially with the bridge pickup soloed. Just as a point of comparison, I heard Blue Oyster Cult's "Burning for You" recently on XM. With the bridge pickup soloed, the Reverse Jaguar sounds just like the bass in this song. The voice gets more "muscular" with the neck pickup engaged, as one would expect. The E string feels more "alive" than on other basses I have played. I took it to a rehearsal a couple of nights ago and everybody (to a person) loved the sound. I was playing with a Peavey TNT amp that was not mine at this rehearsal. (I normally play through an old Club Edition Markbass 450 head through an Avatar 4x10 Neo Cab.) They also loved the look, too.

I do recommend it. It sounds different than any other bass I own. I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner because it takes a bit of getting used to it.
This is a phenomenal bass for the money, but it requires a special owner to appreciate it. This bass is quirky, but not in a bad way.

Some of the quirks include:32" scale lengthUpside down neckReverse body shape (hence the name)Unusual strap button placementGibson ergonomics
Not tons of "features" really. It has a three position toggle switch for the pickups, two humbuckers, and a high mass Fender bridge.

The bass comes with a Fender Deluxe Gig Bag, but it really needs a case. Good luck finding a case that will fit it properly.
The hardware is all excellent. The tuners look exactly like the ones on my 1978 Musicmaster Bass and they are solid. The high mass bridge is a nice upgrade/update to a traditional Fender bridge. The switches, knobs, strap buttons, and everything else are all high quality and should stand the test of time, provided the player cares for the bass properly. In short, I could find no cheese on this bass.

Also, the setup out of the box was superb. Nice low action, with no buzzing. Relief was set properly. The strings were properly wound on the tuning posts. I only needed to adjust the intonation.

It has a tiny bit of buzz from electrical interference every so often, but nothing that gets in the way of the overall sound. I have had other basses that had the same problem that were much more expensive. It does not cause any problems and any buzz that gets through is so minimal as to not matter. I am just being picky here and trying to remain as objective as possible.

As I was adjusting the intonation, I found that the Phillips head screw on the G string was already a bit stripped. I had to push the screwdriver down hard and carefully turn so as not to strip out the head completely. I probably won't need to replace it, but as a brand new bass, the adjustment screws shouldn't have this problem.

You will want to use a leather strap with this bass. It does want to dive a little bit. My Levy's leather strap eliminates this completely. Please trust me when I say that it is nothing compared to some basses I have played like a Gibson Nikki Sixx Signature Blackbird that felt as though it had lead weights in the headstock. The dive is very minimal and I am quite sensitive to neck dive. Again, don't wear a slippery strap and you're in business.
Overall, this is a fantastic bass for the money. Honestly, it is sort of a Willy Wonka kind of bass, but it works for me. Again, it requires an owner who feels comfortable with its quirks. I am quite pleased with it and I applaud Fender for doing something different!