Questions about Fender Jazz Aerodyne basses

[badcarburetor]

I played one of these at the local Guitar Center and I am in LOVE with the satin(?) neck, but, unfortunately, I'm not in love with the body. I'm generally not a fan of binding and the curves on the body just aren't for me.

Is it possible to put an Aerodyne neck on a Precision body? If so I really want to do that to Noir P bass. And, if it is possible, where can I order a neck? Fender.com hasn't been super helpful with that question.

Finally, I see discussion of export vs non-Export, Japanese vs ???, and I want to make sure I'm hunting down the right neck.

The one I played is just like this. Invalid Link Removed and that is the neck I want to put on Noir body.

TIA for any help!

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

If all you want is the satin finish, you can lightly buff the back of a standard Jazz neck with scotchbrite to get that satin feel.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Other than the lack of fingerboard dots and painted headstock, nothing really special about an Aerodyne neck. I think its just standard Jazz bass spec. As far as I know, a drop in fit for any standard Jazz body. The advantage of the whole package is, as the name implies, the light weight, mainly by using basswood for the body. Personally, I love the look and feel of an Aerodyne except the featureless neck. Id like to see the opposite, a bound and blocked neck on an Aerodyne body. Bling!

 

[hypercarrots]

Other than the lack of fingerboard dots and painted headstock, nothing really special about an Aerodyne neck. I think its just standard Jazz bass spec. As far as I know, a drop in fit for any standard Jazz body. The advantage of the whole package is, as the name implies, the light weight, mainly by using basswood for the body. Personally, I love the look and feel of an Aerodyne except the featureless neck. Id like to see the opposite, a bound and blocked neck on an Aerodyne body. Bling!

Im surprised more people don't do that. I saw a black aerodyne jazz with a maple Geddy neck on talkbass. That looked good but a rosewood with pearloid and binding would go well with the black body with white binding.

 

[ChrisWright]

Other than the lack of fingerboard dots and painted headstock, nothing really special about an Aerodyne neck. I think its just standard Jazz bass spec. As far as I know, a drop in fit for any standard Jazz body. The advantage of the whole package is, as the name implies, the light weight, mainly by using basswood for the body. Personally, I love the look and feel of an Aerodyne except the featureless neck. Id like to see the opposite, a bound and blocked neck on an Aerodyne body. Bling!

Gil-
I'm with you on both observations but think I can live with the dotted neck cause the thing looks great to me (it sounds pretty good too – played one the other day in guitar center). BUT - like a black automobile - looks great clean and in no time was smudged up by finger/hand prints. Then, it didn't look so great. I'm a Sadowsky guy so it's not a main axe, but play in a trib band where the "look" is a good fit. I saw a comment on an E-Bay review of the Aerodyne that Sweetwater had a product (wax-like?) that supposedly made it impervious to to fingerprints. Although I doubt the veracity of this claim – there are products for automobiles that do this and perform quite well. Does anyone have a view on this? Experience even?

Thanks in advance-
C

 

[Malak the Mad]

Other than the lack of fingerboard dots and painted headstock, nothing really special about an Aerodyne neck. I think its just standard Jazz bass spec. As far as I know, a drop in fit for any standard Jazz body. The advantage of the whole package is, as the name implies, the light weight, mainly by using basswood for the body. Personally, I love the look and feel of an Aerodyne except the featureless neck. Id like to see the opposite, a bound and blocked neck on an Aerodyne body. Bling!

'Fraid not, Gil. Aerodyne necks are mishmash of modern and vintage specs. The nut width, neck shape and frets are modern (1.5", C-shape, Medium Jumbo), but the fretboard radius is pure vintage-style (7.25" vs. 9.5" or flatter).

As far as it being a drop-in replacement, that might often be the case, but not necessarily always. When I installed one onto a Mighty Mite body, which is spec'd like an MIM Standard, the screw holes weren't a 100% match. However, by using slowly increasing string tension to "drag" it a hair further into the pocket, they lined up perfectly.

I can't help out with showing what a bound Aerodyne neck looks like, but I can give you an idea of how it looks with blocks. To wit, this is the Aerodyne/Mighty Mite joint-venture I just mentioned…