played a '68 jazz // how to make a new jazz better

Hi Eisenmann,

If the bass is original, $2000 is an ok price I guess. I paid $2400 for my refinished Fender 1964 Jazz approx. 2 years ago, and there's no bass like it.

Your idea about upgrading an american or mexican to sound more like a vintage jazz is not possible. You can always make it sound more vintage, but not like a real vintage fender. Is it possible or stupid? I'd have to say stupid. The sound that makes a vintage fender sound vintage is elded tree, 'dead' pickups, etc. etc.

- "How do the new american made jazz-basses compare to the vintage ones??"

I'd have to say you can almost not compare it. The sound is different, and the playability is VERY different. I've tried a Custom Shop Relic 64 and it's nothing near my original '64.

- "Why did I played that pice of art and don't want anything else now??"

I felt just like you for a long while some years ago, gathering money and looking for basses, and I even found a pre-CBS one. If you're patient, you'll always find something close to the one you tried.

Good luck!

p.s: Pic's of my '64: www.texum.org/bass

 

I have been playing vintage Fender Jazzes for several years now, and in my opinion, it's really not possible to completely duplicate the sound in a new bass. More importantly to me, is the "feel" of the old basses - I love the worn frets and broken-in of well-played basses.

I had a Japanese Fender Geddy Lee jazz for a while and it did have the warm fuzzy vibe of the old ones, but you still can't beat a true vintage J. The cost of a Geddy, or similar upgraded newer bass is obviously much less, so it almost comes down to a question of how much you can spend.

 

A reasonable alternative to paying serious coin for a true vintage Fender is to find an older (late '60's to early '70's) Japanese knockoff. These basses can be found for very little money all the time on the 'bay and other auctions. Some are really junk and some are diamonds in the rough, so be patient ....

They will usually require some work to get them back into shape, but thay have that vintage vibe you're making reference to. I bought a '68 Goya for $200 on Ebay, put about another $100 into it (switched it to a fretless neck) and it sounds and plays amazing

I would put this Goya head to head against any Fender from that time period for tone, materials and playability. It's an amazing groove machine .......

 

Not original finish, no.

You can always make it sound more vintage, but not 'real' vintage

 

You're best bet is Fender JV series made from 1982-84 or Japanese reissue series. I can vouch for this guy, I bought one from him last year - killer jazz.

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZguitargaiQQhtZ-1

Cheers

 

He has two killer ones one on hold but the other one is available:

http://www.guitargai.com/html_folder/gai_fenderI.html#


I would go for this one:

http://www.guitargai.com/html_folder/gai_otherCA8.html#


Cheers

 

HI

Buy it and enjoy it. Plus, you'll never lose a dime on it. Probably make a bunch if you decide to unload it in the future

Rob

 

There is one way.

Buy a new bass, and play the heck out of it for 30 years..

Then of course.. a 68 will sound even better after that time.

 

+1

 

I completely disagree that the new American Fenders don't sound as good as the vintage ones. I put my 98 Am. Std. Jazz against any bass ever made. I have also played the American reissues and found them to be just as good as any vintage bass I've ever played, and in the case of the 75 reissues, even better. Don't get me wrong...I've played many a vintage Fender that gave me extremely warm fuzzies, but the idea that a new bass can't compare to it is just plain wrong, IMHO.

However, for 1900 Euros, which I think is closer to $2800 US, that's a good deal for a 68, and you will always be able to make money on it if you sell it, so it might not be a bad idea to consider it.

 

if it is all about the final 5%, then you will need to get the old bass, no question. in terms of bang for buck, buy a used or new Lakland Skyline Joe Osborn. For between $700-1200 you get Lindy Fralin pickups, a problem free bass with nearly all the mojo of the old ones. Try it, you may like it.

 

hmm, sounds like an awesome project if you don't want to spend all the money on the real one.

I'd get a american vintage 60's jazz bass, give it antiquity II's (made by Seymour Duncan) and that'll probably give you the sound you want, but it may not. You could always just take out a little loan and get the real one, or try to haggle them down a little so it's not SO expensive.

Greg

 

That is a beautiful bass.

 

With an upgraded modern Jazz bass, you can get close to the 68 sound, but nothing sounds like 40 years of dust, sweaty fingers, and wear than...well, 40 years of dust, sweaty fingers and wear.

 

A really good vintage Fender is hard to copy, and thats why they are that pricey. But most of the old Fenders I have played have not been that good, some real bad too. But they still are very expensive. So I think you can buy some very good new basses for the same price that are better than most old ones.
A friend payed 5000$ for a 66 Jazz, thats a sweet bass indeed, but 5000$?