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Fender Medium Scale 1996 MIJ Jazz. Good or bad?

X

xantometapon

Jan 23, 2011
81
3
#1
Hi folks,

I have been looking for a medium scale lefty Fender Jazz bass for a long while now, so when this one showed up on Ebay I just bought it.

It has a couple of big dings but overall it seems to be in pretty good shape.
I am no Fender expert so I would like to ask you if Fender Japan had some bad years or I might expect a good bass.

Maybe I should have made some research prior to buying, but the bass had a lot of watchers, some offers and I did not want to let it go. You know...lefty, medium scale...that kind of bass does not show up very often, does it?

Any good/bad input about 1996 MIJ Fenders?

Cheers and thanks
 
#4
MIJ Fenders are excellent instruments.

You are correct that a medium scale lefty would be quite rare, so as long as you feel you paid a fair price, you probably got a good deal.

Was this one of the Aerodyne's with the JJ pickup configuration, rather than typical PJ?
 
#7
xantometapon said:
Nope. Standard Jazz Bass with JJ pickups.

Thanks for the input
Click to expand...
Either way, they're quite rare on this side of the ocean and if/when you decide to sell, you won't have trouble getting your asking price. You know yourself how hard it is to find a lefty you like, let alone medium scale, let alone a quality MIJ Fender.

Sounds like a score. Make sure to post pics for those who may google this exact topic years from now. Talkbass is kinda like an encyclopedia that way, and doing google research on old basses is how I found TB in the first place.
 
#8
Fender Japan has never had a bad year. I've never played a 32' scale Fender, but I bet it's like bass heaven. Every difference about the medium scale is an advantage in comparison to the full size, imo.

I'm looking for a MIM Urge Standard with the same neck size.
 
#10
Can't go wrong with Fender Japan. I saw that bass on eBay n it looks all cool n standard but I was skeptical about it being a 32" scale so just to make sure I'd measure it from nut to G string bridge saddle if I were you n see if it's roughly 32", or 813mm. Hope my skepticism is wrong n it's indeed a very rare find.
 
#11
Howdy

I would wholeheartedly agree with the posters here - the Fender Japan 32" medium scales are unbelievably amazing. I own a number of them and I am still in the market for more of them - I just can't get enough!

I have several dealers in Japan who are on the lookout for me and let me know if anything rare and unusual turns up. Based on the small number of medium scales made - I can't imagine that they made many lefties. That is quite a score!

By the way, many don't realize - when Fender Japan first started in on the medium scales in the eighties - Fender US would not let Fender Japan use the Fender name on them. They could only release them under the Squier name. Later on, the instruments proved to be of such quality, Fender US reconsidered - had a change of heart - and let them put the Fender name on them.

For that reason, do not ever hesitate to purchase a SQUIER Japan medium scale - they are virtually identical - with the only difference, and only in some cases - was the body wood.

Pluck away and congrats on a superior purchase.

BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
 
#14
Thanks everyone.

I was quite sure that the bass was rare, but now I am 100% sure that it is not only rare but very good. That´s why I did not hesitate to buy it.

I live in Madrid, Spain, so let´s hope the bass arrives fine.
Even if I had to pay taxes (I surelly will) the deal would still be good, and I think the seller (top rated) is reliable enough.
Let´s hope it is really a 32";)
 
#16
Oh God!
It has happened!

After more than a month retained in Customs, the postal service finally delivered the bass yesterday.
The first thing I did was to open the box, bag and measure the scale...

it´s a 34" bass.:crying::crying:

I contacted the seller inmediately and, for the moment, he is being very polite and wants to solve the problem, but it is going to be very hard because we are oceans apart.

Anyways, I have made very clear that it was a very, very big mistake and all his fault.
The listing said clearly 4 or 5 times that it was a medium scale bass.
Just wanted to let you know.

Does anybody know if, in this particular case, the return shipping would me on me or on him?
 
#18
xantometapon said:
Oh God!
It has happened!

After more than a month retained in Customs, the postal service finally delivered the bass yesterday.
The first thing I did was to open the box, bag and measure the scale...

it´s a 34" bass.:crying::crying:

I contacted the seller inmediately and, for the moment, he is being very polite and wants to solve the problem, but it is going to be very hard because we are oceans apart.

Anyways, I have made very clear that it was a very, very big mistake and all his fault.
The listing said clearly 4 or 5 times that it was a medium scale bass.
Just wanted to let you know.

Does anybody know if, in this particular case, the return shipping would me on me or on him?
Click to expand...

Dude, that sucks. The MIJ medium scales a nice basses. I waited for about a year to find a righty and I live in the USA.
 

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