Fender JP 90 club?

[Maxdusty]

Dude stop talking like that. Actually I played a beat up one in a pawnshop here that was heavy and played terrible. I couldn't see anything about it better than my Cowpoke P/J which is lighter. As far as light goes, my Fender Precision Lyte is lighter than both of them.

A JP-90 isn't a heavy bass . It weighs around 7- 7.5 lb. Not sure if you meant strictly in comparison to those other Fender models. It can get beat up pretty easily as the body has a thin finish and the one I owned actually played better than my Fender P or Jazz bass so perhaps there may be something wrong with the one at your store, some had suspect necks if I remember correctly. In terms of sound, they're pretty good basses. I've owned around 80-90 basses (habitual flipper) the past 5 years or so and the JP-90 was one of the better basses I've owned - it's all a matter of personal taste.

 

[CCBro]

These JP90's are light, imo....at least mine is.
Compared to a Pbass , a Jazz, a Peavey Fury , the JP90 is lighter except maybe the Fury.
The neck is much easier for me to play than a large PBass, but I think most players get used to what they use after years and years. Ive had a J neck for so long.

From my reading
1) the tones and pickups are standard US of the time period and very well liked.
2) The neck setup was mentioned a couple times, but I never could trace down to anyone personally having it setup or any details about their comments. (A 30yr old bass or were they noticed in the initial years? LOL...was the internet forums even up to speed back then?)
3) Ive also seen idiots do horrific setups so Im skeptical is it the guitar or the human?
4) There was the Corona/Ensenda plant factory thing going on which is interesting too

Im still new to mine but the weight and the sound is not an issue. Im playing/adjusting with the setup and height of the strings for personal perfection, and of course the color of the pick-guard! I ordered a original black for $38, but the white on black looks fine too.

Found this as I was curious on the early building factory days of 1990. So Ensenada didnt even have CNC machines to build bodys and necks from 1990-1993 during JP90 production. So most likely they used the cheaper labor for assembly of US made parts which is common, but I dont have any exact finds of this.

"After the February 1994 fire at the original Fender Ensenada facility which started in a paint booth totally destroyed the entire original Fender Ensenada plant, Fender moved Mexico manufacturing into the current far more spacious facility. Then much later Fender installed CNC machines at Ensensada so they could do the entire manufacturing process from raw wood blanks to a finished guitar.

There was no need to ship blanks to Ensenada prior to that because they didn't have the machinery to mill it. Until the CNC machines arrived at Ensenada, Corona was still cutting bodies and cutting and fretting necks for Ensenada production. "

So with this we know the necks and body were made and cut in Corona and if anything sent to Ensenada for possibly sanding, assembly, painting then sent back to Corona. Kind of like putting a "Kit" together.

I'm curious how the Schaller lic by Fender tuners came about too..
The whole Fender factory splits and Squiers really took off in different directions.
Seems prior to this there were only a dozen or so different Fenders to keep track of! Then MIJ, MIK, MIM, MI.....yikes!

 

[Picton]

Oh, and by the way, is anyone giving out numbers for this "club?" I continue to love my JP90, and it never fails to get people talking.

I do buy the "neck issue" argument, which is why I made sure to get one of the early heel-adjust ones. I played about five of these before I bought mine, and all the headstock-adjust ones had high action. Two had stripped hex nuts, too.

 

[CCBro]

Feb 1994- after the fire article.
"The benefits of Mexico are two-fold, according to Schultz. "Wages run approximately one-quarter of those in America and Korea, and Ensenada's close proximity to our factory in Corona, California, allows same-day access for our American managers and engineers."

Global Sourcing Production of Mexican-made Stratocasters begins in California, where all necks and bodies are fabricated on computer-controlled machines. "This approach allows us to better utilize our large capital investments in the U.S.," stated Schultz. These parts are then trucked approximately 100 miles to the Ensenada plant where they are sanded, painted, and assembled. "

Anyone know what the Truss rod type is bi-flex?
Apparently the 1992 they went to the Headstock Truss hole, from the bottom truss adjustment neck.

 

[CCBro]

Oh, and by the way, is anyone giving out numbers for this "club?" I continue to love my JP90, and it never fails to get people talking.

