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NBD Fender Jazz '74 AVRI, so light it neck dives

R

RyanOh

Jun 10, 2016
1,609
4,801
#1
So I finally found the U-shape Jazz neck I wanted and got this bass a few weeks ago. I absolutely love it -- I learned on a borrowed '74 Jazz and it feels familiar.

I was surprised it's under 8 lbs, and it's so light that there's a slight neck dive. I play standing with a 4" suede leather strap...so it doesn't actually move but I find it distracting that it doesn't balance properly. None of my other Jazz basses ever did this, so I'm interested to redistribute the weight.

20181017_093624.jpg 20181017_093641.jpg 20181017_093654.jpg20181018_111746.jpg

I know about Hipshot Ultralites, and I just discovered that Gotoh makes "Res O Lite" tuners that look identical to the stock Fender open gears...but lighter alloy metal. I'm not sold on either yet -- any thoughts on light-weight tuners? Replacement bridge to add mass to the body? Other ideas?

I plan to keep it forever. I want it to balance and don't care about total weight...I have basses that are 10 lbs or more and use 4" Italia straps (thank you all TB'ers selling me these).

If I do the Hipshots Ultra's, I'd want to fill in the old holes...that look bugs me. What have you done to fix the slight neck dives on jazz basses and what's it look like?
 
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#8
Thinking about getting this one. Any other nominations?

fender-bridge.jpg

I have a Kickass on a Squier VM Jazz (I like), a Badass II on a Geddy Lee Jazz (is good), a Gotoh 201 on a Modulus VJ (also good). I think the high mass one above outweighs them all, not sure.
 
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#15
JFN said:
I put Res-O-Lites on my <8 lb '58 reissue P bass and it fixed my neck dive issues. They drop right in and don't alter the look or functionality. I would definitely recommend them.
Click to expand...
Definitely a better look than the Hipshots!

If I do the high mass bridge, it might balance it out perfectly...so weird I've never run into this on any other Fender bass.
 
#16
RyanOh said:
So I finally found the U-shape Jazz neck I wanted and got this bass a few weeks ago. I absolutely love it -- I learned on a borrowed '74 Jazz and it feels familiar.

I was surprised it's under 8 lbs, and it's so light that there's a slight neck dive. I play standing with a 4" suede leather strap...so it doesn't actually move but I find it distracting that it doesn't balance properly. None of my other Jazz basses ever did this, so I'm interested to redistribute the weight.

View attachment 3183579 View attachment 3183580 View attachment 3183581

I know about Hipshot Ultralites, and I just discovered that Gotoh makes "Res O Lite" tuners that look identical to the stock Fender open gears...but lighter alloy metal. I'm not sold on either yet -- any thoughts on light-weight tuners? Replacement bridge to add mass to the body? Other ideas?

I plan to keep it forever. I want it to balance and don't care about total weight...I have basses that are 10 lbs or more and use 4" Italia straps (thank you all TB'ers selling me these).

If I do the Hipshots Ultra's, I'd want to fill in the old holes...that look bugs me. What have you done to fix the slight neck dives on jazz basses and what's it look like?
Click to expand...
I use this wrapped around the bottom of one of my straps...works wonders without touching the bass.
2nu3tw4.jpg
 
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#18
RyanOh said:
So I finally found the U-shape Jazz neck I wanted and got this bass a few weeks ago. I absolutely love it -- I learned on a borrowed '74 Jazz and it feels familiar.

I was surprised it's under 8 lbs, and it's so light that there's a slight neck dive. I play standing with a 4" suede leather strap...so it doesn't actually move but I find it distracting that it doesn't balance properly. None of my other Jazz basses ever did this, so I'm interested to redistribute the weight.

View attachment 3183579 View attachment 3183580 View attachment 3183581

I know about Hipshot Ultralites, and I just discovered that Gotoh makes "Res O Lite" tuners that look identical to the stock Fender open gears...but lighter alloy metal. I'm not sold on either yet -- any thoughts on light-weight tuners? Replacement bridge to add mass to the body? Other ideas?

I plan to keep it forever. I want it to balance and don't care about total weight...I have basses that are 10 lbs or more and use 4" Italia straps (thank you all TB'ers selling me these).

If I do the Hipshots Ultra's, I'd want to fill in the old holes...that look bugs me. What have you done to fix the slight neck dives on jazz basses and what's it look like?
Click to expand...

I had a 68 P bass with a 66 Jazz neck on it for a lot of years and then stupidly sold it. I had never been able to find another Jazz neck like it since then (not that I've tried all that hard) but the way you describe your's it sounds like my 66, U shaped, thicker than most Jazz necks, thanks now at least I know what to look for.
 
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#19
My custom jazz is around 7,2 Ibs, it had a very slight neck heavyness and I installed Hipshot ultras(with the smallest turnpegs which are lightest) let me tell you this is now both the lightest and one of the best balanced basses I've ever held. The old holes doesn't bother me a bit, think of them as extra weightloss
 
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