NBD - Vintage Fender Jazz Bass - GuitarTalk Community

NBD - Vintage Fender Jazz Bass

Greg

Hi all!

So I bought a bass today and I'm simultaneously super excited and a little disappointed.

In my haste, I neglected (for some stupid reason) to check all the strings all the way down the next and I have now realised that the frets beyond the 12th fret are all going to need to be redone and it's probably a good idea to get the WHOLE guitar refretted....

Does anyone know what this would cost me and where I could find someone reliable to do it in Cape Town (Southern Suburbs)?

Could anyone also possibly help me identify exactly where it was made (MIM, US, Japan) and how old it is? The guy said it was a 1969 US made, but I'm not sure about it...

Heres some pics:

Chabenda

Wow, she does look quite old - if she's an original yank job then she would be early to mid sixties based on the dot inlays. Those also look like clay dot markers, if that is the case then the neck is definitely sixties and I wouldn't be surprised if the serial number started with "L" Can you show a pic of the serial number on the neck plate?

The body looks to have been refinished perhaps.

kapepper

Just pull the neck off and lookf or the date
looks like it is an oldie, pretty sure actually
but is refenished for sure, schratch plate looks also replaced

NileshHansjee

Sweet bass, congrats!

This link might help with dating it: http://www.fender.com/en-ZA/support/articles/u-s-instruments-product-dating/
It seems to deal only with MIA Fenders; I remember seeing somewhere a site giving details on serial numbers of the full Fender range, but can't seem to find it...

What exactly is wrong with the frets - abnormal wear? Did the seller stick a new set of strings on it?

On a side note: is that a brass nut?

Chabenda

It is unlikely that the frets will need to be redone, it's more than likely that the neck angle may need to be changed with a shim and the neck relief adjusted. Perhaps a fret dressing too.

c'mon Greg!! What's the serial number???? ?

Greg

Cool, it's going in for a bit of love an attention from a guitar tech recommended by the seller (he said he'd check it out for free).

I'll get him to take the neck off. I doubt he'll do a refret for free tho, that sounds expensive to me, I have to have it redone on my Gretsch 6120 already so maybe its time t

The body definitely looks refinished, I don't mind the white+black scratchplate combo tho, aesthetically it's good, but would be interested to know the previous colour/scratchplate combo.

Thanks for the info!

It's a 4 screw neckplate, just an F on the back and a number: 125456. No serial number in sight externally.

The tuning pegs have been replaced, they're definitely not original either.

Here is a pick of the back:

Plate:

Fret wear:

EDIT:

The seller did whack some new strings on for me, which is nice. Ideally it's just the neck, but these frets past the 12th are really worn out, no idea what sort of bassist wears those out first?

Chabenda

I'd put it as a '66 as the block inlays came out later on in that year.

kapepper

def mid to late sixties

amayeur refin, you could even maybe scrape of the refin and get the old finish back

kapepper

kapepper wrote: def mid to late sixties

amayeur refin, you could even maybe scrape of the refin and get the old finish back

exactly, it has that 65-66 fender logo

neck also looks to be oversprayed....

NileshHansjee

Is it me or does the 20th fret look to have "lifted" in that last photo? It's almost as though the tang has popped out...

singemonkey

Congrats. Looks like a great vintage bass worthy of restoration.

Greg

Chabenda wrote: It is unlikely that the frets will need to be redone, it's more than likely that the neck angle may need to be changed with a shim and the neck relief adjusted. Perhaps a fret dressing too.

c'mon Greg!! What's the serial number???? ?

125456 on the neckplate. Which puts it at 1966 to 1967 age wise.

Here are some close ups of the 20th fret:

Chabenda

It has definitely been re-fretted and not very nicely by the look of it (Well spotted Nilesh bhai). Like Singe says - worthy of restoration. I love the Jazz neck - it's like a broomstick, great for small hands.

I'll put a 2M beer on it being a '66.

kapepper

nice nice
just remove the strings and the scratchplate and neck to see whats under it
since the refin is sloppy maybe you can see the original paint under the guard (or neck plate) and start schratching it of with a razorblade

NileshHansjee

Chabenda wrote: It has definitely been re-fretted and not very nicely by the look of it (Well spotted Nilesh bhai). Like Singe says - worthy of restoration. I love the Jazz neck - it's like a broomstick, great for small hands.

Dhan'yavada ?

Unfortunately that fret looks pretty stuffed to me... other than a refret (as you originally suggested), I can't see any other way of fixing the issue.

If you're planning on restoring it, it'd be pretty cool to see a thread on it on the setup and repair board. Just sayin' ?

(By the way, great close-up pics)

Greg

Will see what it'd cost me and start budgeting for it, that particular fret does seem to be the worst tho.

iPhone did a good job at the snaps!

AlanRatcliffe

Firstly, congrats on a great find.

Yeah - looks like a very shoddy refret. Speak to Foster v. d. Merwe, Mike Du Toit or Matt Roux - all three seem to be doing great work. Mike is a bassist himself, btw.

Keira-WitherKay

Hey G great find , congrats

love J bass i always reckon if it was good enough for jaco and marcus miller its good enough for anyone ?

and nice that it seems to be a 60's one .... If only i could be that lucky ?

kapepper

any updates here ....

Chabenda

I would hazard a guess, based on the poor fret job, that the person who re-fretted it didn't slack off the truss rod when doing the job and, once finished and under tension, the guitar was unplayable. The only solution would have been to file down those upper frets. A mistake I have made myself - once.