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Post subject: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 8:10 pm
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Alright, a couple months ago I purchased a Fender Highway One Precision Bass. I love the sound of a P-Bass but I've been playing a few jazz basses and quite frankly prefer the feel and sound of the jazz bass. There's a guy locally selling a "1968 Fender Jazz Bass" he claims he purchased it in 1988. Since then he's gotten it re-painted, added a new Bad $@! II bass bridge, and EMG bass pickups. So the pickups aren't original, the finish isn't original, and neither is the paint. That being said, he selling it for 750 w/ an SKB hard shell case. I honestly liked the look of it and thought it would be a nice first jazz bass, but I'm worried A) about the effect of the modifications on the value, and B) are there an tell tells of a 68 jazz bass?? Any and all info would be greatly appreciated!! :D

P.S. It has two necks, the original which is stamped "7 MAR 68 and possibly other numbers?" And it has the truss rod adj. at the base of the neck, it also comes with a custom built fret less maple neck w/ an ebony fingerboard.


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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 8:29 pm
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Here's a bit more info.. I guess I'm just skeptical that it's a '68. The heck is maple with a rosewood fretboard. The headstock has the fender logo but the "Jazz Bass" portion is small, not big and blocky like others vintage jazz basses I've seen online. The inlays on the fretboard are the dots not blocks like other vintage jazz basses I've seen too. Sorry about all the questions. I'm new to fender basses and the specs on them especially older ones. ( I've played vintage US made peaveys since I started playing bass at the ripe age of 11! And I'll be 17 this Oct. ) Thanks again!!


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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:08 pm
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Jakeyjakes83 wrote:
The inlays on the fretboard are the dots not blocks like other vintage jazz basses I've seen too.


No way that neck is a '68......all Jazz Basses by then had the block inlays and fretboard binding. As well, most of them had the "paddle" tuners.

Sounds like parts bass to me.

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 11:21 pm
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I got to agree that it's a parts bass, let it go.


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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 2:03 am
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oxfan wrote:
I got to agree that it's a parts bass, let it go.


"Not so fast, Mistah Bond......"

While the bass is obviously not an original from 1968, it may still contain sufficient Fender parts to make such a purchase worthwhile. I'd take a look at it if nothing else and try to ascertain what it actually is. Who knows -- it may be a "diamond in the rough".

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 8:45 am
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That was my big worry. The neck didn't look like other 68's I've seen on online (guitar center, other forums, etc) but like I said I had no idea Lol


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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 10:02 am
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Here's a few photos..
Image
Image
Image


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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:23 am
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Vintage Fender basses had an extra strap button affixed to the reverse side of the headstock (ultimately deleted sometime in the mid '70s) -- there is no evidence whatsoever that the neck in question ever had one installed. It's looking pretty wonky to me at this point......

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:36 am
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Yeah Im thinking this wouldnt be smart to gamble on. :-) thanks for all the input!!!


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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 1:15 pm
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Hold on everyone- the picture of the neck from behind is of the newer replacement neck, the one with the tuners installed, not the old neck.
So we still don't know if the old neck had a strap button on the headstock!

We may all agree that it is not a 68, but that neck could be a 66 or 65 and the later CBS tuners are installed on the newer neck and maybe they were never on the old neck!

So we are playing the game of : Are the parts worth $750?

What bothers me is that truss rod nut is way inside that neck and that means its been tweaked and maybe broken, so that explains the "new neck."

The orig. pickups have been replaced and presumably are not included in the deal.

The body has been refinished so identifying marks may have been painted over, but maybe not. We don't know if the pots date to '68 or earlier.

The bridge has been replaced with a stupid BA bridge which are no improvement over the stock bridge. Stop doing this to Fender basses. The original bridges are better and more user friendly.

My opinion is:
If the body is a real '68 or a '66! And the neck can be saved and determined to be a real 1966 or 1965 neck, the deal is definitely worth $750.

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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 7:45 pm
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Yes the original tuners are on the new fret less neck. I just emailed the guy and asked for close up pics of any/ all markings on the pots, inside neck pocket on the body, and headstock. I also asked for pics of the back of the original neck. Hopefully he will agree and get back with me. If not I'm not even going fool with the thing Lol


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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 5:54 pm
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any updates?


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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 9:03 am
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Ghastly wrote:
any updates?



Wow it's been a LONG time time since I've been on here. The seller was really nice and sent all the photos I asked for. He actually sold it to a friend of his before I could get the cash together. Which is fine because I wound up getting a great deal on an American Deluxe P.


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Post subject: Re: 1968 Fender Jazz Bass
Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 10:20 pm
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BCbassman wrote:
Hold on everyone- the picture of the neck from behind is of the newer replacement neck, the one with the tuners installed, not the old neck.
So we still don't know if the old neck had a strap button on the headstock!

We may all agree that it is not a 68, but that neck could be a 66 or 65 and the later CBS tuners are installed on the newer neck and maybe they were never on the old


So we are playing the game of : Are the parts worth $750?

What bothers me is that truss rod nut is way inside that neck and that means its been tweaked and maybe broken, so that explains the "new neck."

The orig. pickups have been replaced and presumably are not included in the deal.

The body has been refinished so identifying marks may have been painted over, but maybe not. We don't know if the pots date to '68 or earlier.

The bridge has been replaced with a stupid BA bridge which are no improvement over the stock bridge. Stop doing this to Fender basses. The original bridges are better and more user friendly.

My opinion is:
If the body is a real '68 or a '66! And the neck can be saved and determined to be a real 1966 or 1965 neck, the deal is definitely worth $750.





+1 0n the BAll bridge thing.... :)


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