SOLD John Kallas Masterbuilt 66 Jazz Bass

John Kallas Masterbuilt ‘66 Jazz Bass

One of my favorite basses that I need to sell in order to help fund an all original vintage 1966 Fender Jazz Bass that I purchased recently. It hurts me to sell it, but it’s the only way I can afford to keep the vintage 1966 J.

This ‘66 replica Jazz Bass was built by master luthier John Kallas in Southern California, using all licensed USA-made reissue parts, and was finished by John in nitrocellulose lacquer. John is a true master luthier and this bass is equal to Fender Custom Shop quality in every way (and even better in my opinion).It is an extremely accurate recreation of a 1966 Jazz Bass, and this bass costs over $3300 new from John. Here’ are the specs...

• Black nitro finish & matching headstock (w/ “hootenanny button” on back of headstock
  
• Strung with Thomastik-Infeld flatwounds
  
• Rosewood fretboard w/ white binding & pearl blocks
  
• ‘66 ”Lollipop” reissue tuners
  
• 3-Ply mint pickguard
  
• Hand-shaped, thin neck profile (which feels almost identical to my vintage 1966 Jazz) & amber tinted nitro lacquer on back of neck
  
• USA reissue hardware including threaded saddle bridge, chrome “ashtray” covers & “Pure Vintage” knobs.
  
• ’74 Amercian Vintage Series “Pure Vintage” pickups
  
• USA CTS 250K pots
  
• Very lightweight at 8 lbs. 14 oz. and perfectly balanced

The neck feels amazing and the fretwork is nothing short of boutique quality. Very smooth, low action all across the board with no dead notes. Truss rod works great with plenty of room for adjustments in both directions. The bass has some minor finish wear here and there from playing, which I’ve tried to photograph, but overall the bass in in very nice condition. For this price range, it’s one of the best basses you will ever play, and with the ‘74 pure vintage pickups, this bass absolutely thumps!

Comes with a new Fender gig bag and will be packed very carefully for shipping. I can also include a hard shell case for an additional $50.

$1850 Shipped (USA) - SOLD
Paypal, Bank Wire, or USPS Money Orders Accpeted.

 

John Kallas is well known on Talkbass and around the internet as a master guitar/bass builder... see his website here: johnk vintage basses but he does not work for Fender, although I believe he used to back in the day. And yes, the Fender decal is above the finish and easily removable (put a wet sponge over it for about a minute, dab it with a dry cloth, put some electrical tape over it and it will peel right off with the tape).

 

It still sounds more '60s to me, but with just a little more growl because of the 74 pickups. Originally I wanted to put 64 reissue pickups in it, but Fender stopped selling the 64s alone, so i went with the 74s. I think it worked out for the best tho, because these 74s with the 60s spacing made for a really awesome combo! (The bass came with Seymour Duncan "hot stacks" in it originally which I didn't care for because it's a vintage style bass, but the SD pickups didn't sound vintage at all).

 

The neck is a C shape (not to be confused with a 1.5” “A” width nut, which this bass has). John shapes the necks on his ‘66 basses to feel very close if not exactly like a real 1966 Jazz C profile neck.