Fender 62 Jazz Reissue (MIJ)

[kara_05]

Just wondering what these bass guitars are like ? I have come across one 2nd hand and was thinking of buying it (I cant play it first cause its on the other side of the country, I'm also not sure what the year the bass was made in).

I am weighing this bass up against the Mexican models and the Highway 1 / USA Standard models.

 

[Oren Hudson]

I have the MIM Jazz and Pbass and play them regularly. I probably prefer the Jazz a little more since with it's narrower neck, it's a little easier for me and my short fat fingers to play. However, I do like having just the volume and tone controls on the P-Bass. Just a little digression on this. Fender calls many of their basses reissues when in fact, that's not true to the fullest extent. For example, the '62 Jazz bass had round tuning key heads, the Pbasses had the "elephant ear" ones now used on so many models. So these are not correct for the Jazz, not the elephant ear ones. Also missing are the chrome covers for the pick-ups and bridge, and the finger rest on the bottom side for the guitar for both the Jazz and the P.

 

[maxbass]

Usually they're good instruments.
Beware that there are different versions of the '62 japanese reissue.
Different body wood and pickups for sure, while I don't know about hardware

 

[tinyd]

I've got one of these - I bought it new in the early 90s and it's been my only bass since. I haven't played any other Jazz basses recently, so I'm not sure how it compares, but I'm really happy with both the sound and build quality.

Hope this helps

 

[irvinz]

the MIJ necks that i played have always been pretty sweet

 

[LHbassist]

I have a 1987 Japanese made sunburst '62 re-issue jazz bass. The tuners and bridge are incorrect for the supposed reissue year, and I replaced them with the correct style reverse Klusons, and allthread bridge. The fit and finish are second to none. The bass is a superior instrument, in my opinion, to any of the Mexican made basses I have seen, played, or worked on. The MIM basses have noisy pickups on most of the examples I've heard as well. The MIJ's are very reasonably priced either new from Ishibashi, or on the used market, mine was only $410.00 a few years ago on E-bay with a nice hardshell case!
I've been repairing basses and guitars for going on 38 years now. All the 1950's and 1960's Fender basses, up to approximately 1966, when CBS began to change specs, had Kluson reverse wind 'elephant ear' tuning machines with a small rivet to hold the head to the shaft. By the way, these are the exact same tuners you'll find on Kay upright basses, I wonder where Leo got the idea for the tuner choice for his basses? Hmmm.... In '66 all j-basses- but NOT precisions, went to 'lollipop', or 'egg' tuners. These were the same mechanically as the older tuners, but had a different 'head'. I have seen these tuners in a few rare cases on later p-basses, circa '68-'69. A friend has a rare Fender 5 string from about this era, and it has mega-rare short shaft Kluson reverse 'egg' tuners...one is missing, and I don't think he'll ever find another to replace it! About 1968, the tuners on all Fender basses changed to the non-reverse wind Klusons with the rivet-less large elephant ear. I prefer the reverse pre-CBS style tuners, I love the way they look on a Fender bass.

 

[ssarchi]

from wikipedia:
According to a Fender representative it was in the Fender Japan contract that if there was a change of manufacturer from FujiGen Gakki to another guitar factory then the logo would be changed from MIJ ("Made in Japan") to CIJ ("Crafted in Japan"). The first CIJ Fenders start around 1992 but most of the Japanese Fenders up till 1996/1997 are MIJ Fenders. In 1991/1992 FujiGen Gakki were expanding their factory operations by establishing FujiGen Hirooka Inc ((Japanese) フジゲン広丘（株）設&#31435 to be able to take on additional set neck (Gibson like necks) contracts (such as the Orville by Gibson contract) and so Dyna Gakki (one of Kanda Shokai's main guitar makers) took over some of the making of the Japanese Fender models which resulted in a CIJ logo being used on some Japanese Fenders instead of a MIJ logo. CIJ is mostly used on Fenders from 1996/1997 until recently due to Tōkai and Dyna Gakki taking over the Fender Japan manufacturing contract from FujiGen Gakki in 1996/1997. The Fender Squiers were also brought into line to be in sync with the Japanese Fenders at around the same time (1996/1997) with 'Crafted' rather than 'Made' being used. "Made in Japan" is used on some current Fender Japan models (2007) instead of "Crafted in Japan".


so how can you have a MIJ bass made before fender started doing business in Japan?

 

[LHbassist]

I was using MIJ simply to state country of origin, not to specifically differentiate it from a CIJ, which is what my bass is. I was mistaken about the date of my CIJ jazz bass as well, I misread the info I saw on a different website a few years back....my jazz bass is dated 'A' + six digits, which place it at 1997 or '98, according to the Fender website. Japanese made Fenders began, in 1982, also from the Fender website.

The op wanted to know the overall comparative quality of Japanese made Fender basses, and addressing that question was and is the whole point for my replies. Regardless of where in Japan it was made, or what company made it under contract for Fender, or in what year, I stand by what I have stated in this and other threads regarding Japanese Fender basses. They are very nice basses for the money, new or used. This is true despite some hardware inaccuracies. I have three of them, and dig them more than my now long gone American 1970's Fender basses.

