Fender MIM Jazz Modifications

[vistacruiser]

Templar, very nice Jazz! I would love to play that thing. BTW, Model J's are not single coil, they are split coil/reverse wound like a mini P p/up, all in one cover, and therefore are noiseless.

[Templar]

Originally Posted by vistacruiser

Templar, very nice Jazz! I would love to play that thing. BTW, Model J's are not single coil, they are split coil/reverse wound like a mini P p/up, all in one cover, and therefore are noiseless.

Well that would certainly explain the hum-freeness then! I definitely like the way these pups sound, and the adjustable poles too. Good stuff.

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by mikarre

So, please brag about your bass a little, if you don't mind:

1) What modifications have you made to your MIM Jazz?

2) How do you feel this specifically changed the bass (more cutting tone, better sustain, etc)?

3) After modification, how do you feel your hot rodded MIM stands up to it's American brothers?

4) Any troubles fitting parts? For instance, would USA Fender pickups fit on a MIM?

Also, post a pic of your bass if you want. Thanks!

1. Not many mods though I tried a lot of things before finally coming to what I have.
A. Added straploks. (all my bass get them)
B. Re-shielded cavities with copper foil (including battery and jack which were not shielded) to remove last bit of hum.
C. Then modded battery to use phantom power from head with TRS cable.
D. Changed Volume/blend to Volume/rotary switch. I prefer quick positive tone changes when playing to twiddling a bunch of knobs to "dial-in".
E. Changed pickups from "noiseless" to SCN. Tone was always bad. SCN just brought bass alive! It's a MAJOR killer now.

I note that neck, frets, tuners, bridge, etc. were all excellent on this bass and nothing was done to them beyond normal setup adjustments. My MIM neck is probably THE most stable neck I own except for my Graphite Modulus. I really lucked out on this one. Left same burst finish and factory tort pickguaron it. What's to change?

[bh2]

Originally Posted by mjac28

I turned my Fretless MIM Jazz into a 1960 stacked knob replica I got a repro 60' electrical harness with some custom 60' repro pickups Fender sells the repro guard with all the holes drilled for the thumb rest and covers it looks and plays fantastic the bass was a pawn shop rescue.

Give us a lookie...I love the look of the stacks!

[KeithKlaxwell]

My mods :

-White pickguard to black (midnight wine finish)

-Skirt knobs to radio hifi knobs

-Stock pickups to Fralin split-coil overwound bridge 10% (it's queiter now, more mids, more responsive)

-TIs (I consider these an upgrade, I had the flats on for awhile and now the rounds)

I think it probably sounds better than MIAs with the pickup upgrade although but i don't think it feels as good as MIA nor do I think I have a particular great MIM wood-wise. I will probably swap it eventually for MIA as I miss the neck feel too much. The bent bridge is not so great for me and the nut file job is a mess. It's not incredibly inspiring to play but I've used it on sessions and it sounds great. FWIW I'm more of a P guy.

You can hear a pop session of my MIM J with Fralins below. It's about the only thing I've used J on this year. The chain is J>Avalon U5>Pro Tools http://soundcloud.com/jaykforever/secrets-mp3

[Joe Louvar]

Originally Posted by The Birdman

I have to admit that I haven't tried either. Perhaps others have experience????

Roger

Me either Roger, but I may end up trying some - and thank you very much for the link.

[Joe Louvar]

Where are the best places to get Genuine Fender replacement parts?

I know about http://basspartsresource.com/ and MF, etc for pickups - but, are there any others that sell Genuine Fender Replacement Parts? Thanks

[mjac28]

Originally Posted by bh2

Give us a lookie...I love the look of the stacks!

I will get some pics and post I will polish her up nice first she's camera shy

[Joe Louvar]

Originally Posted by KeithKlaxwell

You can hear a pop session of my MIM J with Fralins below. It's about the only thing I've used J on this year. The chain is J>Avalon U5>Pro Tools http://soundcloud.com/jaykforever/secrets-mp3

Sounds good.

[Joe Louvar]

Are the tuners, bridge, and pickups drop-in replacement parts or did you have to mod the bass to make them fit?

Originally Posted by Turnaround

Did lots of work to my MIM Jazz. First I levelled and recrowned the frets. While I was at it, I did a roundover on the edges of the fingerboard. Next I replaced the bridge with a Gotoh 201 - not really the best idea since the string spacing is too narrow on the 201 for standard jazz pickups - the outer strings do not line up with the pole pieces. I replaced the tuners with Hipshot HB7's, a drop-in replacement. Changed the pickups for Sadowsky noiseless and installed a Sadowsky preamp, which meant that I had to move the jack to the edge of the body and install a jack plate. Before installing the pickups I shielded the cavities on the bass and did star-ground wiring. The HB7's and 201 I installed were black, and the bass is black, so I made a pickguard of Maccassar ebony. And to complete things I replaced the nut with one I made from bone.

Bass sounds and looks great. I also own a NYC Sadowsky, so the obvious question is how it compares. Well, as good as it is, it still is no match for the Sadowsky. The woods are way better in the Sadowsky and that is evident in the responsiveness and resonance of the instrument.

And another question that should be asked is was it worth the effort. Well, if I had to pay someone to do all the work, then the answer would be a resounding NO. But on straight dollars spent here's how it breaks down (this does not count any of my labour).

MIM Jazz (used) $400
Hipshot tuners $120
Gotoh 201 bridge $35
Macassar ebony and substrate for pickguard $65
Sadowsky noiseless pickups $150
Sadowsky onboard preamp $200
Shielding paint $33
Jack plate $8
Bone for nut: $6

Total: $1017 - My actual costs were higher since I had to pay taxes, duty and brokerage fees on most of the parts to bring them into Canada.

So why is it not worth the effort? The bass is not very good quality when it comes to the wood. The neck is not very stable and the fingerboard is developing a hump between the nut and the first fret caused by the pressure of the trussrod nut. Since the maple of the neck is not of very high quality it takes quite a lot of tension on the truss rod to keep it straight. The body is not particularly resonant so the bass sonically lacks life - even amplified. And it's a bit heavy. And if I wanted to sell it I would certainly lose all of the costs of my labour and perhaps even some of the material costs.

So why did I do it? I won't take my Sadowsky to a bar gig - too much damage occurs there.

[The Birdman]

Originally Posted by Joe Louvar

Where are the best places to get Genuine Fender replacement parts?

I know about http://basspartsresource.com/ and MF, etc for pickups - but, are there any others that sell Genuine Fender Replacement Parts? Thanks

I've had good luck with HDCustom through their eBay store:

http://stores.ebay.com/HDCustom-Guitar-Supply

Music Parts Guru:

http://stores.ebay.com/Music-Parts-Guru

Angela Instruments:

http://stores.ebay.com/Angela-Instruments

There are others if you check eBay......I've bought the most from HDCustom, and have never had a problem.

Roger

[Steveaux]

Angela direct ...

http://angela.com/fenderbassparts.aspx

[Turnaround]

Originally Posted by Joe Louvar

Are the tuners, bridge, and pickups drop-in replacement parts or did you have to mod the bass to make them fit?

No mods necessary - all dropped in without hassle.

[Joe Louvar]

Way cool, thank you everyone - much appreciated.

[KeithKlaxwell]

Originally Posted by KeithKlaxwell

You can hear a pop session of my MIM J with Fralins below. It's about the only thing I've used J on this year. The chain is J>Avalon U5>Pro Tools http://soundcloud.com/jaykforever/secrets-mp3

Originally Posted by Joe Louvar

Sounds good.

thanks dude!