I do buy the "neck issue" argument, which is why I made sure to get one of the early heel-adjust ones. I played about five of these before I bought mine, and all the headstock-adjust ones had high action. Two had stripped hex nuts, too.

That's interesting.
There is a common difference of Truss rod nuts of 1/8 (standard US) and 3/16 (common MIM) as I understand it....so stripped allen heads are ugly problems. One of the first things I always look for on a used guitar is if theres marks from someone adjusting the allen head.(or stripping the allen)

I found the one I have to have high strings, for my preference and is the headstock adjustment. The Bow was fine so I added some heel shims and it came in nicely. The strings are a little heavier than I like but its getting there!

Im going to be swapping out Pickguards back to the black on black and will be interested in the pickups.

I'm curious now on the "assembly" of the neck? One article I read mentions the wood truss rod plug on the headstock is 1/8 and the black plastic is indicative of the 3/16.

To be honest other than changing string gauges once my guitars setup I dont recall having to adjust the neck truss rods again. Kind of a once in a life time thing for me.

I cant recall ever seeing a severe bowed neck on any guitar, not even my Squiers?

 

[CCBro]

FENDER>
DO ANY CURRENT FENDER BASSES HAVE BI-FLEX TRUSS RODS?
Nope. Just certain guitars.

They used to, though. From 1982 to 1984 and from 1989 to 1995, U.S.-made Fender basses did have Bi-Flex truss rods. But since basses rarely need counterclockwise truss rod adjustment, more powerful single-action truss rods with a larger diameter replaced Bi-Flex truss rods in Fender basses.

So which one does the JP90 have, anyone know?

 

[CCBro]

Want to know why MIM has plastic and USA has wood? It's not cost, it's the size of the wrench. Both necks have the same size hole sans the sleeve, the MIA uses a 1/8" wrench and the MIM uses a 3/16" wrench. If you drill a 3/16" hole in a 3/8" dowel you'll end up tearing the wood which would look terrible so the thinner plastic sleeve is used.


I'm just finding out all kinds of stuff about everything while searching for JP90 info. A lot to do over 1/16" ? Wonder why Fender even does the different sizes?

 

[CCBro]

I can add a little on the Truss Rod on this JP90.

It is a 3/16" allen head wrench needed. (not the 1/8, it is way off. )
Followed Fender link-
Feeler gauge of .014"(.35mm) for the 7.25radius neck, at the 8th fret on the 4th string(D).
Capo on 1stfret and held down last fret.
Fender link-
How do I set up my bass guitar properly?

I thought the neck was fine, but the feeler gauge proved me wrong. Once again its amazing what a little tweak will do.
Turned the truss rod gently about 4 times, small movements and re-measure. Now its feeling like my others, so much better., so much lower and Im picky and light strummer so low action is ok.......higher is great for no buzz and banging away too as everyone knows....but still the string movement is so small, but huge effect?

As for the Fender trivia story on these continues...
It kind of confuses me, as Will Moseley wrote "the parts built in Ensenda and sent to Corona for Assembly", where Shulz is saying "there werent any CNC machines in Ensenda before 94, so wood work wasnt possible" in Ensenda. so parts were shipped from the US/California to Ensenada and work done there....up and down and down and up Highway 1. A beautiful drive. I bopped over to Fullerton while working in the area once, the Fender museum and had a sandwich in Fullerton finding the buildings once busy, even Leos original small store was still there and up or lease at the day I found it. My coworker didnt get it and chose to watch TV in the hotel instead of going to Fullerton..funny.

Anyway the 3/16" allen nut and thinner blackplastic trussrod plug is more of the Ensenda style of today. I dont know of any US 3/16" and black plastic truss plugs (though I prefer them really as they dont deform like the wood plugs often do).Will's article makes sense in there was some collaboration but the details are foggy. The infamous "brotherdave "explains those confusing years well in posts.

re-post ! what the hell!
The OFFICIAL FENDER SPECS for the JP90 follow:

