70's reissue Jazz Bass

[hectorjcm800]

I just received my new mexi 70's black jazz bass. I also have a Marcus Miller. They are pretty close in quality, specially the necks. If anything, Japan is a hair above. I was concerned about Mexi necks being too "whitey", like the squier VM's, because of those deceiving promo pics, but neck tint is fine. Mexi black finish looks a little cheaper than MM's natural ash finish, but black finishes aren't too posh IMO anyway. One thing is for sure: Reversed tuners in my Miller bass are CRAP, no fender stamping, REVERSED and too damn tight!!! I can't loosen them with anything, and the Mexi tuners are stamped, standard, soft, and HIGHER quality than the japs... just for the record.

Ditch the real 70's jazz basses!!! boycott the astronomical prices!! most of 'em are just too old, too played, too bashed and some of 'em have huge neck pocket gaps for the price!! you can get almost 3 nice mexis at the cost of a good condition 70's. Besides, my miller and my new mexi 70's jazz bass are about the same quality (the miller a little bit better) of the original (i tried a real '78 before getting my other babies), and I guess both of 'em preserve the real nasty '70s growl due to the pickup spacing. I haven't tried the mexi yet, I just received it today.

Just be aware that 70's style jazz basses (specially the ash bodied ones) tend to be VERY heavy. Les Paul kind of weight. If you have a wide strap and no problems with weight, you are in slap heaven. If you have issues, go to your local Fender dealer and try a few of 'em so you find a nice, lightweight bass of the crop.

 

[mattygbass]

i played one yesterday at guitar center,WOW. that thing was amazing. one of the nicest fenders ive played. the quality was awesome. the neck was better than the geddy IMO. the neck has real blocks and binding.its got real 70,s pickup spacing. i have an amer. del. jazz and i would say that the build quality is right on par with my bass.i wish they would come in a couple more colors though. im not a huge fan of black or sunburst but if they come out with an olympic white im definately getting one.

 

[hectorjcm800]

Here's my baby... sick deal thanks to a friend from Ensenada... customized it with a tort pickguard... white pickguard looked too plain for me. Do you notice any serious difference from the japanese Miller ?

 

[DutchDude]

well the Marcus Miller has got a maple fingerboard while the mexi one has a rosewood fingerboard

 

[kaiser_sosea]

and the MM pickgaurd looks funny.... is the 70's jazz as heavy as the Miller?

 

[hectorjcm800]

and the MM pickgaurd looks funny.... is the 70's jazz as heavy as the Miller?

Yeah, Millers look kinda funny with that pickguard, but the tone's worth it. 70's mex jazz not as heavy as the Miller, but not light either...

 

[Aragorn35016]

Hells bells I didn't realize these were 4 bolt necks! I cant wait until tax season rolls back around!!!

 

[big_bertha]

Hey guys I'm considering buying one of these basses, loved the neck. But does the bullet trussrod face the same problem of potentially spliting the fingerboard as found on some of the early 1970s basses?

Cheers

 

[heinpete]

No, I see the fingerboard of the classic series a bit more rigid as in the real 70ies models.
Did not need to tighten it up that much, but on my classic 70iers Jazz it seems w/o any issue.

 

[big_bertha]

Cool, cheers.
Was the thickness of the original fretboards the cause of the problem. Being too thin near the nut?

 

[Simon Langley]

Cool, cheers.
Was the thickness of the original fretboards the cause of the problem. Being too thin near the nut?

*More due to the pearl block inlay. Made it weak between the inlay and the nut.

 

[big_bertha]

I see.. Hopefully not a problem on this reissue..

 

[Richard89]

These basses looks really nice! Any more pics of one with a tortoise pickguard?

 

[Bone]

Here ya go. I've owned this bass going on 8 months now, Gigged it last night. With almost 30 basses to choose from this bass has seen a lot of action and is my go to. My beloved Lakland DJ is gone(it was my club bass for over 2 years) replaced by this 70s classic. At $650. this bass has paid for itself 3x over in the last 7 months and it's just getting broken in. Cost aside I still think this is the best bass fender produced in any country in 2008.