Here's a useful link...



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[Chef]

There are indeed two versions.
IME, the MIJ have regular tuners and bridge, lower end pots, and the ''MIM 62 type'' pups with nylon covered wire: which sound great. Regular tuners, regular bridge, bot non-period correct.
The CIJ have CTS pots, cloth covered Fender USA 62 reissue pups, reverse wound, rivet headed kluson type tuners, spiral saddle bridge; very nice.

Both models that I've played had very high quality three tone 'bursts, exceptional fretwork, and a very nice neck: typical J 1/5" width, but deeper than a standard J, and a nice rounded C contour.

 

[nemo]

The CIJ have CTS pots, cloth covered Fender USA 62 reissue pups, reverse wound, rivet headed kluson type tuners, spiral saddle bridge; very nice.

Which year of CIJs do you mean?
In recent years only one of their models has reverse tuners - JB62-110DMC.
Talking about pickups - I dont know about Jazzes, but CIJ P-basses don't have cloth covered Fender USA 62 reissue pups.
They have the pickups called "US Vintage" which were found to be the same pickups as the stock pups in American Standard P-basses.
This concerns P-basses and I believe their CIJ J-basses will be the same in this regard.

 

[Chef]

My MIJ was recent, my CIJ is late 90's...

 

[BBBruno]

I have a '62 MIJ Jazz in Surf Green, it's a great instrument. To date, it's my only Jazz Bass (I have a number of P's), and I've nothing but good to say about it. Great sound, well made. Ishibashi Music in Tokyo will ship you one in just a matter of days. Hope this helps.
Bart

 

[zombywoof5050]

In recent years only one of their models has reverse tuners - JB62-110DMC.

That's not true, check the fretless Jazz (JB62-85FL), and the '51 reissue.

 

[Chef]

Both my CIJ J 62 reissue fretless, and CIJ 51 reissue P have reverse tuners.

 

[zombywoof5050]

There are indeed two versions.
IME, the MIJ have regular tuners and bridge, lower end pots, and the ''MIM 62 type'' pups with nylon covered wire: which sound great. Regular tuners, regular bridge, bot non-period correct.
The CIJ have CTS pots, cloth covered Fender USA 62 reissue pups, reverse wound, rivet headed kluson type tuners, spiral saddle bridge; very nice.

There are actually more than two versions, if you include the special limited edition models they offer on occasion. But the differences have nothing to do with whether they are MIJ or CIJ. They started stamping the instruments with "Crafted In Japan" (instead of "Made In Japan") around 1997, and all the different levels exist within the current CIJ models. It would really be to one's best interest to thoroughly research the subject regarding the different models before buying a CIJ, especially a used one.

 

[nemo]

Ok, point taken.
However, I am quite sure, that no CIJ or MIJ model has as a stock the Fender 62 cloth wire reissue pickups.
And that is far more important to the sound of the instrument than reverse or regular tuners.

In general they make two lines - one with baswood body and one with alder or ash.
The cheaper baswood line can be easily distinguished by smaller tuners -see pics.

 

[zombywoof5050]

Hey nemo,
That pic on the right is my CIJ Precision in my backyard, funny that you ended up with it, where'd you get it?

I can say for sure that my CIJ Precision (PB62-70US) does not have cloth covered wiring, the insulation is plastic. I'm not ruling out the possibility that they may have sold some models with cloth covered wiring, but mine doesn't have it and it's the higher end model with the "USA pickup". I have no problem with my pickup, sounds great to me. For what it's worth, I have no problems with my tuners either. I've had the bass over five years now and still digging it very much!

 

[nemo]

OMG, nice
I took it from my ever growing pics collection, got it probably here on TB sometimes..

 

[LHbassist]

Hi nemo, my 'circa' '97-98 CIJ j-bass has a basswood body, and it had the larger tuners, so maybe this comparison isn't really a good indicator of which bass has what wood lurking under the finish. My 2 p-basses, one a 2003, the other a 2007, had the smaller tuners, both have basswood bodies. They look like possibly Ping or other inexpensive tuner, but are not as cheesy as the tapered shaft MIM tuners - I don't like those at all. From what I have seen, there are standard and deluxe Japanese models -although not labelled that, available from Ishibashi. Some of the more expensive models have USA pickups, full 'ashtray' pickup covers and alder or ash bodies. I am in full agreement with you as to the importance the pickups have in determining the sound, after all, it is an electric bass. I replaced the tuners on all of my basses, because I prefer the look and function of the reverse pre CBS style Klusons. I am a bass repairman, and mod them to suit me. We are splitting hairs here on the details. These instruments are really great bang for the buck deals. In addition, my j-bass sounds just as good to me as most of the American '62 reissues, and I have worked on quite a few of those. I like them just fine, but the Japanese basses stand toe to toe build quality wise. I'd surely have an American made one, but try finding a left handed '62 stack knob re-issue.

 

[Jimmy Blue]

Just to add yet another spin. There is also a USA made AV 62RI Jazz made for export to Japan. Same as a USA 62' RI except it has VVT controls rather than stack knobs.