Took apart my 72 Jazz and found this....

[birminghambass]

Ugly route under the pickguard. I could vomit.

I've owned it for over 20 years, changed out the pickups a few times but never had to remove the pickguard. Not happy.
Here she is fully clothed.

 

[ddnidd1]

If you always have the pickguard on - what difference does it make?

 

[dave_p]

why do people seem to forget that at one point in time no one would touch a 70's fender bass with a 10' pole?

of course now they are sought after, and not to bash your or anyones 70's jazz, but i remember when they were considered inferior, so that route does not surprise me. and the japanese models were further down the social caste. now they too are very sought after.

acoustic control and tube ampeg amps also languished in music stores considered outdated. i could have bought a b-15 in 1990 for 300$ in working order. i bought and sold a 1980 4001 for 400$, you could find them all day and night at that price. ok kinda going on a tangent. sorry.

 

[birminghambass]

why do people seem to forget that at one point in time no one would touch a 70's fender bass with a 10' pole?

I'm not sure what this has to do with the route. And yeah, there was a time when 70s Fenders were less desirable, but that is certainly not the case now. I traded a trombone for this when I was a teenager. It played/sounded great then, still does.

 

[dave_p]

I'm not sure what this has to do with the route. And yeah, there was a time when 70s Fenders were less desirable, but that is certainly not the case now. I traded a trombone for this when I was a teenager. It played/sounded great then, still does.

see edit, and both my basses are american fenders, both with their issues. im not surprised by that route...at all

 

[Minirehak 212]

I say get a custom PG and control plate made for it and slap a pickup in there. If the hole is already there might as well experiment right?

 

[A-Step-Towards]

It didnt bother you for 20 years, it shouldnt now. I wouldnt call that big or ugly, it appears nicely done,. For not much coin it could be filled and the paint touched up.

 

[jim777]

Well, it isn't an ugly route. Unnecessary sure, but at least it looks neat.

 

[joebar]

the question is whether it came from the factory like that or was done after the fact
I find it hard to believe the former.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I'm just wondering how you changed pickups before w/o taking the pickguard off.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I'm just wondering how you changed pickups before w/o taking the pickguard off.

The way a Jazz Bass is routed and the pickups are mounted there is no need to remove the pickguard to change pickups.

Given the extra route shape I'd put a Strat or Tele pickup in that place, it could sound great, really.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Given the extra route shape I'd put a Strat or Tele pickup in that place, it could sound great, really.

Yeah, that would be pretty cool!
The shape is the same as the ones on my Strat.

 

[Basshappi]

Looks like a route for a SCPB pup. At least it is a good, clean routing job. I've seen many done with chisels, screwdrivers, knives whatever someone had at hand, those are usually horror shows.

 

[Bent77]

Bothers you that much, I'll play it for you

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

If you always have the pickguard on - what difference does it make?

Looks like someone thought it would be cool to jam a strat pickup in it. Pretty funny, actually.

 

[carsbybigd]

Alembic has Strat type pups , plus they make J pups as well . Change all of them out !

 

[Londo Molari]

Just goes to show that you can't trust Fender.

 

[FourBanger]

Did you 'strat rout' guys miss the part above where it says a single coil P bass is the same shape? I'd wager that over a strat pickup was the intention.

My guess is that not having the original pickups devalues it more than having a hidden relic of a past mod as well. Put the stockers back in so it sounds right lol.

 

[chungweishan]

Your great tone came from it being a semi-semi-semi hollowbody.

 

[ReiPsaeg]

Weird, someone tried to turn it into a Strat. At least that cuts down on some of the weight.