Fender REALLY Dropped The Ball With This New Signature Bass

[@patrickhunter]

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk😴

[@rjdeseijn]

@PatrickHunter There's someone pretending to be you in the comments and I am sure this person is up to no good. Can you delete the responses to most of the people here of "officialPatrickHunter" ?

[@patrickhunter]

@@rjdeseijn already on it, hombre! Thanks for the heads up though✊

[@lukeherpel5413]

Just a question. Could it sound a little off just because he plays through guitar and bass amps with it? I know he would switch between the pick ups and switch amps on and off depending on the song. Since its a signature I assume it was made for him and it works with his rig. But it might not work with any amp. Just wondering if that could be it.

[@mcliffe26]

It's always hard to criticize any design elements of a signature instrument, but bad fit & finish or naff electronics are pretty unforgiveable.

[@rejvdavid]

I had the same problem with the bridge pickup not taking up the G-string properly. I simply flipped the pickup 180 degrees. COMPLETELY solved the issue! Other than that, the bass plays and sounds excellent, with the nicest neck I've ever come across!

[@andriarpagaus7781]

So you mean, you just took the pickup out, and turned the g string position to the E string? Without soldering?

[@rejvdavid]

@@andriarpagaus7781 No need to solder anything. The pickup is only fastened with two screws.

[@andriarpagaus7781]

Ok thank you. Hope it works. Have the same problem and its an extrem diference between D and G string

[@andriarpagaus7781]

@@rejvdavid OMG!!!! Such a simple solution! It really worked. Never thought it would work! Thank you very much!!!!!!

[@thibaquinas8852]

Not sure I got you on that one. Can you please explain ?

[@collegeofcool8109]

Excellent review. One of the best you have done in a while. We need more of these unsponsored videos from you, as hearing what we should stay away from saves all of us valuable time and money. I do however wonder what you would have done had Fender asked if they could sponsor this video. Thank goodness they didn’t.

[@patrickhunter]

I would've done it the same because the bass sounds like shit 🤷‍♂️

[@MyBassistChris]

Love the artist signatures that Fender has been releasing lately (Mikey Way, Tom Delonge, Mike Kerr) but I wish they would put more time into QCing the instruments like they do marketing them especially with the price tags. I love my Mikey Way Jazz Bass but I know it's terribly overpriced for what it is which is why I couldn't afford to get the Mike Kerr as well.W Will probably just wait for Squier Starcaster model as an alternative. Thanks for the honest/in-depth review!

[@leonbode1748]

Wait there is a Squier Starcaster Bass coming??

[@MyBassistChris]

@@leonbode1748 No not confirmed but one can only hope! They made Squier Starcaster guitars last year so hopefully they introduce Starcaster basses soon

[@leonbode1748]

@@MyBassistChris well then we are out of luck I guess

[@Waggel86]

Ah yes, a € 1.625 mod platform. Just what I wanted.

[@BeesWaxMinder]

😂

[@fistinair1979]

It's the gold foil jazz all over again.

[@Lowendgenerator]

First thing I thought of when I saw the thumbnail

[@PNovak87]

still sad about that. that potentially could of been so good 😭

[@michaelblaney4461]

Still very overpriced and poor quality , it could have been good

[@andrewmcdonough6710]

Looks like an interesting platform for trying out custom Gibson EB3 pickups. As far as the controls I would drop in a prewired Jazz bass concentric knob layout. You definitely need vol/tone controls for each pickup like Gibson did.

[@perryborn2777]

Kinda defeats the purpose of it being a signature though You don't generally buy a super expensive, supposedly intentionally designed bass for modification, it just doesn't make sense

[@joemendozza7623]

Saw Royal Blood last night. Front row, 5 feet under his nose. Mike Kerr swapped out the bridge pickup for some sort of a Seymore Duncan pickup on his.

[@matthewduncan9405]

😂 damn man that’s fucked

[@joshuacotton6436]

So why doesn't Fender include SD pickup like they do in the JMJ Mustang

[@kazanyemmi]

​@@joshuacotton6436$$$

[@1BADLS4]

Bought one of these from Sweetwater. I haven’t experienced any of these issues. Sweetwater did do a full set up on it before it went out the door. It’s a fun bass to play the neck is nice. But having a Starcaster also I knew going into this the pickups would be very hot. I really think those humbuckers sound really good with some type of distortion or effect but can sometimes leave some to desire clean. Overall it looks good, plays good, and I’ve been pretty happy with mine. Hopefully Fender addresses any issues some may have.

