bassintheface Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 ok, and Happy New Year all btw......... a friend of mine has a mid 70's Fender Jazz Bass for sale - he's not a player but more a 'Del Boy' type - he saw it in an auction, bid for it and got it. It was auctioned as prev owned by the guitarist of a well known 70's band. I know what he paid for it, I've seen it, played it and checked it over etc. It is missing the ashtray covers (if these came with them?) and the orig hard case. Its a sunburst model, RW board, block pearl markers. In great condition. Elecs were crackly and ancient strings - with a clean up and set up etc it'd sound great and I'd love to have it. I want to buy it from him but would really like to 'prove' it is what we think it is before committing a large amount of cash to it! I checked the serial Nr off the headstock online and it worked out to be a 74/75. How else can I prove its age and that it is ALL a genuine 74 /75 Jazz Bass as far as is reasonably practicable? He wants top £ for it - he's seen what Andy Baxter advertises his for (obviously you know what you're getting from him). He knows I want it and has said I could pay him in installments etc so I'd just like to be sure before I go for it..... Don't want to fall out with him as he's a friend, but by the same token, he wouldn't refund me if I later found out it was a 'bitsa'! If it's genuine then I'm happy to make him an offer close to what he wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Get yourself one of these, which will list all the particular features of specific periods. It`s a worthy book for any Fender playing bassist: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fender-Bass-Illustrated-History/dp/0634026402/ref=sr_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357129568&sr=1-20"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fender-Bass-Illustrated-History/dp/0634026402/ref=sr_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357129568&sr=1-20[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 (edited) Post some pics and we'll have a go at verifying it for you. What colour is the pickguard? Does it have a thumbrest / holes? if so, where? What's the wiring like? Any codes on the pots? Anything written / stamped under the pickups? On the heel of the neck? In the neck pocket in the body? What do the tuners look like? Is the truss rod adjustment at the headstock or the body? ,...etc. Edited January 2, 2013 by wateroftyne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassintheface Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 right............will ask him if I can have it for a couple of days and take some snaps. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alembic63 Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Hi If he wants top whack for his bass its down to him to show you a few things..firstly, check under the pickups, on most pickups but not all ,should be a code, the last 2 digits should be the year the pickups were made, secondly the pots will have a code ,as an example 1377414, the 137 indicates the factory the pots were made followed by the year 74 and week 14, while these are a good guide ,be aware that most 70,s jazz basses can overlap a few years so you can have 74 pickups, 75 pots and a 76 body, depending on what bucket fender pulled them from Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuyR Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Make sure you get a satisfactory provenance proving the previous ownership if that is a factor in the price. Auction receipt and catalogue would be OK if they mention the well-known owner. Without this, it will be difficult to resell for the full value. Lozz's suggestion of reading material is spot-on to check the bass is original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Pepper Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Echo the comments about getting some pics. Take as many as possible (headstock (front and back), bridge, pots (if poss), neck plate,etc Post them up here and I'm sure we can provide some comment. If the seller is familiar with the pricing on Andy's site then he should also be aware that he provides many photos of the bass. The last one I bought had nearly 100 pics for me to check out. Cheers, Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeswals Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 It will not be a 74 or 75 if the serial number is on the headstock of that Jazz Bass. During mid 1976 is when the serials moved to be a printed decal on the face of the headstock, before that they were stamped on the neckplate wether it was a 3-bolt or 4-bolt neckplate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oopsdabassist Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Whens the wedding.............oh wait........did I read that title wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon1964 Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 [quote name='mikeswals' timestamp='1357705426' post='1927024'] It will not be a 74 or 75 if the serial number is on the headstock of that Jazz Bass. During mid 1976 is when the serials moved to be a printed decal on the face of the headstock, before that they were stamped on the neckplate wether it was a 3-bolt or 4-bolt neckplate. [/quote] Definitely. If the serial number is on the headstock it's later than 74/75. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.9ad672bb8b84505709f76b39c8c256ec.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.