Hello all !
Got one hand made Jazz Bass in my collection. I paid for it 170 PLN (what is about 55$) from a guy who attended a punk rock band. When I bought it, it looked much like this:
The bass itself is made of maple, the fretboard is probably from oak. I'm not sure what is the origin of these machine heads, but thats not the problem, they work fine. Frets are probably from an acoustic made in USSR (got one, and they look familiar). Pickups are from Jolana Pampero (bass version of popular Jolana Tornado). The guitar had also a bridge cover (probably the same from late Defil Lotos models), but unfortunately its been missed long time before I bought it. The bridge was really horrible, and I quickly replaced it. Neck is very thin and narrow, and it doesnt have a trussrod. Even tough the guitar is probably from 80's (or maybe even 60's !), and since that time the neck is still straight, so I dont think its a nessesary to take off the fretboard, and put it inside.
The guitar was trurly made by a professionalist (body, hardware etc.) but finished by an amateur. You can clearly notice, that the pickups aint put straight.
I scratched off the paint, and now it looks like this:
I think I'll paint it just like it was painted. I like the sunburst and black pickguard configuration. As you can see, the neck was painted as well, and I think it looked nicer. I'm planning to put the square markers like in normal Jazz Bass, and refresh the old nickel covers at small hardware. I'll keep the original pickups, as far as they came with it - I dont want to change the concept of this bass. At least the name - the seller stated, that it was a "Fender Jazzmaster copy" so I think I'll name him JAZZMASTER (even tough its a Jazz Bass this name stayed in my mind more).
And what are your opinions about it ? I think it was worth all the work and money, that I put here. Do you have a handmade Jazz Bass at your collection ? If yes - share your story with us !
