Thoughts on a custom find

[Townsider]

Hi all,
This is my first post do please bear with me if this is in the wrong place. Basically I found this on Ebay the other day, bass guitar | eBay

What drew me to it was the style of the finish and wood grain, the Jazz neck and beefier looking bridge. Obviously the price is right, although maybe not considering the reserve is not yet met.
My question has more to do with authenticity. I'm new to the fender world but would love to dip my toes in. This seemed like an interesting start as I'm tight in the budget, but would rather not go the squire rout as I've been in the game long enough to seek a better sound/quality. The description mentions a Luthier I can not find via net searches (no biggie, perhaps they don't have much of a web presence) More to the point is the pickups. The ad says fender noiseless, yet they don't look like them at all from what I've been able to research. If I zoom in on the picture, their appears to be a silhouette of an animal in the lower right corner. I've tried about every four-legged animal followed by 'bass pick-up' google searches and come up with nothing. Any thoughts to what they might be? Or thoughts on the 'value' of the bass itself. I mean yeah it looks pretty but I dont want to get it and be a lemon on sound. Being a custom I know the risk is inherent but I thought I'd consult the experts here as I'm stumped.
Any info is great, Thanks very much.

 

[jd56hawk]

It's possible that it's the N3 logo from the newer noiseless pickups...it almost looks like someone did something to mar the symbol, for some odd reason.
As for the neck being a new Japanese Fender neck, some more pics might help...someone here should know.
Are you planning on buying this without seeing/playing it in person without checking out similar Squier Jazz basses?
Because plenty of people here will tell you Squier makes some very good basses and you might even be able to find a good used MIM Fender.
Regardless, I don't see that bass selling for the starting bid the seller put on ebay, so I can't say this will be a bargain bass.
The seller has been around for quite some time, though, so...

 

[JACink]

Because plenty of people here will tell you Squier makes some very good basses

I'll be the first...

Squier makes some very good basses.

 

[jhb138]

Squier makes some very good basses.

Quoted for truth.

 

[Townsider]

All good stuff, thanks. Like I said I'm still learning about the fender realm, I'm an input junkie so I just love learning more about them. I've been playing the same $100. eBay Carlo Robelli (Carvin?) For 14 years simply because it was cheap and worked. So I hope I'm not sounding discriminate about the squires. I've just assumed they were generic or student model type rigs. I'm just looking for some new tone and honestly porobably won't jump on this because usually if the 'reserve isn't met' means they'll hold out for a higher bid but don't want to start high to scare folks off. This is all great stuff. Thanks very much. I suppose I'd love to find the affordable diamond in the rough Jazz Bass out there. I'm willing to wait and am having fun looking and learning more about them. Thanks y'all.

 

[JACink]

My advice would be to play anything you can. If you walk by a music store and have some time, call in and try what they have.

I used to have a rule (and still do to a point) that if it was a price over what I was willing to spend then I wouldn't even try it, but most certainly don't discriminate a bass just by the price tag or the name on the headstock, you may be surprised to find the one that you fall in love with is nothing like what you planned

 

[TNCreature]

Please don't mention Carlo Robelli and Carvin together as if they are interchangeable.
You're killing me, smalls.

Good luck with the hunt.

 

[Townsider]

One again naivete on my part, I'm guessing by the reaction Carvin does not make the Robelli? I thought they were a Sam Ash generic, made by Carvin. I'm assuming not now. Like I said at the time it was cheap and made noise. I just like the action and neck dimensions and the finish. I could use some more dynamic tone. No biggie. I just play too often enough to risk selling it in hopes of finding a new, different or better ax as I live in the middle of nowhere, and not playing is not an option.

 

[Townsider]

These replies are great! I'm stoked to have the conversation. Thanks again!

 

[Gaolee]

First of all, it's a Jazz, so I have my opinions about what those sound like. Nevermind that, though. For a cheap price, you can't really go wrong. If you don't like the pickups, you can always replace them easily enough. It takes about 15 or 20 minutes and a soldering iron. If that's a Japanese Fender neck, it will probably be straight and well made. Worst case, you don't like it, and you sell it for about what you have into it.

Most Squiers I have picked up have been just fine, so there's that, too. Same with Epiphones if you want to go a different direction. Squier pickups are a little easier to replace if you want a different sound, but that's only a small matter of degree and number of choices.