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Fender Japan is gone :(
- Thread starter GazzBass
- Start date
Thats odd. No. I didn't have to pay any additional $$ on any of my orders from them. I just went to the PO and picked them up as they came in.
I would suggest contacting the PO to find out what is going on. Also Ishibashi. If a mistake was made with the total shipping charges, I would think they would reimburse you, unless the original amount was an under charge. ??
Do you mean "¥114,000 for the bass and shipping"? Because that amount translates to over $900USD.
That's too bad... I used to have a Japan Fender Jazz Bass, it was a really high quality instrument.
Well, the shipping was really expensive. But they threw in the bass for free!
Whoops. I must have added an extra digit there. I'm on travel now and really tired after some cancelled flights, long delays in airports, and a late arrival in hotel. Sorry about the mistake.
It's heeeeeere...
I think the Customs fee was charged because Ishibashi did not specify that a JB62-VSP is a bass. And U.S. Customs didn't bother to look at page 2 of the manifest where it says "musical instrument." I'll appeal.
Gorgeous bass. About 9.5 pounds. Cool gig bag! It's 2012 manufacture. New Old Stock I guess. No hangtags, plastic on PG, a few tiny scratches...that's actually OK, cuz that means I can play this puppy instead of enshrining it! Tuned and ready to go. Out and about for a little bit first. NBD!!!
P.S. This one could use a sister. (Her cousin the Duck is very sweet though.) If anybody has a PB62-VSP or PB62-US that you're wanting to move, shoot me a PM!
P.P.S. Action was Fender high, relief about right. Great fretwork. Cranked the saddles down a bit and gave her a spin. Huge tone! Fit and finish are easily the equal of an American Vintage. Once I get Pressurewounds installed and the action dialed in, I'm thinking this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
I think the Customs fee was charged because Ishibashi did not specify that a JB62-VSP is a bass. And U.S. Customs didn't bother to look at page 2 of the manifest where it says "musical instrument." I'll appeal.
Gorgeous bass. About 9.5 pounds. Cool gig bag! It's 2012 manufacture. New Old Stock I guess. No hangtags, plastic on PG, a few tiny scratches...that's actually OK, cuz that means I can play this puppy instead of enshrining it! Tuned and ready to go. Out and about for a little bit first. NBD!!!
P.S. This one could use a sister. (Her cousin the Duck is very sweet though.) If anybody has a PB62-VSP or PB62-US that you're wanting to move, shoot me a PM!
P.P.S. Action was Fender high, relief about right. Great fretwork. Cranked the saddles down a bit and gave her a spin. Huge tone! Fit and finish are easily the equal of an American Vintage. Once I get Pressurewounds installed and the action dialed in, I'm thinking this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
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I got the JB66 the other day. Good news and bad news.
Good news:
After setting it up from the insanely BAD setup it arrived with, the action is right where I like it and the frets overall were level with no buzzing until I got to the last 5 frets up at the body end. Had to go for the nearly flat/low relief on the truss rod and then a high bridge saddle height. This approach gives me the slightly lower than Fender recommended height that I like, and just high enough on the bridge end that those last few frets don't buzz.
Bad News:
The bridge pickup was as dead as a doornail! Nothing coming out! (Thanks you lying sack of sh*t eBay seller!) Checked the wiring harness and everything looked normal with no loose and disconnected wires anywhere. Rather than troubleshooting this problem, I decided to go ahead with something I was considering even before the bass arrived. Upgrade pickups and electronics to 100% USA made vintage equivalent!
Those who have never looked on the other side of their control plates may not be aware that Fender Japan uses "tiny" little "micro" pots on all their guitars and basses. Nothing like the CTS pots found in vintage Fender guitars and basses. The wiring is also very light gauge cheap stuff. Nothing compared to the cloth insulated heavy gauge I find in all my vintage Jazz Basses from the 60s and 70s.
So... I have ordered a set of Fender 64 Vintage pickups and a stuffed control plate already wired up with full size CTS pots, Switchcraft ¼ jack and Gavit cloth insulated wiring. Because Fender Japan uses METRIC parts, I couldn't just replace the existing components in the original control plate with these same USA made parts. They wouldn't fit. So, buying a stuffed plate made the most sense. Believe it or not, actually cheaper than buying a new plate and harness separately.
The stuffed control plate I bought even comes with the vintage Jazz Bass knobs!
When its all done, this thing should sound about as close to a real 1966 Fender Jazz Bass as possible. The new components arrive Monday. I will report back on this then along with some photos.
Good news:
After setting it up from the insanely BAD setup it arrived with, the action is right where I like it and the frets overall were level with no buzzing until I got to the last 5 frets up at the body end. Had to go for the nearly flat/low relief on the truss rod and then a high bridge saddle height. This approach gives me the slightly lower than Fender recommended height that I like, and just high enough on the bridge end that those last few frets don't buzz.
