1975 Fender Jazz: Not Impressed

[MrAB4003]

Bad manufacturing and QC practices on Fender pickups from the late sixties to the early 80’s built the businesses of DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan.

Nothing has changed. Bad manufacturing and QC practices on Fender guitars and basses has also built a plethora of other brands over the last 15 years. Sire and Serek are the first two that come to mind. Reverend (well, their rise to prominence under current ownership) also comes to mind.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I remember in the late 70s, you almost couldn't give away a 70s Fender. Funny seeing those instruments seen as collectible now.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I have an old SX-70 style ash Jazz that looks good, weighs as much as a vintage one and sounds as good as a vintage 70s one for the $100 into the bass with $100 in pickups and pots.

As much as I love Marcus’s playing, 70s Jazzes never did anything for me, I’m a 60s Jazz pickup spacing guy

The SX…

 

[MrAB4003]

I remember in the late 70s, you almost couldn't give away a 70s Fender. Funny seeing those instruments seen as collectible now.

The appeal is that they're vintage, but more affordable than Pre-CBS Fenders, which have become even more rare 60 years after that era ended.

The "vintage" label is what attracted me to my 1972 Jazz Bass. I was in my early 20s when I traded for it and I thought "vintage" meant "mojo" or that there was some kind of "magic" that made it better than a newer bass. But I later realized that "mojo" or "magic" is derived by the bassist, not the bass. You either agree with a bass or you don't. So that kinda ruined the appeal of vintage basses for me. I now treat them the way I would newer ones in that every single one is different.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Probably a good thing you didn’t like it.
Your Brazilian Tagima for the win !!!

Swapping the Tagima never crossed my mind.

 

[J Wilson]

I was just starting out when that was a new bass in the store.

Amazingly, you could barely give Jazz Basses away. This was in the disco days, and Precisions ruled the roost.

I'm not one of those guys that automatically pooh-poohs any and all 70's Fenders, but I can say two things:

The QC was not what it is today, for Fender or any other brand. Axes could and did vary quite a bit. It was fairly standard and understood that many experienced players would go to as many stores as they could and test-drive as many new ones as they could lay hands on 'until they found a good one'.

Of course, I was told I just had to buy a Fender. I tried my best, but everything I picked up was too heavy and had really chunky necks, so that just didn't work out at all. Wound up buying a natural Ripper brand new as my first bass. By 1980, it was the advent of the Yamaha BB's, I bought a BB1200 (though I thought the Fenders I tried had fat necks, and the Yamaha was just the same if not a bit thicker) as the tone and build quality was MILES past a Fender.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I actually got lucky. In 1983, I put together a parts bass from a 76 ash Jazz body with a Badass II bridge and Dimarzio neck pickup, and a 73 P neck. About 5 years ago, I went to a traditional bridge (no changes other than being a little lighter). If it weren't for the fact that I got tired of slinging the almost 11 pounds on my bad back, it probably would have been the only bass I ever played since then, other than my fretless.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Swapping the Tagima never crossed my mind.

Thank Goodness!!!

 

[jd56hawk]

Isn't that often the case with Fender basses from the '70s...hit or miss?

 

[MrAB4003]

Isn't that often the case with Fender basses from the '70s...hit or miss?

That IS the case with 1970s era Fenders. The best CBS Era Fenders were those from 1965 to perhaps 1971.

 

[rmayer]

I've played 100+ Fenders from the 60s and 70s with the intention of buying any that tickled my fancy. I own none.

Many years ago, my wife was in Chicago on business for two weeks. I flew out the middle weekend to visit. Somehow talked her into visiting Chicago Music Exchange, I was looking for a 60s Jazz. They had a comfy couch and even gave her a cup of tea(nice guys and smart salesmen). I must have played two dozen 60s Jazz Basses and a few Ps too. A lot of boat anchors and hype , IMO. The only bass that impressed me was a 66P, with a bad walnut refinish, but it played and sounded amazingly. I just wasn’t in the market for a P back then. Now, I wish I bought it.

 

[pfschim]

wanted to drop back in here after reading the posts on this topic. Having been there in the 70's (and some of the 60's), it's true that Fender quality was hit and miss then, but there were examples of very well made Fender Jazz and P basses from that era too. My memory about it is that you had to go and play a lot of them before you found a good one ... but they did exist.

