85 Fender 75 RI MIJ Jazz?

[michael_atw]

Regardless, that bass is BEAUTIFUL. Hard to come by the bound pearl blocked maple. My personal favorite. I got my '75 MIJ for $450 two years ago. They can easily go for much more on account of their rarity. However, I've seen some steals come up around $500.

 

[danomite64]

Are you sure about that? I've come across some e serial '75 reissues...

I'm sure.

 

[mikeswals]

There were no '75 reissue Jazz basses made in the '80's. My brother got one when they first came out, and that was around 1995.

Same with me. Back in the mid 90's the when the first price guide came out listing it I immediately drove to GC in Hollywood and ordered one. I still have my price guides from the early 90's and no 75ri listed before then.
For them to make them in the early to mid 80's makes no sense. Why would Fender reissue a bass that was by '81 a poor seller and probably still hanging in stores. Block neck Jazzes weren't desirable at all during that time...even in the 90's folks were barely warming up to them.

 

[Dr Stankface]

True -- I had one a while back:

Rex and the Bass: Fender Japan E-series 1975 Re-issue Jazz Bass

So looking at this thread made me start to wonder. The bass I have is actually the one quoted here by my good buddy Rex. I pulled the neck off this morning to see if I can find a date stamp and am a little confused. I may just not be educated enough. These are the only kinds of stamps I could find. Running the serial number through several databases say it's from the mid 80s but I just wanted to see if anyone else could verify.

 

[lowphatbass]

I think there MAY have been a black '62 RI E-serial that went on Ebay yesterday. It had the copper ground strip but the average run of the mill Fender Japan headstock logo.

I don't know that fender Japan did a lot of 70's RI back in the 80's, but I could be wrong. Either way, I can tell you that hand written date stamps are really rare after '84, I've only seen them on some "Made to Order"(Special Order) basses. One thing to consider is Fender Japan has always produced a good number of products that were not exported to Europe or the US so you do see things that are a little out of the ordinary from time to time.

 

[king_biscuit]

I'm pretty sure the bass in the first post has 60s pickup spacing, so it is not really speced like a 70s Jazz.

 

[Dr Stankface]

Giving this a bump. Can anyone give me a little insight as to the stamps I posted?

 

[narud]

Giving this a bump. Can anyone give me a little insight as to the stamps I posted?

JB-75 is what all these are stamped with. its just the model number. is there a date on the butt of the neck heel? date code on the pots?

 

[Dr Stankface]

JB-75 is what all these are stamped with. its just the model number. is there a date on the butt of the neck heel? date code on the pots?

Nope. Not a one. Maybe one on the pickups?

 

[mikeswals]

Nope, Fender Japan did not date components like Fender USA did. The pickups will have gloss plastic bobbins and no dates.

 

[Dr Stankface]

Nope, Fender Japan did not date components like Fender USA did. The pickups will have gloss plastic bobbins and no dates.

So would it be safe to assume that this is indeed one made in the mid 80s? The E serial number dates back to the mid 80s in all databases I've found including the one on Fender's website. Maybe giving them a call wouldn't hurt.

 

[narud]

So would it be safe to assume that this is indeed one made in the mid 80s? The E serial number dates back to the mid 80s in all databases I've found including the one on Fender's website. Maybe giving them a call wouldn't hurt.

no. they started recycling serial numbers. theres websites that have 80's fender japan catalogs for their market. theres never a 70's bass in the 80's catalogs.

 

[Dr Stankface]

no. they started recycling serial numbers. theres websites that have 80's fender japan catalogs for their market. theres never a 70's bass in the 80's catalogs.

So it seems as if the only real answer is to give them a call and see what they say.

 

[Dr Stankface]

I do have this. The original warranty paperwork that came with the bass. Japanese readers want to help me out?

 

[Dr Stankface]

no. they started recycling serial numbers. theres websites that have 80's fender japan catalogs for their market. theres never a 70's bass in the 80's catalogs.

