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OFFICIAL Fender Japan Bass thread
- Thread starter VillageIdiott
- Start date
I just bought this MIJ Precision on Ebay for a very low price, below market value. There were many watchers on it and it was going to sell quickly so I grabbed it. The seller is a picker, who did not know anything about it. It appears to be mid 80s, E series and original. It will arrive tomorrow and then I will clean it, put it together and test it. Im hoping it turns out to be a good bass with no issues. The seller is shipping it in pieces to save on cost, which is his choice not mine but thats fine. I will assemble it. It looks pretty "clean" with minimal dings etc in these photos. Here are some photos from the listing. The guy in the photos is the seller, not me.
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The 1980s MIJ Fender "E series" bass arrived yesterday and I spent most of the day working on it. I dont think its been played much. I really like the neck, its stamped PB557. It has very little fret wear. However it has bowed up a bit over the years, and the truss rod would only take it so far. I had to put a gradual shim under the neck, made from very thin paper which tapers in thickness towards the rear of the body in order to bring the action down a bit. Its still too high though. So my plan is to let it "settle in" for a few days of playing and then I will re-address setting up the action and possibly shimming it differently.
The original wiring was not good. I dont know if it was factory or not who did it, but they wired the output jack opposite of what it should have, which resulted in buzzing. The original pickups measured properly at 10.4 K ohms, but was very noisy, possibly defective. I ended up pulling out all of the electronics, and i put replacement pots in and a Fender Original 62' pickup in. Its now super quiet and sounds amazing.
I also replaced the stock bridge with a Fender Hi Mass gold bridge. Ive decided to convert it to a "black and gold" look and will be adding an annodized gold pickguard, gold knobs and tuners just to give it a different look than stock. The original silver knobs wont fit on the new pots anyhow.
Overall Im pleased but the action needs to be dialed in better. Its playable and the notes ring out true and solid. The bass sounds really great. Its lightweight and resonant and has a true old school P Bass sound. I paid less than $500 for it on ebay so its a good bass for the price. Here are photos. The pickguard, screws, knobs and tuners should be upgraded to gold soon. I only had a few screws in stock so thats why they are missing.
The original wiring was not good. I dont know if it was factory or not who did it, but they wired the output jack opposite of what it should have, which resulted in buzzing. The original pickups measured properly at 10.4 K ohms, but was very noisy, possibly defective. I ended up pulling out all of the electronics, and i put replacement pots in and a Fender Original 62' pickup in. Its now super quiet and sounds amazing.
I also replaced the stock bridge with a Fender Hi Mass gold bridge. Ive decided to convert it to a "black and gold" look and will be adding an annodized gold pickguard, gold knobs and tuners just to give it a different look than stock. The original silver knobs wont fit on the new pots anyhow.
Overall Im pleased but the action needs to be dialed in better. Its playable and the notes ring out true and solid. The bass sounds really great. Its lightweight and resonant and has a true old school P Bass sound. I paid less than $500 for it on ebay so its a good bass for the price. Here are photos. The pickguard, screws, knobs and tuners should be upgraded to gold soon. I only had a few screws in stock so thats why they are missing.
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I can't believe I've not posted in this thread..
1984 Squier....
1985 Fernandes...
1984 Roadstar II...
1989 SR 800 LE..
1984 Squier....
1985 Fernandes...
1984 Roadstar II...
1989 SR 800 LE..
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I am so close to pulling the trigger on one of these on ebay - entirely because of how cool it looks. I really don't need another jazz bass... but...look at it! What is the finish on the neck like...? I imagine it is lacquer, not satin finish?
Not laquer, but Gloss Urethane like a real 70s bass. Gloss, but VERY slick. Best JB I ever played, you won't regret it. Best sounding J pickups I ever heard and build and finish is 10/10. As good as it looks, the rest is even better.
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