Fano JM4 Bass: A boutique guitar builder dips its toes into the deep end

17 Jan 2018 by Jef |

5,0 / 5,0 | Approximate reading time: 2 Minutes

Fano JM4 Bass in Dakota Red · Source: Fano

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Looking like a four-string JM6, this brand new American-made JM4 bass model from Fano oozes retro offset style and sports a couple of cool finishes. At just shy of USD 2000, it’s priced competitively enough to give Fender a run for its money in the retro bass guitar segment. We take a look to see the proposition Fano is putting on the table.

JM4 Bass

This new model looks very retro, going heavy on the 1960s style – which I personally think is great. It comes with a 34” scale length maple neck that has a 10” radius Indian Rosewood fretboard with rolled edges and – funnily enough – an early-’60s C-Shape neck profile.

The Alder body can be finished in Dakota Red, Lake Placid Blue, Shoreline Gold, Desert Sand, Copper Metallic, Ocean Turquoise, Bull Black or Olympic White. All finishes are also available in either Medium Distress and NOS finishes.

With that cool, solid HiMax bridge that can either be strung through the body or top loaded, the whole design looks retro yet also exudes robustness. The JM4 has Fano’s own FanoBird bass pickups, which I suspect will have a vintage tone to them from the looks of things.

Fender Killer?

I reckon this bass will be popular and the price for a boutique nitrocellulose finished guitar is comparable to Fender’s new American Originals Series. Fano will be building in far smaller numbers, so attention to detail could might be higher with these boutique basses.

I am keen to hear how the new Fano JM4 bass sounds, as I reckon it might give Fender a run for its money in terms of price and style. If Fano can make these for under two grand and Fender are mass-producing for only slightly less, it could be time to go boutique for your next bass.

RRP – USD 1999