70s jazz bass - what do you think?

[ejaggers]

My '72 has never been my favorite bass, but that's probably not the bass's fault.
I started out playing short scale, so the Jazz felt awkward in the beginning, plus I was never big on slap.
Then the drummer let me play his Travis Bean which sounded way better while adjusting to long scale.

Later I put Fralins in and finally fell in love with the sound.
Weight has never been an issue because it is what it is, and I believe this concern is more contemporary,
I don't recall bassist complaining about that back in the day.

It's extremely possible that the '73 sounds better with EMG's than stock, unless stock is a must for you,
I wouldn't worry about that. But I'd be concerned about the overall wear, especially the binding, plus,
I'm not really a Badass fan.

I personally think it's overpriced. I talked to my luthier about rebinding a project bass,
and he said, "patching binding is cheap, but a complete rebind will cost you".
I agree with johnson79, it may be worth $1500, if that much.

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[stingray69]

For what's supposed to be a 70's vintage Jazz the pickup spacing looks like a 60's vintage to me. Hmmmm????

I have to agree - I know these are EMG pickups in there, but if you were to measure (pole-to-pole, if pole pieces existed in this case) between these pickups, it should be 4 inches.

That should put the bridge pickup parallel to the Tone knob...

These look like 60's spacing to me.

Wondering if this is not a 70's neck on a 60's body?

Still a cool instrument nonetheless, I'm diggin' it!

 

[thanos k]

These look like 60's spacing to me.

Wondering if this is not a 70's neck on a 60's body?

i'm about to visit my tech and check everything ... i'll check dates stamped and everything!!!

 

[nilorius]

Me, actually like much vintaged look instruments, don't know why, just do . If you like the sound and think you can set it up to the best condition possible, go for it, do it.

 

[iammr2]

Looks like its been in a fire.

 

[hypercarrots]

It looks like 70s pickup spacing to me

 

[thedukeofno]

I personally think this is waaaay overpriced for an instrument that hasn't been cared for, but I can't speak to the general availability of 70's basses in your area. Not having played it, I'm going to say that 2000 euros can get you something better.

 

[FunkyEel]

Looks like it has some mojo for sure, but I'd pass for that much money.

 

[Amano]

Would go 1500 also. If its sounds real good. The neck is strait and not warped. It looks awesome to me. Did Demis Roussos played it?

Rember you can have any jazz from Thoman on a Greece island.

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[FranF]

Way overpriced.

 

[Longwheelbass]

I have to agree - I know these are EMG pickups in there, but if you were to measure (pole-to-pole, if pole pieces existed in this case) between these pickups, it should be 4 inches.

That should put the bridge pickup parallel to the Tone knob...

These look like 60's spacing to me.

Wondering if this is not a 70's neck on a 60's body?

Still a cool instrument nonetheless, I'm diggin' it!

Its a 70's body - the gap between the bridge pickup and the pickguard is big.

 

[Longwheelbass]

Neck looks great as does headstock since you've cleaned it. I'd just bin the ugly pickguard and one day a pair of 70's Jazz bass pickups will surface on ebay. Hell, if you buy the bass, contact me, I've got a 1980 Fender J Bass bridge pickup that needs a new home. You can have it cheap!

 

[smcd]

Crazy overpriced. Not only is that bass not original, but it needs work. Expensive work. $2,300US for that!? No way. Consider this - I sold a '78 Jazz on ebay a couple months ago. It was all original, except for a rewound neck pickup. I got $1550 for it, and it took a long time to sell.

If you have $2,300 to spend, you have a staggering choice of fantastic basses to choose from. And they'll all be a million times better than that beat up boat oar you're looking at.

 

[DirkP]

Agree with those who say it's overprized. 1.300,- Euros might be o.k.
Bought a '74 Precision last year in a much better shape and very lightweight with (very good) replacement pickups (Häussle) and electronics (replaced with vintage correct CTS) for 1.600,-.

 

[saabfender]

Looks like its been in a fire.

Thank God it's not just me. That was my first thought when I saw it. Two grand seems like about 500 too much, even for such excellent BBQ.

 

[mr80htz]

The stuff CBS put out there in this time frame are crap...it's nuts to believe the price people want for vintage crap. If you want something that's old, totally get it. I wouldn't buy a 67-70's Fender instruments even if I could afford them.

 

[Ric5]

a fellow musician is selling his 1973? (probably) jazz bass. his is not the first owner. i'm considering a buy, but would like your opinion as well since i'm not an expert in vintage instruments (even though i know that this era of basses is not the super valuable vintage case scenario)

i got it home last night and played it for a while... my thoughts

1) plays great
2) frets in very good condition (no buzz) from top to bottom
3) a lot of wear and tear (A LOT)
4) binding in bad condition
5) nice fat neck but the finish is long gone and has a lot of grey spots from dirt
6) super heavy - a boat anchor
7) i think that somebody tried to paint the headstock to match the body colour with bad results
8) missing the original pickups (it has emgs)
9)missing the original bridge (it has a badass)
10) missing the original hard case
11) it needs a set up and new strings to really shine
12) i think that the pickguard is not original as well (badly cut and missing a few holes for thumprest etc) he sells it at 2.290 usd (2000 euros)

the sound is typical 70's jazz - slap sound was as i expected much better than my am. std 2008 jazz bass, but the overall playability of my 2008 is better ( of course it's a lot lighter and user friendly and it has a more than decent sound that i can live with)

if you were in my shoes would you consider a purchase ??? would you consider a mild restoration or would keep it as it is (i'm thinking about re-binding and a pickup swap with fender pickups, and try to remove that mess on the headstock)???

thanks in advance View attachment 3276816View attachment 3276815View attachment 3276814

I am not a fan of 70s Fenders … for less money you can get a newer bass in better shape

 

[byronic_zero]

I think it would be cool to have but not at that price. For somewhere between 1000-1500, though, I'd snag it.

 

[smcd]

Before you do something you'll wish you hadn't, like purchase that bass, go to Reverb and look at what you can buy for $2,300

 

[higain617]

I mean, it's cool and all. But you won't be getting that "vintage 70's mojo" from EMG's.