Fender Aerodyne Club!

[Obese Chess]

There's a (NOS?) MIJ that's been sitting at my local GC for, like, three years that I've had my eye on. Haven't seen one in years. How would I know when it's from, and does it matter? For some reason, special Fenders just don't sell in this town - a local music store had one of the special Jazz basses from like... 02? The ones with the active pickups, gold hardware, red burst over flamed maple? Whatever - anyway the thing sat in the store for over a decade, unbought. Wish I'd had the scratch to pick that up before the store closed. No idea where the bass is now.

 

[jefff100]

Just showing the bass. would like to be in the club.
View attachment 1025303 View attachment 1025304

Wow, I never knew 5 string Aerodynes even existed.

Sweet

 

[Malak the Mad]

There's a (NOS?) MIJ that's been sitting at my local GC for, like, three years that I've had my eye on. Haven't seen one in years. How would I know when it's from, and does it matter?

Does it matter? For me, personally, not really. People still get great performance out of their '80s-era Jazz Bass Specials and they pre-date the 'Dyne by about twenty years.

Here's Fender's guide for dating their Japanese-made instruments. Do take note, with the shifting from one factory to another, it goes "MIJ" to "CIJ", then back to "MIJ" with some overlap from 2007 to 2008. And don't forget, the Aerodyne was kicked off around 2003 to 2004, so if you're coming up with a date before then, recheck the guide.

How can I find out when my Japanese-made instrument was manufactured?

 

[Obese Chess]

Does it matter? For me, personally, not really. People still get great performance out of their '80s-era Jazz Bass Specials and they pre-date the 'Dyne by about twenty years.

Here's Fender's guide for dating their Japanese-made instruments. Do take note, with the shifting from one factory to another, it goes "MIJ" to "CIJ", then back to "MIJ" with some overlap from 2007 to 2008. And don't forget, the Aerodyne was kicked off around 2003 to 2004, so if you're coming up with a date before then, recheck the guide.

How can I find out when my Japanese-made instrument was manufactured?

Cool, I just didn't know if there had been any changes in the design or otherwise.

 

[Malak the Mad]

Cool, I just didn't know if there had been any changes in the design or otherwise.

Not any that I could find. In fact, I was just at my local Guitar Center to say "Hi!" to the guys working there and they had a 2016 Aerodyne in the bass section. Well, far be it from me to resist giving it the once over!

I only noodled with acoustically for a handful of minutes and the only difference I could feel was with the finish on the back of the neck. It's definitely a full-on satin finish, as opposed to my 2007 CIJ 'Dyne which has what could be described as a semi-gloss or an "incredibly thin gloss" finish.

Personally, I like the semi-gloss better. Not just because of the feel, but I think it looks a bit classier.

 

[jefff100]

Not any that I could find. In fact, I was just at my local Guitar Center to say "Hi!" to the guys working there and they had a 2016 Aerodyne in the bass section. Well, far be it from me to resist giving it the once over!

I only noodled with acoustically for a handful of minutes and the only difference I could feel was with the finish on the back of the neck. It's definitely a full-on satin finish, as opposed to my 2007 CIJ 'Dyne which has what could be described as a semi-gloss or an "incredibly thin gloss" finish.

Personally, I like the semi-gloss better. Not just because of the feel, but I think it looks a bit classier.

My Aerodyne was my first bass, gloss neck. Looked great.

I was happy with the neck finish until I got my music man with a light satin finish and my carvin with a tung oil finish. Simple solution is a scotch brite pad to the back of the neck to break the glaze. I repeat this as needed (usually about every 4 or monthes or so. to provide the fast neck that satin or oil provides.

 

[Cider]

I love satin necks. My lovely AJB has such a beautiful, figured neck with a light satin finish.

 

[Shardik]

My bridge pickup sounds like a broken speaker. It's either the pickup or the volume potentiometer. Does anyone have specs for the potentiometer and pickup for a MIJ PJ Aerodyne Jazz without pickguard (pots mounted from rear through body)?

 

[bonz - darrell]

My bridge pickup sounds like a broken speaker. It's either the pickup or the volume potentiometer. Does anyone have specs for the potentiometer and pickup for a MIJ PJ Aerodyne Jazz without pickguard (pots mounted from rear through body)?