[@thasloyramos9278]

I am so so sad that they've dropped on this bass. I'm a HUGE Royal Blood fan and my wildest dream was to own a Mike Kerr signature bass. Really sad by this.

[@patrickhunter]

Dude it just sucks, plain and simple. This was something I've been looking forward to for YEARS, and it's seriously just so disappointing and lackluster.

[@stevepethel6843]

Maybe this is designed like Mike adjust his pickups with quiet g string on bridge and fat bottom on the neck ...Maybe he wanted it to be just like the one he plays so he could walk out on stage plug in to his unique setup and work. Then if I just trying to figure out the signature bass. Glad you gonna get your money back and sorry it didn't inspire you. Keep on rockin

[@thasloyramos9278]

@@brunocyclist Unfortunately here in Brazil a Gretsch Bass is way overpriced.

[@brunocyclist]

@@thasloyramos9278 ah, that's a shame. In Europe they're worth way more than their price tag. Maybe you could save some cash by buying through Thomann?

[@backburnernoise]

You think they would have learned from the gold foil jazz bass QC nightmare. This is brutal.

[@UTubeHandlesSuck]

Apparently what they learned was how to repeat history.

[@jackquarantillo5192]

Same factory... just saying. 😂

[@PhoenixFlight94]

same issues with the delonge strats too

[@dacontrecontreras6046]

Dont forget about the Gretchs that didnt really have humbuckers as advertised.

[@jameslewis2635]

I am hoping that this bass will get a Squire version. Personally, I quite like the sound as it reminds me of some of the old Gibson basses like the EB3. The controls are actually the same as I have customised my old Squire Vintage Modified Precision with. If the power of the neck pickup is too high for you, you could always fit an inline resistor to cut down the signal levels.

[@petermuthmann7426]

There is a nice Squier Jaguar Bass in Orange (with a matching headstock!). Do some modifications and make your own!

[@AllbeeHivezChristianAllbee]

There is also a Squier Rascal Bass, which in a lot of ways seems pretty similar to this bass.

[@petermuthmann7426]

I've got that Rascal Bass and it's great! @@AllbeeHivezChristianAllbee

[@unknownmusicman]

As a lefty, I have to say I'm super happy with my Squire 70's Classic Vibes Jazz bass. Options are limited for left-handed musicians, and I was reluctant to buy a Squire, but I might not shell out for a Fender again after seeing how much Squire has stepped up their game. I have a Player Series P-Bass too, and I love it, but it's hard to say that it's $400 better than the Squire Jazz.

[@BaBaBaBenny]

Honestly, I don't know why Fender have stopped doing Squier signature models. Pete Wentz, the guys from Biffy Clyro, Matt Freeman. All had really great signatures with fender that hung around the top end of Squier's price range (£350-£500). They need to understand these £1000+ instruments are gonna be out of reach for the MAJORITY of the people who listen to these artists.

[@sabre242]

Couldn't agree more. The new Tom Delonge is a perfect example. Most of Tom's fans are either teens or 30 year old millennials - yet his sig which has 1 pickup and 1 knob costs $$$$. A squier version makes so much more sense

[@BaBaBaBenny]

@@sabre242 I actually thought when they eventually released the TD Starcaster they'd go the same route as the old days and do a squier and a fender, but now I highly doubt it.

[@engineer6250]

We Lefties are poorly served. I've got a Vintage V4 60s type pbass. Next on the list is a Sire D5, the 54 single coil pbass type

[@GuyverJoe]

One factor you didn't mention is that Mike splits his signal to have a guitar-like sound. I think that might've been into consideration when setting up the electronics of this bass.

[@blindsleep]

As he was explaining the electronics and how they’re just polar opposites, all I could think is “have you even heard Royal Blood?”

[@itsratso.]

true. but is fender really expecting anyone that buys this bass to do that, because i can almost guarantee you that 98% will not.

[@GuyverJoe]

@@itsratso. if you're buying a signature bass, you oughta know what kind of sound you're getting. Otherwise, go for the standard models. One thing I do agree, it's pricey.

