Custom Fretless Jazz Bass, Phat Jaco! Two hum-buckers!

What if pin-thin bass legend Jaco Pastorius struggled with weight issues? Instead of playing the Bass of Doom, he would have played Phat Jaco!

Double Humbuckers

Phat Jaco is a two humbucker, fretless custom jazz bass. An Alnico V Music Man-style humbucker in the neck position delivers thick, lush tones, combining the best of a P-Bass and a MM Stingray-style instrument. We found a custom stacked humbucker for the bridge, too, for a classic Jazz Bass sound…minus the hum. The greatest part of Phat Jaco is his silence. Play him loud on stage or quiet in the studio, adjust the pickup levels however you’d like—either way you won’t get any 60-cycle hum! Phat Jaco is a true, noiseless Jazz bass!

Fretless Fire

Like Jaco Pastorius, we pulled the frets on this jazz bass ourselves. But unlike Jaco we did not seal the neck with boat epoxy. Frankly, Skinny Jaco, we’ve played epoxied fretless necks before, and they feel a little sticky and strange.

We believe Phat Jaco would have taken advantage of new string technologies like D’Addario Chromes. These flatwound strings deliver a bright punch like roundwounds, but don’t chew up the fretboard. These strings give the neck a smooth, “woody” feel.

Heavy Necking

Phat Jaco’s tung oil-finished neck has a profile more akin to a P-bass, yet its low, fast action makes this bass a pleasure to play.

We filled our front lines with JB Weld Wood Epoxy, which will not shrink or crack. We sanded everything super fine with our 12 inch radius block and we treated the fretboard with a liberal dose of Dunlop 65 lemon oil.

Get your hands on Phat Jaco, and your bass tone will never be the same!