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Fender JP Bass Japan Fake ?


martinf
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Good afternoon

I am new to this Forum and i know that there is a lot of Knowlege out there so i am wondering if you can help.

Have recently purchased a Japanese Jass/precision bass lindy fralin and after close inspection wanted some opinions as to its authenticity.

It was advertised as a 1988 model but the serial dates it as 94-96.
I think the neck is legitimate but not sure about the rest.

Issues
E string Buzzy
tone and volume knobs not fitting properly and are not straight, they are attached to the scratch plate but feel flimsy
Bridge pickup looks like a post spray addition and its a bit rough on the edge
There is no cutout to access the truss rod
Bit of sand paper used as packer where neck meets the body (shown in pic)
Pickups have labels on but i am not familiar with these
Holes in Scratch plate where the neck pickup cover is situated but not in the wood underneath

All in all
I expected a True japanese P bass to be as good if not better than my 1979 american PBass
But it all feels a bit flimsy

Have i answered my own question Here

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Neck looks legit, as do the upgraded Pups. Can't see enough of the body to comment but the lack of cutaway
for truss rod access would have me questioning the origin of the body.

The buzzy E string issue should be solved with a good setup or nut adjustment.

Edited by Subbeh
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It looks ok to me, certainly the neck looks genuine, not 100% sure about the body but I wouldn't put my mortgage on it being a fake, the Fralin pickups are excellent and IMO better than the standard Fender one, I would be a little suspicious over the pots and pickguard as I would expect the control area to have some shielding...but again that is only from my experience of P basses and I have never owned a Jap 62 reissue!

A good few Fenders have different holes in the scratchplates / bodies that don't make a lot of sense, my 50's classic has holes in the scratchplate but not in the body, my 50's classic roadworn has holes by the bridge for a cover but doesn't come with them as standard!

If you like it then it's a good one if you don't, sell it on

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Ahh just seen the additional photos, the body is definitely wrong if the neck is correct as a 62 reissue, unless someone has heavily modified the body, the bridge is wrong, the extra pickup is wrong, the jack in the body is wrong as is the extra control on the scratchplate.

I am wondering if that may be a more recent Squier body?

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It is definitely not a 1988 model.
The neck with the Made In Japan and other markings is the brother of my 1996 Japanese '62 reissue Precision neck.
The pickups are Fralins but I ain't got a clue about the body, it certainly ain't a '62 reissue Precision body.
However, if it's sets up OK and sounds good.......

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