 

[johnnycat42]

I just played one yesterday and it compared very favorably to my Geddy Lee. I always wanted one with the Rosewood and Pearl Block Inlays. Throw a Bad Ass II on there and at the very least, it would be on par with the Geddy. Great Basses. First the lines blurred between the USA and MIJ products. Now the same is starting to happen with the higher end MIK and MIM stuff too. I am not sure it matters much anymore where your Bass was made unless you are buying to collect.

 

[RS]

At $650. this bass has paid for itself 3x over in the last 7 months and it's just getting broken in. Cost aside I still think this is the best bass fender produced in any country in 2008.

Agreed. Haven't played a better 08 Fender than my 70s classic.

 

[cowsgomoo]

I just bought one yesterday. Like many others i've coveted a sunburst rosewood w/blocks Jazz for a while, but wasn't prepared to pay the price of an American one (and certainly not a real 70's one)

this thing is great... pretty heavy, very solid.. the hardware looks & feels better than Mexican Fenders I've had in the past

the neck is a bit thicker front-to-back than a lot of Jazzes i've played... however I've played a friend's genuine 70's Fender, and the neck was similarly chunky

the binding is maybe a bit too bright white, but is very well done... fit & finish all across the bass is about as good as you'd expect in the price range

under the scratchplate is the trademark Mexican Fender drug-smuggling circular hole so any attempt to do the Jaco-esque scratchplate-free look will be spoilt

the body looks to be made of 3 pieces of alder.. nice grain, hard to see the joins.. cool...

the tuners impressed me.. solid and with 'Fender' stamped on em...

it sounds great... erm, just like a Fender Jazz... I don't notice the bridge pickup making any special difference being a few mm south

fingerboard inlays - really well done

am kinda glad for the 4 bolt neck... it's not historically correct, but I think history has shown the 3-bolt system to be a bit of a mistake

as with the binding, I would have liked the neck to be tinted a little more yellow like an old 70s' Jazz.. it's very pale, more like a Geddy

the action was pretty high - absolutely fine by me - and I got zero fret buzz anywhere.. it's a pleasure to play, and compares well comfort-wise to the real thing

For the money, I would recommend it.. it ticks pretty much all MY boxes personally

 

[Andy Till]

Hello!

I have a USA Fender Jazz 1975 Reissue, It's a great bass to play and was made around 2001-2002 as
the body and neck has the two dates. I paid around £1300 new from Manchester, UK!
It's getting it's own road worn look for almost six years of road work. A great work horse and great
for all music styles....How ever it is quite a heavy bass, i do like a heavy bass!
People have thought it was a 1975 Jazz, untill i have told them it's a reissue....Yeah the jazz is great!

I have seen other 1975 reissue jazz's in natural wood and black scratch plate.
My 75 usa reissue is a blue colour, white scratch plate, covers, matching (blue) headstock
and a sticker on the back of the head stock saying "special edition"...

Dose anyone know about this bass? the worth, how many were made, the special edition thing??
If you can help with any info, much apreaciated. I don't know anything about it and just interested
to know more about my bass.
Photo's at [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Many thanks!
Andy

 

[Modern Growl]

i spoted a great deal on an American 75' RI in the classifieds up right now!

 

[pyrohr]

Hello!

I have a USA Fender Jazz 1975 Reissue, It's a great bass to play and was made around 2001-2002 as
the body and neck has the two dates. I paid around £1300 new from Manchester, UK!
It's getting it's own road worn look for almost six years of road work. A great work horse and great
for all music styles....How ever it is quite a heavy bass, i do like a heavy bass!
People have thought it was a 1975 Jazz, untill i have told them it's a reissue....Yeah the jazz is great!

I have seen other 1975 reissue jazz's in natural wood and black scratch plate.
My 75 usa reissue is a blue colour, white scratch plate, covers, matching (blue) headstock
and a sticker on the back of the head stock saying "special edition"...

Dose anyone know about this bass? the worth, how many were made, the special edition thing??
If you can help with any info, much apreaciated. I don't know anything about it and just interested
to know more about my bass.
Photo's at [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Many thanks!
Andy

What you have is a FSR (factory special run) special edition jazz bass made for the European market. approximately 200 were made in that color. They also came in candy apple red. There was a darker blue bass and a white bass also made but from what I remember those were marketed as 70's RI basses.