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1977 Fender Jazz Neck Question/Concerns

#42
Maybe these Wilkinsons will fit. You can get them on ebay.
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#43
Alper Yilmaz said:
I would be careful about the 3-bolt neck design...I do not know what they were thinking when they came up with this...
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The 3-bolt, adjustable pitch neck was OK in theory. The execution was the problem (as you pointed out).

My '74 Jazz (which I bought at Tünel Muzik at the bottom of İstiklal Caddesi) was rock-solid:

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smcd said:
I had a '73 Telecaster bass with a 3-bolt neck. The neck pocket gap was horrendous. I had a '78 Jazz with a 3-bolt neck. The fit on that was boutique-perfect. In my experience it was the early-mid 70's 3-bolts that were iffy.
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Agreed. If the neck joints had been tight enough in that era, I don't think the 3-bolt design would have gotten so much negative attention.
 
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#45
Alper Yilmaz said:
I would be careful about the 3-bolt neck design. There is already an issue with the neck-joint connections (too wide neck joints) of the most Fenders from the 70s even with the 4-bolt versions; if you shake them in one direction while playing, the neck would tilt a little bit and you will see that the string placement on the neck will be quite asymmetrical. In other words, the G string would look closer to the edge at the neck joint and E string way more inside the neck. With the 3-bolt designs, it is even worse. I do not know what they were thinking when they came up with this...
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It's actually a good design... as long as the two pieces of wood fit well. I have owned 3 75RI Jazz basses with that microtilt, and a 90s Stratocaster 4-bolt with microtilt, and it works well in all cases. I think the problem was they introduced the system at the same time as their production QC was at its lowest point, so people associate the system with bad instruments, but it's not necessarily so.
 
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#46
Blackhawks55 said:
Here is the original body.. I think this is my best bet. I'd really like to pair it with the original body
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I was prepared to see a really horribly aged body... but that actually doesn't look bad to me. Aged? Lots, but it's got charm, I think.

I'd first just clean it up and assemble it as is. You can always refinish at a later date if you wish.
I would not worry about resale value: buy it to enjoy it, we're not talking about a 20k instrument here. It's already going to be non-original in many ways, so who cares? Make it nice *for you*. If you refinish it, do it well, and it would still reach a nice price. We're not talking about the most desired period in Fender, remember.
 
#58
Agreed... As long as the neck pocket is tight and the joint is sturdy, it should not be a problem. My experience from that era of Fender basses is it is usually a hit or miss; i.e. even with the four-bolt design, a loose neck pocket would have this tilting issue, let alone a three-bolt design! :)

Gilmourisgod said:
I can't say what 3-bolt was like on a 77' Fender, but the same design is rock-solid on the old G&L basses. Mine is an 83', don't know what year Leo broke off and formed G&L, but he obviously took the idea with him sometime after 77'. If the neck pocket is as tight as my G&L (pretty damn tight!), I can't see the neck rotating. +1 on buying the old body, nice refin project. The neck tilt feature was well designed, mine looks identical, but I have literally never had to use it in 36 years owning it.
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