q_of_doom

I've just spoken to the seller, an elderly gentleman who seems genuine. The serial number has been destroyed, and that was how he bought it off a reputable dealer many years ago. I forgot to ask if he still has the invoice. Even he suggested that he didn't know why the serial number would have been destroyed, also suggesting that the guitar might at some point in its history may have left an owner's possession by dubious means. We have no way of telling. He did say that he will be in my neck of the woods in a month or so if I cared to inspect the bass. If all's seems kosher, I'm tempted again. *sigh*

Here's my current '83 Jazz that I bought in 2000 (E300 222) that I'm looking at getting a rosewood counterpart for. It's pretty much the same as the one in the link above save for the pickguard, knobs and fingerboard. Same period-correct tuners as mentioned. The neck date is for October 1983, if i recall correctly. The serial number issue does bug me too on the bass in question.

Seriously, are they surprised that they ever ran into financial difficulty - time and time again?

Oh this is gorgeous. Where did you get all the parts from and may I ask what the total project costed?

Hmmm. I'm not too keen to do a 1 000km round trip just on the off chance that this might be one of the few good ones from the era. @Stacker, if I convert the price from Rand to Pound Sterling, he's asking £650.00, which is not too unreasonable. Having said that, I'll think I'll pass. I love the colour and the knobs, but the one-piece scratch plate makes it look cheap.

I'm all for Autumnglo myself. The more I look at it, the more it looks like a hobo's teeth. The colour that is. Suddenly I can't stand the sight of crème brûlée anymore.

Oh, and regarding the bridge issue, Fender started using three holes from '83 onwards, although as mentioned, they also used whatever they had kicking about during '83 and '84. P-basses continued with their five-hole bridges.

Thanks for that. The seller is wants what I think is very reasonable and more or less what one would expect to pay for one of these, given it's original. I'm waiting for an answer from him regarding the serial number and I might make the drive if he's ok with me dismantling it to check it out. My '83 jazz was on of the all parts models and although it's a fine instrument, it's lacking in the overall finish department with regards to the tightness of the neck in the neck pocket and the control plate/pickguard not lining up properly.

Thanks for the input, guys. The Fender Bass book by Black and Molinaro didn't mention this particular version. @ikay, thanks for the link. Even the colour is exactly as described by the owner. @LawrenceH, it does looks tampered with somehow. I'll mail the seller and enquire about it.

I've found what a seller claims to be an original MIA '85 Jazz bass on Gumtree. Although I was tempted to take the four hour drive to view the bass, I did notice a few things out of place. Most obvious of all is the fact that there is no metal control plate. Instead it has a one-piece pickguard/control plate. Secondly, the knobs seem out of place for the year model, although it could be a hangover from the 1983/4 use of non-standard parts. Thirdly, there seems to be no serial number underneath the Fender logo as was standard from 1983 - 1995. Fourthly I've noticed that the headstock looks like it's too bulbous on the tip, although that could be due to the angle at which the photo was taken. Do we have ourselves a little red fish here, or could this be the real thing, albeit some special model?

Oh yum! I'd be on it like a fat boy on a cupcake! It looks like crème brûlée!

I saw that. But what would possess a man to do such a thing? Too many toys? Does the Mrs need a baby/craft room? GASing for ...? Well what could someone in his fortunate position with so many endorsements still want? I want that amp though.

And thank you, WoT.

Apologies, discreet. Fixed.

[url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/AGUILAR-DB-750-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Amp-Head-JMJ-Nine-Inch-Nails-Tour-NIN-/170757437102?pt=Guitar&hash=item27c1efb6ae#ht_11267wt_1189"]http://http://www.eb...ht_11267wt_1189[/url] Sigh. Kidneys anyone? *Edit* Link fixed.

I LOVE the Z-Vex Woolly Mammoth, Malekko Barker B:assmaster and Russian Big Muffs and the most versatile of them all, the Fender Sub-Lime. If you want to perve out on fuzz and get an idea of what's out there, check out [url="http://bassfuzz.com/"]bassfuzz.com[/url]/

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1322088764' post='1446508'] Well, at time of writing there's a net two users who would rather click on a down arrow than have a conversation with you. Negative rep for expressing an opinion which is neither objectionable or anti-social. Way to go, whoever you are. [/quote] Whoops. I've just pressed the down button to see what it'll do only to realise that I've given neepheid the thumbs down. Sorry mate! Good thing we're not using live ammo or something. How do you undo this?