Bad News:
The bridge pickup was as dead as a doornail! Nothing coming out! (Thanks you lying sack of sh*t eBay seller!) Checked the wiring harness and everything looked normal with no loose and disconnected wires anywhere. Rather than troubleshooting this problem, I decided to go ahead with something I was considering even before the bass arrived. Upgrade pickups and electronics to 100% USA made vintage equivalent!
Those who have never looked on the other side of their control plates may not be aware that Fender Japan uses "tiny" little "micro" pots on all their guitars and basses. Nothing like the CTS pots found in vintage Fender guitars and basses. The wiring is also very light gauge cheap stuff. Nothing compared to the cloth insulated heavy gauge I find in all my vintage Jazz Basses from the 60s and 70s.
So... I have ordered a set of Fender 64 Vintage pickups and a stuffed control plate already wired up with full size CTS pots, Switchcraft ¼ jack and Gavit cloth insulated wiring. Because Fender Japan uses METRIC parts, I couldn't just replace the existing components in the original control plate with these same USA made parts. They wouldn't fit. So, buying a stuffed plate made the most sense. Believe it or not, actually cheaper than buying a new plate and harness separately.
The stuffed control plate I bought even comes with the vintage Jazz Bass knobs!
When its all done, this thing should sound about as close to a real 1966 Fender Jazz Bass as possible. The new components arrive Monday. I will report back on this then along with some photos.
Still haven't had time to take a turn on the truss rod of my JB62-VSP. Neck is nearly flat; the 8th fret is slightly high on the bass side (buzzes on the E string when playing a fretted B at 7th). Hopefully a touch of relief will fix that. The MIJ electronics sound great. And there's no sending her back!
More than likely a little more relief will fix that buzz. I've been pretty lucky with all my MIJ basses as far as the condition of the frets. While most new guitars could definitely benefit from a Level, Crown and Polish, it isn't a must do with any of mine.
It will interesting to see how the JB66 sounds with all USA made electronics inside compared to my JB-62-US. Since the 62 has American Vintage pups in it, the only difference will be the wiring harness. I expect I will have a more sweeping tone control and volume with the CTS pots over the stock Fender Japan micro pots. I definitely hear and feel that difference when comparing with my vintage Js that all have their original CTS pots. We shall see.
Excellent update and post!
Sorry about the bad setup and dead pickup, but it sounds like you’re totally on it. I like the idea of your going with the full USA electronic setup. Nothing will sound better. So you’ll know that you have the best of everything when all that work is over.I didn’t know that you could get a fully populated control plate like that. Very interesting. Where did you get it? Cost? And do you know that it will fit well on the bass? It’s a cool idea because the hardest part of the work is now done for you. Adding the pickups will be easy, relatively speaking. And you get your choice of pickups. I’d probably go with the same pickups that you did.
I don’t know how the electronics sound in my VSP. Have not ordered the amp yet. Some odd things have happened on the home front. (Long story, but nothing too bad.) So I should wait about a month or two before I buy something. That Bassman 410 Neo via my Bandmaster is still the thought. I’m very curious to see how that all sounds.
Very happy to hear that you like the bass so much.
Me, too. This JB62-VSP is one sharp bass. Mine is not going anywhere, either. And on a very related note...
Just tonight I had a chance to take my first shot at the setup. I fully admit to being nervous working on it. It’s so nice that I do not want to mess up anything. Strings turned to slack and clamped down to the neck with a woodworking clamp. I unscrewed the 4 neck screws and wedged the neck out of the pocket just far enough to reach the truss rod screw. (It was quite tight.) Gave it 1/3 of a turn to tighten. Put it back together. A little buzz now at the upper frets. Raised the bridge screws ½ turn each to remove the buzz. It all plays better now. But I’ll give it a day or two to settle in. Then I’ll readjust the bridge screws. And intonate.
I am still so happy with this thing. It really is a shame that they are going away. I’d tell every Jazz bass fan to buy one.
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Ishibashi Music had some but they are going, going, gone. They were also quite frustrating for me to deal with, mainly because of the rep I was assigned. There are several recent MIJs on the Fleabay, a couple of reasonable deals, most at grossly inflated prices. Happy hunting!
Hey Jon!
Glad to hear that you rolled up the old sleeves and "got busy" with learning to do a setup. One thing I always do with the truss rod screw is use a fine point Sharpie marker and mark the neck with a line where one of the four screw slots is sitting, and then you know where you started in case you need to come back. Sounds like you did the right thing with raising the bridge saddles to compensate for the flatter fretboard profile. Thats exactly what I had o do with the JB66 cause of those couple of buzzing frets mainly on the "A" string up around the 17th fret. Aside from a fret job, the only way to go is a flatter fretboard and higher saddles. The action is the same height as if you went the opposite way with more relief and lower saddles. I actually prefer the former approach myself if the neck is a good one, which most of these MIJ JBs usually are.
