I think I need a 70's Fender :)

[king_biscuit]

That's a nice solo right there!

+1 That was great Roy! Thanks again for the link.

 

[wateroftyne]

My '71.. all original apart from the pickups:

Nice and light, and it sounds... sweet.

 

[Spinal Tapper]

My '71.. all original apart from the pickups:

Nice and light, and it sounds... sweet.

Nice bass! Sweet photo too!

 

[wateroftyne]

Nice bass! Sweet photo too!

Thanks!

More photos here...

 

[Valerus]

Thanks!

More photos here...

Sexy dude.

 

[deBont Amps]

My '71.. all original apart from the pickups:

Nice and light, and it sounds... sweet.

A beautifull instrument indeed. For me, that is THE seventees Fender Jazz look. Sunburst, tortoise PG and rosewood board with blocks&binding. Very nice.

 

[Roy Vogt]

+1 That was great Roy! Thanks again for the link.

Thanks to HitByABlimp and you both for your kind words. I really do appreciate it!

 

[Ace Of Bass]

This is the perfect ash/rosewood seveties bass look,IMO.............There's nothing wrong with 70s J basses.........i love them.............Before my shoulder and back surgeries took me out of commision, I had a buch of different basses......... some excellent fairly light boutiques and even a couple of 60s Fenders...........i told myself I'd keep one bass to start over with when the docctors said I could play again........ and it's my 11 pound '78 Jazz.....go figure...but no way I ever give up that bass......... don't beleive the hype...most 70s Fenders I've played have been some of the best I've played ever....

 

[bassbully]

*EXCELLENT* example of the nightmare of the 1970s. Folks who didn't live though that period seem to think it was somehow great... Well let me tell you, it wasn't! 20% interest rates, bad cars, bad... Heck, bad EVERYTHING.

Okay, weed was easier to get... and there was always parking at the beach back then... BUT ASIDE FROM THAT!!!

Oh... And get offa my lawn, you kids! And turn that music down!

Yea the 70's were tough but oh what i would'nt do to go back

 

[Valerus]

This is the perfect ash/rosewood seveties bass look,IMO.............There's nothing wrong with 70s J basses.........i love them.............Before my shoulder and back surgeries took me out of commision, I had a buch of different basses......... some excellent fairly light boutiques and even a couple of 60s Fenders...........i told myself I'd keep one bass to start over with when the docctors said I could play again........ and it's my 11 pound '78 Jazz.....go figure...but no way I ever give up that bass......... don't beleive the hype...most 70s Fenders I've played have been some of the best I've played ever....

Do you have any bigger pictures?

 

[bassbully]

I have owned and played many 70s Fenders. In my experience, there were some heavy Fenders from that period, some medium weight ones, and some light ones -- just like today. There were perhaps more quality control issues than with modern Fenders, but that is a result of manufacturing techniques more than CBS cost cutting. I have played preCBS Fenders with problems too -- modern basses as well. You are suggesting that kids today are driving the 70s vintage market which may or may not be true -- I haven't seen any empirical analysis of this -- but anecdotally I would say that kids from the 70s drove the PreCBS market. It was popular in the 70s to criticize 70s Fenders and play early 60s ones. Most 70s Fender are fine instruments when setup properly. Compared to 60s Fenders, they are still a very good deal and really not much more expensive than modern American Fenders. A player can have his choice of many 70s Fenders for under 2k. My opinion is that a lot of old guys from the 70s, who played 70s Fenders but wanted PreCBS are now getting pissy that the 70s Fenders they gave away are now commanding vintage status Most of this bad 70s Fender business is nonsense and a result of repeated cliches.

+1 I agree 100% allot of the guys who are dissing 70's gear are upset they let theirs go and lost out. I am 48 soon to be 49 so the 70's were my day's. To have owned a Fender of any kind then would of been Heaven and those who did back then never dissed them and we loved to play theirs when we could.

Today, I go back and since I love the sound from the 60's and 70's the bass tone i still chase. I go to older basses for it and 70's fenders are all i can afford..barely Yes, there are RI basses that sound good but to me IMO they are not the real deal... close but not right. I want the real thing and seek them out. To call all the basses made by Fender during the 70's as dogs is plain stupid . I need the real deal and love them. I like looking back and wish i had my 72' ford Mustang with a 302 in it considered a dog maybe in the gearhead world . To me it was awesome and a RI 72 mustang would never top the real deal. I cant dog the 70's...I lived them and they were great!

 

[BassistForHire]

Biggest bass mistake I ever made was trading my '72 Jazz, natural finish, maple neck for a Rickenbastard.

 

[bassbully]

Biggest bass mistake I ever made was trading my '72 Jazz, natural finish, maple neck for a Rickenbastard.

71 thru 73 made some awsome Fenders My 73' tele was feather light and a mad beast. The best P bass i have ever heard or played to date was is a 72 that has one owner ..who i ran into at a gig last night. I told him i was going to steal it, he laughed and said it will be buried with him

 

[Sufenta]

My '72P is just a shade under 9lbs. Honestly, I still can't say for sure I know what the "'70's Fender Sound" is exactly, but I do know that the tone that my P puts out just kills.

 

[narud]

This is the perfect ash/rosewood seveties bass look,IMO.............There's nothing wrong with 70s J basses.........i love them.............Before my shoulder and back surgeries took me out of commision, I had a buch of different basses......... some excellent fairly light boutiques and even a couple of 60s Fenders...........i told myself I'd keep one bass to start over with when the docctors said I could play again........ and it's my 11 pound '78 Jazz.....go figure...but no way I ever give up that bass......... don't beleive the hype...most 70s Fenders I've played have been some of the best I've played ever....

dang man, ive been wondering where youve been. you back at it?

