It is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble[1] with less emphasis on the fundamental frequency.

Over the following years, as the use of mutes gradually declined, both the Precision and Jazz Bass models eventually began to be produced without bridge/tailpiece covers.

During 1965/66, the Jazz Bass received bound rosewood fingerboards with pearloid dot position inlays (which replaced the older "clay"-style of the early 1960s) and oval-shaped tuning machines.

[6] However, Fender's own history is clearly incorrect, as there are unquestionably examples of Jazz basses made in late 1970 that use the 4" pickup spacing.

American Standard Jazz Basses produced between 1989 and mid-1994 featured a larger body shape, a 'curved' neck plate set into a chambered pocket for greater sustain and a 22-fret neck, similar to that of a Precision Bass Plus, with a standard vintage-style top-load bridge, two separate volumes and a master TBX tone circuit.

Usually known as "Boner" Jazz Basses, these early American Standard models (designed by George Blanda, who was Fender's senior R&D engineer during that period) were discontinued in 1994 and shouldn't be confused with the Fender Jazz Bass Plus, which has the same 22-fret neck design, but utilizes a different (downsized) body styling, Lace Sensor pickups, Schaller "Elite" fine-tuner bridge on the four-string model or Gotoh Hardware high-mass bridge on the 5-string model, and Phil Kubicki-designed active electronics.

The two pickups are built to be opposite from each other in both magnetic polarity and electrical phase, so that when heard together, hum is cancelled—the humbucking effect.

The 2008 American Standard Jazz Bass retained the "American Series" rolled-edge neck with highly detailed nut and fret work, as well as the familiar rounded body shape with the vintage body radius, but deleted the S-1 switching system and incorporated a new high-mass vintage bridge, Hipshot lightweight vintage-style tuning machines, a richer and deeper neck tint, gloss maple or rosewood fingerboard and satin back for smooth playability.

Having both pickups cranked up at full volume produces the classic scooped, "growling" sound which many players—such as Marcus Miller and Will Lee—use for slap bass playing.

Other refinements include a strings-through-body/top-load bridge, Posiflex graphite neck support rods, rolled fingerboard edges, highly detailed nut- and fretwork.

The asymmetrical five-bolt neck plate, along with the smooth contoured heel allow much easier access to the upper registers.

Bound fingerboards with pearloid block inlays were added with the introduction of the American Deluxe Jazz Bass FMT & QMT in late 2001, featuring flamed or quilted maple tops and gold-plated hardware.

In 2010 the American Deluxe Jazz Bass was updated with a pair of N3 stacked-coil Noiseless Jazz Bass pickups, an active/passive toggle switch, CBS styling and a 21-fret bound compound radius maple neck featuring rosewood or maple fingerboards with rectangular block inlays.

Available in four- and five-string versions, all Custom Classic Jazz Basses came with a pair of custom-wound dual-coil Noiseless Jazz Bass pickups, a three-band active preamp, five-bolt neck plate, 18V power supply and a Deluxe string-through-body/top-load bridge with milled nickel-plated brass saddles.

All five-string Jazz basses came with pau ferro fretboard since 1990 (some US Deluxe models were also available with a plain maple neck option).

Fender offers its 5-string basses with rosewood or maple fretboard as of 2006 after discontinuing the pau ferro fingerboard option in late 2005.

In 2008, Fender introduced the fretted and fretless Steve Bailey signature models, its first six-string Jazz Basses to feature a 9.5" to 14" compound-radius ebony fingerboard.

[citation needed] The Jazz Bass 24 featured a sleek alder body, a 34"-scale length, modern C-shaped maple neck with a two-octave rosewood fingerboard, abalone dot inlays, 24 medium-jumbo frets, Hipshot-licensed tuners, Fender/Gotoh High Mass top-loading bridge, two custom-wound Seymour Duncan SJB-3 Quarter Pound pickups, a passive/active push/pull volume knob and a 3-band active EQ with a "slap" mid-scoop switch.

[citation needed] In 2008, Fender offered both the four- and five-string versions of the 24-fret Jazz Bass in a stealthy Flat Black finish (with matching headstocks and hardware).

The Steve Bailey 6-string signature model produced between 2009 and 2011 also had a 2-octave fingerboard and was tuned BEADGC Fender 24-fret Jazz Basses were made in Korea.

As of 2008, the Jaguar Bass comes in Olympic White and three-colour Sunburst finishes, together with a four-ply brown tortoise shell pickguard.

Fender also offers several models of the Jaguar Bass in the Squier line (and an American Standard version since 2014), most with a Precision/Jazz "P-J" pickup configuration.