bluejail Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Hi guys, mainly all Fender Jazz Bass enthusiasts. My name is Lubo and I am new to the forum. I recently bought this secondhand bass guitar from Cashconverters in London.The guitar was sold to me as "Guitar Fender Jazz Bass" / it is printed on sales receipt and price tag sticker / I knew almost nothing about evaluating the authencity of a Fender Jazz Bass so at first moment I was quite sure the guitar was real Fender despite strange scratches on the back of the headstock. Now after doing some googling i have serious doubts whether it is authentic Fender or "Fakender" If anyone could help me to identify this bass guitar it would be greatly appreciated What I have found out: The body: grounding wire to the bridge I have seen only on Japan made Fender or Squier 62 reissues 11 screw pickguard I have seen only on Japan made Fender or Squier 62 reissues chrome control knobs fit non Japan Squier The neck: decal I have checked serial number with guitarproject website and it says th guitar was made in japan in 1995 or 1996 but I think the decal is fake. skunk stripe neck I have not seen on Japan made Fender or Squier, mostly seen on Mexican Fender or China,Korea, Indonesia Squier tuners with oval shaped machines and gaps between them would fit Mexican Fender or non Japan Squier scratched out area on the back of the headstock would fit Mexican Fender decal but would not fit Squier decal trim around the truss rod access hole fits Mexican Fender link to more photos [url="http://s1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh513/bluejail/Fender%20Jazz%20bass/"]http://s1249.photobu...%20Jazz%20bass/[/url] sorry for my poor English Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Or, if not fake... maybe a [i]bitsa?[/i] As in, "bits of" various Fenders/Squiers, etc. I've only owned the one Fender - a Mexican Precision - and some bits of the above tally. I'm sure someone more knowledgable will be along to discuss the serial, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Those tuners look like cheap Schaller BM (short) copies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime_BASS Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 How much did you pay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 (edited) hmmm.... to me it looks legit, a fender japan standard jazz bass. though would question the tuners and lack of made in japan on back of neck. what makes you think the decal is fake? And more importantly how does it play? Edited April 29, 2012 by LukeFRC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceH Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 (edited) I think the body is a real Fender Jap apart from possibly the metal knobs. The stamp on the neck pocket is typical of Jap basses I've seen/owned and it has the appropriate shielding with no cheapskate routing aruond the pickups. Not overly familiar with their various models, but a 62RI made for export? If they ever did that, that is! The neck I'm not sure about but it's typical for Jap Fenders to have tuners which have a smaller footprint on the back than the old-style standard ones. My very similar 85 Jap jazz has that, as do others I've seen Edited April 29, 2012 by LawrenceH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluejail Posted April 29, 2012 Author Share Posted April 29, 2012 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1335713658' post='1634874'] Those tuners look like cheap Schaller BM (short) copies [/quote] Thanks for quick response I paid 250 quid tha bass plays and sounds great to me very low action, no buzzing at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Looks legit MiJ to me, very nice too for £250 & it plays well I'd say 'you're worrying too much' only mystery to me is the scratching on the back of head Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 (edited) I don`t think the body is a Squier as they normally route out the wood so it`s easier to wire the neck pickup. The Mexican bodies usually have the circular "stash" hole on the body that means you can`t use with the pickgaurd off. They tuners are the kind that are fitted to the Mexican Standards. Even the cheap Jap one`s I have seen have the flat tops that pertrude through the headstock. You can get Jap necks with the skunk stripe. The decal looks genuine but it may be a bitsa bass made from Fender bits. If you are happy with the way it plays, enjoy it. But please cut off those bits of excess strings!! Jez Edited April 29, 2012 by jezzaboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Well if the guys are happy with those tuners then so am I - I ain't no Fender expert. ... I don't have a MIJ here right now to compare but I kind of find it hard to believe as I have a less prestigious Jap bass here with way nicer tuners on it and a Jay Turser bass with almost identical ones to these. Is the bridge earth wire ringing any bells with anyone? I recently serviced a MIJ but it had your average hole through to the control cavity job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mylkinut Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Looks like a legit Jap Jazz to me, I'd be very happy with that for £250. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1335715895' post='1634914'] Well if the guys are happy with those tuners then so am I - I ain't no Fender expert. ... I don't have a MIJ here right now to compare but I kind of find it hard to believe as I have a less prestigious Jap bass here with way nicer tuners on it and a Jay Turser bass with almost identical ones to these. Is the bridge earth wire ringing any bells with anyone? I recently serviced a MIJ but it had your average hole through to the control cavity job. [/quote] Some of the early japanese fender basses had the bridge earth wire, it became a bit of a trademark fender japan thing on quite a few of their jazz models. I would be more worried if it wasn't there. Apart from the tuners which I don't have enough knowledge either way, and the scratches that I can't explain then this looks 'ok'. The body seems to be a fender japan standard body- or the stamp suggests the (lower level) '62 ri. The neck logo and truss access is the same as a fender japan standard jazz one. I would wonder why there wasn't a stamp at the heel of the neck and about the tuners- but if it plays well I wouldn't worry that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1335716666' post='1634935'] Some of the early japanese fender basses had the bridge earth wire, it became a bit of a trademark fender japan thing on quite a few of their jazz models. I would be more worried if it wasn't there. Apart from the tuners which I don't have enough knowledge either way, and the scratches that I can't explain then this looks 'ok'. The body seems to be a fender japan standard body- or the stamp suggests the (lower level) '62 ri. The neck logo and truss access is the same as a fender japan standard jazz one. I would wonder why there wasn't a stamp at the heel of the neck and about the tuners- but if it plays well I wouldn't worry that much. [/quote] Coolio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceH Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1335715895' post='1634914'] Well if the guys are happy with those tuners then so am I - I ain't no Fender expert. ... I don't have a MIJ here right now to compare but I kind of find it hard to believe as I have a less prestigious Jap bass here with way nicer tuners on it and a Jay Turser bass with almost identical ones to these. Is the bridge earth wire ringing any bells with anyone? I recently serviced a MIJ but it had your average hole through to the control cavity job. [/quote] I'm not either but I've owned a few... Fender Japan certainly used to make two versions of a few of their models, as Luke alludes to - one with lower quality hardware and another which is often supposedly US hardware. All the standard and 62RI Jap Fenders I've seen have had the bridge wire. If Luke has also seen standard jazzes with the truss rod access at the headstock end then that's probably ok too, the ones I've seen have been at the body though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 [quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1335717362' post='1634948'] I'm not either but I've owned a few... Fender Japan certainly used to make two versions of a few of their models, as Luke alludes to - one with lower quality hardware and another which is often supposedly US hardware. All the standard and 62RI Jap Fenders I've seen have had the bridge wire. If Luke has also seen standard jazzes with the truss rod access at the headstock end then that's probably ok too, the ones I've seen have been at the body though. [/quote] http://www.guitaremporium.co.uk/index.php?f=data_fender_japan_new_guitars&a=3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gub Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 Looks ok to me and my fretless mij has a flat earth wire from bridge to bridge pickup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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