Fender American Vintage '62 Jazz Reissue

theory028 · #1 04-25-2011, 08:11 PM

Greetings!

I've been thinking about saving up for a new Jazz and the Fender AVRI '62 Jazz has really caught my eye. I do have a few questions about it, though.

I haven't had a chance to play one yet but that is on my list of things to do. There is one at Dave's Guitar Shop in La Crosse, WI that I plan on checking out. I'm just afraid that the excitement of playing something new will cloud my ability to make an informed decision.

Aside from actually playing one, I was wondering about the finish and the frets. I did some reading and there was some confusion about the finish. It sounds like it's a thin poly with nitro over it. Is that correct? Pictures I've seen of the bass all appear to be pretty glossy. Would a bass with this finish age in a convincing manner?

Finally, are the vintage frets similar to those on the Lakland basses? My Darryl Jones 4 has some great frets; they're really small. Everything about the neck is awesome. I'd love for my next Jazz bass to have similar frets.

I'm sorry if these questions have been covered before. The finish stuff has been talked about but I don't know how things vary between the different years of production. It'll be a long time before I can actually afford one (and I'll have to wait for a used one to show up somewhere) but I'd love to know more about it!

Thanks!

king_biscuit · #2 04-25-2011, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theory028

Greetings!

It sounds like it's a thin poly with nitro over it. Is that correct? Pictures I've seen of the bass all appear to be pretty glossy. Would a bass with this finish age in a convincing manner?

The sealer coat is polyurethane, which is very similar to the old fullerplast used throughout the 60s. The AV62 should age just like any of the older lacquered Fenders.

theory028 · #3 04-26-2011, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by king_biscuit

The sealer coat is polyurethane, which is very similar to the old fullerplast used throughout the 60s. The AV62 should age just like any of the older lacquered Fenders.

Cool, thanks for the info!

I'll hunt down some pictures posted by other users. If anyone reading this thread owns this bass, I'd love to see some pictures!

Felipe Brazil · #4 04-27-2011, 04:19 PM

I got a 62 p-bass like 3 weeks ago and the finish is THIN, VERY THIN. I gig'd with it 9 times since I got it and it is already showing much more wear/dings than I expected

All I can tell you is: It is real nitro and it will age beautifuly just like the legendaries Fenders from the early 60s.

Felipe Brazil · #5 04-27-2011, 04:28 PM

I haven't found any pic of aged 62' Jazz Basses, but I found this pic of an AVRI 62' Strat which is supposed to have the same finish as the AVRI basses.

As you can see, it does have the polyurethane sealer coat.
But doesn't really matters... It still looks pretty good to me.

DanGouge · #6 04-27-2011, 07:59 PM

The finish of my AV62 Jazz is aging pretty convincingly.

D.M.N. · #7 04-27-2011, 10:19 PM

Yeah, they age pretty gracefully. I have a 62 P and it looks super. I has some chips and scratches and dents, but they all look "right", and it's all actual wear I've inflicted. Love mine.

theory028 · #8 04-28-2011, 02:08 AM

Thanks for the replies, guys! That is exactly what I wanted to see/hear. I haven't had a chance to play the bass yet but I'm definitely going to make a trip up to Dave's to check it out.

I'm probably getting ahead of myself but I'm stricken with GAS for this bass. It's getting to be pretty brutal!

vin*tone · #9 04-28-2011, 02:09 AM

The big difference I find from the Laky is the FB curve. The AV has a 7.25" radius.

Felipe Brazil · #10 04-28-2011, 09:23 AM

Theory028

Make sure you post pics when you get it, we love to see pics!

bassist4dalord · #11 04-28-2011, 10:38 AM

American Vintage Reissue's - Show 'em if ya got 'em.

Hope this helps!

theory028 · #12 04-28-2011, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felipe Brazil

Theory028

Make sure you post pics when you get it, we love to see pics!

I'll definitely post pictures when I get one, whenever that ends up being.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassist4dalord

American Vintage Reissue's - Show 'em if ya got 'em.

Hope this helps!

That's an awesome thread; thanks for the link! I'll be busy going through that for a while.

Off topic: does anyone else get a log-in pop up when they go to page 3 of that thread? I get something that wants me to enter my credentials for My Shares.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vin*tone

The big difference I find from the Laky is the FB curve. The AV has a 7.25" radius.

This is an interesting point. I searched for the Lakland Skyline DJ4 specs and everything I've read pointed to it also having a 7.25" radius, also. The neck on my Lakland is very comfortable so I'm really excited to try the Fender.

Mastermold · #13 09-21-2011, 11:12 AM

Nice collection there joe!

Rama · #14 09-21-2011, 11:33 AM

Here is an older post from me here on Talkbass, lot's more vdings ands scratches now and I started to use this bass on and off here from February.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rama

I don't have any new pics available, but anyways here she is in her current state:

A friend borrowed mt gig bag, so I used the case and after rehearsal I took it out of the case and *wham!* the case closed and took it's first chip already. (after it's fourth day)

I accidentally left my keys in the gig bag... I was looking for it for a week...

Just sitting on a couch and I hit the Squier Chrome PU cover...