Fender Gold Foil Jazz Bass (MIM) - They Need To RECALL This Tin Foil Travesty - LowEndLobster Review 

I'm really impressed that after 60 something years Fender still finds ways to innovate and do new things. This new 3 string bass is proof of that. I like the 1 piece pickguard, but I'm hoping they release a 4 string one soon.

Someone protect this man at all costs! Big guitar will be looking for him after the Gretsch and now Fender investigations lol. Thanks Lobster!

I love that you’re making these types of reviews. These terrible QC jobs from Fender and others need to be put on blast. Unacceptable at the price point. 👎

I will now forever call these the "Golden Shower series" 😂

Lobster delivering the hard hitting investigative journalism the bass community needs and deserves!

Called my local shop asking if they had this bass, planing a visit to check it and maybe buy it. Dude instantly told me about the tragedy Fender produced and send them all back to Fender. The gentleman responsible for distributing basses to stores here, got offended and said no one has complained about that, plus it is how that pickup works... Thank you Fender for being useless at this point.

"Around back we can see pretty much nothing, just like the level of QC that was put into this instrument" Genuine lols on hearing that.

Gibson-“I know our quality control sucks but at least we over charge” Fender- “Hold my beer”

Competition between Fender and Gibson is clearly at a fever pitch - just in the wrong direction. On a side note, I really do appreciate your assessment of neck dive on your reviews. That's missing on so many guitar and bass reviews on RU-vid.

It finally happened. Squire has now become the high end segment of Fender.

Even if they fixed all the issues, do you think its really necessary for Fender to have yet another instrument that is essentially a P Bass?

I'm falling out of my chair with laughter. Good on Lobster for shooting this arrow straight. One wonders about Fender at times. Will be interesting see how this gets resolved. Thanks man!

I appreciate the variety of phrases used for "gold foil"

Fender is getting into the bass kit world. This is their first outing, where you get to mod it how you want. It comes as a three string, but you can convert it to a four string if you want. All the parts are there! Thanks Fender. BTW great review Mr. Lobster.

I enjoy waking up, rolling over, grabbing my phone and watching a video of a guy who looks like he just woke up, rolled over and made a video. 😂 Love the PJ look Lobster, and I don’t mean pickups!

Perhaps this could be marketed as a self-muting E-string for vintage Jamerson tones??

Omg, poor quality from Fender... and this bass is not cheap...

In the meantime Sire... Good luck Fender!

Those three stings sound great. Fender is really betting hard on its name to sell stuff. It’s quality rep sure isn’t making any new fans

I had the same bridge problem on American professional II p bass and jazz bass too. In fact I returned 4 fender basses with same bridge problem last year. And yes. It was all american pro models. So I bought a MIM one and upgrade it. I don’t understand it..

In a way, I hope Fender releases more crap because this video was hilarious 🤣🤣🤣

Hold up... they sent a bass in that state to one of their endorsees?

While I'm not a Fender fanboy, I have owned (and still own) many of them. All have been great instruments. The fact that Fender let this out of the factory and into the hands of an endorsed artist should result in several job losses.

Gotta love how they play tribute to the guitars of the 60s not just in looks, but in QC as well. Bravo fender.

Unbelievable! Unless this golden pickup is actually made of gold...

Thank you so much for an honest assessment on this brand. I've been a Fender loyalist since '95 and I am frankly shocked that this is allowed to leave the production facility in such a sorry state. I'm glad that folks like yourself are holding their feet to the fire.

BE CAREFUL!! When Fender catches on to this they'll charge another $500 for vintage errors.

Wow-- and I thought no major company could produce a turd as awful as the G&L Placentia series, Fender says, "Hold my beer"-- then demands $1300! Way to go Fender!

the worst bass since the G&L Placenta? XD

I find it sad that you can get better quality out of a 70 amazon bass than a big-name brand. thank you for what you do.

This video it a public service announcement to the community. Thanks. Can't believe Fender messed up the bridge placement. They dtill holes with CNC machines. This show not happen. I've read others say the same and pictures clearly show this. In my opinion the QC on the MIM Fenders seem lacking. On the other hand I have 2 Squier basses and 3 paranormal series guitars (all from China) that have great quality and out perform the MIM Fenders I've tried. Shame on Fender for these issues. Great video Lobster.