[@SlowMoe462]

Yeah I am really curious if some of the sound complaints that Patrick has are done on purpose since MK / RB has quite the pedal board/amp selection to obtain that signature sound. If you take this sig series bass, split the signal, hook up the drive and octave to that guitar amp do you get that signature Royal Blood / Kerr sound? If it succeeds than this review misses the point. If it falls flat their too then its a problem with the bass. I would hope that Fender would have worked with Kerr closely to develop a product that would justify his name being slapped on it not to mention the price. I purchased one of these basses the first day I found out about it (big MK/RB fan been waiting almost 10 years for this to happen). I unfortunately just sold my guitar amp what I would normally have tried the bi amp set up.(I planned on replacing my bass breaker with a supersonic, to mimic that Kerr sound with a similar amp setup then this bass popped up and took the amp money for the time being)

[@itsratso.]

​@@GuyverJoe yep, I agree. I haven't really dived into the marketing on this and perhaps it's not very clear anyways. is this being sold as a bass to only re-create the royal blood sound? I mean, it is kind of a unique proposition. if I buy a geddy lee bass I don't have to also buy a complete rig to come close to his sound. I can't think of any other artist like this, and unless your in a cover band it's a pretty limiting bass

[@JonesHess]

Damn Patrick. You are always so positive in your videos. It's actually really nice to see that you can be critical too when it's relevant. Makes your positive reviews more real I guess somehow :)

[@trekster0721]

Patrick, return it and get one (or 3 for what you paid Fender!) of the Squier Paranormal Rascal Basses. Much better quality, and killer sound with 2 of the wide-range buckers! I love mine (although I did as you remarked in the video, and pulled the 1V1T harness out and dropped in a 2V2T J-Bass Stack knob harness in).

[@ampthebassplayer]

4:28 - Wait...isn't that cheetah print?

[@trunks828]

I have a pawn shop mustang here’s how to fix the woof of the wide range pickup. Wire it in parallel it’ll give you more p bass like sounds it literally makes the bass playable. Here’s how to do it. Green and white wire in the pot hole and the red and black wires to ground.

[@rockerbob949]

Well, damn dude those first riffs that you were playing sound killer!

[@virginia_ny]

That sucks. Just saw ROYAL BLOOD with my daughter a few days ago at Webster Hall in NYC, and Mike was playing this bass. It's really beautiful. My daughter's b-day is in a couple of weeks and I would have swung this as a surprise, but after this review it's a definite "NO." If it was a third the price, I'd probably go for it, because it's pretty. Can't sell an instrument on looks alone, unless you're just going to hang it on a wall or something. Hopefully Fender gets the message.

[@rjdeseijn]

Actually the first thing I thought was to place an electrical resistance between the neck pick up and the switch. As the video continued, looking into the alignment of the bridge across the centre line of the bass might be an idea and have it fixed, if neccesary. That would fix the problem of the G string at the brigde pick up.

[@andrewrice8634]

I have used previous iterations of the Fender wide range. It is a special pickup and MUCH louder than 90% of everything else on the market. The one I have on a P bass reads at 21K ohms. It totally rips through fuzz and distortion which is probably why he chose that pickup. I haven’t played this Mike Kerr bass but if I had one I’d do the following: Rewire the selector switch to series/single coil/parallel and swap the pots to stack knobs.

[@ramonrojasalmuzara290]

The tiger print on the inside of the bag being actually a leopard print made my eyebrow raise

[@TheBestJack]

More bad quality control from Fender.

[@ElectricFloridaMusic]

I have a 2012 Epiphone EB3 bass that has the same problem with the G string. It's the only bass I've ever played with the mudbucker/mini-bucker array, so I couldn't comment about whether that's a common trend across all basses with such pickups, but now I'm much more curious. I speculate that, between the possible bridge misalignment, and a possbile narrow magnetic field on the mini (again, I don't know if they're all like that), you're left with a perfect storm for lousy G-string output.

[@connorsykes564]

I just got mine and it both sounds and plays amazingly. I cannot fault it. tonally it is very versatile and unique, and sounds great. style wise, I love it too. It is a very high quality instrument and if you want that Royal Blood sound, or a very clear cut gnarly tone, it really is THE thing for you. this bass is very much made for a slight crunch, distortion, or high gain/fuzz tone, but it does an excellent job of more clean sounds too and REALLY fits well into a mix. tonally speaking, I cannot fault it either. Personally I applaud Fender on this one.

