Fender Flea Sig Bass RDWRN SHP

As soon as Fender came out with this bass, a faithful replica of Flea's '61 shell pink Jazz Bass with roadworn finish, it jumped right on the top of my wishlist.
I ordered it from Thomann about 8 months ago and it has been my main bass since. I use it for rock and funk mainly, but it is just as versatile as any Jazz Bass.


The Pros:
- The build quality is great. Although this bass is made in Mexico, its quality is on par with American made instruments.
- The Fender Jazz Bass sounds. Want a growly tone? Or rather a Jaco-like low-passed bridge pickup tone? This bass has them all, with incredible sustain.
- The neck is super comfortable and really fast.
- The finish. Pictures don't make justice here, but in live the road worn look is totally convincing, in my opinion. Even the tuning gears has an oily wash on them. If this is your thing, you will love the looks of this bass. By the way, the shell pink color is not a bright, vibrant pink, but a faded, tastful one. This JB is a true beauty.


The Cons:
- The electronics inside have virtually no shielding, and as a result it is prone to picking up quite some noise. Sure, this is the replica of a '61 model, and basses back then didn't really use any shielding, so this bass doesn't have it either. Nothing that can't be fixed, but still, this is a major disadvantage.
- This is not related directly to the bass, but the gigbag that comes with it is pretty "meh". I don't have the feeling that it would adequately protect the instrument, so I have been using a Thomann gigbag instead which is much sturdier and has more pockets.


Great bass overall, and considering that this is a signature series bass, the pricing is really nice too.

This bass is really good looking. But taken straight out of the box was not playable for me. I was expecting it to be set up better. Nut slots where cut too height, That caused strings at 12 fret where like 4mm over the fret-board. Be prepared to set it up to your needs especially if you are looking for very fast neck.

From other side this bass looks unique. And beside it's road worn look fret-board and neck where intact, so it does not feel like you are playing old instrument - and that is good IMHO. Frets seems to be smaller that average, more in the vintage range.

I was skeptical at first, as I wanted to get a replica of a ‘60s pre-CBS era J-Bass, with stacked controls, nice pick-ups and a rosewood fretboard, not particularly impressed by a MiM + Roadworn and Artist Signature at the same time.

Considered alternative were the AVII series, but I cannot stand the binding on their necks plus I have noticed some QA issues with these that I consider unacceptable for the inconsistent advertised moniker and high price.

Eventually I opted for this “Flea” signature model that won me on its looks and final price.

After receiving it in a well padded carton, along the “gig-bag”, I proceeded with setting up the action and doing a little truss-rod adjustment as i was expecting. Nothing serious, intonation was okay but there is no truss-rod adjustment slot on the body so the neck has to be removed.

After all I am very happy with this MiM, it feels a very good workhorse, not a boutique one has to be afraid if it gets some sweat, dust and scratches when played: one day I might carve that truss-rod slot myself, if ever needed again 😎 because of frequent touring.

The sound is great, the knobs works flawlessly and the overall build quality is almost excellent except for some - not really visible, but still - scratches almost on each fret probably due to some worker being too lazy to protect the wood while using a file…😒

The provided gig-bag is “cheapo-grande” with little storage and soft floppy padding, worth of being directly thrown in the rubbish bin: more bubble-wrap would have been useful to keep instead 😂 Better off ordering a good one or get a hard-case!