Great review as always lobster, really funny too! If i'm not mistaken, these basses (not this specific model, but the "premium" MIM Fenders) used to cost 900$ a few years ago. Now they cost 1300$+. You'd think that with such a high price increase, the quality control would've gotten better, but the opposite seems to be the case. It's baffling, honestly.

HOLY HELL, THAT IS ABYSMAL. SURELY this is just an unfortunate and weird instrument that somehow got through qc???? What in the hell😂

I briefly considered buying a meteroa and then I thought: 'oh wait it's a fender, can't risk that'. Nothing beats the second hand sire v7 with curved edges which I got for only 100 euros.

They have rumor of MIM Fenders, which said they are the worst in product line. But I think this masterpiece has nothing to do with MIM factor. If i have to buy a Fender style bass, I would go straight to FGN or Moollon ;)

$1300? dang fender is as bad as gibson. both overpriced garbage. ill stick to dean.🍻

Thanks for the honesty Lobster! I really hope someone at Fender sees this and takes notice. I've been hearing a lot of bad things about Fenders QC the last couple years across the board from their guitars, amps and basses.

Best video you’ve ever made, in my opinion. Brutal review, but absolutely fair. Re. the quality issues, they’re obviously following Gibson’s lead.

$1300 and the "E" string disappears? I call bullsh!t Fender! Serious neck dive? WTF Fender? Bend the "E" string to make it louder? For that price point you can get two good quality Squiers and mod the sh!t out of them and still have money left over. O claws! Good job Fender, I'm very disappointed. On the other hand, good job on the review.

What’s hilarious is that these came out right on the heels of the Vintage II line which was like everything everyone wanted

finally a bass where my drummer wouldn’t complain about competing in the same sound frequency as his kick drum

This bass needs the 3-point Gibson bridge.

This is why I've sworn off MIM Fenders for good. Off-center nuts and bridges and completely unfinished fret ends are very common and have been for a while. And neck dive standing up at that weight? Come on, Squier is so much better at half the price or less. Anyway, love the Donny t-shirt!

What a shame. I was really interested in this bass when I first saw it announced. I also saw several glowing reviews by other RU-vid channels. Thanks for being the crustacean that we can trust!

I went and played one of these . I wanted to ask because I can't see the point of a single low output pickup. Thank you Lobster as you saved so many people.

I kept replaying this video for the “subtle” comments on the bass quality. I couldn’t stop laughing when Lobster said “Golden Shower” jazz bass at 4:28. 😂😂😂😂😂 Bravo!!! Fender aught to hire Lobster for QC and to review their R&D department. Leo may be rolling in his grave.

Hey, just wanted to say that I'm a guitarist who's been looking for a first bass and your channel has been really helpful. Seriously eyeing the paranormal jazz bass

It's a shame on Fender's part, for around $800 you can buy a Yamaha BB734a that has a better bridge, better sound, finish, build and overall quality, and comes with a decent Gigbag and still save $500. Total disappointment with Fender.

Just when I think Fender is finally catching up with the competition in terms of build quality, here comes this joke.

I’m just glad that I was alive to witness the greatest bass review in the history of the world.

LOL. I like how you act like we're punishing you for liking the video! Also, when I bought my first real bass, I chose Schecter over Fender. Not being made of money, I've always had a little buyers removers and thought "What if...?" After the issues you reported with Gretsch, and now an actual Fender, I'm going to go apologize to my amazing Schecter for coveting some harlot.

I think it's almost worse that a bass with this level of shoddy QC got sent to a Fender artist. If they don't care enough to give something their sending to someone who's actually endorsing their products a decent look over god knows what the actual consumers are getting...

Fender has always been hit or miss in my experience. I remember trying out a Roscoe Beck 5 string at a Musician's Friend back in 2003 or so... the frets nearly sliced open my hand and the tech there said "yeah, and that's AFTER I took a file to them!". Then I pointed out how there were at least three anchor screws missing from the bridge. You could clearly see the finished body through their unoccupied holes. That all said though, I still own a few and I love the ones in my bass stable. It just seems that sometimes they are more concerned with churning out a quota than being consistent about quality.