[@rex8958]

That’s the dilemma with having a mudbucker/wide range pickup. You really need a separate volume and tone to make it sound good

[@abouc]

$1,600 for a MIM is ridiculous. Everything coming out of that plant has issues. For that kind of money it should have been MIJ.

[@matthewhanafin770]

Literally I feel $800 is the absolute most a MIM should cost

[@VIDS2013]

Fender Mexico makes FANTASTIC guitars! What are you smoking?

[@bassedthechannel]

Glad you made this review!

[@cesarlastres]

We all hope one day Fender's QC actually matches their price tags...

[@patrickhunter]

Un dia...un dia🤞

[@devlintaylor9520]

I mean they did..... precovid

[@rome8180]

I've had nothing but fantastic experiences with Fenders. But that said, most of the Fenders I've owned have been older. I have a newer Squier, but no newer Fenders.

[@carpediemarts705]

​@@devlintaylor9520pre corporate. Don't blame covid on corporate cutting corners on quality and boosting pricetags.

[@JustPlayingBass]

I had the same experience with an American made Jazz. The string/pickup/bridge alignment was so far out, the d and g were unhearable..is that a word? To fix the issues, the pickups needed to be moved 3mm and the bridge 5mm to get all the strings to be heard. The bass was sent back to fender for inspection and the reply was "no faults"!!! That bass was eventually binned. So much for Fender QC.

[@TheoAndHisPedals]

lol I was literally thinking “hey why don’t you change the pickup height” when you addressed it. What a shame. Kinda makes a bit of sense when you consider that Mike basically uses a bass as a “trigger source” for his effects, maybe too much harmonic content would throw that off? But also, yeah looks like a bunch of issues with the control layout and pickup /balance. If they do a Squier model I’d dig it, but for that price? Forget it.

[@nathanminert3119]

The bridge definitely looks like it's not aligned correctly. I know the gold foil jazz bass has the same issue, but on the opposite side. I'm surprised that adjusting the pickup heights didn't make a bigger difference. Maybe there's a wiring issue with the bridge pickup?

[@300ampeg]

There is some tonal head scratching with this Kerr bass but it doesn't sound BAD. I do think the master volume and tone knobs w/ the toggle switch was a terrible idea. I play a '78 Telecaster bass with a similar stock humbucker at the neck and a recently installed DiMarzio bridge p/u (both with separate concentric vol/tone knobs) so there are some similarities, tone-wise. I'd consider buying the Kerr bass if I could get a rebate on the amount that it would cost to re-wire the bass.

[@strangernajjar]

lol the bends KILLED me 😂😂😂

[@bazZzment]

The problem with the G-string is a real bummer, but with the rest, I'm not sure if you missed the point since A) it's a signature bass and B) Mike is splitting his signal into bass AND guitar amps which could be the reason for the thin sounding bridge pickup. It would be great if Fender could clarify that and feature it in their product presentation, etc. I think I probably would have just given a second output to not have to split the signal with the help of a pedal, like Billy Sheehan does.

[@rdvgrd6]

Mike replaced his bridge pickup with a Seymour Duncan on the one he uses live. That says it all

[@waskerbasket9601]

IMO Fender should have options for standard electronics, or the signature electronics. I’m thinking that Mike Kerr designed this in collaboration with Fender for his particular set up. So yeah it’s a signature instrument.

[@vldmrkrch]

I wanted to write the same thing.

[@patricklosiniecki8503]

I'm actually really glad that you said what you did about this bass. We're getting them in at work soon and I know I'm going to have a lot of people coming in to see what it's about. I'll keep this in mind like I did with the reviews of the Gold Foil Jazz Bass. Curious what your thoughts are on Reverend, though. I got a Mercalli 5 a couple of months back and have NOT found anything in their entire lineup that I don't absolutely LOVE. I'm really curious to see what you would have to say about them. I might be able to score you a demo.

[@ConstantineIsslamow]

Thank you for your review. $2,209.99 price tag in Canada.

