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‘78 Or Not?

#21
The price converts to $5772.60 AUD with $467 shipping, which means if I wanted to buy it, I'd be paying over $6000. Ridiculous.

I don't wish to rain on the parade, but as former owner of a late seventies jazz bass { a '78 } - which I played for 20 years because I could not afford anything else - I can say with the utmost confidence that I wouldn't even pay 5% of the asking price for that bass - whatever year it is.

Nearly 12 pounds with a micro tilt neck ? A sure-fire recipe for a dull & lifeless instrument; Why? because there's very little contact between the neck and the body of the bass.

Nice colour, sure, but there's a reason they painted over hard ash bodies: it's probably a laminate of several pieces of wood. Why else would you put paint over a wood normally reserved for natural finishes?

Far be it from me to tell you what to do, but I'll make an exception in this case because I don't want you to 'do your dough'. Don't buy in to the vintage hype. Don't buy this bass
 
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#22
I love the color, but those are not great years for Fender QC

ocb.jpg
 
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#23
Ace Of Bass said:
It is indeed... and I thought about going the CS route, but it would actually be a bit more expensive...the trade off is the quality for sure....a bass with these specs built the right way would be amazing...still, I’ve seen three or four other ‘78s floating out there for at least a grand or less...I’d much rather go that route than pay that kinda premium just for a rare color...I’m sure if you kept it clean it would never lose its value though..
Click to expand...

A rare color that will likely appreciate. If I were in the market I'd consider this one. I already have a very clean actual 78.
 
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#26
PJ Muzikmansky said:
The price converts to $5772.60 AUD with $467 shipping, which means if I wanted to buy it, I'd be paying over $6000. Ridiculous.

I don't wish to rain on the parade, but as former owner of a late seventies jazz bass { a '78 } - which I played for 20 years because I could not afford anything else - I can say with the utmost confidence that I wouldn't even pay 5% of the asking price for that bass - whatever year it is.

Nearly 12 pounds with a micro tilt neck ? A sure-fire recipe for a dull & lifeless instrument; Why? because there's very little contact between the neck and the body of the bass.

Nice colour, sure, but there's a reason they painted over hard ash bodies: it's probably a laminate of several pieces of wood. Why else would you put paint over a wood normally reserved for natural finishes?

Far be it from me to tell you what to do, but I'll make an exception in this case because I don't want you to 'do your dough'. Don't buy in to the vintage hype. Don't buy this bass
Click to expand...

" Dull and lifeless" is the exact opposite of any of the myriad late 70's Jazzes I've come across. My stock 78s sound like Marcus Miller's bass.

I didn't buy into hype, I bought cool basses. And both of mine appreciated nicely. That's not hype either. It's fact.
:D
 
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#28
Fender_Bender said:
11 1/2 pounds :eek:. I d be a little concerned about being able to remove the neck screws without the heads shearing off with that amount of rust. The neck plate itself is horribly corroded and should be replaced. The guy must live near ocean. The colour is pretty close to Daphne blue fwiw.
Click to expand...

Did you see the dates/markings on the neck?
 
#29
vid1900 said:
Two ways:

1. It's a cool color.

2. It's from the era of loose neck pockets, 3 bolt necks, heavywight bodies....
Click to expand...

That makes the mistake of thinking that what you consider great is universal.
:D

1. The color is a positive.

2. Loose neck pockets don't typically affect tone or playability, they're something that some just obsess over. I've never heard one ;)

3 bolt necks? Another white whale. Do the same complaints arise with G&L and Musicman? I tightened my 78 over twenty years ago and it hasn't budged.

Heavyweights? Not an issue for many bassists... and it contributes to the sound. My Alder 68 sounds nothing like my Ash 78s.

If these things bother a buyer sure, spend your money elsewhere. For others, including myself, these basses can do some amazing things that copies don't.
 
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#30
PJ Muzikmansky said:
The price converts to $5772.60 AUD with $467 shipping, which means if I wanted to buy it, I'd be paying over $6000. Ridiculous.

I don't wish to rain on the parade, but as former owner of a late seventies jazz bass { a '78 } - which I played for 20 years because I could not afford anything else - I can say with the utmost confidence that I wouldn't even pay 5% of the asking price for that bass - whatever year it is.

Nearly 12 pounds with a micro tilt neck ? A sure-fire recipe for a dull & lifeless instrument; Why? because there's very little contact between the neck and the body of the bass.

Nice colour, sure, but there's a reason they painted over hard ash bodies: it's probably a laminate of several pieces of wood. Why else would you put paint over a wood normally reserved for natural finishes?

Far be it from me to tell you what to do, but I'll make an exception in this case because I don't want you to 'do your dough'. Don't buy in to the vintage hype. Don't buy this bass
Click to expand...
How can you be so sure..? I’ve had a ‘65 P that was hands down the worst bass I’ve EVER played (supposedly right at the end of the golden era of Fender basses, right..?, and I started off on a half dead Hamburglar Bass..!! The era when it was made has very little to do with it, IME...every late ‘70s Jazz I’ve personally played has been a killer instrument...I’ve played clones that felt better maybe, sounded great even, but were no match overall...there are dog basses from every era out there...the fact that it’s a late ‘70s era doesn’t scare me at all...it intrigues me..

Brad Johnson said:
How does that affect this particular instrument?
Click to expand...
+1000
vid1900 said:
LOL

People always ask me "Do you think I should get this 19XX Fender bass for $2,xxx ? "

And I always say "Fender is making their best basses right NOW. Get an Elite with it's Compound Radius neck and active controls - and save some serious coin too"
Click to expand...
New Fenders are cool no doubt l, and they’re definitely built better than ever, but I have learned to appreciate the feel of an old, well broken in bass...and I’m not a fan of Fender’s active circuit at all..
 