You think this is the worst... just wait for the Gretsch Placenta Series Jag-Stang Bass, with active pickups from Harley Benton!

Even if the rest of the bass was perfect, the truss rod issue is a huge deal breaker.

Wow, Fender is truly crapping all over Leo's legacy. What absolute, overpriced, trash. I'm glad I didn't bother buying a Fender and instead chose the Sire V5R in Tabacco Sunbrust thanks to Lobster's great review. On a side note my 1986 Aria Pro II Cat Bass sounds awesome (even with the neck twist) comapred to this burning pile of trash.

Loving the tone and aesthetics, a fully functional one of these must be great. I don't know why it's called a jazz either when it sounds halfway between that and a precision (due to single pickup?). But at that price none of it matters, it's a lemon.

You just didn t discover the Keith Richards way of playing bass. 3 of 4 strings is enough.... Looks, concept and PU ... I would give 5 stars. But with the bridge and neck dive issue...

Wow! Shame on you Fender... Thanks for brightening up my day Lobster, the funniest review you have made 👍..

Sad thing is that these will be discontinued shortly and 20 yrs from now they will be highly sought after and sold as vintage must haves at astonishing prices that many suckers will be willing to pay. Just because it says Fender on the headstock!! FOOLS GOLD JAZZ!! 😂😂😂

I love it that he doesn’t attack the pickup, he compliments it (slightly) and then continues to publicly execute this bass

😫 It's only February and you already found the worst deal of the year... This is so sad since this thing could have been so awesome. Love the look and the (upper strings) sound. But this screams: Stay away from Fender until they do their homework!

Thank you Lobster and thank you Bully. That's pretty bold when Fender hooked you up

basically, MIM Fenders were never meant to be over $1000 and the people in the factory don't know how to make a 'higher' end instrument.

This was a genuinely hilarious yet still informative review!

Fender's idea of innovation is a 70 year old pickup design in a 60 year old bass design. Even if this POS worked correctly, that gold foil won't do anything that a normal jazz bass neck pickup can't do better.

I think this bass would be good in a cannibal corpse tribute. It’s truly a hammer smashed bass

“How much does the Fender Golden Shower Jazz Bass weigh?” Lobster you seem like such a cool dude but daaammmnnn 🤣🤣 absolutely roasted this bass with that line

What an embarrassment, assuming that the current Fender is capable of feeling anything other than greed. I just LOVE all of your different nicknames for it. A complete nickname Hall Of Fame in a single review! Five Claws for the Lobster!

Jokes on you, Lobster. That's Fenders new Compressomatic system. Automatically limits/attenuates/compresses the E string sound so you can really lay into it without peaking. There's lots of physics involved in their patented offset bridge design. The future is now, people. Get with the times. Also, Salt Bae wraps his steaks in gold and he's an international treasure or something? These pickups are in good company.

My thoughts… damn, I’ve really underpriced what I do. Anyways, the frets have practically no bevel on them. It doesn’t take much time, with the right tool, to angle those fret ends to match the way the hand lays across them. Then, round the sharp points and you have a premium feeling neck. As for bridge alignment… good lord Fender! Establishing and adhering to a centerline is bass building 101!! In the end, I’m glad to see this.

"Let's throw some drums behind this thing before we throw it down the stairs!" LOL This review was delightfully savage.

I would totally buy it used for 200 dollars and then bring it to my luthier for new nut and new bridge placement 🙃

Bully should kick Fender to the curb…the disrespect and/or incompetence to send this firewood out to sponsored artists is staggering. FMIC really losing the thread these days.

Funniest review ever - so well done on that. Hmmm, I tend to think that these will become truly collectible, especially the coveted "pre-recall" models and 'unmodded condition' examples. I'd be watching for run out specials myself... And yes, 3 strings do sound quite good.

