Fender James Jamerson 62 Precision - limited run?

[jvdb]

And… necks that are screwed on too tight kill the tone. I once took off my Pino’s neck to check out what was underneath. I screwed it back on (never did that before) and when I started playing it just sounded dead . No resonance, no vibrations. I was shocked. Then I did the only I could think of: give the neck plate screws some relief and screw them looser (not loose, just not as tight) hit a note and BOOOOOOOM there she was!

Have talked to quite a few luthiers that confirmed my observation.

 

[96tbird]

Data point. Empirical evidence. Logic and reason. Zero emotion. heres a Squier body for sale on eBay. It is clear to see that the screws are tight in the body holes, which doesn’t allow neck movement. Let’s compare to an MIM P body with big ole screw holes. MK?

 

[CochinoBass]

This is not QC it is a different method of introducing neck screws. Logic and reason. No emotion involved.

Fender hate dog-piles are so exhausting. And for the first 25 years I played bass, I never even touched a Fender. The next 25 years to today I’ve played bass has been bliss since I turned away from coffee table basses to Fender clean, clear tone and feel and timeless design.

I'm not a Fender hater. I dont have one at the moment, but I have had many over the years and I would buy another one today, however, I'd have to see it in person first because of inconsistent QC. This is not a Fender only problem. Another brand that has a similar issue is Rickenbacker which I had an '89 4003 I bought new. It had all of the typical Rick quality "quirks" that Rick insists are features. Gibson seems to have the similar issues as well. All of those legacy brands are not the small companies they were in the '60s, they are massive corporations, and all have quality issues that for the price of their instruments should not get past QC to the customer. They dont seem to care because they know what they are really selling is not instruments, but a brand, and people are buying the brand and not the product so they can get away with it. Just like Harley Davidson, those brands probably make more revenue on merch than they do on instruments/amps etc.

For me a guitar is nothing but a tool that does a job, no different than a wrench or a pair of pliers. I dont give my basses pet names any more than I would give my favorite torque wrench a pet name. You keep saying "No emotion involved" to imply those you disagree with are being emotional, when the only one in this discussion being emotional is you.

 

[bassdude51]

This "signature" bass thing. A great sales gimmick for more money and profits.

What's next? The lefty Paul McCartney Jazz Bass? (But, I'm right handed!)

 

[Iridescentone]

I bought a bass from CME recently where they rave about their checklist before it ships… got the bass and the nut was not cut right because the A and D string were floating and CME refused to accept a return. So now I gotta try to fix by carving with the string or pay more money to have it fixed.

What brand of bass was it? Was it brand new with a factory warranty?

 

[andare]

Yeah sorry mate. As I previously said, Fender tour videos reveal final assembly necks being bolted on, by a predominantly female crew at the final assembly work benches. They slide the neck in, the screws are placed and pass unimpeded through the body and only thread into the neck. The body holes are larger than the screw diameter.

I have 3 Squiers. 3. All of them have the screws driven through the body into the neck. And the screws have cut threads through the body holes. The only way to do that is to clamp the neck on and use a power tool to drive it through. Like screwing together house framing… the entering screw cuts threads through both piece as they are joined.

My Fenders FACTORY body holes ARE LARGER DIAMETER THAN THE SCREWS AND THE SCREWS PASS RIGHT THROUGH, ONLY THREADING INTO THE NECK HOLES. That method leaves the ability for the neck to be realigned by slightly loosening the four screws one turn and shift the neck because the screw are loose in the body holes.

Neck alignment was impossible on my 3 Squiers until I drilled the body holes out slightly such that the screws would slip through unimpeded by the threads cut by “forced” in screws at Asian factories. I did this because I wasn’t happy with alignment and when I loosened the screws, the neck wouldn’t move. I took one apart and couldn’t immediately identify why. So it reassembled. When I retightened the screws they threaded through the body (not drop through like my Fenders) and once the screw hit the neck holes it didn’t catch a neck thread immediately and the scre point pushed the neck up leaving a gap between the neck and pocket. I had to remove the screws and either clamp it, or drill the body holes oversized, which I did because it’s the superior method.

