1965 Fender Jazz

[Kevin Colt]

the saddles are no big thing, over the years the threads get sloppy. get a new set from WD or Stewart Mac, it won't detract from the value. the frets are different. they were slid in sideways at the factory back then, i wouldn't take it to just any luthier for replacement, they may not know this fact. the frets have to be removed sideways and new ones slid in the same way. if someone tries to pull them out vertically, they will destroy the fingerboard as the tang will tear out chunks of rosewood. keep this in mind if you want to re-fret it. my 62 p-bass needs a re-fret and i think the only one who is qualified to do the job is Dan Earlywine. he's in ann arbor, mich. you might want to check into having him do the job or maybe he can recommend someone.

 

[jim nolte]

the saddles are no big thing, over the years the threads get sloppy. get a new set from WD or Stewart Mac, it won't detract from the value. the frets are different. they were slid in sideways at the factory back then, i wouldn't take it to just any luthier for replacement, they may not know this fact. the frets have to be removed sideways and new ones slid in the same way. if someone tries to pull them out vertically, they will destroy the fingerboard as the tang will tear out chunks of rosewood. keep this in mind if you want to re-fret it. my 62 p-bass needs a re-fret and i think the only one who is qualified to do the job is Dan Earlywine. he's in ann arbor, mich. you might want to check into having him do the job or maybe he can recommend someone.

Very interesting about the frets,my ‘65 Jazz needs a fret job badly they are down to the fret board ,many years of Rotosounds and is buzz city and I very seldom play it because of that,thanks for the info.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

the saddles are no big thing, over the years the threads get sloppy. get a new set from WD or Stewart Mac, it won't detract from the value. the frets are different. they were slid in sideways at the factory back then, i wouldn't take it to just any luthier for replacement, they may not know this fact. the frets have to be removed sideways and new ones slid in the same way. if someone tries to pull them out vertically, they will destroy the fingerboard as the tang will tear out chunks of rosewood. keep this in mind if you want to re-fret it. my 62 p-bass needs a re-fret and i think the only one who is qualified to do the job is Dan Earlywine. he's in ann arbor, mich. you might want to check into having him do the job or maybe he can recommend someone.

Very true on the frets...however, there are plenty of luthiers that can pull the frets and reinstall from the side....check references.

 

[fourstringburn]

I know this is an older thread but I came across it doing some research on vintage Black Fender Jazz Basses with matching head stocks for comparisons to my project Jazz Bass replicating many aspects of the vintage ones.

Upon looking at the pic of The OP's Father playing a gig with a beautiful vintage Jazz Bass (only vintage now of course), I noticed a discrepancy on the Fender logo on the pic of his Father playing the Bass and the modern pics posted. The Basses in all the pics look without question to be legitimate Fender Basses but are these both the same Basses/Necks?

Look at his Father's pic and notice the position of the Fender decal. You can see it is clearly offset from the string retainer all the way to the right. The decal is positioned right between the A and D tuner post and the string retainer is slightly off-set to the left of the A string tuner post. This is the way many pics of black Jazz Basses with matching head stocks I searched for looked like and did have their Fender decals centered on the head stock while some others had them towards the left side. I believe these would be the "econo" decal mentioned being the the rest of the lettering was clipped off due to space and because it wouldn't show up on a black finish.

Now look at the modern pics below. You"ll see the decal is applied slightly left of the string retainer on the "F" . This is indeed a full decal with all the lettering that the decals of that era had. This full decal wouldn't properly fit if it was centered like the clipped ones due to the D string tuner.

So, was this the original neck or was the decal replaced due to the fragile nature of them not being top finished with coats of lacquer?

 

[SonnyMorrow]

I know this is an older thread but I came across it doing some research on vintage Black Fender Jazz Basses with matching head stocks for comparisons to my project Jazz Bass replicating many aspects of the vintage ones.

