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OFFICIAL Fender Japan Bass thread
- Thread starter VillageIdiott
- Start date
I’m not discounting basswood, it’s a great choice. Just not for me. Personally playing this Aerodyne isn’t the most pleasant thing in the world, the body is larger than your average Jazz and the lack of curves meant a sit-down player like me will get a painful forearm after some time.
Fun fact: gray is American English while grey is British
So... do Aerodynes not have a contour back? I never even noticed before. The single greatest reason why I never play my Les Paul guitars is because they hurt my ribs when I am playing seated. Perhaps Aerodynes are similar? Sort of like the old slab PBass?I’m not discounting basswood, it’s a great choice. Just not for me. Personally playing this Aerodyne isn’t the most pleasant thing in the world, the body is larger than your average Jazz and the lack of curves meant a sit-down player like me will get a painful forearm after some time.
Fun fact: gray is American English while grey is British
I’ve owned a few, a Marcus Miller, a 1995 75 RI, and a 2013 Classic series Jazz, which I still own.
My son has a 1992 JB 62 RI.
All were / are great instruments, however mine go unplayed because I prefer Precision necks more.
My son has a 1992 JB 62 RI.
All were / are great instruments, however mine go unplayed because I prefer Precision necks more.
Here are the two I currently have in my possession.
I bought this bass direct from Fender's website. The neck feels a little slimmer than my other p-basses. Light weight and comfortable to play. I installed EMG Geezer Butler p-bass pickups. It was $799 USD.
Ha. I was wondering if someone might show up with one of these. So hard to find. Bit of a dud for Fender economically, but apparently excellent basses! May I ask the story behind it? I haven't seen a single one hit Yahoo Japan in the last 5 or 6 years... and I usually check the auction site every few days looking for anything interesting.
Just look at that headstock. Way cool.
I also have always wondered what the pickups were like. I am guessing only ever used on these models? Hot pups?
Is it for sale? (I just have to ask)
Fralins, which look exactly like the stock pups, which I still have. Still great to play.
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1988-1989, 62 re-issue Precision, all original, but I think the pickguard may have been replaced.
Same here. I couldn't justify to or just couldn't afford US Fender basses, when I was younger. When I could, I bought a G&L. Now I own some US Fender basses, but still keep my MIJ Fender basses and one guitar. Love them. But I was always looking for the exceptions from the rule, like a JV Squier, like a 70s Reissue Jazz (Ash body), a Noel Redding Jazz (Alder body and US pickups, incredible instrument), Duck Dunn Precision (Alder body and US vintage '62 pickups). And I love my MIJ Fender Bass VI (alder body, good pickups, graphite bars in the neck and - other than even the US Custom Shop versions - the correct bridge. Fender US asked Fender Japan for the specs of the bridge, but Fender Japan denied their demand
)On the other hand - regarding basswood - my only guitar is a Fender Japan 1987 E-series strat with a basswood body. Bought it new in NY for 250,-.
Very soft body, feels like you could put a dent into the body with just a finger, but I like it a lot and it got praised by guitarists, who want to buy it from me, but I don't sell. But have replaced the ceramic pickups against '63 Pure Vintage pickups 2 years ago. Now it is brilliant.
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THAT is a great description of my All-Black JB62!
Doubly so in light of the "piano-like tone" I got after stringing it up with the Rotosound Swing Bass 66's.Would you be able to find and post it here?
Yeah, they are rare beasties to say the least. Though, you got me wondering what an Aerodyne would sound like if the electronic guts a Jazz Bass Special were crammed in there. (Pickups, TBX tone control, pickup selector switch, etc…
I often tell people if they're used to an acoustic guitar to keep that arm/shoulder positioning in mind when playing an Aerodyne. It's just a matter of keeping a little bit of the weight off the forearm contour. (Get those right-side pecs and coracobrachialis working, y'all!) At first, it's not going to be comfortable for someone used to a more-rounded contour. It's possible to adapt, but I full-well know not everyone will be able to, since we're all built a little differently from one another.
True, related story: I mentioned earlier that my Aerodyne was my first-ever bass. Starting off with it, I got used to it's ergonomics after a period of adjustment. Y'know, the minor aches and pains in our hands, arms and shoulders we all go through when we first pick up a stringed instrument? Rite of passage and all that jazz.
Later, as I bought/built other, more standardized Jazzes, I was playing my 'Dyne less and less. One day, I decided to haul it out of it's case for a while. Wouldn't you know it, I felt my forearm digging in uncomfortably into that binding, a loud and clear signal that I'd gotten very lax about keeping the weight off of it.
Another fun fact: Japan (island nation, Land of the Rising Sun) and England (island nation, Land of the Setting Sun
) have a lot of subtle and interesting commonalities between their societies and cultures. So, using "Grey" for Fender-Japan gear might actually be kind of appropriate, in a roundabout sort of way. 
Radius'd a bit, but Cheen's right. It's a slab body for all intents and purposes, what with that hard break-angle.
For the record, I flippin' love that studio photo!
It's chiefly responsible for my initial "Ooooh, baby!! 
" reaction the first time I read about them. That, and the fantastic price (…plus, the fact that the first bass I wanted to buy had been discontinued three years earlier! 
) resulted in my buying it.