If you think it's the electronics and are inclined, I would swap out the harness with something like the "Vintage Style Wiring Kit for J Bass" on Link Removed

Part number: WKJ-VNT.

There's lots of vendors that sell this sort of kit. I like CTS pots, Sprague orange drop and Switchcraft jack. Scott (the owner, no relation to me) puts in the correct audio and linear taper pots for vol/vol/tone -- some guys don't.

This way your original harness would be intact if you ever wanted to sell it in 50 years when it's a collector item...............

Hope this helps.

 

[Malak the Mad]

My bridge pickup sounds like a broken speaker. It's either the pickup or the volume potentiometer. Does anyone have specs for the potentiometer and pickup for a MIJ PJ Aerodyne Jazz without pickguard (pots mounted from rear through body)?

If it's any help at all, here's the official Fender Aerodyne service manual.

 

[Shardik]

Thanks.

I bought the bass used, and it already has been modified. I think the potentiometers are all original, but the J pickup isn't.

I think I'll just go ahead and buy both a new potentiometer and a J bridge pickup.

 

[Malak the Mad]

Thanks.

I bought the bass used, and it already has been modified. I think the potentiometers are all original, but the J pickup isn't.

I think I'll just go ahead and buy both a new potentiometer and a J bridge pickup.

If you want to get all "authentic" an' stuff…

Invalid Link Removed

 

[bonz - darrell]

Thanks.

I bought the bass used, and it already has been modified. I think the potentiometers are all original, but the J pickup isn't.

I think I'll just go ahead and buy both a new potentiometer and a J bridge pickup.

I would be inclined to try to find a matched P and J pickup set. SD, EMG Geezer, Cavalier, Tone Emporium, etc, etc, etc. Lotsa companies put together pickups that will work together sonically.
Malak the Mad has a good link too. Good price...

 

[Catbuster]

Another great set is a Fender '62 split P with a Duncan Hot Stack (STK-J2).

 

[Malak the Mad]

Thanks.

I bought the bass used, and it already has been modified. I think the potentiometers are all original, but the J pickup isn't.

I think I'll just go ahead and buy both a new potentiometer and a J bridge pickup.

I should've mentioned this earlier. I've found a very good pairing with an original Fender MIJ Precision pickup and a Fender Super 55 (split-coil) Jazz pickup in the bridge position.

Originally, I had the Super 55 paired up with a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder P-pup. Unfortunately, the QP waaaaaaay overpowered the Super 55, despite their "beefier, but still Jazzy" character.

 

[Shardik]

I should've mentioned this earlier. I've found a very good pairing with an original Fender MIJ Precision pickup and a Fender Super 55 (split-coil) Jazz pickup in the bridge position.

That looks like what the doctor ordered. Tried to find one, but came up short. Is it a discontinued design?

 

[Cider]

I think I'm going to try and find replacement tuners for mine. The body is so light that there's a pretty noticeable neck dive. Does anyone know if anything in the Res-O-Lite line is a direct replacement for the AJB tuners?

 

[Shardik]

Hi again. What about a DiMarzio DP126 set for the Aerodyne? Any experiences with that?

 

[Malak the Mad]

That looks like what the doctor ordered. Tried to find one, but came up short. Is it a discontinued design?

Sadly, yes, but they can still be found. Currently, the best price I've seen for a brand-new set is this Reverb listing.

Fender Super55 Jazz Bass Pickup Set 2014

Another possibility are Fender's previous generation of noiseless Jazz pickups. They're called "Samarium Cobalt Noiseless" pickups, or "SCN's" for short. They're not as "beefy" as Super 55's, but they definitely sound like proper Jazz pups.

 

[Shardik]

Hi again. What about a DiMarzio DP126 set for the Aerodyne? Any experiences with that?

Thanks for all help, folks. I decided to go for the DiMarzio DP126 BK set. I like the design with the adjustable pole pieces and think the all black look will be awesome on an already pretty stealthy black bass. From what I've read the sound will not be bad, and I will have matched pickups. Worst thing that can happen is that I don't like the sound. But then I will have gained the experience.