[@hyper-sloth]

Yup that Mudbucker impedance is so high (30k) that it will always overpower anything else. A blend knob or VVT like Jazz in necessary...even Gibso went to a J like arrangement on the SG Standard bass. I use an Epiphone EB-O that I converted to a short scale EB-3 and the bridge pup just adds to the overall Neck pickup's sound. Fender should address the issues for sure

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

The thing that I didn't see addressed in this video (maybe I missed it), is Mike Kerr. It's his signature, so this is what HE wants. If he's happy with it then Fender didn't drop the ball, his preferences just aren't for everyone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@sabre242]

I get what you're saying, but if this was *just* for him, they wouldn't release it to public and build thousands of units. This is being sold to the public because fender believes it is good and will sell, which doesn't seem to be the case

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

​@@sabre242For sure, but maybe Patrick is viewing it just as a bass when it's not just a bass. In Royal Blood, we know that Mike Kerr splits his signal to go through a bass rig and a guitar rig. And while signature instruments do need to satisfy Fender from a sales perspective, they do also need to represent the artist. I only watched this video on my phone when I woke up, so I can take another listen on my monitors, but it sounded fine from what I heard besides the weird volume issue with the G string. It's a different pickup configuration from other basses that are available, and if it's really woofy, then that's not too dissimilar to a Music Man Stingray. I don't like the sound of Stingrays because there is so much in the low mids, like the attack sounds too bonky or something, but I know other people do like them. QC aside, it just seems like a preference thing. I'm sure there are people that would love this bass. Edit: Listening back on my monitors, I think it sounds pretty cool. I think the mistake in the video was telling us that it sounded bad, but not comparing it to other basses for reference to actually show us that it's bad. Like we didn't get any audio comparisons, no visual comparisons with a spectrum analyzer, we just have to take Patrick's word that this bass sounds bad compared to other basses. I'm not saying Patrick is wrong, this was his experience, but there isn't any support to backup his claims in this video.

[@thebassman8687]

Yeah that’s what I have been saying if this is built strictly to get the overdrive octave tones as I think it is then. The bass might be a success? But still a lot of people are going to be disappointed with it as “normal” bass

[@57precision]

​@@MichaelSheaAudioit would honestly make more sense to have a Mike Kerr signature pedal that does his sound than a bass. His sound is so effected that it could be any bass with two pickups at this point.

[@MichaelSheaAudio]

@@57precision Sure, but when you think of signature gear, you think of instruments, and I don't think Fender would want to turn down a guy in a big modern band. Signature instruments are made to one person's specs, they're not made with the masses in mind. There are artists who have fairly simple or normal signature instruments that the masses like, but Mike isn't one of those artists I guess. People might love the colour choices of Tom Delonge's signature Strats, but hate that it only has one pickup. You could nitpick any artist's signature guitar. If Fender wanted to make this then who are we to stop them or be mad about it? Go tell Mike how much you don't like his vision of his ideal instrument, as if it wasn't made primarily for him. XD

[@bassimprovjams3772]

This is why I just stick with my stingrays, laklands and dingwall, I want a American Fender J so bad but their QC has kept me from making the purchase, this is such a cool lookin bass and hopefully it works well for Mike

[@Uncle--Fatty]

WHAT UP P...!! I was pretty stoked as well... Sure GLAD I waited..!

[@judecarpenter2990]

What a solid bassist. Patrick u never cease to amaze

[@thebassman8687]

I am with you I got mine and it’s missing something although I don’t hear the issues with G string the pickup balance is off. I love the looks of the bass thinking if I can find a gold Novak pickup set to fit this bass.

[@CommanderNewton]

Isn't the problem with the pickups the same issue people have been having with the eb3 forever?

[@D14V0R05]

That's a leopard print, though. Mini humbucker on bridge position and a mudbucker? (definitely sounds like one and not like a humbucker) at mid, that's the SG Standard bass pickup selection and...it sounds just as lackluster as that bass does so that shouldn't come as a surprise.

[@picksalot1]

Did you try rotating the Bridge pickup so the E string side is under the G string? Just curious if that affects the balance. 🤷

[@patrickhunter]

I wanted to do that actually, but the wires were too short🤷‍♂️

[@Guitar_Smasher]

And Fender uses 3 and 4-screw mounting for humbuckers on certain bass and guitar models. They don't want you to have any choices when it comes to swapping pickups!