As for the stuffed control plate... All these plates are identical dimensions to each other. Whether they be from an vintage American Fender, a MIM, or a MIJ. despite what you find on the other side, the chrome control plate itself is a one size fits all deal.
I got the stuffed plate for $50.00 off eBay. Here is a link.
920D Fender Jazz Bass Loaded Control Plate cts Pots Switchcraft Gavitt | eBay
As I said, I priced it out and found this to be a fair price for all the pieces of the control plate.
Glad to hear that you are still leaning towards the 410 Neo to go with your existing tube head. I really think that will be a great addition for both your JB and your guitars!
Glad to hear that you rolled up the old sleeves and "got busy" with learning to do a setup. One thing I always do with the truss rod screw is use a fine point Sharpie marker and mark the neck with a line where one of the four screw slots is sitting, and then you know where you started in case you need to come back. Sounds like you did the right thing with raising the bridge saddles to compensate for the flatter fretboard profile. Thats exactly what I had o do with the JB66 cause of those couple of buzzing frets mainly on the "A" string up around the 17th fret. Aside from a fret job, the only way to go is a flatter fretboard and higher saddles. The action is the same height as if you went the opposite way with more relief and lower saddles. I actually prefer the former approach myself if the neck is a good one, which most of these MIJ JBs usually are.
As for the stuffed control plate... All these plates are identical dimensions to each other. Whether they be from an vintage American Fender, a MIM, or a MIJ. despite what you find on the other side, the chrome control plate itself is a one size fits all deal.
I got the stuffed plate for $50.00 off eBay. Here is a link.
920D Fender Jazz Bass Loaded Control Plate cts Pots Switchcraft Gavitt | eBay
As I said, I priced it out and found this to be a fair price for all the pieces of the control plate.
Glad to hear that you are still leaning towards the 410 Neo to go with your existing tube head. I really think that will be a great addition for both your JB and your guitars!
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For the record, there is a 5% duty on Japanese electric basses imported to the U.S. And a couple of nuisance add-on fees totaling $11 too. So my $50 post office invoice was correct. How'd you other guys get away clean?
I don’t know why, but I didn’t get any extra charges when the bass arrived in the US. Mine was new, from Ishibashi, and the shipping charge was around 14,000 Yen. I thought that there was a limit, below which there are no import duties, like maybe $800. Maybe a used bass or a different shipper would change things? But yours was also new and from Ishibashi. No idea.
Yup, these basses are pretty easy to set up. Except for the screw being at the neck heel. I don’t like that part. But it’s not somewhere I will be working, often. Also, because the bass is so pristine, it was scary for me to start taking it apart. When working on my Danelectro, I did a lot of shimming. That bass was easier to work on in that the thing was a cheap toy, was falling apart, and I didn’t care too much if I destroyed it. This VSP is another matter.
I will let the VSP settle in a bit before making more adjustments. It is already playing better. Shimming is an option to save for the future. I don’t think that it will be needed here.
I find this kind of setup work to be a pain in that I’m really busy and don’t have much free time. (Which is why I’m a weak bass player.) On the other hand, it is quite gratifying when you dial the thing in just how you like it.
Thanks. Great to know about. I didn’t realize that you could buy something all complete like that. And for no extra money, even.
Yes, that is how I am leaning. Two things to mention there…
First, I was at a GC last weekend and got to play through a Fender Bassman 610 Neo. And I was… unimpressed? I could not play it loudly to get a sense of it, being in a store and all. So I do not know how well it can punch. The head was an Ampeg SVT7Pro and I think that I’m just not an Ampeg guy. When I was looking at combo amps, I preferred the Fender Rumbles over the Ampeg equivalents by a fair margin. The Ampeg combos had a very colored sound. Through the 610, this Ampeg + 610 was very boring and lifeless sounding. I did not twiddle the knobs too much. I tried a few J and P basses. The only thing that sounded good with this combo was a $200 Ibanez Talman bass. And that sounded really good. So the 610 can sound good. It probably just needs a good bass, a better head (oh, say, a Bandmaster?), and a better player.
Second, the reason I need to wait on ordering the 410 is kind of odd and a little unfortunate. But not too bad. I live in a small town in Indiana. Life is boring here, but it’s safe, easy to get around, and people are nice. Just in the past couple months (probably several years, actually), crime has been going up. Supposedly a “bad element” coming down from Chicago. My next door neighbors just had their house broken into. Fortunately (!), no one was hurt and nothing was taken due to someone being home and calling the cops. I’ve got all my gear in a room with a big window, as you can see in the photo below. Now that I have to be more vigilant, I realized that you can see all my gear from the street and outside beside the house, through the window. We don’t have a shade or anything on the window. So I packed up most of the gear, temporarily. We need to get a shade. But it’s an old house (100+ years) with a non-standard sized window. Now I’ve got to get a shade of some sort made, custom sized for the window. (I could probably build something myself, but work has me at 7 days/week for some months so I can’t do everything.) Then I can bring all my gear back out. Then I can order the 410.
