I had the chance to compare a Fender American Standard Jazz Bass against a Professional and Elite.
The Elite Jazz Bass has all the bells and whistles you want; but the noiseless pickups didn’t really speak to me. I had the intention to install N4 pickups to my Standard Jazz Bass, but the Elite Jazz changed my mind. Not a bad sound, just different from what my ears like to hear from a J-Bass.
On the other hand; the sound of the Pro Jazz and Std Jazz were identical. They both had that great vintage sound, and the wood felt good (that’s what she said) in terms of resonance. For some reason; the neck of the Std Jazz felt better to me; which is peculiar because they both are supposed to be 34″ with 1.50″ nut width and 9.5″ radius. The Pro probably needed a proper setup.
All in all; the Pro Jazz is the latest kid on the vintage J-Bass block. If you can’t find the Std USA you are looking for, the Pro USA is a very accurate follow-up in terms of my perceived sound & quality.
Without any discount offer for the Std Jazz; you can easily lean towards the Pro Jazz. If you get a good discount for the Std Jazz, mind you it lacks nothing that the Pro has to offer (YMMV).
I did a similar comparison for Precision Basses as well.
Dr. Kerem Koseoglu 
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