Upon looking at the pic of The OP's Father playing a gig with a beautiful vintage Jazz Bass (only vintage now of course), I noticed a discrepancy on the Fender logo on the pic of his Father playing the Bass and the modern pics posted. The Basses in all the pics look without question to be legitimate Fender Basses but are these both the same Basses/Necks?

Look at his Father's pic and notice the position of the Fender decal. You can see it is clearly offset from the string retainer all the way to the right. The decal is positioned right between the A and D tuner post and the string retainer is slightly off-set to the left of the A string tuner post. This is the way many pics of black Jazz Basses with matching head stocks I searched for looked like and did have their Fender decals centered on the head stock while some others had them towards the left side. I believe these would be the "econo" decal mentioned being the the rest of the lettering was clipped off due to space and because it wouldn't show up on a black finish.

View attachment 4692003

Now look at the modern pics below. You"ll see the decal is applied slightly left of the string retainer on the "F" . This is indeed a full decal with all the lettering that the decals of that era had. This full decal wouldn't properly fit if it was centered like the clipped ones due to the D string tuner.
View attachment 4692025

View attachment 4692011

So, was this the original neck or was the decal replaced due to the fragile nature of them not being top finished with coats of lacquer?

I also noticed this but did not realize it at the time of posting this thread. When I talked to my dad about the details of this bass he had told me the neck was all original but only the body had a clear coat put over the body in the 90's. I believe a lot of the paint chips were touched up with black and then a clear coat was put over the entire body. Unfortunately, my father passed away in December so I can no longer ask him anything about the bass. He was a great man and I have been missing him a lot lately.

Anyways when he had told me the neck was all original it is now clear the headstock was redone at some point. And again, I sadly can't ask him about it. The neck is undoubtedly the same neck, however.

His memorial will be this weekend actually. I was working on making a slideshow today, coincidentally.

Here are more pictures of the bass over the years:

Looks like the headstock was still original here in the 90s:

Heres a more recent picture:

And here is a very recent picture of a gig I just played with it, I'm keeping the legacy going as best as I can:

Anyways thanks for looking/reading. Cheers

 

[Mastermold]

Is this one the same bass? Hard to tell on my phone but it looks like the headstock is natural and that it might be a Precision?

 

[Mastermold]

I also noticed this but did not realize it at the time of posting this thread. When I talked to my dad about the details of this bass he had told me the neck was all original but only the body had a clear coat put over the body in the 90's. I believe a lot of the paint chips were touched up with black and then a clear coat was put over the entire body. Unfortunately, my father passed away in December so I can no longer ask him anything about the bass. He was a great man and I have been missing him a lot lately.

Anyways when he had told me the neck was all original it is now clear the headstock was redone at some point. And again, I sadly can't ask him about it. The neck is undoubtedly the same neck, however.

His memorial will be this weekend actually. I was working on making a slideshow today, coincidentally.

Here are more pictures of the bass over the years:

Looks like the headstock was still original here in the 90s:

Heres a more recent picture:

And here is a very recent picture of a gig I just played with it, I'm keeping the legacy going as best as I can:

Anyways thanks for looking/reading. Cheers

Awesome photos of your dad. Mine passed in 2009 and I miss him every day. Glad you’re able to honor him in this way.

 

[SonnyMorrow]

Is this one the same bass? Hard to tell on my phone but it looks like the headstock is natural and that it might be a Precision?
View attachment 4692134

You could be right, he did have a Precision bass around then but it was red. It is a very blurry picture, so there's a good chance it isn't the '65. He also had a Zon 5 string Legacy Elite, and that white fretless Fender jazz that is in the same pic above. So it would have to be one of those basses.

I have the Zon now too (the other basses he sold), but I am not a huge 5 string fan. I should probably try to play it to be honest.

 

[Shawn Luckman]

Nice to see & read this thread again.

 

[SonnyMorrow]

Some live playing with it:

 

[zuma]

Bummer, link doesn't seem to work.