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Help with identifying this Fender Jazz Bass?

#61
Hi jenij927 :)

jenij927 said:
I only just saw this bass guitar for the first time today. It (apparently) has been in our closet for “four or five years” according to my husband. He is not inquisitive like me so when I saw it today and asked him about it and he knew nothing
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Your husband hid his secret girlfriend for "four or five years" in the closet? :D

Time to get a divorce! :laugh: :roflmao:

Malak the Mad said:
@jenij927; In all seriousness, though, I'm certain quite a few of us Fender-Japan junkies are wondering how much work would have to go into giving that lovely beast a top-to-bottom cleaning, a proper setup, maybe replacing some of the more corroded parts and rockin' the ever-lovin' crap out of it.

I, for one, would probably attack it with a good body-finish and fretboard conditioning kit, replace the brass grounding strip, the rusty pickguard screws and maybe even the bridge and/or tuners if they won't function properly, then hand it over to my local guitar tech for a full-on setup. He'd be able to assess any problems with the neck's truss rod, as well as the pickups and electronics.

…if it were mine, that is. :whistle:
Click to expand...

The mad modder! :D

Okay with everything, but I would check the truss rod and the electronics first,

before swapping any other parts. ;)


greetings

Wise(b)ass
 
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#62
Wisebass said:
Okay with everything, but I would check the truss rod and the electronics first,

before swapping any other parts. ;)
Click to expand...
Now, there you go again…"making sense" and all that stuff! Sheesh!! :rolleyes:

The mad modder! :D
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Oooh! I like that!!

"That Malak, he's one Mad Modder…"
"Shut yo mouth!"
"Hey, I'm only talkin' 'bout Malak!"

:bag: :roflmao:
 
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#65
Hi Malak :)

Malak the Mad said:
Now, there you go again…"making sense" and all that stuff! Sheesh!! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Back in the days I wasn' t as "Wise" as I am today! (Crazy modder!) :D

In 1985 I bought a ,73 Jazz bass (the one in my avatar). A good friend of mine gave me a pair of Barts :hyper:.

Of course I installed them and the result was (and still is ) great.

The original '73 pups went into my SQ (1983) Squier Jazz. (best Squier I ever played!)


When I sold the Squier in 1989 I didn 't remember that '73 pups - mod. :banghead:

I still have the Squier pickups in a part box. :(



The 80s were not about making sense!!!! :wacky:


giphy.gif



greetings

Wise
 
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#66
Hey Jen, welcome to TB.
While we can't give you a number on the value, I think it is safe to say that whoever gave that bass
to your husband did him a solid.
Once it is cleaned up, grounded and back in business, I predict either your husband or you
will take an interest in it it and give it some love and playtime
or a bass player in your area will hear about it and want to play it, buy it or drop by to jam
or you will decide what it is worth to you and move it on.
 
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#67
I have a 90's Fender Japan Jazz Bass. I'm also a luthier, and bass repairman. My MIJ Jazz has a GREAT neck. The sunburst finish is beautiful, and as good as the best I've seen from anyone. Fit and finish, hardware and pickups are all excellent, even if just 'standard' quality. That brass strip is indeed a ground, it's always crooked on the MIJ jazz basses. It was wider, and straight on American re-issues. Any good repair person, can either acquire the part from Fender- or fabricate it from sheet brass. A good full line Fender dealer may actually have one of those ground strips- or there's Ebay.
It goes from underneath the bridge, to a brass grounding plate under the bridge pickup, and a wire from that plate then goes into the control cavity and is soldered to ground the circuit.
THAT is a NICE gift!
 
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#71
LHbassist said:
I have a 90's Fender Japan Jazz Bass. I'm also a luthier, and bass repairman. My MIJ Jazz has a GREAT neck. The sunburst finish is beautiful, and as good as the best I've seen from anyone. Fit and finish, hardware and pickups are all excellent, even if just 'standard' quality. That brass strip is indeed a ground, it's always crooked on the MIJ jazz basses. It was wider, and straight on American re-issues. Any good repair person, can either acquire the part from Fender- or fabricate it from sheet brass. A good full line Fender dealer may actually have one of those ground strips- or there's Ebay.
It goes from underneath the bridge, to a brass grounding plate under the bridge pickup, and a wire from that plate then goes into the control cavity and is soldered to ground the circuit.
THAT is a NICE gift!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the helpful info
 
#72
Bill Whitehurst said:
Hey Jen, welcome to TB.
While we can't give you a number on the value, I think it is safe to say that whoever gave that bass
to your husband did him a solid.
Once it is cleaned up, grounded and back in business, I predict either your husband or you
will take an interest in it it and give it some love and playtime
or a bass player in your area will hear about it and want to play it, buy it or drop by to jam
or you will decide what it is worth to you and move it on.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the welcome! What do you recommend to clean it with safely/properly?
 
#78
Fender_Bender said:
I’d have someone who knows about guitars and basses have a look at the neck and see if it is bowed forward or not. That is adjustable with the truss rod at the heel of the neck, but you don’t want it being abnormally bowed for an extended period of time in case it becomes permanent.
Click to expand...
Can you tell from these pics if it’s bowed? Or is it something you have to really see in person?
upload_2019-7-7_12-26-58.jpeg

upload_2019-7-7_12-27-18.jpeg
 
#80
^^^^^^^I think it looks fine and pretty flat, it'd be a concern if there was a lot of space between neck and strings (like bowed out 1/2" along the neck). Since you took the neck off and verified it's a legit MIJ, only issue is the grounding strip and it's a minor repair. Any repairs for scratchy pots or wiring would be minimal.

The bass is playable as-is, the broken grounding strip could make it have some hum/buzz issue until it's fixed.
 
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