D'oh! I forgot to post some of the other MIJ/CIJ Jazzes I've owned in the past! 
Two Non-Export Aerodynes, both of which I've since sold. Not that they were bad or anything, but more they had to go to keep the number of basses in my house down to a reasonable level.
A Fender-Japan FotoFlame Jazz body paired with a first-generation Squier Classic Vibe Jazz neck. Part of me still kicks myself for letting it go, but like I told myself when I had to sell my All-Black JB62, "Dude, it's just 'stuff'!".
(And if you're wondering…yes, I had a Fender American Standard bridge installed.)
Two Non-Export Aerodynes, both of which I've since sold. Not that they were bad or anything, but more they had to go to keep the number of basses in my house down to a reasonable level.
A Fender-Japan FotoFlame Jazz body paired with a first-generation Squier Classic Vibe Jazz neck. Part of me still kicks myself for letting it go, but like I told myself when I had to sell my All-Black JB62, "Dude, it's just 'stuff'!".
(And if you're wondering…yes, I had a Fender American Standard bridge installed.)
Here’s mine, Awesome player, wish the photo flame wasn’t falling apart.
I've seen more than a few people pooh-pooh some of their Fender-Japan stock pickups. It makes me wonder if they fall along the lines of "personal tastes" or if it's a more "temporal" thing, as in "certain years were better than others". Of the five or so MIJ/CIJ basses I've owned for any length of time, three have had great pickups (my Export Aerodyne, the All-Black JB62 and the Foto-Flame), one was good-but-unremarkable (the OCR/Original CandyApple Red Non-Export 'Dyne) and one I can't vouch for because the pups were swapped out when I got it (the Dolphin Grey Non-Export 'Dyne).
That being said, if it were somehow possible, I'd love to get a set of the MIJ HOTROD pickups my All-Black had for a parts-bass build I'm currently curating. If someone spots a set in the wild, please let me know!
Related to the topic, said parts-bass is going to be a tribute to the "Boxer Series" JB-555 Jazz bass on the upper-left. Warmoth is cutting and finishing the body. Once I get it, I'll be mounting an Aerodyne neck. I'm still debating between black or smoked chrome hardware, but that decision is a ways off.
That being said, if it were somehow possible, I'd love to get a set of the MIJ HOTROD pickups my All-Black had for a parts-bass build I'm currently curating. If someone spots a set in the wild, please let me know!
Related to the topic, said parts-bass is going to be a tribute to the "Boxer Series" JB-555 Jazz bass on the upper-left. Warmoth is cutting and finishing the body. Once I get it, I'll be mounting an Aerodyne neck. I'm still debating between black or smoked chrome hardware, but that decision is a ways off.
D'oh! I forgot to post some of the other MIJ/CIJ Jazzes I've owned in the past!
Two Non-Export Aerodynes, both of which I've since sold. Not that they were bad or anything, but more they had to go to keep the number of basses in my house down to a reasonable level.
View attachment 4307586
View attachment 4307587
A Fender-Japan FotoFlame Jazz body paired with a first-generation Squier Classic Vibe Jazz neck. Part of me still kicks myself for letting it go, but like I told myself when I had to sell my All-Black JB62, "Dude, it's just 'stuff'!".
(And if you're wondering…yes, I had a Fender American Standard bridge installed.)
View attachment 4307588
But isn't the shortliving "foto-flame" series more one of the obscurities of history? What an ingenious name for the cheapest technique ever evolved in the furniture industry to sell cheaply made furnitures, mostly for kitchens...
When it comes to finishes and woods, the instrument industry always looks at the car manufacturers for colors and finishing techniques and at the furniture industry.
"Foto-Flame" is a piece of ultrathin paper with a fotography of wood on it under a polyfinish. It is the cheapest way ever to create the impression of wood. If your willing to just choose the second cheapest technique, the lacquer above is treated to give you the feel of real wood.
But maybe just for the obscurity of it, I might keep one if I ever had owned one.
Wasn't it plywood under the paper?
Good Lord, that photo is like a wish list for FJ early basses. Where did that photo come from? Who owns all those basses? Are they yours? A sweet compilation photo for sure.I've seen more than a few people pooh-pooh some of their Fender-Japan stock pickups. It makes me wonder if they fall along the lines of "personal tastes" or if it's a more "temporal" thing, as in "certain years were better than others". Of the five or so MIJ/CIJ basses I've owned for any length of time, three have had great pickups (my Export Aerodyne, the All-Black JB62 and the Foto-Flame), one was good-but-unremarkable (the OCR/Original CandyApple Red Non-Export 'Dyne) and one I can't vouch for because the pups were swapped out when I got it (the Dolphin Grey Non-Export 'Dyne).
That being said, if it were somehow possible, I'd love to get a set of the MIJ HOTROD pickups my All-Black had for a parts-bass build I'm currently curating. If someone spots a set in the wild, please let me know!
Related to the topic, said parts-bass is going to be a tribute to the "Boxer Series" JB-555 Jazz bass on the upper-left. Warmoth is cutting and finishing the body. Once I get it, I'll be mounting an Aerodyne neck. I'm still debating between black or smoked chrome hardware, but that decision is a ways off.
View attachment 4307606
As mentioned in my earlier post, I salivate over the red FPBS with the slanted pups.
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