Question about Fender's current Jaco artist model

[Rayjay]

Can't find this specific info here or online - wondering what the specific neck thickness of the 1st and 12th..."frets"....Fender describes this as a Slim C but those are just words. I'm guessing it's got to be pretty slim with the 12" radius but my hopes are that's its very slim. I know there is a "Jaco" profile that the custom shop uses that's extremely skinny, and my preference is that it doesn't ramp up in higher positions but rather stays slim all the way up, like a true early 60's profile.

Also it's described as a gloss lacquer body finish, I assume that means nitro over poly?

 

[Ric Vice]

I don't think anyone uses polyurethane anymore but Jaco had some weird predictions when it came to finishes. I owned a 65 with lollypop (paddle)
tuners. That was a very slim neck profile with white binding. If that's the template they used then it's definitely skinny with no,ramp,up, but you could call or email them and confirm that. Understand. I'm not talking Rickenbacker it does flare as little bit. Based on the on Fender Custom Shop Jaco Tribute Bass I played I wouldn't get anywhere near that neck with it's polyurethane coated fingerboard. It's like playing on an ice skating rink!! The Godin LR Baggs Acoustibass I own sounds like a Jaco fretless and plays much easier.

 

[JPJ]

I just took a quick look at the usual spots that list this info.

CME lists one with the following: 1st fret - 0.830"/ 12th fret - 1.000"

TR Crandall has one from '91 that shows 0.82" at the 12th fret.

Coudn't find any listed at Wildwood, unfortunately.

I'm not sure why Fender can't offer target neck dimension (even though they may vary) and it's frustrating that some retailers will offer them (and weights), but others will not. I'd like to see it a standard thing.

Unfortunately, my experience with Fender "slim C" early '60s necks as of late is that they are on what I'd call the thicker side of being too think - .81-.85" vs in the .77 - .79" range.

Despite the 12" radius, I'd say that you will likely not see a neck that's as thin as you'd expect or prefer, but maybe there are some TBers who actually own them than can add more data points for you.

 

[bass.slinger]

The 2013 artist model I have was originally around the 0.83" / 0.98" measurements. I had Mike Lull cut mine down to match my CIJ Geddy Lee. The only Fender jazz basses that actually have what I would call a slim profile (<0.8' at 1st and < 0.92" at 12) are the CIJ / MIM Geddys, the American Specials, the Jaguar, etc. Most Fender J basses measure between 0.82-0.86" at the 1st and 0.93-1.02" at the 12th. The MIA Geddy is thicker at 0.8" at the 1st and I don't remember the 12th.

Call Fender Customer Service - they will happily send you the exact neck profile dimensions for most models (they have spotty info on earlier CIJ / MIJ basses - 1980s-1990s).

 

[dfp]

I have one, the neck only, I got from an eBay parts reseller last year. I don't find it particularly "slim" as J necks go at all. To me it actually feels a little fuller on the back of the neck than a MIM Fender aftermarket fretless J neck I got about 5 years ago.

I just slacked the strings and measured with calipers at the apex of the radius, .82" at 1st, 1.00" at 12th.

EDIT : I had my MIM neck Plek'ed a couple years ago, so that might contribute to me feeling the Jaco neck is fuller feeling in my hand. Even just compared visually, I can see my Plek'ed fingerboard is thinner.

For me, the minute differences in feel are not critical, the Jaco neck is ideal for me bc of the fingerboard face dots! It just looks right, and is much easier to play without having to eyeball the side dots!

 

[Rayjay]

I just took a quick look at the usual spots that list this info.

CME lists one with the following: 1st fret - 0.830"/ 12th fret - 1.000"

TR Crandall has one from '91 that shows 0.82" at the 12th fret.

Coudn't find any listed at Wildwood, unfortunately.

I'm not sure why Fender can't offer target neck dimension (even though they may vary) and it's frustrating that some retailers will offer them (and weights), but others will not. I'd like to see it a standard thing.

Unfortunately, my experience with Fender "slim C" early '60s necks as of late is that they are on what I'd call the thicker side of being too think - .81-.85" vs in the .77 - .79" range.

Despite the 12" radius, I'd say that you will likely not see a neck that's as thin as you'd expect or prefer, but maybe there are some TBers who actually own them than can add more data points for you.

Yeah, tracking the Fullerton through 2012 AVRI 62 jazz neck, it seems to have started skinny and fattened up as the years passed. I have my fingers crossed the new Vintera III's will be true to early 60s skinny profiles. Seems like they've heavily favored the U necks lately which I can't warm up to.

 

[nonohmic]

Can't find this specific info here or online - wondering what the specific neck thickness of the 1st and 12th..."frets"....Fender describes this as a Slim C but those are just words. I'm guessing it's got to be pretty slim with the 12" radius but my hopes are that's its very slim. I know there is a "Jaco" profile that the custom shop uses that's extremely skinny, and my preference is that it doesn't ramp up in higher positions but rather stays slim all the way up, like a true early 60's profile.

Also it's described as a gloss lacquer body finish, I assume that means nitro over poly?

It's not a slim neck. Feels like a standard jazz neck to me, similar to modern MIAs etc.

Pretty certain it's just a nitro finish. No poly. I have a few worn spots which I don't think would have occurred if there were any poly at all.

 

[Rayjay]

It's not a slim neck. Feels like a standard jazz neck to me, similar to modern MIAs etc.

Pretty certain it's just a nitro finish. No poly. I have a few worn spots which I don't think would have occurred if there were any poly at all.

Amazingly, right after I posted this one showed up at my local shop. I was a little taken back at the profile thickness. Some people say they like "jazz necks" but that's nowhere near descriptive enough, I love some and hate some.

I also happened to get to try a 95 MIM jazz last week, and it had a thicker neck that my MIM 51 U neck - had to have been thicker than an inch at the 1st fret. Simply stating "it has a 1.5" nut width" tells you like 10% of the full picture!

 

[nonohmic]

Amazingly, right after I posted this one showed up at my local shop. I was a little taken back at the profile thickness. Some people say they like "jazz necks" but that's nowhere near descriptive enough, I love some and hate some.

I also happened to get to try a 95 MIM jazz last week, and it had a thicker neck that my MIM 51 U neck - had to have been thicker than an inch at the 1st fret. Simply stating "it has a 1.5" nut width" tells you like 10% of the full picture!

Agreed. Hence I just made a thread about P bass neck thickness a few days ago. I have seen it listed but not often.

Seems 1" at the 12th is about normal and down around 0.9" is considered flat/slim. At least as a first approximation