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Fender JP 90 club?

well its here....... its a little rough -- needs a set up for sure -- and the neck needs a tweak.... cleaning up and new strings planned for the holiday weekend.
BUT happy to report nothing SCARY -- some dings and bashes from real world use, -- this was NO CASE QUEEN--but that just ads MOJO right ;)

Nice Schaller branded tuners---fully functioning EMGS W/ the battery pack on the BACK of the body like its supposed to be... . looks like a pro install.


more to come as I unravel the mysteries of the JP-90!!!!
 
well its here....... its a little rough -- needs a set up for sure -- and the neck needs a tweak.... cleaning up and new strings planned for the holiday weekend.
BUT happy to report nothing SCARY -- some dings and bashes from real world use, -- this was NO CASE QUEEN--but that just ads MOJO right ;)

Nice Schaller branded tuners---fully functioning EMGS W/ the battery pack on the BACK of the body like its supposed to be... . looks like a pro install.


more to come as I unravel the mysteries of the JP-90!!!!

Yay!

I've got mine in my lap even as I type. I've got better basses, objectively, but this one always draws me back.
 
new foam under pups -- new MISFITS SKULL BUSTER strings .........new tusq nut .... all dialed in tweaked to taste ..... and ILL BE DAMNED this thing BOOMS! -- I believe its a KEEPER ;)

GREAT to hear!

Literally.

I've got a couple of Jazzes, various countries and various eras, and I don't own a faster neck than my JP90. It's got a great little niche in my collection.
 
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Hey there. Just picked up my Second JP-90 bass. The first one was a weird aqua blue color, picked up from Ed Roman Guitars in Las Vegas circa 2005. I traded it for my first synthesizer and found out the new owner quickly traded it to the local music store for weed money. I was pissed. It has always been 'the one that got away'. I got this one locally for $600. You think you see everything while you are evaluating a guitar for purchase, but missed the fact that this one was missing the outside saddle screw on the G string. Luckily for me I had bought a bridge off a JP-90 for abt $15 on reverb for another project and just gave it the quick swap. Much happier and less of a hassle than bickering at the music shop.

I have a few questions:

Has anyone pulled off a nut replacement with an off the shelf nut?
There seems to be some discrepancies between Fenders spec sheets and TB members own accounts of their own nut width. I assume such nut would be flat bottom as it looks like a slab board but ive seen readings anywhere from 38mm to 41mm. Is there a variance over the years of production? In short, link me if youve had success with a particular nut replacement. Mine has the dreaded A string buzz.

Can someone post a picture of their cavity/wiring?
Im suspecting someone modded mine as the tone cap looks suspect and someone may have gone so far as to attempt a treble bleed mod on mine. Also the screw holes for the pickguard are stripped, dead giveaway. Also the ground from the 3rd leg of the tone pot is knocked loose from its joint on the ground bus-bar.

Any luck jamming a Fender stealth string retainer under the ferrule of the LBSchaller tuning keys? Ive already ordered one but didnt notice this was not the type of tuners with the screw lug built in. Oh well. Ill find a use for it.
View attachment 4190724

View attachment 4190730


A little late to the response (just got my JP a couple weeks ago) I pulled off a TUSQ QL PT-1214-00 jazz bass nut-- had to "tweak" to flavor but it works great
 
I just purchased a JP-90 and the pots were really shot, the pickguard was cracked and the jack was worse. I was hoping to keep it all original, these day 30 years old is almost vintage.

But no big deal, before I tore it down I gave the bass a test drive and really like the feel. I got a new pickguard, wired up some new pots etc. and found that the full size pots won't allow the pickguard to drop into the cavity(?). Is this common to have to remove a bit of wood / paint to accommodate? Easy enough but I hadn't anticipated this scenario.

PS, thanks for all the info in this thread and where do I join the "MEDIOCRE BASSISTS CLUB"?
 
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I just purchased a JP-90 and the pots were really shot, the pickguard was cracked and the jack was worse. I was hoping to keep it all original, these day 30 years old is almost vintage.

But no big deal, before I tore it down I gave the bass a test drive and really like the feel. I got a new pickguard, wired up some new pots etc. and found that the full size pots won't allow the pickguard to drop into the cavity(?). Is this common to have to remove a bit of wood / paint to accommodate? Easy enough but I hadn't anticipated this scenario.

PS, thanks for all the info in this thread and where do I join the "MEDIOCRE BASSISTS CLUB"?

Post a pic!

My mini-pots still sound great, so they’re still aboard mine; I can’t help you with the wood removal. I definitely suggest a thicker PG.

Congratulations! You’ve found Fender’s hidden gem. We’re a small but happy club.
 
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Look back to my rebuild post from last year.

The Bournes mini pots are expensive but fit perfectly and are extremely high quality. Way better than the original ones and better than any of the aftermarket small pots.

Thanks larrysb, found the referenced thread and the Bourns pots.

Any suggestions on the tone cap? I planned on .047 but it's possible another value would be better.

For the record what I pulled out was 500k pots with a .068 tone cap; made wonder what Fender was thinking.
 
Sure, you JP-90ers have lots of photos of basses, but who has a photo of their original sales receipt or guitar tag??? LOL

JP90_bass_receipt.jpg JP90_bass_tags.jpg

Sales must've been hurting for our wonderful 'lil misfit in October of '93 because I got this guy new for $150 off retail with a classic tweed Fender hardshell case thrown in free. Have had it ever since, gigged extensively with it in the late '90s and always loved it but it's been out of use for the last couple of years.

About to work on it a bit and pulled off a couple of stickers that had been on it for 28 years, which revealed the whiter unweathered finish beneath (doh!) but will just consider those battle scars. This thing's been through a lot with me. Neck's always been great (skunk stripe). The bass has always had a great feel in general and hopefully with a few upgrades will get many more years of play.

JP90_bass_full.jpg
 
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Sure, you JP-90ers have lots of photos of basses, but who has a photo of their original sales receipt or guitar tag??? LOL

View attachment 4357301 View attachment 4357302

Sales must've been hurting for our wonderful 'lil misfit in October of '93 because I got this guy new for $150 off retail with a classic tweed Fender hardshell case thrown in free. Have had it ever since, gigged extensively with it in the late '90s and always loved it but it's been out of use for the last couple of years.

About to work on it a bit and pulled off a couple of stickers that had been on it for 28 years, which revealed the whiter unweathered finish beneath (doh!) but will just consider those battle scars. This thing's been through a lot with me. Neck's always been great (skunk stripe). The bass has always had a great feel in general and hopefully with a few upgrades will get many more years of play.

View attachment 4357319
Wicked awesome!

Welcome to the Club, #38!
 
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I'm the original owner of mine too! I bought it on a 4th of July sale, right after watching some stupid Schwartzenager movie. Guitar Center near the theater, went in to check out the sale and they had about half a dozen JP90 bass guitars in a big plastic trash can with red-white-and-blue ribbons all over it on blowout sale, marked $249 and I think I got an extra $30 off that I spent on the BadAss bridge I put on it when I got it home that day. No case! I think it was a year before I bought a cheap gig bag for it. Just used to toss it in the backseat for gigs.

Don't think I got the tags or the owner's booklet. Definitely haven't had them in decades either.