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70s jazz bass - what do you think?

#41
thanos k said:
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
Click to expand...
I think the price is high..especially for the condition issues you mention..you can get more bass for less money..nothing at all special about that instrument..
 
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#42
saabfender said:
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.
Click to expand...

I'm a fan of aged finishes but if it were me on that bass I'd go re-fin. It just looks like it was played 24-7 at a tobacco factory. It's possible if your were very careful, to remove the whatever finish that was applied over the hs face w/o damaging the decals. Not with solvents, but with a new/sharp flat-blade. Even if it ended up damaging the decal - a replacement can be had and since it is actually a Fender, new or original is not that important an issue.
 
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#43
You may get tired of the weight, so you might want to keep looking. ... Is it a 3 or 4 bolt neck plate? ... 3-bolt 1975+ and known to be heavy. ... I've never seen such discolouring on the headstock. ... But, the decal looks legit.
 
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#44
I have a 77 Jazz.....it plays and sounds great, but its a boat anchor. IMO, they are not "magic" and dont necessarily offer anything unique, other than its old and looks cooler. If I had that $ and was looking for a new Jazz, I would look at a new higher quality USA made, reissue, etc
 
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#45
JIO said:
I'm a fan of aged finishes but if it were me on that bass I'd go re-fin. It just looks like it was played 24-7 at a tobacco factory. It's possible if your were very careful, to remove the whatever finish that was applied over the hs face w/o damaging the decals. Not with solvents, but with a new/sharp flat-blade. Even if it ended up damaging the decal - a replacement can be had and since it is actually a Fender, new or original is not that important an issue.
Click to expand...
Or take it to a restorer of Renaissance artwork.
 
#46
Update!
I just came back from my tech and this is what we figured out:

The only original part on the instrument is the body and neck (May 1973. has the stamps and everything)

Tuners are also original and in good shape

Pickguard is not original because underneath we found the holes for the thumprest and pickup cover that are missing from the pickguard

The pots are not original since it sports an active pair of emgs with battery .

The original colour of the bass is natural!!!! As seen under the pickguard!!!!

This brownish colour is the nitro finish deteriorated and mixed with tobacco smoke and dirt... too much dirt!!!

Thrusrod works great and neck is straight with no twists

After all this I'm not going to buy it for more than 1.000 ... restoration and parts will cost about 600 ...
 
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#50
If you love the bass and you bond with it and it just feels "right" then offer $1500...like the others have stated its not worth a whole lot for collectors. For the money he's asking you could get a custom build Jazz Bass that will sound and play great.
 
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#53
Even considering the OP is in Greece, for $2,300US he can do much much better than that trashed Jazz bass. Shipping a bass to Greece will cost around $120. So he has $2,270 to spend on an instrument. Assuming, of course, that the full value isn't declared in customs.
 
#54
smcd said:
Even considering the OP is in Greece, for $2,300US he can do much much better than that trashed Jazz bass. Shipping a bass to Greece will cost around $120. So he has $2,270 to spend on an instrument. Assuming, of course, that the full value isn't declared in customs.
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Whatever you buy outside European Union is taxed 24% vat extra, plus other custom expenses and that makes it nearly impossible to import anything from third countries such as U.S.A or other ...

But I take under serious consideration all of your input and opinions!
 
#56
Acoop said:
You may get tired of the weight, so you might want to keep looking. ... Is it a 3 or 4 bolt neck plate? ... 3-bolt 1975+ and known to be heavy. ... I've never seen such discolouring on the headstock. ... But, the decal looks legit.
Click to expand...
That kind of extreme yellowing of the headstock was not uncommon in the days of smokey bars. That aroma never really goes away either. Ah, me spent youth!
 
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#57
thanos k said:
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
Click to expand...
Well if it were me, I would want the original pickups and bridge, not just from an authenticity perspective but also because of the tone made by 70s era pickups. The condition is one thing, and I might get past it considering the age, but when you combine the condition with the fact that it is modified and the original parts are missing, the price is too high IMHO. As in 25% to 50% too high.
 
#59
TomB said:
That kind of extreme yellowing of the headstock was not uncommon in the days of smokey bars. That aroma never really goes away either. Ah, me spent youth!
Click to expand...

I've owned one of those, TomB. I was able to rid it of the smell(it was horrible) by taking it completely apart and working over the painted areas with car wax and polish on the neck. Polished the metal and it worked great on the bass.

The case? Couldn't fix it and had to throw it away.
 
#60
iammr2 said:
I've owned one of those, TomB. I was able to rid it of the smell(it was horrible) by taking it completely apart and working over the painted areas with car wax and polish on the neck. Polished the metal and it worked great on the bass.

The case? Couldn't fix it and had to throw it away.
Click to expand...
...and here I was thinking about it nostalgically :).
 
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