[@grahamcharlton9704]

I've just bought a Vintage Revo Callan short bass with a fat humbucker in the neck and it is quite controllable - not too 'woofy' and blends ok with the mini humbucker in the bridge. For £320 it's really not bad - certainly better than the Epiphone SG basses with unusably 'woofy' humbucker neck pickups and, come to that, better than the Gibson SG bass which I once owned . Just a thought if anyone is looking for this pickup combination.

[@ileutur6863]

Shouldn't a royal blood bass have 2 completely separate outputs? The royal blood sound is filthy bass + octave up into guitar amp.

[@nj1255]

If anyone has bought this bass and wants independent volume pots for the two pickups, it should be extremely easy to convert the tone pot to a volume (as long as the tone and volume pots are the same values). Remove the capacitor on the tone pot and solder the lug (that the capacitor was connected to) to ground, then remove the hot wire of the bridge pickup from the original volume pot and solder it to the old tone pot. I don't think there's anything else you need to do, but I could be wrong.

[@Babryzze]

I believe the reason for that imbalance between pickups is the needs of Mike himself. He possibly uses the bridge pickup to track "guitar" parts. Maybe the true problem is that there are not two outputs to send the pickups on different rigs. Other than that, I believe this bass, along with the proper effects, is good to use as a full band substitute.

[@lockheadanddogrockvideo]

My thoughts exactly. I was thinking about getting one these but opted for the Mexican pj mustang instead - which was about a third of the price. Thinking about getting the toggle switch swapped out for a blend knob though.

[@MistaaFeast]

Damn thanks for telling it like it is!!! I really hope fender can get their shit together. I LOVE fender basses they just have THE sound for me but they are just dropping the ball so hard. Hopefully videos like these can encourage them to really evaluate what they are doing right now. Would love to be able to confidentially purchase a new fender bass but I’m not quite there yet

[@jackquarantillo5192]

Get a MIJ Fender

[@CharlesWillisBonsai]

I was expecting a much worse sound after all that talk about the pickups. I think they're supposed to sound pretty different. Separate volumes and tones might have been more flexible even with or without the three way switch. Raise the bridge pickup slightly, lower the neck pickup slightly, then raise the neck pickups screws a little. That'll make the neck pickup a little clearer. Maybe bass players don't know much about adjusting pickup heights like guitar players.

[@LeownskieR]

HI Patrick, what effects pedals or whatsoever FX thangs are you using at 1:35 ?

[@greenspiderforce]

Hey Patrick, great video breakdown on this bass, I totally can agree that the price tag does not reflect what you are getting as far as pickups go. I had an idea to kind of lift up that bridge pickup sound and if you haven’t looked up TV Jones bass pickups, but they make humbucker style pickups that have a hotter output that would definitely balance things out. They also make them in GOLD(Austin Powers Goldmember Gif). Cheers!

[@pacree]

Thanks for this. I decided on the Squier Paranormal Rascal; I think I chose the right Jaguar. You can see from the video that the string is nowhere near centered on the pole piece. Had that same problem on my Cabronita, e and g. Had a Thunderblade installed and fixed the problem. Anyone make a blade pickup replacement for that neck pup?

[@stephenfoley1261]

I'm sure the pickup selection works just fine for Mike Kerr's split output distortion loaded sound. The E string on the one i tried was nearly off the board so clearly the bridge position is off. And try $2500!!!! Aussie dollars here.

[@quickwashtheraccoon7601]

I agree. There is a dude on youtube he put a Felder- and rickenbacker-pickup in a Squier Bronco and it was awesome. Perhaps I can find the video. You are right. Perhaps better electronics would help. I think, two output-jacks would be cool:-) one for Boom and the other for effects.

[@kevinfraser5179]

Ironically, I absolutely love the tone you are recording. It's for sure a one-trick pony, but I like this pony's trick.

[@alemoffardin]

In my experience, that TB101 Fender tele bass pickup is very particular sounding.. if its wired in series, you need at least 1M potentiometers to be able to hear some treble passing through, and it has tremendous gain (hard to use without clipping, if you don't have a -db pad in your input preamp).. if it's wired in parallel, you get standard passive bass output levels, but you loose that cool humbucker midrange.. I guess that the combination with that bridge mini humbucker is inspired in the old 70s Gibson EB3 configuration, where you have two different sounds/eq/levels between the pickups, and you can dial a "Sweet spot", but.. that vintage gibson humbuckers are complete fire and this TB101 pickup is not. Maybe the electronic selection in this bass are off, but.. it was really expensive for that experience. The pickup position for me also is cuestionable, that humbucker works better really close to the fingerboard, if you like to get upright-like tone. In pbass position, you dont get anything usable IMO. Cool video!

