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Fender Classic 70's Jazz Bass

#21
Firewal: I feel your pain, man. I have a 75 that tips the scales at just under 13. Mine has a solid rosewood Schecter neck, which is probably responsible for a pound or two. But, man, that's a sweet bass and the neck is the best I've played. Just strap her on and enjoy;)
 
#22
jasper383 said:
Wow. 13 pounds. Just amazing a 4 string could weigh that much.
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I had a '78 that weighed closer to 14 lbs than 13. I had the neck (3 bolt) on another body for a while, and it was by far one of the best fender style necks I've ever played. I could get the strings super low with no buzz. It had large frets, but they were flat top style. I don't know if the flat tops were the key, but that thing played fantastic. I put the neck back on its original body and sold the bass, but I would love to have another neck like that.
 
#24
Looks like it still the same here. Half people likes them, half people don't.

Dealing with Fender basses is always a flip of coin unless you have the chance to try it first. :(

Isn't it frustrating??? Squier has better consistency then Fender. What a strange company....
 
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#25
I have a 70s Classic Neck that I put on a 60s Classic body and that bass is currently my #2. I dig the neck, have had no issues with it and with the 60s body, I get a nice warm tone. I dig the look of the rosewood and blocks and it looks great next to my current #1, my MIJ Geddy. The 70s Classic bass I got the neck from was stellar.
bass rig.jpg
 
#26
totallywink said:
I have a 70s Classic Neck that I put on a 60s Classic body and that bass is currently my #2. I dig the neck, have had no issues with it and with the 60s body, I get a nice warm tone. I dig the look of the rosewood and blocks and it looks great next to my current #1, my MIJ Geddy. The 70s Classic bass I got the neck from was stellar.
View attachment 821044
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I know that the classic 70's neck and GL's have a different profile but What about the thickness? Are they similar...
 
#28
bassman74 said:
I know that the classic 70's neck and GL's have a different profile but What about the thickness? Are they similar...
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no, the necks are different. The Geddy, as we all know, is significantly thinner from front to back (if that makes sense) and feels a bit wider (again, if that makes sense). The 70s neck is chunkier. Not a bad chunkier, just chunkier than the Geddy from front to back but doesnt feel as wide.
 
#31
I've owned 2: a MIJ Classic 70's, and a MIM Classic 70's, both in 3tsb. Overall, I felt the MIJ was a better bass. It had thinner binding on the neck, and there were no under-pg routes. In addition, the 3tsb became 2-tone under the pg, same as Fender basses of the period. It also weighed a bit less. Both were good overall, so no disrespect to the MIM, but I felt the Japanese model was just a cut above. The MIM, though, had a nicer piece of rosewood for the fretboard, and the neck felt more chunky, in a good way. I ended up getting rid of both of them, though, after coming to the conclusion that I'm more comfortable with a P bass neck.
 
#32
Tbone76 said:
I've owned 2: a MIJ Classic 70's, and a MIM Classic 70's, both in 3tsb. Overall, I felt the MIJ was a better bass. It had thinner binding on the neck, and there were no under-pg routes. In addition, the 3tsb became 2-tone under the pg, same as Fender basses of the period. It also weighed a bit less. Both were good overall, so no disrespect to the MIM, but I felt the Japanese model was just a cut above. The MIM, though, had a nicer piece of rosewood for the fretboard, and the neck felt more chunky, in a good way. I ended up getting rid of both of them, though, after coming to the conclusion that I'm more comfortable with a P bass neck.
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I had seen a couple of posts years ago about the MIM Classic 70's neck issues. The only reason I never bought one was because I prefer maple fretboards.

I too have MIJ 75 RI's the one on the left originally had a B&B RW neck that I swapped out for a MIJ Marcus Miller neck for.

All are under 10 lbs.
image.jpeg
 
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#35
... this thread has responses going for about 4 completely different model basses, and 3 are other than OP is inquiring about ...

1) the MIM Classic Series 70's Jazz, which is the models the OP is asking about (that seemed to have the most neck stability issues in the first couple years after introduction ('08), as bassman74 mentions)

2) the American made 70's RI's over the years

3) the MIJ 70's (Japan had their own 'Classic' models, not to be confused with the MIM Classic Series)

4) and then the actual basses from the 70's ... many in nat ash and very heavy as mentioned

... OP, just make sure you are comparing apples to apples ;)
 
#36
tjh said:
... this thread has responses going for about 4 completely different basses, and 3 other than OP is inquiring about ...

1) the MIM Classic Series 70's Jazz which OP is asking about (that seemed to have the most neck stability issues in the first couple years after introduction ('08), as bassman74 mentions)

2) the American made 70's RI's

3) the MIJ 70's (Japan had their own 'Classic' models, not to be confused with the MIM Classic Series)

4) and then the actual basses from the 70's ... many in nat ash and very heavy as mentioned

... just make sure you are comparing apples to apples ;)
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To be fair, The MIJ Classic 70's bass that I owned was the same spec as the MIM Classic 70's model. It had the same 4-bolt neck (not the 3-bolt like the 75 reissue they released earlier), 70's pup spacing, bullet truss rod, fretboard radius, and bound/blocked fretboard. It looked just like the picture the OP provided in his first post. FWIW, I never had an issue with the neck on either. The only issue I had was a cracked bullet nut on the MIM model, and I was able to remove it and replace it with a Fender part, and that was that.
 
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#37
Tbone76 said:
To be fair, The MIJ Classic 70's bass that I owned was the same spec as the MIM Classic 70's model. It had the same 4-bolt neck (not the 3-bolt like the 75 reissue they released earlier), 70's pup spacing, bullet truss rod, fretboard radius, and bound/blocked fretboard. It looked just like the picture the OP provided in his first post. FWIW, I never had an issue with the neck on either. The only issue I had was a cracked bullet nut on the MIM model, and I was able to remove it and replace it with a Fender part, and that was that.
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... except remember, different pups, different origin of wood sources ... and maybe most importantly, I have never seen a single complaint of any neck issues on the MIJ 70's J's from when they have offered a 'Classic' series ... unlike early MIM Classic Series 70's J's ...

... unfortunately, doesn't really help the OP to compare basses with those differences ... but point taken, and you are accurate on the similarity in specs you mentioned, thank for pointing that out, but they are still two different models ... ;)
 
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#38
tjh said:
... except remember, different pups, different origin of wood sources ... and maybe most importantly, I have never seen a single complaint of any neck issues on the MIJ 70's J's from when they have offered a 'Classic' series ... very unlike early MIM Classic Series 70's J's ...

... unfortunately, doesn't really help the OP to compare basses with those differences ... but point taken, and you are accurate on the similarity in specs you mentioned ... ;)
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True, and point taken. Jus' trying to help by relating my experience owning both the MIM and MIJ models:)
 
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