OFFICIAL Fender Japan Bass thread

[zombywoof5050]

Nice bass! What strings are "Jamerson's favorite flats"...?

Cheers!

0760M Deep Talkin’ Bass, 1954 “Original” Style

www.labella.com

 

[Nekomata]

I have a Jazz Bass (walnut 60s series) that is from 2012 that is spectacular in its build quality. I don't play it much but when I do, I always marvel at its quality.

View attachment 4306811

Love this bass! In fact, I like it so much that I added one to my stable:

 

[tIANcI]

I was fortunate to land myself a CIJ JB62 fretless from around 2002 and it’s in a superb condition. Build quality is very good. Gonna swap out the stock pickups for the DiMarzio Ultra Jazz, I find the stock pickups lacking in a bit of clarity and definition.

For the moment they have round wounds. Gonna get either flat or tape wound once the new pickups are installed.

 

[ximun]

Hello I am the happy new owner of this 92/93 MIJ Jazz Bass

The pickguard is more cream that can be seen on the pictures, I love it !
It also has the external copper wire for grounding of the bridge pickup and the hootenanny strap button.

Do you have additional information on this bass ? if it is a standard JB or a different one ? just being curious
Thanks !

More info here

 

[JIO]

Yeah, it's chiseled alright, a tight fit but its not anything you can see. But still. Pretty hefty weight on that body.

Thanks, yeah it's pretty glorious here in our part of the world.

Judging by lack of obvious grain pattern, it most likely is alder which is a typically used for P's & J's and it can be heavy. Woods like basswood and torrified (roasted) woods are usually lighter in weight. Ash can go either direction - swamp ash can be light but some ash can be heavy. Maple is heavy also. Mahogany is usually somewhere in the middle weight-wise.

 

[noeinstein]

In my search for a Fender Vintage Hot Rod ‘70s Jazz Bass in CAR, I heard about a Fender Japan edition. For a while I wasn’t sure it existed, and then this popped up on CL.

The color is called “aged candy apple red.” I’ve never heard of it or seen anything like it before. Very dark red with gold undertones.

I put a couple well needed coats of lemon oil on the fretboard and swapped out the heavy tuners with these lighter, Hipshot Lollipops. So that itch is scratched, for now.

Information about this bass is hard to come by, so if you know something about this model (2013 Fender FSR Limited Edition’75 Jazz Bass MIJ) please post it here.

 

[bassdude51]

PLEASE DO NOT POST BASSES YOU DO OWN! I am not trying to create a database of known basses... just OUR basses. Thanks!

Umm, is this sentence supposed to say, PLEASE DO NOT POST BASSES YOU DO NOT OWN!........?

I own this CIJ and MIJ.

The 2 tone SCPB is/was CIJ The Sting Bass. But, I had a CIJ blue paisley SCPB and I switched necks because I did not like the Sting signature @ the 12 fret. (I sold the blue paisley with the Sting neck. Gone.) I added an ebony wood thumb bar to the Sting. (Added a 4 saddle through body bridge.)

The yellow '51 MIJ, I purchased in the early 90s before the "school bus" yellow CIJs came out. At the time that I bought it, there were only 3 left in all of the USA. I was lucky to get it.

I had a white guard cut for the '51 but I kept the original black guard. Added a maple thumb bar and the chrome covers.

These are outstanding Japanese Fender basses and at the time back in the 90s, only cost about $600.

 

[Funkster]

My two!!!

 

[Ringhammer]

I am the new owner of 2 MIJ Fenders, a 1988(?) E serial Precision Bass medium scale and a 2011(?) U serial Jazz Bass, also medium scale. I think even though the Jazz is over 10 years old, I may be the first owner. The plastic protector film is still on the pickguard tuners, and there is no wear on the frets at all.

The Jazz bass is a model JB62M as shown on the hang tag.

Does anyone know if the medium scale E series Precision Basses had a model number assigned to them, like “PB62M” or something?

