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1962 Jazz $20K on the bay

#182
smcd said:
I doubt the bass in the original post will sell at that price. If that were going to happen, it would have sold within 24 hours of going up on ebay.



If it does sell, it should never be played as a daily player. There are tens upon tens of thousands of Jazz basses out there, but only the tiniest handful of mint 1962 Jazz basses. To put wear on such a bass would be vandalism. I'm no fan of the vintage market, but I can at least be thankful that it prices out the oafs that would put buckle rash and wear marks on an instrument like this.
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I have to agree with this. It`s no longer just a music instrument. It is an artifact, museum piece, time capsule item, whatever.
 
#184
Dark Horse said:
That mute system is the stock mute system for early Jazz basses. They replaced it with foam under the ashtray, as the first gen mutes weren't very adjustable, so people often removed them. That's why you'll see lots of early Jazzes with screw holes between the bridge pickup and the bridge.

The saddles are clearly threaded - you can see it in the first picture.

It has the proper cap, veneer board, clay dots, guard, etc ...all indicative of a proper 62.

Exceptionally nice example of a 62 Jazz.
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My Apr 62 has the foam mute under the ashtray, saddles threaded, and slab board.
 
#189
Dark Horse said:
Yep, 62 was another transition year in many ways. You'll find a few different permutations of 62 Jazzes.

I'd love to see pics of yours if you get a chance...
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Mine has been ridden hard and put up wet several times. It has a typical 60s hippie refin and mucho mojo (translate as battle scars). I have one picture of the body only, but I can't get to it from my work computer. I'll post it when I get home. Maybe try to get some more pics this weekend.
 
#191
John D said:
Mine has been ridden hard and put up wet several times. It has a typical 60s hippie refin and mucho mojo (translate as battle scars). I have one picture of the body only, but I can't get to it from my work computer. I'll post it when I get home. Maybe try to get some more pics this weekend.
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My guess is the holes for the mutes were either filled or you don't have a '62 body. Probably the ashtray is not original either.
 
#193
hhenry said:
Sorry to interrupt all the witty banter, but what's up with the button on the back of the headstock?
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That's original. It's so you can hang your hippie feathers from it.

"The Fender Bass - An Illustrated History" documents the button as disappearing around '69. It's entirely likely that instruments were made with them after that date. The button was fitted starting around 1960, and was supposed to help those moving to electric from the doghouse to strap the bass into a more vertical/upright position, thus easing the transition from one instrument to the other."
 
#195
Low Class said:
My guess is the holes for the mutes were either filled or you don't have a '62 body. Probably the ashtray is not original either.
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Sorry Bud, you are wrong on both counts. I know the history of this bass form the day it was bought untill now. The bass was original as purchased, until my brother stripped the original finish. There are no screw holes and the ash tray had the foam mutes. As Dark Horse said, 1962 was a transition year; you may see several configurations from '62 including stacked knobs. Mine has VVT. Try again.
 
#196
Well, it's fun to think there might a few out there that pristine; imagine the excitement of actually finding one. Makes you wonder why no one played it in all those years. I don't care for that much red in the burst, but that's just me. Do the necks usually "darken" a little even if kept in a case?
 
#197
Darnell Jones said:
If you did play it at a dive bar it would be obvious to the patrons it's just one of the many vintage recreations out there and it's not a real vintage Fender, after all it's so easy to make a fake. Then when they listened to it they would hear it's obviously a copy.

You'd have fun with your little secret and the experts would still be always right.
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Ha ha, true, that would be funny.
 
#198
Low Class said:
"The Fender Bass - An Illustrated History" documents the button as disappearing around '69. It's entirely likely that instruments were made with them after that date. The button was fitted starting around 1960, and was supposed to help those moving to electric from the doghouse to strap the bass into a more vertical/upright position, thus easing the transition from one instrument to the other."
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Well it's in a book so it must be true but for all these years I was told it's because that's how people attached the strap on acoustic guitars back then and Fender was just doing the same thing.
 
#200
Low Class said:
My guess is the holes for the mutes were either filled or you don't have a '62 body. Probably the ashtray is not original either.
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62's can have mutes or asthray foam, veneer board or slab board, stack knob or VVT ...heck, even the sunbursts are pretty variable. there were quite a few changes going on in 62, and since Fender would grab a body from the bin, a neck from another bin, etc , there can be a lot of "mix and match" basses...
 

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