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Fender Am 62 RI and 64 CS comparison

flewis

flewis

Gold Supporting Member
Mar 3, 2006
1,668
1,645
Raleigh, NC
#1
Lately I've been thinking of purchasing a Fender 64 Custom Shop Jazz Bass if I come across a good deal. I was wondering if anyone owns or has owned both the Am 62RI and a 64 Custom Shop Jazz and could compare the two.

It's my understanding they both have the Vintage Single Coil pickups and I am curious about their similarities and differences. I suppose the 64 CS bass build would have a greater attention to detail.....but, what else would make it a better Jazz Bass (I know that would be subjective) or different from the 62RI other than Tone Control confirguration.
Thanks for your input!
 
#2
I had a '64 closet classic. Nice bass, the build was very tight as I recall, nice Olympic white finish tastefully aged and it sounded every bit as good as a '66 Jazz I had. Needed money and sold it. Probably a mistake. The market is probably going to take off for these when the economy improves.
I later found a fiesta red 1983 '62 AVRI that has become my "bass of doom." I absolutely love it. As to build quality, the CS '64 was probably slightly better than the '62 RI. But the CS '64 sounded pedestrian compared to my '62 RI.
I've owned another, non-Fullerton era '62 RI that was not nearly as good as either the CS '64 or my red '62 RI. I also briefly owned another Fullerton era '62 RI which sounded great. But I didn't like the color and some botched strap button moves that had been made by a previous owner.
In short, the 1982-84, Fullerton era RI's definitely have some magic in my experience. The CS '64 a bit less magic. The Corona built '62 RI's not so much magic.
Also, as you might expect, the better the bass the higher the price IME. The exception being the '66 jazz, which was more expensive than all of them.
This is just based on my limited experience and opinion of a handful of basses. With any make, any model, there are good ones and bad ones. A great bass is where you find it.
RD
:bassist:
 
#3
Have not tried the 62 RI Jazz but I own a CS 64. In my opinion it is a really good instrument. It has a very nice tone and the neck is very smooth. In fact, this is the nicest neck I have played. The bass is a bit heavier than I'd expect from a64 RI though. Not that bad, I just expected it to be extra light.
 
#4
I like the CS'64 a lot more than the '62 reissue. I know its subjective but i don't like the original stack pot system much. The nitro finish on the CS is much nicer, especially the burst and the neck is really nice. I reckon they really nail the sound and feel of an original mid 60s fender (i ABed a CS with an nice original '63)
 
#5
I had a LakePlacid Blue American Vintage 62' reissue and sold it. I felt that the pickups were really sterile. Also the woods were not as nice as Custom Shop. I loved the stacked knobs! I thought that was an awesome feature being able to roll off the tone on just the bridge pickup. Eventually I installed some SD Antiquity JazzBass pickups but that still didn't do it for me. I would recommend the Custom Shop Jazz, the only thing I don't like about those is the lack of color choices. What do they offer now sunburst and white, nothing else?
 
#6
Keith Richard M said:
I had a LakePlacid Blue American Vintage 62' reissue and sold it. I felt that the pickups were really sterile. Also the woods were not as nice as Custom Shop. I loved the stacked knobs! I thought that was an awesome feature being able to roll off the tone on just the bridge pickup. Eventually I installed some SD Antiquity JazzBass pickups but that still didn't do it for me. I would recommend the Custom Shop Jazz, the only thing I don't like about those is the lack of color choices. What do they offer now sunburst and white, nothing else?
Click to expand...

yeah, no other colours. you can custom order what you want but you pay for it. i've seen some awesome burgandy mist, lake placid blue and feista red ones with matching headstocks on gbase
 
#10
I own two of these models, one is an 80's (82?) and the other is a 98. The 80's RI has way more character than the 98. The newer model has a dead feel when playing live. I'm told it sounds great out front, but that doesn't mean much from where I stand; amplification changes everything. When buying a new guitar I prefer playing it unplugged, the natural resonance of the instrument reveals its true colors. If you like what you feel and hear without the tech-intervention, buy it.
 

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