Fender JP 90 club?

[B-Mac]

Too bad the JP90 doesn't get more notice. It really is among the most comfortable playing bass guitars out there. Even as I get older, the JP90 can do the whole night, due to its light weight, balance and comfortable shape.

I still dream about getting a Custom Shop run of these made, same shape and feel, just better electronics and nicer woods, maybe some color options and an option for a slightly thicker neck (as my hands get older, they like a little beefier neck)

Don't know if there are enough of us JP-90 nerds out there who'd spring for such a thing to get them interested.

One can only hope. Being that we only have 48 club members here, I'd say that probably won't happen. I just got mine a few weeks ago only because I came across this club by accident. Many folks, even Leo worshippers, never heard of the JP 90.

Fender JP 90 Club Membership List | Talkbass.com

 

[B-Mac]

Check Reverb for prices; they’ve climbed since I got mine in Dec 2020 ($500 used at GC). I fixed a few things on mine: replaced P pickup with a Pure Vintage 63, replaced pickguard, replaced a corroded BadAss bridge with a new Omega replica, and added TI Jazz Flats. It’s an enjoyable bass to play.

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Amazing what a three ply pearloid pick guard can do. Very classy.

 

[Picton]

I still dream about getting a Custom Shop run of these made, same shape and feel, just better electronics and nicer woods, maybe some color options and an option for a slightly thicker neck (as my hands get older, they like a little beefier neck)

Don't know if there are enough of us JP-90 nerds out there who'd spring for such a thing to get them interested.

If you were willing to pay enough, you could probably get one from the FCS specced out however you wish? Or do they not do "true custom" anymore?

Regardless, I think a lot of what makes the '90 so comfortable is the poplar body. I support nicer wood, but I think you'd need to chamber it to get significant weight savings, and that little PG doesn't leave much chamberin' room. I think it'd be a very easy bass body to make in one's basement, too...

 

[larrysb]

The FCS has turned into a "order your vintage style replica from this menu of options".

I think a "master custom shop dealer" can do custom orders, but i think the lead time is measured in several years now.

What would be cool would be working with a big Fender dealer, like CME or similar, who regularly order things to their "spec". Maybe if we had 10 folks willing to put up money for a run of ten pre-sold instruments, it might happen. They might even order a couple more to sell.

It's weird, someone at the FCS would have a lot of fun putting it together.

 

[Michael Eisenman]

Remember that the JP-90 body shape is unlike anything that is currently offered by Fender. I should think that a big shop can order something to spec only within the range of currently available body shapes.

I think it would make more sense—and be much less costly—to buy a used JP-90 on eBay or Reverb and customize it to your spec. Even with a refinish it would be worthwhile.

 

[B-Mac]

If you were willing to pay enough, you could probably get one from the FCS specced out however you wish? Or do they not do "true custom" anymore?

Regardless, I think a lot of what makes the '90 so comfortable is the poplar body. I support nicer wood, but I think you'd need to chamber it to get significant weight savings, and that little PG doesn't leave much chamberin' room. I think it'd be a very easy bass body to make in one's basement, too...

Shorter and narrower body than a Jazz Bass. That makes them a bit more comfortable too IMHO.

 

[larrysb]

Guarantee you they still have drawings and probably tooling. Besides it is CNC cut even at FCS these days. They might want to sample a body otherwise, but they can likely just code it from the data they likely have. I think they briefly reused the body shape on a follow-on more upscale model that had more appointments and a different control cavity subsequent to the JP90.

The neck is a slim taper J-neck and not unique.

Never know till someone asks.

They don’t do a lot of custom shop bass guitars. Regular 6-strings outsell basses 10:1 on a good day.

 

[Picton]

This is a timely discussion! Lol.

 

[B-Mac]

Guarantee you they still have drawings and probably tooling. Besides it is CNC cut even at FCS these days. They might want to sample a body otherwise, but they can likely just code it from the data they likely have. I think they briefly reused the body shape on a follow-on more upscale model that had more appointments and a different control cavity subsequent to the JP90.

The neck is a slim taper J-neck and not unique.

Never know till someone asks.

They don’t do a lot of custom shop bass guitars. Regular 6-strings outsell basses 10:1 on a good day.

definitely not a Jazz bass body

 

[larrysb]

No, JP-90 not a J-bass body. The neck though, is stock slim taper J-bass.

But I'm pretty sure they re-used the JP-90 body shape on a subsequent, short lived model of bass right after the JP 90 production ended.

 

[B-Mac]

No, JP-90 not a J-bass body. The neck though, is stock slim taper J-bass.

But I'm pretty sure they re-used the JP-90 body shape on a subsequent, short lived model of bass right after the JP 90 production ended.

Interesting. @JIO might be able to add additional information to this?

 

[JIO]

Interesting. @JIO might be able to add additional information to this?

I don't really know but the other Fender basses that were of a somewhat similar/non-traditional design were the HM series and the Fender Lyte series, both from the early '90s. Both had rounded contours compared to the slab-like body the PJ-90 has.

 

[B-Mac]

I don't really know but the other Fender basses that were of a somewhat similar/non-traditional design were the HM series and the Fender Lyte series, both from the early '90s. Both had rounded contours compared to the slab-like body the PJ-90 has.

