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Fender Jazz Bass Special - Circa 1984-87

#61
onlyoneZ said:
I have all 3 varieties of the Jazz Bass Special. The passive JBS fretted, I bought new back in 87 or 88. The Power Jazz Bass Special I bought in early 2008, and the fretless JBS, I bought in late 2008. I absolutely love the necks on these. My dream bass would be one of these with a blue-quilt maple top, but I know they never made such an animal.

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Great collection! I agree with what you said about the necks. I can't believe how fantastic the neck on my Power Jazz Special is. Super thin, and plays great. I'm actually considering putting the neck on a Jazz body, if it fits exactly.
 
#62
bassgod76 said:
AdamR, I really hated you for a few days, after you stole this from me in the classifieds section.... I copied your avitar and threw darts at it. I also prayed to Jesus that your bass would be mishandled and accidentally shipped to me, etc.

No worries. I looked on Evil bay, and now I have one too! :D
JazzBassSpecial.jpg
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It happends, But you jinxed the wrong end of the transaction, The amp I sent on trade suffered the wrath of UPS. The bass wont land till Monday, Hopefully its better off them the old SWR. Glad you found one.
 
#63
AdamR said:
It happends, But you jinxed the wrong end of the transaction, The amp I sent on trade suffered the wrath of UPS. The bass wont land till Monday, Hopefully its better off them the old SWR. Glad you found one.
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Aw man, that sucks. UPS deflowered a couple of cabs I sold, a few year a few years back. They gave me a bunch of crap about them not being padded adequately. Too bad they were sent in the exact same boxes that Hartke shipped them in. After explaining this to UPS, I got the claim money. Good luck, and post pics of your new baby.

I'm still pissed that you beat me out on that bass. ;)
 
#65
I have a couple questions regarding the passive version of the Jazz Bass Special (Non-power jazz version).

First, How many colors did this bass's body come in? I've seen it in white, black, and a gold color.

Second, which is the rarest color?

I saw a regular Jazz bass special on Feebay recently that had the black headstock, but the back of the neck wasn't black, yet it was not a power jazz. Did the fretless versions of this bass come sans painted neck?

Are replacement knobs for this bass still around?
 
#67
bassgod76 said:
I have a couple questions regarding the passive version of the Jazz Bass Special (Non-power jazz version).

First, How many colors did this bass's body come in? I've seen it in white, black, and a gold color.

Second, which is the rarest color?

I saw a regular Jazz bass special on Feebay recently that had the black headstock, but the back of the neck wasn't black, yet it was not a power jazz. Did the fretless versions of this bass come sans painted neck?

Are replacement knobs for this bass still around?
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Originally they came in Pewter (the common silver-grey finish), white, black, and Candy Apple Red (the BEST CAR Fender ever offered BTW). I can't say for sure, but I'm betting CAR was the most rare.

The earliest versions all had a black finish on the back of the neck and headstock. My experience is that most of the ones with the black finish on the back of the neck/headstock generally had thicker, more Precision-ish necks. After a short while they discontinued that and the had a regular transparent finish on the back of the necks and headstock. The Power Jazz Bass Special was introduced after they made that change, so there are a lot of the passive JBS instruments with a natural maple neck showing on the back.

Whether the back of the neck was painted black or left transparent had nothing to do with whether it was fretted or fretless, just when it was built. It was never announced in any of the Fender literature when they changed it, the new basses just started showing up with clear finishes on the back of the neck instead of the paint.

John
 
#68
JTE said:
Originally they came in Pewter (the common silver-grey finish), white, black, and Candy Apple Red (the BEST CAR Fender ever offered BTW). I can't say for sure, but I'm betting CAR was the most rare.

The earliest versions all had a black finish on the back of the neck and headstock. My experience is that most of the ones with the black finish on the back of the neck/headstock generally had thicker, more Precision-ish necks. After a short while they discontinued that and the had a regular transparent finish on the back of the necks and headstock. The Power Jazz Bass Special was introduced after they made that change, so there are a lot of the passive JBS instruments with a natural maple neck showing on the back.

Whether the back of the neck was painted black or left transparent had nothing to do with whether it was fretted or fretless, just when it was built. It was never announced in any of the Fender literature when they changed it, the new basses just started showing up with clear finishes on the back of the neck instead of the paint.

John
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Thanks! Great info. I can't wait until mine arrives. :hyper:
 
#69
I picked up a white '87 JBS w/HSC cheap ($150) a couple of weeks ago. I went through a whole pad of 0000 steel wool cleaning the gunk/resin off the fretboard, but with some new strings and cleanup, it's a beauty to play and hear. I'll get some pics up this week. All original, dinged a bit, but definitely a player.
 
#70
Another question. I just got my JBS. The finish was more yellowed than the pic I posted. Has anyone had experience with the white JBS body finish yellowing?
Maybe it's the soft lighting in my office?
 
#76
I took another look and consulted with other JBS owners. The yellowing is normal with this model, and after taking it home, the finish isn't as yellow as previously thought.
Let me get the opinion of the JBS community. ;)
The input jack has to go, because it's unoriginal and chrome. Also I'm having a switch issue.
Since this requires me to go under the hood, I'm thinking about swapping out the cheap factory wire with vintage cloth, and maybe sheilding the cavity.
Opinions?
 
#77
JTE said:
My experience is that most of the ones with the black finish on the back of the neck/headstock generally had thicker, more Precision-ish necks.
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That explains a lot. I had an 85 fretless (solid black neck), definitely a B width at the nut, but flatter front to back than my late 70s P. Definitely wasn't a jazz nut but I always see people saying these basses had 1.5" nuts and was sure that wasn't right. I agree the red finish on these was great. Not sure if mine was the CAR you were talking about, it was more of a metallic burgundy, but I loved the look of it. I think I posted a pic earlier in this thread but why not post it again :p

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#78
coreyfyfe said:
That explains a lot. I had an 85 fretless (solid black neck), definitely a B width at the nut, but flatter front to back than my late 70s P. Definitely wasn't a jazz nut but I always see people saying these basses had 1.5" nuts and was sure that wasn't right.
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My '87 has a jazz nut. I've never measured it, but it feels like a 1.5". It's definitely not a B width.
 

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