[@headcrabkiller7]

Thanks for making this video Patrick. I was definitely thinking about taking the plunge on this but now it's a definite no. For anyone wanting this but more balanced, just get the Squier Rascal bass. It's short scale like the Jag but the tension is more like a full scale bass, highly HIGHLY recommend

[@json64]

Easy fix! Substitute for a single or double Epiphone T-bird pickups, Some routing and a new pickguard may be needed. Hello from Sweden!!

[@artbehrman7712]

Um. That’s leopard print. Not tiger. You should’ve sent it back immediately upon opening when you saw that. Details, Fender!

[@DarrenLikesDanger]

I recently bought an American professional II precision bass from fender and had to send back the first two for quality issues. The third one was nice though. Fender isn’t what it used to be, that’s for sure.

[@emanuelbassist]

Hey Patrick please tell me how you got your Royal Blood ish sounds! Oh and I wonder if someone took that bloody, er I mean muddy bucker and stripped a bunch of winds off?! That’ll quiet it down and sharpen its tone right?

[@skirchmerch6997]

Wouldn’t be surprised if they used up the rest of those fake mini humbuckers from the Gretsch bass that were found to be single coils

[@wmg1958]

It sounds like my old El Degas Jazz copy I got in 1975 or 76 for $75 and still play to this very day. That old bass is different than anything else out there. Admittedly it is ideal for repertoire from the era it was created in but it can rock current repertoire and genres as well. Back then, $75 was one month's rent, and this bass is about a month's rent as well. I think that basses have come a long way since the 70's jazz bass and even though this signature bass is not the same thing, it is clearly based upon that aesthetic so perhaps time has passed this configuration by.

[@aidanfriedfeld8889]

I was working in a guitar store pre pandemic and I just do not remember fender dropping the ball this much. Gibson had all kinds of QC issues tho with us often receiving instruments direct from the factory with all kinds of scratches and intonation all over the place. Bar a few instruments I recall fender being pretty on top of their QC at the time. Shame to see this happen.

[@wesmitchem825]

I dig the low end but it lacks on the highs and mids if I can't get a bouncy east bay Gilman st. Type tone from it I can't use it

[@SteveCOnTheTube]

I played one today and loved it. To each their own I guess.

[@EversonBernardes]

Yeah, that bridge is misaligned. Lobster had a similar issue with that Fender Gold Foil Jazz. Fender quality control has been awful for a while there.

[@johnperham2332]

Looks like the g string is out of line while your playing to me it looks like it’s ok at the nut then right at the edge of the frets at the last fret and also looks to being on the far outside of the pole piece on the neck pickup aswell

[@livefromadive6751]

As Fender keeps inching their way into direct sales, quality control and set up keep coming up as problems. This is where your local retailer and a fair amount of online retailers add their value to your purchase. They can screen out the problem pieces, adjust what needs tweaked, and if loc give you a shot to try before you buy. Going forward if Fender reproduces Sweetwater's 55 point inspection, maybe making it 57 to be better, then their direct sales will become a greater threat to retailers.

[@xenogear88]

Brands selling directly to customer is a bad idea IMO, with the exception of custom builders of course.

[@ileutur6863]

​@@xenogear88 No its an amazing thing, when done right. Its supposed to reduce the price and waiting time, but Fender is just pumping up prices while behaving like Harley Benton

[@xenogear88]

@@ileutur6863 sure, when done right. But as of now, they are not doing this right. Prices should go down instead of up. There is no reason anymore to justify their outrageous prices. And fender are not the worst. For me, it is musicman. They doubled their prices in Europe, without any justification

[@johnlackner1193]

Is this a medium scale neck? do they make this bass available left-handed?

[@simon_plays_bass]

It sounded pretty good to me with both pick-ups on. As others have said: it is a Mike Kerr signature. I’m guessing on the prototypes he ran it through his rig. As far as I’m aware I don’t think he’s ever shared what his rig is or how he uses it. So the rest of us can only make educated guesses at what he does, so hearing this bass as Mike Kerr hears it probably isn’t going to happen for most of us.