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#31
Brad Johnson said:
That makes the mistake of thinking that what you consider great is universal.
:D

1. The color is a positive.

2. Loose neck pockets don't typically affect tone or playability, they're something that some just obsess over. I've never heard one ;)

3 bolt necks? Another white whale. Do the same complaints arise with G&L and Musicman? I tightened my 78 over twenty years ago and it hasn't budged.

Heavyweights? Not an issue for many bassists... and it contributes to the sound. My Alder 68 sounds nothing like my Ash 78s.

If these things bother a buyer sure, spend your money elsewhere. For others, including myself, these basses can do some amazing things that copies don't.
Click to expand...

As usual, Brad gets it...heavy ash tone is everything
[
 
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#32
Ace Of Bass said:
How can you be so sure..? I’ve had a ‘65 P that was hands down the worst bass I’ve EVER played, and I started off on a half dead Hamburglar Bass..!! The era when it was made has very little to do with it, IME...every late ‘70s Jazz I’ve personally played has been a killer instrument...I’ve played clones that felt better maybe, sounded great even, but were no match overall...there are dog basses from every era out there...the fact that it’s a late ‘70s era doesn’t scare me at all...it intrigues me..


+1000

New Fenders are cool no doubt l, and they’re definitely built better than ever, but I have learned to appreciate the feel of an old, well broken in bass...and I’m not a fan of Fender’s active circuit at all..
Click to expand...

I've had people swear my remaining 78 is active. The slam and high end is unexpected to folks who don't know. Hell, I roll my tone off a touch to tame the highs. With a new set of rounds these things are aggressive as heck.

New Fenders are nice. If resale value is not a consideration then neither is depreciation. Jazzes like this are still headed up.

There's basically two camps IME... those who actually check things out and those who believe negative hype.
 
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#34
It looks relatively lightly played (not normally a good sign) possibly because of its weight. Leaving a bass in a case long term can lead to the corrosion of all the nickel plated parts as it reacts with chemicals leaching from the case materials; chrome tends to be a thicker more durable plating (hence automotive use). The corrosion also leads me to think it's been in a loft unused for many years and isn't the result of playing. The neck pocket isn't a great fit and whilst this might not affect how it plays, it doesn't add anything positive. The only positive for me is the colour. Almost every thread selling a bass gets asked the weight and 12lbs is significant. I reckon it's worth no more than half the asking price and even then I wouldn't touch it. YMMV.
 
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#35
Ace Of Bass said:
How can you be so sure..? I’ve had a ‘65 P that was hands down the worst bass I’ve EVER played (supposedly right at the end of the golden era of Fender basses, right..?, and I started off on a half dead Hamburglar Bass..!! The era when it was made has very little to do with it, IME...every late ‘70s Jazz I’ve personally played has been a killer instrument...I’ve played clones that felt better maybe, sounded great even, but were no match overall...there are dog basses from every era out there...the fact that it’s a late ‘70s era doesn’t scare me at all...it intrigues me..
Click to expand...

well...I wish you good luck with it
 
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#38
Sparky Mark said:
It looks relatively lightly played (not normally a good sign) possibly because of its weight. Leaving a bass in a case long term can lead to the corrosion of all the nickel plated parts as it reacts with chemicals leaching from the case materials; chrome tends to be a thicker more durable plating (hence automotive use). The corrosion also leads me to think it's been in a loft unused for many years and isn't the result of playing. The neck pocket isn't a great fit and whilst this might not affect how it plays, it doesn't add anything positive. The only positive for me is the colour. Almost every thread selling a bass gets asked the weight and 12lbs is significant. I reckon it's worth no more than half the asking price and even then I wouldn't touch it. YMMV.
Click to expand...
Very interesting point not the nickel parts wear...you’re probably right about that..I did score a ‘73 in similar condition once...fairly new looking (a few songs and some corroded parts)..the original owner was a sax player who tried his hand (half heartedly) at bass, put it away one day and just never took it back out of the attic where it stayed until he sold it to me...sometimes you just get lucky..it would be wise to ask for a fairly long trial period to inspect the bass inside and out...
 
#39
The International Series were simply standard production instruments offered in specific new colors. They were offered to the dealers (I was a Fender dealer '77-'88) with an amplifier deal- If we bought a certain pre-selected package of International Series instruments, we could order amplifiers with black faces rather than the usual silver faces. I think we got 8 instruments and so we got two Twin Reverbs, a Deluxe, and one each of the Bassman 50 and Bassman 100 (or perhaps they'd gone to the UL transformer so they were Bassman 70 and 135).

The absolute worst Jazz bass I ever touched was one of those- an Antigua/maple one. So bad that when someone broke in and stole about 15 instruments, they took that Jazz and left it on the roof where they'd broken in...
 
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#40
I know this bass (and the store - which is good).
I'm a HUGE fan of this era. But indeed, QC back then makes good ones (resonable weight, light wear, good neck pocket) more rare then hens teeth. When Fender got it's new management team ~1980, they found out that about 3% of what was leaving the factory TRULY passed QC! THREE PERCENT !!! Now tell me how rare a beautiful '77 is?!?!
She's heavy. And the tummy and arm bouts are shallow, which is a pet peeve of mine.
She's is pretty, and ash. With flats I can't make much of comment on the sound.
And the rust - must have lived by the beach. See that alot in CA.
Still a cool bass. No comment on the price. If you like it, it's worth it.
 
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