Model Name: JP-90
Model Number: 014-4100-(Color #)
Series: Standard Series
Body: POPLAR
Neck: MAPLE
Fingerboard: ROSEWOOD
No. of Frets: 20
Scale Length: 34" (864 mm)
Width @ Nut: 1.625" (41mm)
Hardware: CHROME
Machine Heads: STANDARD
Bridge: STANDARD
Pickguard: N/A
Pickups: 1 STANDARD PRECISION, 1 STANDARD JAZZ
Pickup Switching: 3 Position Toggle (Neck, Neck/Bridge, Bridge)
Controls: MASTER VOLUME, MASTER TONE
Colors: (706) BLACK, (758) TORINO RED, (780) ARCTIC WHITE (Poly-Urethane Finish)
Strings: Dynamaxx 1200L
Unique Features:
Source: CORONA (US)
Accessories: None
U.S. MSRP: $499.99 to $529.99
Specs: Prices and Specifications Subject to Change Without Notice
INTRODUCED: 1990
DISCONTINUED: 1993

funny the spec says pickguard N/A...lol

 

[fretter]

Well, whatever they did, they were allowed to put MIA on the headstock. Therefore, it's no more or no less MIA than any other MIA Fender.

 

[Olde Axeman]

Note the specs CCBro provided. I see this a lot with Fender specs; they will often have one or two small items wrong. In this instance, the nut width is listed at 1.62" instead of the correct 1.5".

My JP-90 weighs about 7-1/4 lbs, which of course means it has neck dive, but it's a weight I can live without dreading picking it up and strapping it on. The JP-90 is absolutely the best Fender USA PJ bass to be had in terms of affordability and light weight based entirely on my subjective opinion. Others may differ but risk being called out. Seriously though, it's a really good axe in its own right.

The pickguard thing eludes me though. I don't understand why so many people think it's butt-ugly. I think it's fine. It reminds me of a bass clef designed by Salvador Dali or similar surrealist. I can't see it being a deal breaker at all.

 

[CCBro]

Youre right! It is 1.5 on mine too.
But the neck isnt a straight Jazz copy either it seems to me?
The middle frets are wider..I dont know. Its thinner than the Pbass but feels, imo, wider than my Jazz?

The pickguard looks fine to me too, maybe the non-classic style shocks people, I thought the same of the MusicMan pickguards or the Fender 51 pickguards.

 

[CCBro]

EDIT> visual inspection the nut is rounded a bit, so 3/16" is correct.

5mm might help in a bad situation but possibly make it worse.
I just used a wrench of 5mm (.1969) and it fit better in the truss rod than the 3/16" (.1875) . Reading some thread on the crazy days of the 90's before Fender smoothed out and started really tracking things. Im talking 10/1000 of an inch difference, so this could be from the previous owner rounding it out a little too.
I did notice though and believe this to be best fit with a 5mm?. By wiggling the longer allen wrench end into the socket, it can be very snug and tight, a perfect fit actually.

Ok so, I have plenty "good flat in the nut" to remove the nut if needed. Its not needed for now its setup perfect for me. The .014" spec is achieved.

I did notice in reading and inspection the black plastic type nut a person just backs it out and puts on a new one, which seems easier than the US wood type as I think the wood has to be removed or bored out.

Ive ever done this so I might order a 3/16" new nut, $7.99 for 2qty. Looks easy if the nuts not stripped and it doesnt seem to be in the Left (CCW) direction.
Seems Bass dont have that issue often, its usually putting bow in CW direction the small nuts would get worn.

 

[CCBro]

Still not getting the feel... dropped the strings to 95 to 40, new set installed. $25.
Its getting better chasing this down. Lower the action is my goal.
Im pretty sure it had 100's...so 5/1000 difference on the E string.

Setup of 1/16" at nut from bottom of string to flat ruler sitting on rosewood on fret 1,
and 2 to 3/16" on the 12th or further down was a big change. The buzzing lead me to getting thinner strings too.

Wish I had gotten 90's...just for a buzz test. That long list on the other thread about strings of the real bass players was interesting.

 

[CCBro]

Anyone taken out a truss nut on a JP90?
Mine is not fully stripped but a little rounded on the top. Ive never changed one so Im thinking this will be it.
The key is if I have to take out the plug, if I do that will suck...and might abort the fun-tinkerer project.
If I can back it out with out any woodwork, then it would be cool.

theres also an old saying "it if aint broke dont try to fix it"....hmmm?