 

[Malak the Mad]

Does anyone know if the medium scale E series Precision Basses had a model number assigned to them, like “PB62M” or something?

That would be fairly on-the-mark for Fender-Japan's model naming groove. But, after browsing a few Fender-Japan catalogs from '86 to '89, the only medium-scale Precision I can find is a P/J-style bass listed as a "PJM65".

• https://vintagejapanguitars.com/fender-japan-1989-catalogue/

The only other division I'm seeing in the mid/late '80s catalogues is between the PB57 (all-maple neck), the PB62 (rosewood fretboard) and the Boxer Series which usually had a PB-5**, PB-3** or PJ-5** designation.

This is not to say your bass isn't what you think it is. I can only guess that it just didn't make the catalog.

 

[Ringhammer]

Thanks! Since this has a rosewood fretboard, I’m gonna say it’s a PB62M.

 

[Marc61]

MIJ A Series . I believe this to be a pretty rare bird. Serial dates it to 85. For whatever reason it has a 74 P bass pickup. Solid as a rock. Stays in tune forever. I’ve had it at least 10 years and have never changed the strings

 

[Malak the Mad]

Gah! Another thread I forgot to post this find o' mine!!

Just this past summer, I stumbled across a serious "white whale" of a rarity I'd been keeping an eye out for...a Non-Export Aerodyne in U.S. Gunmetal Blue! (Paint code: UGB) I'm loving how the color shifts between various shades of blue and green, depending on the available light. Either way, it's probably easiest to just call it "Teal".

(original sale photo)

It felt great to play when it arrived, but for something that's had me yearning for so long, I'm going to make it completely "MINE", so it's moddin' time!

1. I've had it re-routed, so I can switch between P/J and J/J whenever I want.
2. A WD Music black/cream/black pickguard to better match the body's binding.
3. Cavities have been shielded with adhesive copper tape. (Normally, I don't do that, so this is an interesting Projekt!)
4. I've already installed a set of Thomastik-Infeld Powerbass rounds. They already sound and feel great when played acoustically. (A fellow TB'er called them "the Rolls-Royce of strings" and the are not wrong! )
5. Fender Custom Shop '60s pickups and an interesting "Heresy" wiring harness are waiting to be installed.
6. A new bridge is on the horizon, probably a Fender American Standard bridge, but whatever it is, it will have threaded saddles.
7. And lastly, my preferred Hipshot Ultralite + Drop-D treatment.

 

[FirewalZ]

I love my 1986 MIJ Jazz, I picked it up real cheap a couple of years back at a Sam Ash while i was out of town for work. It was dirty, but otherwise in great shape, hardly a scratch. I had the frets polished and leveled, and put on the Tort PG and nj4 pups. Its a great Jazz Bass with a classic sound, super lightweight.

View attachment 4491124

Still a great bass, classic 60's jazz with that single coil snap

 

[Gunga Din]

Don't think I've submitted this before. Anyway, Fender Japan, non-export, JB-64 with matching headstock. Came with a VVT circuit, but I put in a stackpot circuit. I've kept the original VVT.

 

[Armani 077]

Gah! Another thread I forgot to post this find o' mine!!

Just this past summer, I stumbled across a serious "white whale" of a rarity I'd been keeping an eye out for...a Non-Export Aerodyne in U.S. Gunmetal Blue! (Paint code: UGB) I'm loving how the color shifts between various shades of blue and green, depending on the available light. Either way, it's probably easiest to just call it "Teal".

(original sale photo)

It felt great to play when it arrived, but for something that's had me yearning for so long, I'm going to make it completely "MINE", so it's moddin' time!

