BassAgent

It's finally finished. The early 1963 VI I've been restoring for the last few months. It belonged to the owner's father and had been in the owner's attic in this crappy old gigbag for the last 20 years or so, with no strings. The bridge had disappeared, the foam on the mute had perished and I had no idea if the neck was still okay and if the electronics were still working. The body also looks like it had been suffering some mild moisture damage, so I was wondering if it had affected the hardware.

So at first I cleaned it, bought a bridge and strung it up; very carefully, because I didn't know what the neck would behave like after such a long time without any strings. Would it warp? Become a bow and arrow? No idea, so I gradually applied tension to it, a little bit extra every day for about a week.

And lo and behold: the neck held perfectly fine. The tremolo works. Two out of three pickups worked. The pots and switches are fine. Only thing that didn't work is the neck pickup, which had to be rewound.

And last week, it was finally finished. Well, almost. I haven't bought the foam for the mute yet; it's pretty hard to come by here in NL and I'm paying half of the purchase price in shipping if I get it from Germany.

The owner is coming by tonight to see it in the shape it is now. He hasn't seen it since november so I'm very curious about his reaction.

And now: photos of this very special instrument!

On 11/05/2023 at 09:07, BassAgent said:

Up to seven!

Eight!

It most definitely is!

6 hours ago, CHRISDABASS said:

Hey Folks! i hope you’re all doing well.
 

I thought this one might be of interest to some of you!

 

it’s my all original 66p! The lacquer checking is pretty special right?? She’s the perfect weight too at 8.5lbs! 
 

👍🏼

This is absolutely perfect. The checking, the colour, the birdseye in the neck, everything. 

Of course, same goes for the Dutch flag. But this particular flag was carried by a nation that specifically fought for the rights of slave owners, and against the freedom of enslaved people. Also, today it's being carried by multiple groups on the far right.

Oh yeah totally agreed, a new set of strings is standard, on any bass (except brand new). The bridge sucks because it has the wrong screws and tie saddles are not tightly secured enough (they're movable). My repair guy already straightened out the neck so the alignment issue is gone I might still install a threaded saddle bridge to make the alignment even better, though.

It plays okay but I've had a chat with a few fellow bass players and well seated frets really enhance the sound. 

Well, that turned out to be a little bit of a disappointment: I just took the bass to my regular repair guy to have the grounding issue fixed; he looked over the bass and found a few minor issues (the bridge sucks, I already knew that, the strings are two separate sets, I knew that, the neck needs a shim, didn't know that but no biggie) and one major one: the frets need replacement. There is, as he put it, "air under the frets". I've contacted the seller about this but he's not willing to compensate me in any way. 
I already paid quite a high price for this bass but now I know this I'm actually pretty bummed out.

Yeah that's what I thought when I hit "Submit" so I edited it into another snarky comment

Well, if that was true, me being a Dutchie probably wouldn't care too much either.

Well, at the end of the day a paint scheme would dictate my ability to take a bass on stage and enjoy it to the fullest. Plus, with a paintjob like that, I think it's just as important that other people, whose family or other people they know have been affected by the politics behind this particular flag, are bothered by these looks.

13 hours ago, dyerseve said:

Thanks. Yeah the flag wasn't my choice - that's how it came.

Yeah I feel the same and probably wouldn't have bought it because of that. Are you planning on having it refinished?

I wasn't planning on buying another bass any time soon, just got a CS Jazz with which I'm very satisfied but when this showed up... I've always wanted a late 60's/early 70's Jazz, with the TV logo, block inlay but with 60's bridge pickup spacing. I drove 3 hours, picked it up, took it apart (and put it back together) and took it home. It's a 1970 Jazz with replacement pots, bridge and case. It's also a refret and refin. But it's a lovely refin, the frets are good, the sound is thunderous and the neck is to die for. So, the 50th bass I've ever owned (yes, I keep a list) is my third vintage Fender. The colour is very hard to catch. It looks Lake Placid Blue, but it's more aged Ocean Turquoise.

1966 vs 1970:

1966 vs 1971 vs 1970:

The pots and case also turned out to be non-originals. To be honest: I don't care. It sounds amazing, looks absolutely stunning and it can be set up really smoothly. I will give it some new strings and oil the fretboard. I got a little discount because of the case and pots. The case is pretty old but I hate cases so I'm definitely selling it.

1 minute ago, Cliff Edge said:

If my experience with my constantly gigged since new ‘72 jazz is anything to go by, you’ll be lucky to find anything original beyond the body and neck. And probably the bent bit of metal they call the bridge, which is indestructible. Everything else has not survived the intervening 50 years. 
And no I have not abused it, just used it, a lot. 
 

My '66 Jazz and '71 Precision are still pretty much original except for the finish and the frets, though😎

This is it, by the way. Looks (apart from the refret and refin) pretty stock to me.

Speaking of 70's Fenders: please wish me luck on checking out this seemingly very nice 1970 Jazz tomorrow.

Well, speaking from experience that's really not true. I've never played a truly horrible post-1975 Jazz. They do have that reputation but I don't really see why. I have, however, setup a 1978 Jazz that was close to 10 kgs.

Not really, in that they're made in the same factories by the same people with roughly the same materials. They only differ in specs here and there: different colours, electronics, and so forth. IIRC my JMJ Mustang for example has a thicker fretboard than a Vintera, a different pickup, a relic blue finish and Hipshot lollipop tuners, but other than that is pretty standard.

44 minutes ago, nilorius said:

Interesting, starting from which year can someone call his Fender - vintage ?

I call any pre-1982 Fender vintage, but I have done so for the last 20 years so it might be time to rethink that rule. Ont he other hand, if I play a 1998 Fender (which would be "vintage" according to myself 20 years ago, if I keep the same timeframe) it doesn't feel vintage at all.

21 hours ago, BassAgent said:

I'm currently checking out a 1970 Jazz, refin in LPB. Is it possible to have a Jazz from 1970 with 60's bridge pickup spacing? I believe Fender switched somewhere in '70 or '71?

Oh by the way, is there anything else specific I have to look out for? Tuners without the trademark-R of course, pots with the correct code and the works, but anything specific for that time period?

I'm currently checking out a 1970 Jazz, refin in LPB. Is it possible to have a Jazz from 1970 with 60's bridge pickup spacing? I believe Fender switched somewhere in '70 or '71?

Finally had the full dozen basses at home again so had them recline on the orange sofa again. Had to use the wide angle lens on my iPhone so it's not the prettiest photo ever. But still.

Top, from left to right: Sadowsky MetroExpress JJ5, Lakland USA JO, Fender CS '64 LE Jazz, 1966 Fender Jazz, Fender Standard Jazz fretless, De Gier Bebop 5

Bottom, from left to right: Yamaha BB N5II, Blade B2 Tetra Bass, 1971 Fender Precision, De Gier Soulmate, Fender JMJ Mustang, Sterling Ray34 with Boekholt fretless neck

The cab riser was present at the venue  Really liked that. The Stingray is a Sterling Ray34 body with a Nordstrand pickup (and the original preamp) and a custom built fretless neck by Peter Boekholt. When I bought it, it came with a fretless Status neck which I sold a few months ago because I wanted a wood neck.

Today: