Smokin' deal or not? (Fender content)
 

CIJ Fender P.

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/msg/3524947666.html

Smokin' deal or just OK?

smokin, if is legit-doesnt appear japan fender to me.

I guess that's the question I should've asked. Legit or not?

70's decal, tuners don't look 70's. No pole pieces on the pickup. There's not much about that bass that screams Japan to me. I'd check it out, or email to find out some more info, maybe ask for a serial # and/or better pics.

If you look at the logo it appears around the word bass there is a clear box on the outside edges, hard to see. That makes me think its a waterslide logo resting on top of some clear neck finish. A CIJ or MIJ fender would have the logo under clear and very buried/smooth. The tuners also look more like that of squier and or MIM fenders, if you look at the bushings and shafts. Under the logo are also patent pending dates really small, I have never seen a japan fender with that.

That said the pics are really horrible for making these judgements. I would simply ask if it has a MIJ marking and serial number.

Yeah, tough to tell what's authentic from those pics. Obviously non-original pickup, and I agree that the decal looks replaced. It's worth looking into - could still be a good deal at that price.

I wouldn't spend much time trying to figure out the true value of that bass.

I'm no expert on MIJ Fenders, but I do own a MIJ Precision myself and mine has too many differences with this as noted by others.

I don't know if I would call it smokin, or authentic. It's a $250 bass. If it plays and sounds good, it's smokin. If not, it's a cheap bass.

This.

Love MIJ Fenders. Counterfeits, not so much.

yup ... I always tell people the beauty of CL is that you get to have it in your hands to decide ... need more info here than the poor quality pics and what the seller is sharing in the ad ...

... first step if you haven't already done so is to make a call and find out any info first hand from the seller ... how did he arrive at the fact it is MIJ? .. has he had it long? .. who did the pup mods? .. serial # anywhere on the back of headstock or base of the neck or neck plate?? .. if not, ask him nicely "if he did the Fender waterslide?" (not accusatory, just nicely :)) .. gather as much info as you can, and then run by us if you need to... BUT, you have good gear in your bio (OP), so you know what the good stuff feels/sounds like ...

...tough to go wrong for $250 and a few bucks gas ... especially if the components are decent, you can always get your money out of it ..

...if you are looking at stealing and flipping for $$, you need to find out more though, but you usually can't drag your feet if that is the intent ... JMHO

Edit to add: .. I just glanced at the pics again ... between being half blind and the pics not being the best, I can't tell for sure but it looks like that is not an opening for a headstock adjust truss, so that speaks for a bit of potential quality .. and the simple fact that somebody knew enough to wind the E and the A string to the bottom of the post also got my attention ... I would have called him before asking us on this one .. it could be long gone ...

I.m thinkin that it is a Matt Freeman Squier with an upgraded pickup. Though I could easily be wrong