I'm a vocalist and mediocre bass player. Mostly play in a dad/basement band, that rarely gets out to play. We do it for ourselves. In 2017, I switched to short scale, buying the Squier Jaguar SS. I probably spent the amount I paid for that bass in mods, but I'm a tinkerer, and love to take things apart and (sometimes) put them back together.
In 2019, the regular bass player moved on to a band that gigs, so I became the primary bass player. After spending 5-6 years with my Jag (and a Fender Kingman), I figured my bass buying days were over... Then I see the Fender Japan Junior Collection Jazz Basses. Instant GAS, but how will I find the $ and how in the hell do I get one?
(Stock photo)
Well, I had a small windfall come to me, due to my mother's passing, and armed with some knowledge gleaned from several threads here, I boldly contacted Ikebe Music. Great service, but I was informed that EMS was no longer an option for shipping, and I'd need to use FedEx. I got a quote that was a little more than I'd expected, but proceeded. The salesperson sent me 7 pictures (including one with the serial number), and told me this bass was on hold for me. I proceeded with the sale, and all told, I paid just under $1,100 delivered.
He told me the bass was scheduled to be picked up Thursday. It was in my office FRIDAY MORNING!! (Funny how the fact that Japan is 14 hours ahead of me worked in my favor.) Anyhow, no customs/duties, and I'm more than pleased with this purchase.
The bass was packaged ridiculously well. Sturdy box with paper padding, then bubble wrap around the gig bag, and padding on the bass inside the gig bag.
The setup wasn't that great... too high for my liking, but I was going to put flats on it and do a full setup, so, whatever....
Fit and finish are TOP NOTCH!!!
As you can see, they just put long scale strings on these at the factory. All of the pictures look like the E string tuner is not aligned because there's no taper on the end of the string.
When I picked up the package, the guy in our mailroom said "is this an empty box"? That made me smile. Yup, a really light bass. It is also well balanced. Website says it is chambered Basswood.
Check out the beautiful wood selected for my bass!
The gig bag is little more than a dust cover. NO protection on the edges at all. Logo is screened on, not embroidered. I lived in Japan in 1969 and 1970, as an Army brat. They used to be all about packaging. I guess Fender USA may have rubbed off on them (in a negative way).
The bridge is the basic, bent metal, without any string spacing adjustment, or tracks to keep the saddles from drifting. The tuners are a bit odd, not the hourglass shape that I'm used to, that keep the string windings together. They are 20:1 ratio, and hold the tuning nicely, so no urge to replace them.
After adding D'Addario Chromes, and setting it up to my liking:
This is the finest bass I've played. It is very resonant unplugged. Plugged in, it is sustain city! Played it with the band last week, and my bandmates all commented on how much better it sounded. Being the tinkerer, I'm having a hard time resisting the urge to upgrade the bridge or whatever, but I don't want to ruin it. Also, the body is supposed to be 94% of the size of the full-sized jazz. I'd like to measure the hardware, etc. to see if they are standard sized. We'll see if I can continue to resist the urge to mod.
Here she is in all her glory!
If you're into Short Scales, I HIGHLY recommend this bass. You'll have to make a leap of faith to get one, and decide the best route to source one. Hopefully the quality is consistent, and others would be as nice as mine. This thing is top notch, and what I'd expect for a bass with a much higher price point.
In 2019, the regular bass player moved on to a band that gigs, so I became the primary bass player. After spending 5-6 years with my Jag (and a Fender Kingman), I figured my bass buying days were over... Then I see the Fender Japan Junior Collection Jazz Basses. Instant GAS, but how will I find the $ and how in the hell do I get one?
(Stock photo)
Well, I had a small windfall come to me, due to my mother's passing, and armed with some knowledge gleaned from several threads here, I boldly contacted Ikebe Music. Great service, but I was informed that EMS was no longer an option for shipping, and I'd need to use FedEx. I got a quote that was a little more than I'd expected, but proceeded. The salesperson sent me 7 pictures (including one with the serial number), and told me this bass was on hold for me. I proceeded with the sale, and all told, I paid just under $1,100 delivered.
He told me the bass was scheduled to be picked up Thursday. It was in my office FRIDAY MORNING!! (Funny how the fact that Japan is 14 hours ahead of me worked in my favor.) Anyhow, no customs/duties, and I'm more than pleased with this purchase.
The bass was packaged ridiculously well. Sturdy box with paper padding, then bubble wrap around the gig bag, and padding on the bass inside the gig bag.
The setup wasn't that great... too high for my liking, but I was going to put flats on it and do a full setup, so, whatever....
Fit and finish are TOP NOTCH!!!
As you can see, they just put long scale strings on these at the factory. All of the pictures look like the E string tuner is not aligned because there's no taper on the end of the string.
When I picked up the package, the guy in our mailroom said "is this an empty box"? That made me smile. Yup, a really light bass. It is also well balanced. Website says it is chambered Basswood.
Check out the beautiful wood selected for my bass!
The gig bag is little more than a dust cover. NO protection on the edges at all. Logo is screened on, not embroidered. I lived in Japan in 1969 and 1970, as an Army brat. They used to be all about packaging. I guess Fender USA may have rubbed off on them (in a negative way).
The bridge is the basic, bent metal, without any string spacing adjustment, or tracks to keep the saddles from drifting. The tuners are a bit odd, not the hourglass shape that I'm used to, that keep the string windings together. They are 20:1 ratio, and hold the tuning nicely, so no urge to replace them.
After adding D'Addario Chromes, and setting it up to my liking:
This is the finest bass I've played. It is very resonant unplugged. Plugged in, it is sustain city! Played it with the band last week, and my bandmates all commented on how much better it sounded. Being the tinkerer, I'm having a hard time resisting the urge to upgrade the bridge or whatever, but I don't want to ruin it. Also, the body is supposed to be 94% of the size of the full-sized jazz. I'd like to measure the hardware, etc. to see if they are standard sized. We'll see if I can continue to resist the urge to mod.
Here she is in all her glory!
If you're into Short Scales, I HIGHLY recommend this bass. You'll have to make a leap of faith to get one, and decide the best route to source one. Hopefully the quality is consistent, and others would be as nice as mine. This thing is top notch, and what I'd expect for a bass with a much higher price point.
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