My Epiphone Tbird was the same… screws just driven in through body and neck. Zero play in the joint. Drilled that out too but it has closed side pocket unlike the Fendrr design that leaves 90% of the treble side of the pocket without a wall… the neck can shift easily. Intentionally or by being bumped around, as shipping does.

So, apples and oranges as far as final assembly is concerned. This is not QC it is a different method of introducing neck screws. Logic and reason. No emotion involved.

Fender hate dog-piles are so exhausting. And for the first 25 years I played bass, I never even touched a Fender. The next 25 years to today I’ve played bass has been bliss since I turned away from coffee table basses to Fender clean, clear tone and feel and timeless design.

So my Squiers with stable necks (no tilt and they never even need tweaking to the truss rod) are worse than Fenders with moving necks because the screws are overtightened?

You understand I service my guitars and sometiems remove the necks and then screw them back on with my hands, right? I'm not a woman, though. I guess women are too weak to turn a screwdriver according to you.

BTW my MIJ is like you describe and I can literally tilt the neck under string tension. So much for MIJ quality.

As for loosening the neck screws a bit once buttoned up to gain back resonance, I've tried it. Nice crack but I didn't hear any difference in resonance. I never go beyond finger tight anyway.

 

[Iridescentone]

This "signature" bass thing. A great sales gimmick for more money and profits.

What's next? The lefty Paul McCartney Jazz Bass? (But, I'm right handed!)

View attachment 7534086

That's true. And every guitar maker I can think of works the same ploy. Including the top-tier boutique makers.

If they sell, they're obviously doing a smart thing. It doesn't mean people who buy them are "suckers" falling for some ripoff money-making scam because they don't know any better. Instead, those sales prove there are enough buyers with enough disposable income to buy whatever luxury items they happen to fancy.

 

[96tbird]

So my Squiers with stable necks (no tilt and they never even need tweaking to the truss rod) are worse than Fenders with moving necks because the screws are overtightened?

You understand I service my guitars and sometiems remove the necks and then screw them back on with my hands, right? I'm not a woman, though. I guess women are too weak to turn a screwdriver according to you.

BTW my MIJ is like you describe and I can literally tilt the neck under string tension. So much for MIJ quality.

As for loosening the neck screws a bit once buttoned up to gain back resonance, I've tried it. Nice crack but I didn't hear any difference in resonance. I never go beyond finger tight anyway.

You didn’t even pay attention to what I said. Bonus points to you for attempting to make me seem sexist. Have a great day.

 

[96tbird]

I'm not a Fender hater. I dont have one at the moment, but I have had many over the years and I would buy another one today, however, I'd have to see it in person first because of inconsistent QC. This is not a Fender only problem. Another brand that has a similar issue is Rickenbacker which I had an '89 4003 I bought new. It had all of the typical Rick quality "quirks" that Rick insists are features. Gibson seems to have the similar issues as well. All of those legacy brands are not the small companies they were in the '60s, they are massive corporations, and all have quality issues that for the price of their instruments should not get past QC to the customer. They dont seem to care because they know what they are really selling is not instruments, but a brand, and people are buying the brand and not the product so they can get away with it. Just like Harley Davidson, those brands probably make more revenue on merch than they do on instruments/amps etc.

For me a guitar is nothing but a tool that does a job, no different than a wrench or a pair of pliers. I dont give my basses pet names any more than I would give my favorite torque wrench a pet name. You keep saying "No emotion involved" to imply those you disagree with are being emotional, when the only one in this discussion being emotional is you.

Not emotional pal. Appealing to logic and reason. Debating a discussion with facts is not emotional. It’s a debate. Look up the definition.

 

[bassdude51]

That's true. And every guitar maker I can think of works the same ploy. Including the top-tier boutique makers.

If they sell, they're obviously doing a smart thing. It doesn't mean people who buy them are "suckers" falling for some ripoff money-making scam because they don't know any better. Instead, those sales prove there are enough buyers with enough disposable income to buy whatever luxury items they happen to fancy.

