'69 Fender Jazz. Real Relic ?

That's been well played. Neck needs a pull-over.

 

Odd place for wear. Looks more like moisture issues. Hard to say! Maybe $2,800-3k?

 

Seen plenty where the poly finish started flaking off and kept going.
Joe from Might Mighty Bosstones is one example that really took off.

 

Ditto. Looks like authentic wear, certainly not belt sander lines on the upper horn. I'm also curious about all that business behind the ashtray. Sweat? Either way could be neighborhood of $3K, maybe a little south of there. Also looking at the back, makes me wonder of that's as simple as jacket zipper wear since it's same area both front and back. Can't think of anything else that happens on that end of a bass. But man, that's sweet.

 

Have you seen/can you see the instrument live? Do you have some professionals who rely on to examine the instrument, give an "official" quote to lever and seal a deal and to assess how sound it is structurally?

 

Based on Reverb, $3k might be light but this assumes EVERYTHING is factory original. Including the year. Also how straight is the neck and condition of the frets?

 

Hi Fender4Me

Is that important?

Let's say it's a real authentic 1969

In the 80s they were sold for the price of a Squier!

Maybe someone didn't like the sunburst finish (nobody did in the 80s! ),

pulled the bass behind his truck (on a dirt road )

put a thousands of stickers on it...

Who cares?


Whatever happend to this bass is part of it's history!

And happend before someone knew how much more you can get for that bass

without the little dings and scratches!


Honest? => 100%

Real? I can't say without a look at some details. (would love to!)

No way! I am not a dealer (not into the market selling or buying) but No! No! No!


Wise(b)ass

 

It's all legit wear - the late '60s saw a lot of changes at Fender including finishing. There are many examples of odd-location finish-issues that we may never know exactly why they have occurred - but they exist. I doubt it had anything to do with moisture, other than natural heat/humidity from where it was played and/or stored. The important focus should be on the neck and detailed pics of pots/pu's and frets. Wouldn't buy it w/o playing it.

 

I would have a local luthier/shop owner appraise it after I play it and ultimately really like it. Thats a whole lot of cash to be dropping. It looks like you live in Dallas area? I'm sure you could find someone to tell you the value. It's hard to put a value on something by 3 pictures.

 

Trust your fingers and ears - you will know if it's worth the price once you play it.

 

that finish wear looks like what I remember seeing back then from running the cord, with a right angle jack, from the output jack underneath the strap - plugging/unplugging it in between sets - 5 sets a night playing the clubs 6 nights a week.

 

If it were in much better shape, I'd expect it to bring $4,500-$5,500. Three grand seems fair to me.

Here's my '69. The original bridge is in my original case and I recently had to change the nut. Every thing else is original and as I purchased it in '79:

 

Looks legit. ... I'd question the tort pickguard in that pic. ... There's a chance the fellow who did the wear/playing held the bass in such a fashion his right arm came in contact with that area and if he sweated lots and had that toxic sweat, it could peal paint. ... In these times, I'd think $4,000, is plenty. ... Keep shopping, I think there's better buys to be had, in the not too distant future.

 

Looks like real wear. The thing that is unusual, and has been mentioned, is the finish coming off down below / between the control plate & bridge cover on the front and the same area on the back. No telling what did that. One thing that contributed to it is the lacquer checking into little fingernail size pieces and then turning loose in those same size tiny pieces. It could be anything from moisture in more recent years, to something that was on or in the wood when it was finished at the factory. I saw a ‘72 Jazz recently that the entire front of the bass looked like that bare spot on the front of the bass you’re looking at. I think it had some help, but it had lacquer checked into the same small pieces that turn loose very easy.

 

Not as a collectible and only intrinsic as a player to that person.
Resale on a fake bass no matter how good it plays or sounds, at $3K and up is a train wreck.
If money is no object then it doesn't matter what it is.

I've seen some awesome boot legs.
To the OP; check pot date codes, dates on pups, neck stamp, frets, detail on tuners, pick guard, finish, makrs from painting, etc.
Thing is, if you don't know what to look for from experience, it's hard to be sure.