The Fender Golden Shower Jazz Bass 😂

😂😂😂😂 I love all the shade. It definitely sounds like you had a brainstorming session to come up with any offensive names you could that sounded close to gold foil. Made my day 😂😂😂😂😂😂

So Fender has now joined most corporations in only worrying about investors. As long as your stuff is not much worse than the competitors, why worry? ECORP press release, "We are continuingthe process of realigning business synergies to maximize brand effectiveness. We will continue to amortize the economic pressures of today's competitive market for increased share while remaining committed to value for our customers."

I'd take that Donny Bennet T-shirt over this bass at any time

Great review, and knowing I'd have to take the neck off to adjust the truss rod!? No thank you. After 60 years off making basses you'd think they would change that. FAIL!

Keep up the honesty. That’s rare and valuable.

I wanted sound. I got humor. I saved hundreds. Who could ask for more? As a vegetarian I am proud to say that I love Lobster(LowEnd)!

Hopefully you've saved some people from disappointment. I've had a few disappointments with Fender.

Wtf I bought a bass for $80 that’s higher quality than this. With how hard Fender was hyping up these things, you’d think they’d put more care than most Chinese knock-offs I’ve seen.

I like the sound and the look of it… but that’s about it. Sonic blue and tortoise is a classic color combo, and I like how the gold foil pickup sounds. It seems to be placed in the P-Bass sweet spot (correct me if I’m wrong). But if the fret work is cutting up my hand playing it, and the nut is cut wrong, AND the bridge is in the wrong spot, Fender needs to re-evaluate some things.

The Gold Foul (not a misspelling) Jazz Bass sounds like it’s half-kazoo. FTS.

This is hysterical. Thank you. 😂 And, seriously, if Fender gave a crap at all, this would have never happened.

No video made me laugh more! All the gold foil puns killed me. It's too bad the execution of the bass was so crappy. I was interested. I love your stuff, LEL!

Awesome and hilarious review of this early april fools golden shower fools gold piece of low quality product by a company called fender... I'm shocked at the quality and if im spending that much money on an instrument im definitely trying it out first and testing a couple before buying! Thank you so much and keep on keeping on! Someone needs to RU-vid poop this!

NO SURPRISE !!! Leave it to Fender to screw things up and charge you an arm and a leg for it. It's fugly, too.

"Fender Golden Shower Jazz Bass" and "early April Fool's joke." Nice! 😀

Just embarrassing Fender. All of their lines both overseas and US are QC nightmares. Thankfully there are an abundance of different options in today's market so consumers don't have to put up with this crap.

Other than that, how was the play Mrs Lincoln?

Boy, that misalignment has got to be an upcoming QC/warranty issue nightmare for Fender. The particular bass you are playing is unusable in any situation that counts. In another video I was watching, the alignment was just fine. Too bad Fender can't keep a tighter control on their assembly. I actually like the sound of this bass and it does look nice. But I guess I wouldn't even think of buying one unless I have it in hand before the purchase and it doesn't have the alignment issue. Seems like there are a lot of big name companies dropping the ball lately. Some months ago I purchased a Sterling by Musicman (which I've had very good luck with over the years) Stingray that had tuning machines which literally self destructed when you turned them. How it got past QC is a profound mystery. And from what I've read, that wasn't an isolated incident. Needless to say, the bass and shavings from the disintegrated tuners went back for a refund. Too bad. The bass LOOKED and sounded killer. But the self-destructing tuners, truss issues and unlevel frets made it useless.

Damn I really wanted to like this one since gold foil pickups are very cool and deserve to be on more instruments but yeah this is an atrocious deal and I can't blame you for not wanting your claw to disappear this time 😂

So what's going on at fender? First the ARI-II models come out with lots of QC and construction problems (from trem arms not fitting to neck pockets you could slide your credit card in) and now this train wreck. Sad times.

Shame that. Think the pickups sounds rather nice on the three functional strings. Thanks for the hard hitting investigative reporting as per usual

I absolutely love that you don't hold anything back with this pile of steaming crap! Giants like Fender need to own up for these pieces of trash, they're not the fender they once were

Excellent review, really fun and a good warning to save money, thanks

So sick and tired of fender constantly releasing "new" models and special run editions at the obvious expense of concentrating on building their products to the required standard. Thank you LEL for having the guts to speak out about this crap. Love your humour too sir!