I agree with you totally and you mention some excellent and true points about signature copies of famous bassist's basses.

In the case of JJ's P Bass. As we all know, it was stolen and never found. Thus, how can a "signature model" be made? There are not even any photos of the word, "Funk" carved unto the back of his bass neck.

Signature basses? Why not? Cha-Ching!

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

They should rename this thread “The Fender James Jamerson argument”

 

[MIJ Fender Guy]

For the price these are selling for (around 3k in the UK) you shouldn't need to realign the neck, these should be perfect from the get go.

Here's the thing. In the world we live in today, nothing is going to be perfect because somewhere around covid people just stopped giving a poopie, and the world turned a lot colder for the worse. It sucks. However, we need to adapt, you need to seperate critical issues vs. fixable, and at least have some skills to make minor adjustments on a bass if you want things to be a lot easier on yourself.

Simply having to adjust a neck, and have it quickly FIX THE ISSUE in 30 seconds, would be a delight to me. I would never think twice if the rest of the bass was perfect.

For instance, let's say you get a bass that is PERFECT, but maybe the nut is cut too high. Well, this is fixable. My tech files nuts for $20. So you can take an hour, pay $20 and have a perfect bass with a little calm planning.

Both FCS basses I've owned which both cost about $4K had horrifically grindy vintage style tuners. The rest was perfect. So, I spend $100 and installed Gotoh, making the bass BETTER than before, while also lowering the weight and fixing the neck dive. I don't mind such a thing because I already KNOW to expect such things. Is it right? Hell no, but with little effort I know have perfect bass. A return, hunting for another bass with other possible unknown issues is much more inconvenient. You could return that bass and then get a new one that has a finish problem, wrong weight, weird burst pattern, etc., misaligned bridge, etc., sh*t you can't fix.

If you get a bass with critical issues like above yes, RETURN immediately.

Fender QC is absolute crap now, no question about it. Especially MIM and MIA. So, if you want a good Fender, and your picky (I am) be prepared to have some patience and spend some time to get it all right. Including the possibility of multiple returns. Once you get it right, keep it!!!

Best way to go is MIJ if they have something you like. They always come out close to perfect.

 

[Iridescentone]

I agree with you totally and you mention some excellent and true points about signature copies of famous bassist's basses.

In the case of JJ's P Bass. As we all know, it was stolen and never found. Thus, how can a "signature model" be made? There are not even any photos of the word, "Funk" carved unto the back of his bass neck.

Signature basses? Why not? Cha-Ching!

View attachment 7534160

Yeah I'm kinda surprised the JJ only comes with a COA paper. Seems like it oughta have a few more commemorative details, like a special neck plate, or at least a special decal on the headstock rear. Some special case candy goodies might be nice too, for that price.

JJ went thru multiple P basses so there had to be compromises that deviated from an exact replica of the famous Funk Machine, I guess. I can imagine much discussion at Fender about how, exactly, can they issue a plausible JJ sig. I bet if they scrawled "FUNK" into it, we'd hear from the TB Signature Bass Haters Appreciation Society.

 

[GregBass1979]

Especially MIM and MIA.

Sounds like that crosses over to automobiles too. You can't go too wrong with a Toyota or Honda, better than anything Dodge or GM.

 

[Gogoplata1980]

Sounds like that crosses over to automobiles too. You can't go too wrong with a Toyota or Honda, better than anything Dodge or GM.

My thoughts exactly as far as vehicles go. I steer very clear of American made autos. Weird that I'm the opposite on insrtuments.

 

[sc_precision]

What brand of bass was it? Was it brand new with a factory warranty?

Fender Am Pro II P. Brand new.

 

[MIJ Fender Guy]

I bought a bass from CME recently where they rave about their checklist before it ships… got the bass and the nut was not cut right because the A and D string were floating and CME refused to accept a return. So now I gotta try to fix by carving with the string or pay more money to have it fixed.

