Why would someone shorten their bass scale length?

[Bruce Johnson]

Very probable a 1997 Fender Jazz Bass Deluxe 5 (22 fret) neck that was married to a generic unidentifiable J body and they just made it work for them. GLWTS

Yes, That's it. It's a factory Fender 22 fret neck fitted onto a Fender body that was made for a 20 fret neck. The correct body for this neck would have the neck pocket routed deeper in toward the pickups. Whoever put this combination together moved the bridge to where it needed to be, in relation to the neck. And it looks like they did a reasonably neat job of it.

It's unusual, but certainly a playable bass. The neck is sticking farther out of the body than a standard J-bass, and the pickups end up closer to the bridge. But okay.

 

[DCCat]

The picture showing the stamps on the neck also show it was reshaped on the treble side to make it fit. There is a notch cut out on the side of the heel of the neck. That could explain why the cut-out for accessing the truss-rod looks a little off-center. The neck is a little off-center because they shaped it to fit on only one side. The strings appear to be slightly shifted toward the bass side because of this.

Yeah, I agree. They trimmed the neck on the high side only to make it fit into the pocket rather than evenly on both sides, so the strings aren't aligned properly on the neck (B string closer to the edge of the neck than the G string, and A string increasingly misaligned with the center dots). This could still be OK if you're tolerant of such things, but I wouldn't want it.

Even worse, though, is the fact that it won't sound like a jazz bass because the pickups are positioned significantly closer to the bridge. It will sound thinner and brighter, with the bridge pickup even burpier than usual. Might be a good slap machine, though. Again, not something I'd want, and I'm not sure you can properly advertise this as a jazz bass without being up front about this issue.

 

[byacey]

If you move the bridge closer to the heel, you have to use a shorter scale neck, or, you have to re-fret it and the new frets are going to be at completely different locations. I'm sorry to say that your bass is useless. If I were you, I'd install the original back to bridge where it was before.

Why would you call it useless if the intonation can be properly set, and the instrument is perfectly playable?

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Why would you call it useless if the intonation can be properly set, and the instrument is perfectly playable?

Ok, I thought the bridge was moved closer to the neck without swapping the necks. The OP did not mention that the neck is not original.

Apparently, they put a 22-feet neck on a 20-fret bass. In that case, it can work and intonate well if the bridge was moved to the right place. But the neck will stick out more, the 1st fret will be farther away from the player, and it will neck dive more.

Although it will intonate, IMHO/IME that mod decreased the value of the bass considerably, because it isn't original anymore, and is less ergonomic meaning it will not play better.

 

[Pilgrim]

So I just ran through intonation, it was initially off just a tad on some strings. Some strings were a tad bit flat, nothing alarming IMO. After running through proper intonation, all strings are intonated now without issue. So at least I've cleared that part up. I'll update my ad to emphasize the intonation is correct, and as for what version of Jazz Bass this is, I'll be open about the parts possibly coming from different places and drop the price a bit to account for that.

Appreciate everyone's prompt responses to help unravel this mystery.

I'm pleasantly surprised, but it appears you have no problem. The reality is that if it intonates, the bridge and neck work together OK. It's a nice color. Play it and enjoy!

 

[Geogio]

My guess is that the bonehead who did this wanted the bridge pickup to be closer to the bridge, as that alters the tone and some people prefer that sound. They were ignorant regarding intonation, and thought this was a viable and easier solution when compared to routing the body to move the pickup. I REALLY hope no professional "luthier" type of person was involved in this mod. If so, they should have their tools confiscated.

The bonehead did a nice job, ill advised and it won't intonate properly but it looks good!

 

[Killing Floor]

Moving the bridge doesn’t reset the frets.

Find a proper replacement bridge and fill the holes if you want to.

That’s far enough you should be able to notice how much the pitch is off as you climb the neck.

and edit since you said you checked intonation

the middle distance between the saddle and the nut is the middle. But all the 20 other frets ?

 

[Geogio]

But...

The first fret looks like a longscale measurement. A lot of effort for sure. Another thing is at the butt of the neck was the truss rod adjustment that deep? If it was a 24 or did they cut that too somehow?
Very strange...

 

[202dy]

Sorry, but there is NO way that intonates correctly. The bridge has been moved forward a couple of inches. As for a couple of saddles being installed incorrectly, you're wrong again. Just look at it, and imagine flipping the two you mention. It simply wouldn't work. I have the same bridge (4 string version), the saddles are correct.

Since measurements are not specified in the OP, there is no way to determine whether or not the bridge placement is a problem.

Fortunately, the OP has provided those measurements later. They can be seen in the image included in post #11 above. As you can see, the bridge placement is fine.

The screws on the fourth and fifth strings should be parallel to the side of the base plate. They are not. Reversing those saddles will fix that problem.

Respectfully submitted.