The Fender Jazz Bass was introduced in 1960 as a higher-end alternative to the Precision Bass with closer string spacing, a thinner neck profile at the nut, and two punchy single-coil pickups. The original Jazz Bass was renamed the Standard Jazz Bass in 1981 to avoid confusion with newer models. The name was changed again in 1988 to the American Standard Jazz Bass to denote basses made in Fender's American factory. Years of Production: 1960 - presentBody Style: Offset solidbody Wood Composition: Ash or Alder body, Maple neck with Rosewood fingerboardDesign Elements: Bolt-on neck, block inlays, 34-inch scale length Finish Specifications: Black is a standard finish for Jazz Basses. Notable Players:  John Entwistle, Noel Redding, Rick Danko, Marcus Miller, Geddy LeeIn passive mode you get the traditional Jazz bass control configuration. Well almost. Instead of two volume controls and a high pass tone control, you get master volume, pickup balance and the tone control. Essentially the same, but I think the old way has more tonal variation. Or at least is more intuitive.But overall I think the electronics are right on. This bass also features Fender’s N3 Jazz pickups. Claiming to be noiseless and supposedly better. Whatever the pickups and preamps and such are, this bass sounds great. I played it for several hours through my Markbass CMD 102P with a Behringer BDI21 amp modeller and believe me you can get tons of great sounds and lots of tonal variation wit this setup.