So really these box stores may say they check before they ship but you cannot trust them so Fender really should have the final look over before they go out in my opinion for the expensive US made ones. Surely they have an uber luthier on hand if they’re building the things but maybe the demand is great and they just don’t have the time.

How and why would they refuse a return?

Returns

For over 30 years, Chicago Music Exchange has been serving musicians, collectors, and friends who want straight answers, expertise, and first-hand knowledge. We are passionate about what we sell and who we sell to, whether you talk to us on the phone about a vintage Gibson goldtop or stop in to...

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Saying nothing about no returns accepted. You had 14 days. What happened?

Also, my tech does nut filing for $20 in like 5 minutes. I would suggest not doing it yourself. There's a skill to it.

 

[MIJ Fender Guy]

Yeah sorry mate. As I previously said, Fender tour videos reveal final assembly necks being bolted on, by a predominantly female crew at the final assembly work benches. They slide the neck in, the screws are placed and pass unimpeded through the body and only thread into the neck. The body holes are larger than the screw diameter.

I have 3 Squiers. 3. All of them have the screws driven through the body into the neck. And the screws have cut threads through the body holes. The only way to do that is to clamp the neck on and use a power tool to drive it through. Like screwing together house framing… the entering screw cuts threads through both piece as they are joined.

My Fenders FACTORY body holes ARE LARGER DIAMETER THAN THE SCREWS AND THE SCREWS PASS RIGHT THROUGH, ONLY THREADING INTO THE NECK HOLES. That method leaves the ability for the neck to be realigned by slightly loosening the four screws one turn and shift the neck because the screw are loose in the body holes.

Neck alignment was impossible on my 3 Squiers until I drilled the body holes out slightly such that the screws would slip through unimpeded by the threads cut by “forced” in screws at Asian factories. I did this because I wasn’t happy with alignment and when I loosened the screws, the neck wouldn’t move. I took one apart and couldn’t immediately identify why. So it reassembled. When I retightened the screws they threaded through the body (not drop through like my Fenders) and once the screw hit the neck holes it didn’t catch a neck thread immediately and the scre point pushed the neck up leaving a gap between the neck and pocket. I had to remove the screws and either clamp it, or drill the body holes oversized, which I did because it’s the superior method.

My Epiphone Tbird was the same… screws just driven in through body and neck. Zero play in the joint. Drilled that out too but it has closed side pocket unlike the Fendrr design that leaves 90% of the treble side of the pocket without a wall… the neck can shift easily. Intentionally or by being bumped around, as shipping does.

So, apples and oranges as far as final assembly is concerned. This is not QC it is a different method of introducing neck screws. Logic and reason. No emotion involved.

Fender hate dog-piles are so exhausting. And for the first 25 years I played bass, I never even touched a Fender. The next 25 years to today I’ve played bass has been bliss since I turned away from coffee table basses to Fender clean, clear tone and feel and timeless design.

wth are you ranting about dude?

 

[sc_precision]

How and why would they refuse a return?

Returns

For over 30 years, Chicago Music Exchange has been serving musicians, collectors, and friends who want straight answers, expertise, and first-hand knowledge. We are passionate about what we sell and who we sell to, whether you talk to us on the phone about a vintage Gibson goldtop or stop in to...

www.chicagomusicexchange.com

Saying nothing about no returns accepted. You had 14 days.

Basically I had bought from them in the past and kept a few, returned a few. So because of that they threatened me with "we can't do business with someone like that" but let me purchase this one as a final deal with no return. So it is what it is.

 

[MIJ Fender Guy]

Basically I had bought from them in the past and kept a few, returned a few. So because of that they threatened me with "we can't do business with someone like that" but let me purchase this one as a final deal with no return. So it is what it is.

yea these stores get real pissy when you want to return. they act like your friend until there is a problem, then you get the cold shoulder. ive had plenty of similar experiences. they should be truly concerned about legitimate factory defects, but instead, they act like its an inconvenience.

i always pay with paypal, you would have won a return regardless of what they said