 

[bassbully]

My '72P is just a shade under 9lbs. Honestly, I still can't say for sure I know what the "'70's Fender Sound" is exactly, but I do know that the tone that my P puts out just kills.

Here is the sound..not sure if its a 70's but the amps are and from when the show was done I think it could be. check out solo at 5:00 mark

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSzsDWTc4mY

 

[deBont Amps]

So I'm back. I went down to Bassmatters (THE bass-shop in Holland). Well twice actually. Here's my story .
Yesterday I checked a whole lotta Fenders. '68, three '72's, '75 and '76 (maple board, the rest was rosewood, which I like). Plus for the fun of it, I brought my Lakland JO4 skyline AND checked out some new basses; new Fender Jazz MIA and MIM, Fender Custom Shop, awesome Pino P-bass (which is just not my thing) and off course, the 70's reissue. You could say I tried out a fair amount of basses!
Here's my verdict:
First of, the Lakland sounded worst… there it is… The 76 with maple neck got the boot. Maple is not my thing. One of the 72's sounded VERY dull. The other 72 sounded great, but the tone was too compressed.The 75 was also great, but compared to others not the best buy for the tone I searched for. So I was left with a 68 and 72. Those two sounded AWESOME! I totally didn't expect there was so much difference between 'seventies' basses. It set some things into perspective for me.
Next, the modern basses. The standard Fenders (MIA and MIM) didn't have the tone I looked for (duh). The Fender Customshop was a fantastic bass. Great tone and feel. But 1] it sounded too sixties and 2] I really really hate the relics. It just feels so fake to have a bass that's deliberately damaged just too make it look old (and therefor cool?). I wasn't going to spend my money on that!
Then the 70's reissue. It sounded better then some original 70's, but compared to the 68 and 72, it just wasn't it. It lacked the warmth and richness in tone that I got instantly with the originals. Maybe it's the pickups, maybe the old versus new wood, I don't know, but it just didn't cut it. I know they're much cheaper, but that not being an issue for me, the reissue went 'back on the shelf'.

SO, hmm, 68 or 72. 68 had a bit more warmth and sounded more 'musical'. The 72 had more punch and funk. I chose the 68 eventually, but something didn't feel right on the way home. Band rehearsal that night couldn't take away the feeling I might have chosen the right bass. Although it sounded fantastic, it just wasn't 'me' for some reason. The 68 was also A LOT heavier and worn than the 72. So I called the next day to check if I could swap it for the 72; "No problem!" Another 5 hour drive (there and back), but it was worth it.

I now am the proud owner of a fully original MIA Fender Jazz '72. Alder body, sunburst finish, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard with pearloid block inlays.

I will post pictures very soon, but it's dark at the moment. To be continued...

 

[bassbully]

So I'm back. I went down to Bassmatters (THE bass-shop in Holland). Well twice actually. Here's my story .
Yesterday I checked a whole lotta Fenders. '68, three '72's, '75 and '76 (maple board, the rest was rosewood, which I like). Plus for the fun of it, I brought my Lakland JO4 skyline AND checked out some new basses; new Fender Jazz MIA and MIM, Fender Custom Shop, awesome Pino P-bass (which is just not my thing) and off course, the 70's reissue. You could say I tried out a fair amount of basses!
Here's my verdict:
First of, the Lakland sounded worst… there it is… The 76 with maple neck got the boot. Maple is not my thing. One of the 72's sounded VERY dull. The other 72 sounded great, but the tone was too compressed.The 75 was also great, but compared to others not the best buy for the tone I searched for. So I was left with a 68 and 72. Those two sounded AWESOME! I totally didn't expect there was so much difference between 'seventies' basses. It set some things into perspective for me.
Next, the modern basses. The standard Fenders (MIA and MIM) didn't have the tone I looked for (duh). The Fender Customshop was a fantastic bass. Great tone and feel. But 1] it sounded too sixties and 2] I really really hate the relics. It just feels so fake to have a bass that's deliberately damaged just too make it look old (and therefor cool?). I wasn't going to spend my money on that!
Then the 70's reissue. It sounded better then some original 70's, but compared to the 68 and 72, it just wasn't it. It lacked the warmth and richness in tone that I got instantly with the originals. Maybe it's the pickups, maybe the old versus new wood, I don't know, but it just didn't cut it. I know they're much cheaper, but that not being an issue for me, the reissue went 'back on the shelf'.

SO, hmm, 68 or 72. 68 had a bit more warmth and sounded more 'musical'. The 72 had more punch and funk. I chose the 68 eventually, but something didn't feel right on the way home. Band rehearsal that night couldn't take away the feeling I might have chosen the right bass. Although it sounded fantastic, it just wasn't 'me' for some reason. The 68 was also A LOT heavier and worn than the 72. So I called the next day to check if I could swap it for the 72; "No problem!" Another 5 hour drive (there and back), but it was worth it.

I now am the proud owner of a fully original MIA Fender Jazz '72. Alder body, sunburst finish, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard with pearloid block inlays.

I will post pictures very soon, but it's dark at the moment. To be continued...

Awesome and congrads!! you did your homework and it really paid off. Thanks for updating us on your journey. Funny how everyone says all those 70's are so heavy and the 68 was heavier than the 72 you ended up with.

 

[johnk_10]

here's my '72 (100% original) jazz bass. it's lightweight and plays and sounds awesome:

 

[deBont Amps]

Wow that bass is in excelent condition johnk_10! Nice one.

Here is my picture, as promised:

Link Removed