I used to have this late 90's japanese Fender Jazz... sunburst, tort, slim neck, golden spaghetti logo, chrome covers, a real looker. Bought it for like 850€ on what's basically craigslist here. According to the previous owner, it was a special non-export run, made in the Fujigen plant and he somehow got his hands on it, buying it directly from japan.
When it arrived and I took it out of the gigbag it came in, I couldn't believe how light it was. I actually measured it, just to make sure it's full scale and it was. 3,7kg/8.15lbs and no neck dive.
Appon playing it first time unplugged, I instantly bonded with it. Every note just resonated throughout the whole instrument. It wasn't just a piece of wood, it was alive. Playing the open E made the whole thing shake, harmonics had such a strong fundamental and the open G would just ring forever, even with flats and a foam mute.
I play a lot unplugged, because I don't want to bother the neighbours too much, so this bass was perfect for me. It literally sounded like an upright.
Amplified it provided a depth of sound that is hard to describe. Like a whale calling from the depths of the ocean. That combined with physically feeling every note I play made playing this bass an almost ethereal experience.
Well... I really got into Jamerson for a while and fell in love with his tone. I HAD to get my hands on a P-bass and at the time the only way to make that happen was to sell the Jazz. I was still a very inexperienced player and in my naivity I thought, any other japanese Fender would be just as good and at the time there were plenty of them floating around online.
Sold it, bought a japanese P and quickly realised the mistake I had made. Yeah, it sounded like a P-bass, but that was it - it was just a regular bass, no life in it, just a piece of wood with strings that makes noise.
I sold the P after just a couple of months and a never ending search began. No new or used bass I've played since ever came even CLOSE to that japanese Jazz. No other bass ever was as much fun or inspired me the same way. There were a few basses here and there I thought I liked, but I always ended up selling them after a while.
Usually after setting them up perfectly, putting my favorite strings on, changing electronics, etc... nothing of that would change a thing.
Nowadays I fiddle around on an old little acoustic guitar that was given to me for free. I turned into a fretless bass and put a P-pickup in the sound hole. Actually sounds pretty good.
It was not the first time I had something special and gave it away or screwed it up somehow, but the memory of this bass still haunts me and sometimes I wish I never had it, because everything else pales in comparison.
One thought that kind of comforts me, is to know, that it's now in the hands of someone who loves it and probably is more qualified to play a bass like that than me.
I guess the moral of the story is, appreciate what you got while you have it, not when it's gone, because then it's too late. Or something like that.
If God willing, I shall find me another special bass one day.
Wish you an awesome new year, happy low end rumblings and yeah... tell me your "special bass" stories!
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