[quote name='bigsmokebass' timestamp='1319598742' post='1416243'] Your my hero, been looking for that for aaaaaages! Did see it origionally on musicians friend but never seen it since. Looks great though, you would have to win the Lotto to purchase it though ^_^ lol bad pun I know [/quote] Actually, I stumbled upon it while doing research for my latest project, a '68 Tele bass. Then, just to add to the envy I found this [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXdkW9xy1g4"]video[/url], where Will I Am's bass player gets one given to her at the Fender Custom Shop. Bad sound quality, but since these things are so rare, I'll share. Are we hijacking a thread?

I've phoned up an electronic engineer that builds amps as a hobby who said it's definitely not from storing on it's side or even upside down. More than likely another problem as mentioned above or mechanical failure inside that amp due to something, like a capacitor working loose.

Thanks for the feedback. The wooden ones look great, but I'm after a piece of plastic since that's what was originally installed since the late fifties/early sixties on all Fender basses. I'm trying for a restoration that is historically perfect. Thanks again.

Hi all. I'm currently having a '68 Telecaster bass restored and I'm trying to source some parts. I have found most of the era-specific parts that I needed so far on eBay, save for the pick guard and tug bar. My question is, is it worth spending between $100 - $225 on a little bit of hollow plastic that costs $8 new? Even the one on my '64 P-bass doesn't look any different from the ones currently found in the shops. Have these thumb rests remained unchanged since the late fifties when Fender moved from one-hole to two-hole models? Since my bass' body has needed extensive repairs done, I might as well ask my luthier to age an off-the-shelf bit for me right? Some of the older ones have aged to appear black with a burgundy sheen, but that's about as much of a difference as I can pick up. A few scratches and a bit of acid on the screws and we should have a new part looking old again. Or has the part changed somewhat in design over the years? Please note that I'm simply a stickler for historically correct restoration, and not out to bump up the value as such. Here's the story of my bass: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/158660-68-telebass-one-sad-story/

Interesting. The one posted looks like a stripped-down version of the Fender Lotto Bass that had two mudbuckers. The Lotto cost over $ 6 000 if I recall correctly, hence the name. http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=2112.0

Thanks for the encouragement! The work shouldn't be visible since it'll be smoothed over and refinished in solid white. I'll go the relic'ing route as I've done with my P-bass to make the body match the neck so you might see the different woods in the bits where the paint is chipped, but I don't foresee it being too much of a problem. Time will tell.

I thought I'd share this sad story. A few months ago I noticed a 1968 Telecaster bass for sale on Gumtree Cape Town. The price and the fact that there wasn't a pic attached should've alerted me that I wasn't exactly about to pick up a closet classic. The pics should give you an idea of the horror, but basically, someone decided that whatever Leo Fender tried to do with the original P-bass wasn't quite good enough, so they got working with powertools to "enhance" the guitar's curves and repaint it in a horrible sticky varnish. The result is a crime against the bass community. On the upside, the bass sounded fantastic! It's loud compared to both my '64 P-bass (another rescue) and '83 Jazz bass and the tone drips sixties Fender honey. Most of the parts were still intact save for the string ferrules, which were squared off by the eager powertool torture and the original input jack. Oh and the pick guard was long gone, but that's not uncommon on these and the thumbrest had joined the realms of the non-existent. The original pickup cover, however, came along in the original case. I found original string ferrules on eBay for £21 and a jack dish from a '54 Fender Lapsteel for £8. The Bass cost me £555. I'm still looking for a pickguard, which is tricky since they came in two or more versions and rare as hen's teeth as well as a tug bar (thumbrest) about which I will post questions later. I've sent her to Johannesburg to be lovingly restored by Andy McGibbon, who does the amazing things with vintage guitars. The work is likely to cost as much as the bass itself, if not slightly more, but that's still a bargain considering the tone. I've decided to have her restored to her former colour, which judging by the paint residue was a white blonde. Andy has had to cut out a bit of the wood to glue (more like press under tons of pressure) new bits of ash into the missing parts and then reshape to restore the original profile. About 20% of the wood has been lost due to the butchering by a careless former owner, but hopelly she'll still sound as good when she finally returns. The frets need work, but I've decided to play her first before making the decision to refret. I'll update once work has been completed.

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