The Fender U.S. Geddy Lee Jazz Bass 4-String Bass Guitar Black is a four-string, jazz bass guitar in a black finish.
The USA Geddy Lee is an updated version that combines the specs and features of three of Lee's favourite guitars – two Fender Custom Shop versions of his signature model and the original sleek black ’72 Jazz Bass. The neck has a thicker profile which is topped with a Maple fingerboard with white binding and white pearloid dot inlays. It boasts enormous tone that crackles with energy. The two vintage-style single-coil Jazz Bass pickups are especially wound and voiced to sound like those on Lee’s 1972 original. A high-mass bridge provides rock-solid intonation.
The body is made of Alder and cut to a traditional Jazz Bass shape while the neck is Maple cut to a thick “C” shape at 34” (864mm) long and housing 20 frets. The fingerboard is also Maple and has a radius of 9.5” (864mm) and has pearloid dot inlays.
The pickups, neck and bridge, are Custom Voiced American Vintage ‘70s Geddy Lee and are controlled by designated vintage-style black plastic jazz bass volume knobs and a master tone control.
The bridge is a Geddy Lee High Mass Bridge which feeds the vintage-style open-back tuning machines.
The pickguard is a 4-ply white pearloid and contrasts distinctly against the black body.
The main features of the Fender U.S. Geddy Lee Jazz Bass 4-String Bass Guitar Black include:
It is a great instrument. A signature version of the Geddy Lee (Rush) bass guitar. This is the 5-6th (?) version of the instrument (first the Japanese Version, then the AM version, the limited road worn version, then the Mexico in two colors and now the AM version with the different neck and inlays). I missed to get the Japanese version and the AM versions. Tried out a Mexico version and that was a miss - damaged painting from factory and settings way to high. This one is a hit though the price is (too) high. It is in competition with the Fender AM Ultra J Bass MN Texas Tea and from a modern approach, the latter is the better option of the instruments, whereas the Geddy version is more in the vintage style. There is a slight buzz from the pickups (not uncommon for these types of pick-ups, but they are not noiseless). Do I like it - the answer is yes (as a Rush fan no doubt) - but the price tag and the alternative(s) are a challenge to this limited edition (1 in 100).
To sum up - great instrument, all great, works as expected, sounds good, if you can live with the slight buzz from the pick-ups and the price tag.