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Fender Jazz ‘75 Reissue Help

S

SlapMeBaby!

Nov 9, 2007
25
1
Boston
www.gravehaven.com
#1
I’m about to pull the trigger on finally buying a Fender Jazz ‘75 Reissue, years after passing up the chance to scoop one up brand new. I’ve found a couple of sellers with ones in good condition but have a couple of questions for the community before I do it.

One I found is tricked out with a Bad Ass II bridge, Aguilar OBP-3 preamp, and a hip shot extender and about $600 more than stock used ones I’m finding. Anyone have pros/cons to share on the bridge or preamp? I have no experience with Aguilar and what/if I’d be sacrificing anything with the original tone.

And second, the neck. It’s been ages since I tried one of these out. How’s the neck feel on these? I tried the new Jazz Ultra and thought the neck was way too chunky feeling. How would ‘75 compare?

Any feedback would be appreciated!
 
#2
SlapMeBaby! said:
I’m about to pull the trigger on finally buying a Fender Jazz ‘75 Reissue, years after passing up the chance to scoop one up brand new. I’ve found a couple of sellers with ones in good condition but have a couple of questions for the community before I do it.

One I found is tricked out with a Bad Ass II bridge, Aguilar OBP-3 preamp, and a hip shot extender and about $600 more than stock used ones I’m finding. Anyone have pros/cons to share on the bridge or preamp? I have no experience with Aguilar and what/if I’d be sacrificing anything with the original tone.

And second, the neck. It’s been ages since I tried one of these out. How’s the neck feel on these? I tried the new Jazz Ultra and thought the neck was way too chunky feeling. How would ‘75 compare?

Any feedback would be appreciated!
Click to expand...
I think those preamps are great, if it has an active/passive switch you can always go back to the traditional passive tone. You really only need to swap a bridge if a) you want to add some weight to the tail end to balance out neck dive 2) add adjustable string spacing or 3) add the ability to quick change strings. The badass will only do #1 on that list.

I guess I’m not qualified to comment on neck chunkiness because I have an Ultra and wouldn’t call the neck chunky even for a Jazz. I find the Ultra necks some of the most comfortable Fender has ever made.

I would not pay for those upgrades. On the used market sometimes you can get nice upgrades without paying additional cost. There’s no reason to pay for upgrades you don’t want when buying used, you can always spend that money upgrading a bass however you want.
 
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#3
I had one of these. The neck on mine was very skinny/thin. I thought it to be one of the better/ grouliest bass's I have owned. The pademic is why I sold mine. I think putting/buying one with a preamp kinda defeats the whole thing? I would just get a deluxe in that case.
 
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#5
SlapMeBaby! said:
Bad Ass II bridge, Aguilar OBP-3 preamp, and a hip shot extender and about $600
Click to expand...
"Upgrades" generally add little to (and can sometimes subtract from) the resale value - so it baffles me when a seller asks a premium price for modifications and apparently include the cost of having them installed(?) Are the original parts included?

If you already intended to do those modifications, fine - but I'd just buy a "stock" bass 1st, and do them myself if needed.

I removed my Badass bridges and Extender keys about 5 years ago and restored those basses to stock.
As for the Aguilar pre; I was surprised I didn't care for it in a Roscoe Bass I had - (didn't like the frequency centers - at least for that bass.)
My Jazz basses are stock/passive, and I use the Aggie 925 pre on my pedalboard - usually not my thing, but it's a great pedal.
 
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#6
The nut with on a 75 reissue is 1.5” which is is less than the ultra, so it should feel thinner in general with strings closer together.

You should know that they were made in both Japan and the US which might affect specific specs or resale value.

I have a Japanese made one and it’s been a fantastic bass, though I’ve replaced everything but the wood at this point.
 
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#8
I have plenty of experience with Badass II bridges. There is a reason why I have two basses equipped with them. But... you can buy one for ~$125 and mount it yourself.

Never used an Aguilar OBP-3 preamp. But again... you can buy one for $165 and even have someone install it for maybe $100 more. The total for both is a little over half the difference in price. So, that would be a definite "pass" if I were in your shoes.
 
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#10
SlapMeBaby! said:
I’m about to pull the trigger on finally buying a Fender Jazz ‘75 Reissue, years after passing up the chance to scoop one up brand new. I’ve found a couple of sellers with ones in good condition but have a couple of questions for the community before I do it.

One I found is tricked out with a Bad Ass II bridge, Aguilar OBP-3 preamp, and a hip shot extender and about $600 more than stock used ones I’m finding. Anyone have pros/cons to share on the bridge or preamp? I have no experience with Aguilar and what/if I’d be sacrificing anything with the original tone.

And second, the neck. It’s been ages since I tried one of these out. How’s the neck feel on these? I tried the new Jazz Ultra and thought the neck was way too chunky feeling. How would ‘75 compare?

Any feedback would be appreciated!
Click to expand...
It’s completely up to you! I have a BA2 on a 70s reissue and I would say it’s fine, but I don’t think it is especially an upgrade. Honestly I think I like the cheap ol’ stampy bridges enough to just keep them.

That preamp I decidedly do NOT like. You might love it. A friend had one and I found it way too abrasive and scratchy sounding up top. On the bass mentioned above, I’m using a John East preamp and I find it way more natural sounding. My next jazz will be passive.

My own issue is that I like the sound of 60s pickup spacing best, but the 70s jazzes just look so cool to me! What’s a guy to do?
 
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#11
tranceFusion said:
The nut with on a 75 reissue is 1.5” which is is less than the ultra, so it should feel thinner in general with strings closer together.

You should know that they were made in both Japan and the US which might affect specific specs or resale value.

I have a Japanese made one and it’s been a fantastic bass, though I’ve replaced everything but the wood at this point.
Click to expand...
Thank you. This is helpful. I’m looking at American made ones.
 
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