[@ltdbassplayer]

Looks like they still haven't fixed the pole spacing issue on the Wide Range humbucker. I used to have a Modern Player Telecaster bass with two of these and it was a real issue on the bridge pickup, so I'm surprised they placed this in a more mid-position. I ended up swapping them out for two DeArmond Gold Tone humbuckers from the 80's (very weak output but really massive tonally -especially behind a fuzz box). Really wish I'd never sold that bass, though coincidentally, also for a jaguar.

[@nik_hffmnn]

“All style, no substance”, excellent summation. Fantastic review man, you probably saved a lot of unwitting bass players almost 2 g’s.

[@christopherfidler3019]

Just return it and hope the new one Fairs better. if you keep going through returns, I have seen Fender just say screw it and give the money back and tell the customer to keep the guitar.

[@OlBillyBobBoy]

Reminds me of the Gibson Midtown that I had. Very similar pickup issues plus that trademark neck dive! haha

[@Iaminvisible331]

thank you for your honesty.... ( hope l spelled that right, if not sorry)

[@MasterBattle2000]

That bridge pickup looks like the ones in the Gretsch Junior Jet Bass. So I wonder if it's actually a single coil?

[@bobt5778]

Hah, I just saw that and was thinking the same thing!

[@BaguetteRoulette]

So the Gretsch Junior Jet 2 is actually a better choice for the Royal Blood fans (and sound)?

[@patrickhunter]

Better AND cheaper!

[@chriscuthbertson]

Does Mike not run each pickup out separately into different effects chains? one pickup for his bass chain and one for his 'guitar' chain?

[@VIDS2013]

No--just one cable. But he uses different effects (and maybe amps) with each pickup.

[@LizardWizard_]

My take away it’s a mega cool fender bass that sounds like a Budget epiphone eb3 bass

[@JosePineda-jn8jk]

The pickups sound like a similar problem I had with my Gretsch Jet Junior Streamliner. The bridge pickup was insanely thin sounding to me (and it was microphonic so it had to go without question) and the neck is a P90 that was seated too high thus making it way too warm and thick sounding compared to the bridge which was biting and thin.

[@michaelkeefer4293]

I've seen so many videos over the past few years about Fender and Squire basses with very bad QC issues. I would definitely send that bass back and include in the correspondence a link to this video.

[@connorslawson5315]

I love your channel due to your positivity and bubbliness, but it's refreshing to see you rip apart something in a review. It reminds us that your reviews are honest!

[@VIDS2013]

Well, this bass sounded kick-ass when I saw Mike playing it at a Royal Blood concert a couple of weeks ago. But he plays with a lot of overdrive, and that tends to even out the output across the strings. In fact, your overdrive clips sounded really good, too! Yeah, you could replace the tone & volume pots with stacked pots. It wouldn't be that expensive, and it would allow you to blend the output of the two pickups to your taste.

[@christophermonita2895]

What if you just had one pick up? Preferably the the neck. However, if there was a way to boost the bridge... 🤔

[@kingdeedee]

I'd love to see someone like LowEndLobster get his hands on this thing and see how he'd try and fix it. He had a few similar complaints with some other recent fender releases

[@neilbatey3795]

What’s the bassline that Patrick is playing at approximately 3 mins 50 seconds, please?

[@urbanadventurer5]

Yeah it seems like a bass that was built exclusively for distortion and effects, which works for their band’s sound but not for everyone. I have heard others get close enough to that sound using pedals with other basses that it doesn’t make sense to spend $1600 for a separate bass just for that.

[@grisbain]

It’s how I felt when I got an Orange OB1-500 amp. I was so excited. The KZbin clips got me pumped. It looked awesome. It sounded terrible.

[@thenightlifezero9154]

So crazy that the new Squire paranormal is less than a third of the price of this bass yet beats it silly in almost every category save weight and neck dive. Fender MIM is such a grab bag of good and bad. Fender really should just move all there mid level manufacturing to japan. I have never played an MIJ bass that wasn't dang near perfect.

[@driverbass1554]

I wonder if the bridge humbucker is actually one of those infamous Gretsch " single coil "mini humbuckers"?

[@Flexflexible]

Nope, @sonojono also checked this in a YT Short

[@driverbass1554]

@@Flexflexible cool, I'll check it out!

[@rjbrando9616]

After this review, we need the Squier Rascal in comparison!