1. I've had it re-routed, so I can switch between P/J and J/J whenever I want.
2. A WD Music black/cream/black pickguard to better match the body's binding.
3. Cavities have been shielded with adhesive copper tape. (Normally, I don't do that, so this is an interesting Projekt!)
4. I've already installed a set of Thomastik-Infeld Powerbass rounds. They already sound and feel great when played acoustically. (A fellow TB'er called them "the Rolls-Royce of strings" and the are not wrong! )
5. Fender Custom Shop '60s pickups and an interesting "Heresy" wiring harness are waiting to be installed.
6. A new bridge is on the horizon, probably a Fender American Standard bridge, but whatever it is, it will have threaded saddles.
7. And lastly, my preferred Hipshot Ultralite + Drop-D treatment.

This is Beautiful!!!!

 

[Genebro]

Gah! Another thread I forgot to post this find o' mine!!

Just this past summer, I stumbled across a serious "white whale" of a rarity I'd been keeping an eye out for...a Non-Export Aerodyne in U.S. Gunmetal Blue! (Paint code: UGB) I'm loving how the color shifts between various shades of blue and green, depending on the available light. Either way, it's probably easiest to just call it "Teal".

(original sale photo)

It felt great to play when it arrived, but for something that's had me yearning for so long, I'm going to make it completely "MINE", so it's moddin' time!

1. I've had it re-routed, so I can switch between P/J and J/J whenever I want.
2. A WD Music black/cream/black pickguard to better match the body's binding.
3. Cavities have been shielded with adhesive copper tape. (Normally, I don't do that, so this is an interesting Projekt!)
4. I've already installed a set of Thomastik-Infeld Powerbass rounds. They already sound and feel great when played acoustically. (A fellow TB'er called them "the Rolls-Royce of strings" and the are not wrong! )
5. Fender Custom Shop '60s pickups and an interesting "Heresy" wiring harness are waiting to be installed.
6. A new bridge is on the horizon, probably a Fender American Standard bridge, but whatever it is, it will have threaded saddles.
7. And lastly, my preferred Hipshot Ultralite + Drop-D treatment.

This is a beauty!! Amazing find and great upgrades. GMB is one of the best rare fender color in my opinion. I like how much green comes through in yours too.
I have a gunmetal blue Japanese domestic jazz bass that I will never let go of. Mine also has a couple upgrades: Hipshot tuners, custom shop pickups and babicz bridge. Oh and a red tort pick guard to complete the vintage look. It has some silver/charcoal undertones in the light today

 

[Malak the Mad]

This is a beauty!! Amazing find and great upgrades. GMB is one of the best rare fender color in my opinion. I like how much green comes through in yours too.
I have a gunmetal blue Japanese domestic jazz bass that I will never let go of. Mine also has a couple upgrades: Hipshot tuners, custom shop pickups and babicz bridge. Oh and a red tort pick guard to complete the vintage look. It has some silver/charcoal undertones in the light today View attachment 7204813

Purty! With the amount of silvery-grey in it, I'd probably guess "Charcoal Frost Metallic". Either way, it's a striking bass.

On a related note, I installed the Custom Shop '60s and Heresy harness into my UGB Aerodyne and it is killer! If nothing else, it's a helluva reminder of how much I'd missed those pickups. (I haven't had CS60s in anything for a couple of years.)

 

[Genebro]

Purty! With the amount of silvery-grey in it, I'd probably guess "Charcoal Frost Metallic". Either way, it's a striking bass.

On a related note, I installed the Custom Shop '60s and Heresy harness into my UGB Aerodyne and it is killer! If nothing else, it's a helluva reminder of how much I'd missed those pickups. (I haven't had CS60s in anything for a couple of years.)

You might be right!! Its hard to tell, it ranges from bluish to greenish dependent in the light.. Either way there’s some special sauce to those non import fender Japan instruments. It’s a lot of fun to find the rarer colors too.

I’ll have to check out that specific wiring harness but totally agree on the pickups, they just feel right

 

[petch]

My 2022 Aerodyne Precision in white. It has a fine P sound, plays great, looks sharp, and after a swap to Hipshot UltraLite tuning machines weighs 7.0 lbs.