 

[CCBro]

Good news the 3/16" Fender truss rod nut sold as the MIM, was checked to slide in the hole and it did.
I didnt even remove the strings , just loosened them and moved them out of the way.
Next the truss nut was turned CCW and came right out of the hole, making this a seriously <3 minute job.
There was some dried glue on the chrome nut but no problems at all.

Then came an odd thing, using my new Fender extended T-Handle 3/16" tool only one of the two nuts in the bag of 2qty,in fit the 3/16" allen!
So after sometime trying to figure out ***? I just assumed one nut was a defective pos....and the other one fit perfectly and used that on the JP90. The one that came out was a perfect 3/16" too.

Gently inserting the new truss nut into the hole with the T-Handle, numerous turns to feel it seat and start grabbing.
At that point it was done. <10minutes really.

The scariest part was putting the new one in because of worry of stripping the threaded rod inside.
So I wouldnt really recommend this to anyone as a 10minute job due to the possibility of stripping the rod threads. Also in hindsight, I would probably recommend using soft blue painters tape to cover the headstock too to prevent any scrapes. Im a old technician using tools so this was a first on the guitar but nuts and bolts and stripped screws isnt new.

As for the other type with wooden plugs, these are not at all going to be easy because you have to remove the wooden plug, then do the nut replacement and then reinsert the new $7 wood plug and then sand and finish the wood etc...

to be honest this MIM black plastic truss nut plug is better than the wood, from a functional engineering perspective.(cosmetics not included) Having the nut slide in and out so easily is great!

the neck returned to .014 yaddayaddayadda...

 

[Picton]

In case anyone cares...

As a history geek and a guy who just REALLY loves his JP90, I thought I’d “update the database,” as it were.

Here are your numbers. I left off banned people, folks who were selling theirs, and folks I couldn’t be sure owned one of these. Enjoy!

JP90 club

1. Geroi Asfalta
2. wolfmancharlie
3. Kanderson
4. Unrepresented
5. fretter
6. MrBuggaboo
7. cemerson2012
8. sgiacomo
9. pudge
10. audreycashin
11. Maxdusty
12. tbz
13. Slough Feg Bass
14. bilco
15. Olde Axeman
16. godofthunder59
17. AJBass66
18. JBass73
19. KF2B
20. Dbass Music
21. RockinRobert
22. Warhawk
23. Malak the Mad
24. Picton
25. CCBro

 

[CCBro]

RobertUI posted April 2005

My current main axe is by far the best value... I paid $125 for a Fender JP-90 with a hard case. The thing was pretty abused, but the neck was in great shape. I had to rewire the pickups and clean the whole thing, and after oiling the neck and repairing the pickguard (by using a very wide skirt washer over the pot) it was one heck of a bass!

I have since replaced the pickguard (went through Chandler guitars) and it looks like a pretty spiffy bass now. No-one would ever guess that I got it as a GHETTO axe!

daaaang? $125? the large washer sounds smart though...

 

[klejst]

Good basses and usually a US made Fender that can be had for the more cheaper price side...however I always found the pick guard design to be just weird and aesthetically displeasing.

 

[CCBro]

I did a little playing. Peavey Fury is a Jazz neck, the Squier Jazz is the same....the P-Bass Squier neck is definitely different.... the JP90 is like in between the two, its not huge like the p-bass and isnt as slim as the jazz.
I dont know if all JP90 necks are the same size? as shown up stream even the Fender specs arent right for all of them.

obvious theres the heel truss style and the headstock truss style. are the two identical widths and radius?

 

[Picton]

I did a little playing. Peavey Fury is a Jazz neck, the Squier Jazz is the same....the P-Bass Squier neck is definitely different.... the JP90 is like in between the two, its not huge like the p-bass and isnt as slim as the jazz.
I dont know if all JP90 necks are the same size? as shown up stream even the Fender specs arent right for all of them.

obvious theres the heel truss style and the headstock truss style. are the two identical widths and radius?

They feel "similar enough" to me, but I'm just going from memory of the two headstock-adjust JP90s I've ever played. My JP90 heel-adjust neck is definitely slimmer than my '97 MIJ Jazz neck, FWIW. About the same as my '94 MIM Jazz.