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Requesting Fender experts for identification

J

Jiro

Mar 15, 2004
362
0
40
#1
022d_3.jpg


The guy is saying it is a japanese 80s fender bass body but i kind of want some clarification from some fender experts here...

could it be a squire?
 
#3
how creditable does this sound to you:
"the neck that was on this bass says jb-355. and a pencil date of 10-28-85
the neck pocket has the same dimensions as my jazz bass made in mexico( fender RI)
this body was made in japan seral number is e546895
this was left on the neck but the neck had been re-finised with a goofy fender decal, i am in the process of refinishing it again with a better decal and proper finish anyways not the point, but i do know this was made in japan by fender, not sure if squier or fender japan
but in the early 80's i think they were made in the same place, some of the same parts? the neck pocket looks just as wide as any jazz bass ive played but hey ive only played three, im a guitar player please e-mail if you need any more questions answered :)
thanks!"

and this the only fender marking on it :/

http://i1.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/92/ff/05e4_3.JPG
 
#4
Well lets see, if it is a fender, it isn't a MIM, because they have the rout that goes from the electronics cavity to the neck pickup. But I don't ever remember seeing a fender with a truss rod that is adjustable at the body. That being said it looks like a solid body, so does it really matter? Also if it is a squier from the early 80's, it is just as good as a MIA that was made then.

lowsound
 
#6
iamlowsound said:
But I don't ever remember seeing a fender with a truss rod that is adjustable at the body.

lowsound
Click to expand...

Lots of Fenders adjust at the body. I'd say over the years, more adjust at the body end than at the headstock.

That looks to me to be a MIJ Squier body from the mid 80's if that serial number is right, and the neck and the body belong together.

Could be Alder, could be Poplar. Either way it's a decent body if it didn't cost you an arm and a leg.
 
#7
savit260 said:
Lots of Fenders adjust at the body. I'd say over the years, more adjust at the body end than at the headstock.

That looks to me to be a MIJ Squier body from the mid 80's if that serial number is right, and the neck and the body belong together.

Could be Alder, could be Poplar. Either way it's a decent body if it didn't cost you an arm and a leg.
Click to expand...

Seems right to me. The only thing that bothers me is the truss rod adjust hole. I don't remember 80's Fenders (or Squiers) having the "scooped out" adjustment hole at the base of the neck. Sure, many adjusted from the heel end, it's just that there is that big scooped out area....But then, maybe I was too focused on upright during the 80s.....:D
 
#8
danomite64 said:
The MIJ Jazzes I owned did not have a hole beneath the bridge for a grounding wire as they had the copper ribbon going over the body between the bridge and pickup. I also remember there being an ink stamp in the neck pocket...but all this proves is that bass wasn't a '62 reissue. It seems more likely it was a Squire.
Click to expand...

+1 on the ground wire comments.

I had an '89 MIJ in black with JB-355 stamped in the neck pocket. It did have the truss rod notch though.
 
#12
Jiro said:
its very light 5lbs and 1oz... what kind of wood is this to be most likely ...poplar?, alder?
Click to expand...


Tough to tell in a picture without stripping all the paint off.

Here's what I would call a semi educated guess though.

If it were Poplar from the 80's there's a fairly good chance it would be a 2 piece body, so you would see a seam down the middle of the neck pocket. I don't see the seam in the picture, so I'm inclined to think that it's a 3 piece body, which would lean me in the direction of Alder. If it's a MIJ Fender, Alder would make more sense than Poplar. If it were a Squier body, I'd think there was a better chance that it would be Poplar, but it could go either way. I know of Alder Squiers from that time too.

I'm leaning toward Alder, but it's really tough to tell from a pic on the internet.
 
#16
Jiro said:
I didn't mean to imply that poplar sounded bad. I just want to know what I'm getting into here...
Click to expand...

If there were a seam there, it would be fairly obvious in person. It might not show up in a pic over the internet.

If I were going soley by what I see in the pic, keeping in mind that it's not the clearest picture in the world, I'd say Alder.

The grain looks like what Alder should look like( keep in mind Poplar looks similar with less grain, and sometimes light greenish streaks) , and I see no visible seam.


If I could hold it in my hands, I could give you a better guess.

From what I see, and what you've said, it's definitly a Fender Japan product. Could be a Squier which seems most likely to me due to the incorrect Fender decal you mentioned earlier. Why would someone replace a Fender logo with a different Fender Logo? I could definitly see someone swapping out a Squier logo for a incorrect Fender logo. Follow what I'm saying here.

The Fenders and the Squiers out of Fender Japan in the mid 80's were both very good instruments. Being from 85 would also make me lean toward it being a Squier.
 
#17
Fender Japan, Tokai, Fernandes, and Greco all used similar numbering. JB-355 under most of their system indicates a Jazz Bass with a suggested retail of 35,500 yen, making it a low end model, most likely of basswood.

By the way most of the early bodies(all makes) were made in the same shops, Fujigen Gakki and Matsumoku.
 
#18
joninjapan said:
Fender Japan, Tokai, Fernandes, and Greco all used similar numbering. JB-355 under most of their system indicates a Jazz Bass with a suggested retail of 35,500 yen, making it a low end model, most likely of basswood.

By the way most of the early bodies(all makes) were made in the same shops, Fujigen Gakki and Matsumoku.
Click to expand...


Correct me if I'm wrong, my memory could be slipping, but I don't recal seeing anything out of Fender Japan in Basswood until the early 90's.


Those two factories put out some fantastic stuff under a bunch of names.
 
#19
I have no idea, but the weight makes me suspect basswood.

There's an semi-reliable way to check. Press your thumbnail in the neck pocket, like you're pushing a button with the tip of your thumb. If the wood seems soft and wants to dent easily it's probably basswood. If not, it's probably something else.
 
#20
savit260 said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, my memory could be slipping, but I don't recal seeing anything out of Fender Japan in Basswood until the early 90's.
Those two factories put out some fantastic stuff under a bunch of names.
Click to expand...

Basswood has been used for a long time and used in many places, my 78 MIA Musicmaster Bass was basswood, discovered while being refinished.

almost all low-end instruments out of Japan were/are basswood.


There is nothing wrong with basswood!
 

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