Chiliwailer

I had a reply from Custom Shop. They didn't keep good records back in 2002. It is legit, which I knew anyway, but sadly I couldn't find out what was 'special' about it i.e. who ordered it etc. Well, at least I love it and know it's special!

Hi, Lovely bass, especially the ash body You mentioned Howard the pickguard guy, how can I get in touch with him please? Thanks.

Sound like the strings, as they go dead so does tone as the string won't resonate as much. Try boiling them in water for 20 minutes with some washing up liquid - but be careful as that has a baking powder effect so keep the heat very low. Boiling will get the dirt out and hopefully sort your tone out!

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1369485620' post='2089703'] Signature looks like 2 of 3 to me (with the signatory being ON) rather than 2 of 30? CS do make some limited run stuff but I don't remember this far back, lol. They will almost always replicate any of the limited edition models as well. EG If there's a 30 unit run and someone wants to buy one a year later they can still build a one off for them - one of the joys of a 'custom shop' is that, within reason, they'll build whatever a customer asks for. They often have certificates saying '62, '63' '64 etc for what is, essentially, the same bass IE a '64 if it's 3 knobs or a '60 if it's 2 (although sometimes the '62's a 2 knobs as well!). These are basic templates to build from and it only gets really complicated when someone wants a '68 bound & blocked or a transition '66 with binding but clay dots etc. It's at this point that prices start to hurtle upwards as well! You could write to the CS in the States and see if they have any ideas (going through Fender UK is a slow process as they only really have one guy working the CS and he's mostly focused on guitar not bass). [/quote] That's a great reply, thank you very much indeed. It looks like you're right about the '2 of 3' part. I sent an email to Fender USA, hopefully I'll get an answer as the curiosity is building! Most importantly, it's a great bass. Thanks again.

Awesome, been wanting to tally this for a while. 25 I think, lost count [b]Cheap:[/b] Hohner Rockwood LX100b, Aria SB1000, Aria IGB30, Hohner Jack x 2, Ozark Acoustic, Satalitte Fretless, Ovation Fretless Acoustic [b]Pro:[/b] Fender Custom Shop 1963 Jazz, Music Man Stingray x 2, Music Man Sterling x2, Fender USA Deluxe P Bass, Fender USA Deluxe Jazz 5, Squier 1983 JV Precision, Fender USA short scale Bullet, [b]Vintage:[/b] 1964 Precision, 1964 Jazz, 1966 Precision, 1973 Precision, 1978 Precision, 71 & 73 Musicmaster, 1978 Music Man Sabre, 1973 Ricky 4001 (check binding), 1978 Ricky 4001 Now only down to three: Custom Shop Jazz, MM Sterling and Ozark Acoustic.......The others paid towards my flat!!!

Very Ska, nice one!!!

lol! Oh well, at least that's £10 to go towards that 90's Encore P Bass I found on eBay! Here's a pic, shame the cool lacquer checking doesn't show. I'm getting a tortoiseshell plate for it, that'll finish it off nicely! Cheers

I have a 1963 Closet Classic Jazz Bass, in Lake Placid Blue with matching peghead. It was finished in January 2002. It has some hand written info on the neck heal (see picture) and [u][b]I'm wondering if anyone else has this on their bass or knows anything about it?[/b][/u] I'm assuming it is a special edition of 30 basses (finished in LPB with matching peghead). The neck stamp says '64 J-Bass', though the certificate has this bass as a '63 reissue. This looks to be because they made a 64 replica in 2001 and possibly a 63 ltd ed (?) in 2002. This bass was put together at the end of 2001. I believe Fender Custom Shop only make a replica of a certain bass for one year only, could this be one of only 30 LPB '63 Closet Classics they made with matching peghead? It's so hard to find Custom Shop info, can anyone please enlighten me? Thank you.

I agree with the above. Volume cuts like that are usually bad solder joints, the force of the slapping may bring it on. I'd check soldering on the pick up first, then preamp and jack. I had the issue on my Precision, sorted now though due to resoldering. Good luck.

Here's two of my old ones, both with new owners but not forgotten... Stingray pickups with two coil split options, Fender 57 Reissue pickup and active passive mode. The other is a 71 Musicmaster with Dimarzio PJ pickups, all new hardware and paint job. Awesome short scale.

I've had this problem twice in the past. Fender tuning heads often get a tiny bit bent, 1/2mm is enough to create noise. If the noise stops when you pinch the tuner a nd play the E string open(could be any of them) then find one that looks like it could do with an adjustment. Sometimes the one you pinch (and get the noise to stop) isnt the one that needs adjusting.... just to confuse you!!

Glad to have made your day!

What a great couple of basses to get us started, thanks guys - I'm loving the vibes and awesome basses.

Be very very careful when sanding the saddle, the pick up is under it so if the saddle is not perfectly flat it will damage the piezo pickup. I bet you the nut is high too, fret a string at the first fret, if the string action comes down alot then it needs cutting. I use flatwounds on my electro acoustic bass, they sound amazing and much more rootsy and natural, bronze strings have too many mids and sound especially bad on cheaper acoustic basses.

Have you ruled out the bass, leads or effects being the issue? Especially if the bass is active. I have the same amp but haven't had that issue. I'd call the UK distributor and chat to their tech team.

I've done this with vintage silver Fender grill cloth on my Mark Bass combo! I unscrewed the grill and glued the cloth to back of the grill on the edges (just in case I ever need to restore it) and then screwed the grill back on. I kept the logo off though.

"It's better to have loved and lost than not loved at all" - I sold my 1964 Precision and Jazz basses to buy a flat last year. A sad day that was, but such is life.

Absolutey Coitte, best £150 I ever spent, and they don't stay in the drawer gathering dust like my hundreds of pounds worth of pedals and pickups!

So what cool mods, merges or creations have you made??? Due to back issues and a love of Precision basses I got a '96 Sterling and replaced the pickup with a vintage Jason Lollar Precision pick up. Originally it was passive, but later I reconected the preamp which surprisingly still sounds very natural and rootsy, especially with the flatwounds.