I also want to comment on the many "you couldn't give them away" comments. I don't remember that situation at all, I remember working hard to come up with the dough to buy my '71 Jazz, black with a blocked and bound rosewood neck .... I don't recall feeling like the shop "gave it away" to me at the time

It still kills me to see the prices on that era basses as if all of them are great just because they are "vintage"
good thing I'm not in the market for one

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I bought my first bass with my own money in 1978. I would have liked a Fender, but they were a bit expensive. I ended up by a Rickenbacker 4000 (single pickup) for $448.

 

[Picton]

I got a '75 Jazz because it's a birth-year bass and I got a great deal on it; paid about as much as I'd paid for the MIJ reissue version a few years prior. It sounds great; of my four Fenders, it sounds best and has the most mojo.

That said? I don't reach for it since I've gotten an L2k and a replacement 4003. Those are the ones that inspire me.

 

[Ric Vice]

I once owned a 66 Fender Jazz with paddle tuners. it was a nice bass but quite heavy compared to the newer “clones”. Frankly my Lakland 55-94 will do a much better job”impersonation” of a Jazz Bass than a lot of 70’s Jazz Basses. Just my take however.

 

[Petethebassman]

Some play and sound great, some don’t. I would never buy a vintage bass without playing it first. I have a ‘75 Fender P which is fairly beaten but it sounds great and has a really nice neck; a friend of mine has a ‘76 P with basically same specs- heavy ash body, 1-piece maple neck- and that is kinda dead with a dull tone. A setup job and fresh strings helped some, but it still didn’t sound as good as mine.

As I play left handed I’m not exactly spoiled for choice with vintage basses, I just got lucky.

 

[bobyoung53]

I started my bass journey in the early '70s with an EB-0. By the mid '70s I tried to conform to the popular Fenders of the day. I found every one to be unwieldy behemoths that fought me every step of the way and sounded dull and lifeless.

I went the Rickenbacker route instead. Eventually I picked up a StingRay and then a L-2000 when they were released. I didn't actually own a single Fender until the late '90s when I picked up a MIJ 62 Reissue P-Bass cheap from a pawn shop. By then, Spectors were my daily.

Although I still find most passive Ps and Js less aggressive sounding and slower playing than my Kubickis, I've managed to hang on to a dozen or so. My favorites are the 1990s Jazz Plus and Deluxe models.

I'm never often drawn to the '70s Fenders when I see them advertised, although I gotta admit, the Mocha finishes and maple boards with white blocks and bindings is a turn on for me. I just harken back to the early days when I tried to make Fenders work and gave up. That's about as far as I get, let alone some of the crazy asking prices these days.

unwieldy behemoths

 

[bobyoung53]

I’m sure a setup and strings would help, but I’m not sure how much.

My earlier post was just a guess, as a rule I steer clear of later 70's Fenders too. I had a '72 P bass that was dead not matter what I tried, have seen too many loose neck pockets to ever buy one unseen too. I had a CAR '67-68 P bass with a blocked '66 J neck though that played great and sounded very good, should have kept it.

 

[TomB]

I once owned a 66 Fender Jazz with paddle tuners. it was a nice bass but quite heavy compared to the newer “clones”. Frankly my Lakland 55-94 will do a much better job”impersonation” of a Jazz Bass than a lot of 70’s Jazz Basses. Just my take however.

And I have a ‘66 with paddles that weighs in just over 8lb and sounds amazing - so you never know until you try .

 

[shojii]

wanted to drop back in here after reading the posts on this topic. Having been there in the 70's (and some of the 60's), it's true that Fender quality was hit and miss then, but there were examples of very well made Fender Jazz and P basses from that era too. My memory about it is that you had to go and play a lot of them before you found a good one ... but they did exist.

I also want to comment on the many "you couldn't give them away" comments. I don't remember that situation at all, I remember working hard to come up with the dough to buy my '71 Jazz, black with a blocked and bound rosewood neck .... I don't recall feeling like the shop "gave it away" to me at the time

It still kills me to see the prices on that era basses as if all of them are great just because they are "vintage"
good thing I'm not in the market for one

I think that '60s - '70s Fenders fell out of favour somewhat with the advent of hair metal, where bassists in shred- and shred- adjacent bands would eschew any links to a less-fashionable era.