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Every little bit of information helps!

 

[Robot.G]

What was up with the two different necks on the JP90? And which one was more stable?

I bought a JP90 as my 1st bass about 30 years ago. It had really bad fret sprout and the shop I bought it from ended replacing the neck. I recall the 1st neck not having the skunk stripe and the 2nd neck having the stripe. It seems that the 2nd neck with the stripe was actually LESS stable. Maybe my memory is fuzzy though because it seems like it should have been the other way around.

???

 

[Picton]

What was up with the two different necks on the JP90? And which one was more stable?

I bought a JP90 as my 1st bass about 30 years ago. It had really bad fret sprout and the shop it bought it from ended replacing the neck. I recall the 1st neck not having the skunk stripe and the 2nd neck having the stripe. It seems that the 2nd neck with the stripe was actually LESS stable. Maybe my memory is fuzzy though because it seems like it should have been the other way around.

???

When I was deciding on getting a JP90, I did oodles of research on this and had the ability to play three of them. The consensus I discovered at that time was that the skunk-striped necks were, in general, less stable. The examples I've played have borne that out, though it's a tiny sample.

I think there are a number of possible reasons.

 

[Michael Eisenman]

What was up with the two different necks on the JP90? And which one was more stable?

I bought a JP90 as my 1st bass about 30 years ago. It had really bad fret sprout and the shop I bought it from ended replacing the neck. I recall the 1st neck not having the skunk stripe and the 2nd neck having the stripe. It seems that the 2nd neck with the stripe was actually LESS stable. Maybe my memory is fuzzy though because it seems like it should have been the other way around.

???

The first examples—with no stripe—had the trussrod adjustment at the body end of the neck. The later examples with the stripe had the trussrod adjustment at the headstock.

 

[larrysb]

The walnut filler strip is simply a product of how the truss rod was installed. The necks with no stripe in back had the truss rod installed from the fretboard side. The ones without had the truss rod installed by routing the slot in the back and installing the filler strip. The back side installation allows for truss rod adjustment at the headstock, vs. truss rod adjustment at the body.

Mine came with stripe and headstock adjustment. I bought it brand new in the early 90's, and it has not had any problems with the neck. I would say over the time I've owned it, it has only needed occasional adjustment and I play .045-.105 roundwound in standard tuning and I never remember to "detune for extended periods of not playing" since I always intend to grab it again, real soon, but sometimes don't.

The JP90 neck is a very slim taper J-bass neck, and they are not generally known for stability, which is why Fender subtly changed profiles a number of times through the history of the J-bass models. My Geddy Lee USA J-bass is a much chunkier profile, but the MIJ and MIM Geddy Lee have the very slim taper neck (as Geddy found that 1972 J-bass from the pawn shop, it had been sanded down). The slim MIJ/MIM Geddy's are prone to more neck bowing and sometimes need work.

It's really just the wood lottery. I don't think either truss rod installation is more stable, just more convenient to have the adjustment at the top, rather than the heel.

 

[Robot.G]

The walnut filler strip is simply a product of how the truss rod was installed. The necks with no stripe in back had the truss rod installed from the fretboard side. The ones without had the truss rod installed by routing the slot in the back and installing the filler strip. The back side installation allows for truss rod adjustment at the headstock, vs. truss rod adjustment at the body.

Mine came with stripe and headstock adjustment. I bought it brand new in the early 90's, and it has not had any problems with the neck. I would say over the time I've owned it, it has only needed occasional adjustment and I play .045-.105 roundwound in standard tuning and I never remember to "detune for extended periods of not playing" since I always intend to grab it again, real soon, but sometimes don't.

The JP90 neck is a very slim taper J-bass neck, and they are not generally known for stability, which is why Fender subtly changed profiles a number of times through the history of the J-bass models. My Geddy Lee USA J-bass is a much chunkier profile, but the MIJ and MIM Geddy Lee have the very slim taper neck (as Geddy found that 1972 J-bass from the pawn shop, it had been sanded down). The slim MIJ/MIM Geddy's are prone to more neck bowing and sometimes need work.

It's really just the wood lottery. I don't think either truss rod installation is more stable, just more convenient to have the adjustment at the top, rather than the heel.

Thanks for the info. I know that my 2nd neck had the adjustment at the body. It was wonky. Maybe it was just the wood lottery, and I was a loser. After 30 years I can't remember if the 1st neck had the stripe and headstock adjustment or not. I'd love to get another JP90 at some point if I can find one in great shape.

 

[larrysb]

Thanks for the info. I know that my 2nd neck had the adjustment at the body. It was wonky. Maybe it was just the wood lottery, and I was a loser. After 30 years I can't remember if the 1st neck had the stripe and headstock adjustment or not. I'd love to get another JP90 at some point if I can find one in great shape.

It appears the earlier production had no stripe and body (heel) adjustment and later ones like mine had stripe and adjustment at the nut end of the neck. There may be odd examples here and there for whatever reason.

I don’t think we have enough samples to say one is better than the other. I tend to think there really isn’t a difference.

The neck dimensions and carve are not unique, but the JP-90 slimmed down headstock shape is unique or at least not common with other models of Fender basses of the era.

 

[B-Mac]

Merry Christmas to everyone here at the Fender JP 90 Bass Club!!!