Actually, I did a bit of digging and see that the JB75-80 made it's first appearance in the 1986 Fender Japan Catalog.

Invalid Link Removed

Page 8-9, bottom right corner.

 

[peledog]

I have a catalog from 1989 called 'Twang' with the 75RI in it. I also played a few at stores when I visited Tokyo in 89. Awesome basses.

The receipt looks like the date is 1987 (add 25 to the year 62 - emperor calendar)

 

[narud]

Sweet. First catalog I've seen it on! Hadn't found that one before.

 

[Root 5]

I like the look of the blocks on the fingerboard

Can anyone comment on the quality of these instruments? I'm considering trading one of my Warwicks for one, and have heard the 80's were rough for Fender, so I want to try and get other people's opinions on them. This would be my first Fender.

Here are a few pics of the jazz..

Thanks!

Peace,
Andy

Nice. I like a natural finish and the block inlays.

 

[DirkP]

I think 1986 is correct, 1983 is very unlikely. In 1983 just the Squier JV-Series was gone and replaced with the EQ-Series. I'm pretty sure in 1983 all Export models from Fender Japan were still Squiers.

But I'm kind of sure that I saw the '75 reissue in the late 80s in shops in Hamburg, Germany.
The pickup-spacing was always "wrong" as was the logo. Only in recent years some of the '75 RIs made in Japan have the "correct" PU-spacing. Didn't the Geddy Lee always had it?
The newer mexican made Fender 70's RI has the correct PU-spacing but the wrong wood (alder instead of ash).

Fender US changed the PU-spacing in the 70s not because of the sound-difference - they didn't care - but because of the cosmetics. The pickup could be halfway seen when the ashtray was installed. The Reissues never came with an ashtray 'cause 99% of the players would immediately remove them anyway, so why care?


Funny somehow, when Fender US introduced the US made '75 reissue, it had the correct pu-spacing but the "wrong" late 70s logo, too.
Asked, Fender replied it was modelled after the successfull Fender Japan model and this had the period-wrong logo, too. So they kept it.

The new American Vintage Series '74 Jazz has the big period-correct TV-logo.

I own a '96 Fender Japan 75 RI and an all original 1978 Fender Jazz. The MIJ is very lightweight for an ash bass, lighter than some of my alder basses, my US original is a 10 lbs.
The MIJ is great, very great for the money. An update of the electronics and maybe the PUs make sense. Mine has CS60 PUs, but still the original electronics.

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

I think 1986 is correct, 1983 is very unlikely. In 1983 just the Squier JV-Series was gone and replaced with the EQ-Series. I'm pretty sure in 1983 all Export models from Fender Japan were still Squiers.

But I'm kind of sure that I saw the '75 reissue in the late 80s in shops in Hamburg, Germany.
The pickup-spacing was always "wrong" as was the logo. Only in recent years some of the '75 RIs made in Japan have the "correct" PU-spacing. Didn't the Geddy Lee always had it?
The newer mexican made Fender 70's RI has the correct PU-spacing but the wrong wood (alder instead of ash).

Fender US changed the PU-spacing in the 70s not because of the sound-difference - they didn't care - but because of the cosmetics. The pickup could be halfway seen when the ashtray was installed. The Reissues never came with an ashtray 'cause 99% of the players would immediately remove them anyway, so why care?


Funny somehow, when Fender US introduced the US made '75 reissue, it had the correct pu-spacing but the "wrong" late 70s logo, too.
Asked, Fender replied it was modelled after the successfull Fender Japan model and this had the period-wrong logo, too. So they kept it.

The new American Vintage Series '74 Jazz has the big period-correct TV-logo.

I own a '96 Fender Japan 75 RI and an all original 1978 Fender Jazz. The MIJ is very lightweight for an ash bass, lighter than some of my alder basses, my US original is a 10 lbs.
The MIJ is great, very great for the money. An update of the electronics and maybe the PUs make sense. Mine has CS60 PUs, but still the original electronics.

Very good info here. I have researched this to death and found out most of this to be true.