Hello,
(This is a relist)
I picked this sweet baby up because I have long been curious about the 80s-90s Japanese Fender Jazz reissues. Believe the hype - these things are awesome! I have an actual '78 jazz and this reissue is every bit as great, maybe even better, since it is lighter in weight than the original. Unfortunately, I just got my original 78 refinished - which means I've poured money into it and consequently have to keep it. I can't keep both, so the reissue must go.
The bass is a '75 reissue, made in Japan. The serial # is B002925, which dates it around 1985, but some astute TBers told me the neck pocket may dictate otherwise. I decided to take off the neck since curiosity was killing me, and sure enough, April of '99. With that in mind, I decided to start a new thread. Year aside, these MIJ reissues are awesome, be they from the 80s or 90s. I don't think there is a significant price difference between 80s and 90s ones - after doing a bit of research they all seem to be within the same $600-$900 range if they are made in Japan. I lowered my original price a hair and would like $625 shipped.
This is one beautiful Jazz! The color is natural blond, with some very nice grain visible under the clear gloss finish. Neck and fretboard are maple, with white pearl block inlays and creme binding. Three bolt neck plate with micro-tilt adjustment, just like an actual USA 70s Fender Jazz bass. Controls are all passive - volume, volume, tone. Simple to use and sounds just like a jazz bass should. Weight on my questionable bathroom scale is 8 lbs. It certainly feels lighter than most of my basses. It has a very comfortable neck in my opinion. Intonation is good, and I just had my guitar player (who is also my personal tech) adjust it to low-medium action.
There are some minor cosmetic issues, but overall it's very clean. I found one small stress crack in the finish by the neck joint..typical for a 10+ year old bass. I've found 4 or 5 minor-but-notable finish dings around the bottom edge of the bass. Biggest one is maybe dime sized. A few others that are not as notable. A few scratches/wear around the bottom edge and a minor finish chip halfway up the upper horn. As far as I can tell, none of the chips go to the wood. The nice thing is, this bass has such a thick, shiny mirror-like gloss on it and that, coupled with the natural blonde color, makes the chips not that noticeable at all. It was really hard to document them in pictures, but I did my best. Frets appear to be in pretty good shape. Some nicks on headstock and back of neck. Chrome is still pretty shiny overall with only a few duller spots here and there - not really very noticeable. There are two empty screw holes on either side of the neck pickup - I'm not sure if maybe a pickup cover goes there? I don't like covers so I've left it alone. Two screw holes also show where a thumb rest could go. Pickguard appears to be non-original, but I am not positive. Strings are DRs - used but have a good amount of life left (DRs last forever it seems).
Overall she's in really good shape, especially for an instrument that has seen regular play for 10 years... but I believe in full disclosure to the best of the seller's ability.
With the price of vintage Fenders ever-climbing, it may make sense to pick up up a resissue instead. It seems nearly impossible to snag an actual USA vintage Fender bass (J or P) for less than $1500 in decent shape anymore. I've even seen a few reissues like this one go for over $1,000. Most seem to fall in the $600-$900 range. I'd like
$625 shipped for this one. No hard case but I will throw in your choice of padded gig bag. Either a Topp Pro Music gear gig bag or a Levy's gig bag. The Topp Pro one seems to have a bit more padding so that is the one I'd prefer to ship it in but it's up to you. I'll throw a strap in too. Lower 48 only, please. Sorry, no trades on this one.
Please see the pics and let me know if you have questions.
More pics: http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/d...eissue%20jazz/
