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Post subject: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 6:03 pm
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So I played a recent FCS reissue 60 jazz. Very nice play. But I am curious, how close to an original 60J is it in form, fit, function and sound?

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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 6:26 pm
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I honestly have no idea. But I do know the CS 62's are really close to the real 62 because I was extremely fortunate and able to do a side by side A/B with the two. I also think it partly depends on who built it too. Of course there were variations in the real 60's also. I doubt the 60 RI would have clay dots on the fretboard. (Of course it wasn't really clay but that is what people call it. What the "clay" really is will be a whole can of worms I don't wanna get into.)

I also think the pickups on the CS version are possibly better because the 60 was really, really bright. The mass marketed 60's CS Pickups are not as bright as a real 60 set. That could partly be alnico aging though making them sound thinner now over 50 years later.

One thing about the CS basses is there is practically no variation whatsoever copy to copy. You won't find a dud!


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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 7:28 pm
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Thanks BD. I have never played an original 60 but not a fan of bright. You have given me something to think about.

Steve

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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Thu Aug 15, 2013 9:14 pm
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A guy here in Ohio has what he claims is the first J bass in the State. I played it- It was kind of heavy . It supposedly is one of the first Jazzes to leave the factory. Garland Flowers is his name. His family used to do a Gospel tour as the Flowers Family. The bass was beat to heck and had flats on it. Of course it made kind of a dull thud noise. I thought it sounded bad- but Garland was one of these guys who just played the bass and that was it. Just played.
Garland said the bass was a 58 or 59 but I doubt that. The first jazzes were 60's weren't they?


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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:30 am
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Yes, first production jazz basses were in 60, however I have seen pots from 59 and have heard ot necks from 59. BD can qualify this, but my suposition is that the first jazz basses used an existing A neck, so older dates might be possible on components, but the bass would be a 60.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Fri Aug 16, 2013 11:10 pm
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If it was one of the very first out of the factory it would just say just FENDER on the headstock decal. The Jazz Bass decals came shortly after production had already began and maybe as few as 25 or as many as 50 were produced without the Jazz Bass decal.

The first ones will say just "FENDER" on the decal on the headstock and have no model name. The Jazz Bass was actually referred to as a Fender Deluxe Bass when announced to dealers and the prototype, sales literature illustrations and earliest examples had no model name at all on the headstock.

At the last minute before production began Leo Fender changed the model name from Deluxe Bass to Jazz Bass because he was striving to lure more upright bass players to his electrics and he felt Jazz players who were clinging to their upright string basses for dear life would be attracted to it because of the name. His goal was to convert all bassists to electric. The Jazz Bass decals came online pretty quickly after production began, probably no more than 2 weeks in and ones with "FENDER" only decals command huge premiums because those are generally considered to be "Deluxe Basses" even though the name actually got changed before production started and the Jazz Bass decals simply hadn't arrived from the supplier yet.

The pots on the FENDER generic decal Jazzes should probably date earlier than ones with Jazz Bass on the decal but not by much. Maybe 4 to 8 weeks difference. I would not see a 59 neck date as out of character at all even on a mid 1960 Jazz because they would have started making more "A" necks in 1959 when orders were slow knowing they were going to need a bunch in a few months. They were not exactly selling hundreds and more like dozens at first so that's why you will see a 59 neck date on a 60 Jazz. However the pot dates generally ran closer than the neck dates and I can't see them being a whole year off because they came out of general inventory and were not instrument specific so the supply turned over very quickly. Mr. Fender was notorious for ordering small quantities of everything to make suppliers bid against each other every week or two or three. The turnaround on pots was months at the most at this time. If you saw late 59 pots I could absolutely believe that would be original. Anything earlier than about June of 59 would be a headscratcher.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2013 4:03 pm
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That is what I thought, thanks, but it brings a couple questions to mind.
When did Fender start using a July-June model year?
When did the Precision start using Precision decals? (sorry for going a bit off topic there)

I think I am going to bring a CS reissue 60 into my herd and check it out. I will report back. I have sold several basses lately, in fact 4 in a row without a purchase - and that has to be a record. Self control like the man of steel. :)

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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Wed Aug 21, 2013 3:20 pm
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affprod wrote:
I have sold several basses lately, in fact 4 in a row without a purchase - and that has to be a record. Self control like the man of steel. :)


I'll say!

You owe yourself a bass at this point. Mebbe an amp too......

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2013 9:16 pm
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I am so ashamed. The man of steel willpower hit a wall. I bought the 60J CS Reissue, but it gets worse....I bought a 52P today, also.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 9:51 am
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Repeat after me......

I am affprod and I am a gear addict.

(like the rest of us lost souls)

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Fri Aug 23, 2013 11:16 am
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affprod wrote:
I am so ashamed. The man of steel willpower hit a wall. I bought the 60J CS Reissue, but it gets worse....I bought a 52P today, also.


I want a left-handed '54 Precision just like Stings. Beat up on the outside, but beautiful toneful soul on the inside. Throw the covers and the pickguard away.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2013 7:48 pm
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Bass arrived today. Pics tomorrow. A couple small flaws that kind of surprised me for a CS bass....but this one puts growl in a whole new light. I think we are going to be good friends.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 6:07 pm
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Sorry, no pics, got called to Orlando. Full circle funny! When I was younger I was once told my play was Mickey Mouse. Tonight we had Mickey Mouse dancing....lol!

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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 6:24 pm
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Okay, here are the pics. The face, worn, with the mint green pg is nice, the wood for the neck is the most molted Birdseye I have personally ever seen. Pics aren't great, but hopefully do it some justice.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Tried to get the whole neck...because the wood is just cool from top to bottom.

I like the stacked knobs and the ability to dial in tone on each pickup. It is a bit brighter, but I think BD was correct that the big brightness on the originals was from aging of the pup. However, this jazz has a definite growl, more than my other jazz basses.....I kind of like it. In fact I am taking it out tomorrow.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Custom Shop reissue/ relic
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 7:14 pm
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:D Beautiful! :D

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