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Post subject: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 7:50 am
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Let's see if this one takes you more than five minutes! What the heck is this?

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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 2:29 pm
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affprod wrote:
Let's see if this one takes you more than five minutes! What the heck is this?

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Oh My, YES! That is the most sought after Fender bass in the entire universe. The one & only Fenton Farjnsworth Fender "Frodo-Type". Hand Crafted By Hobbits In Middle Earth.

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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:50 pm
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Nice try Linnin, and I like the thought of having old FFs frototype, but you will have to dig deeper to solve this one.

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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 12:51 am
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It's a Fender Performer bass. Here's the Wikipedia article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fender_Performer_Bass

I actually recognized it right away, because I remember reading about it a while back (at least some of my short term memory is still intact :P ) but I had a brain fart on the name of it, so I had to take a few minutes to find that article and remember the name of the damned thing.

I think it's an interesting instrument. Someone was willing to take a risk and break from the traditional designs and come up with something different.

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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 6:16 am
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Excellent guess, but not exactly correct. The body shape would go on to become the Performer, but look more closely and you will see several differences between this one and the Performers. Hint: one thing the picture doesn't show, is unlike the Performer, this bass has active electronics.

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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 1:48 pm
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Has Performer body, but do I see the normal Fender headstock instead of Performer headstock?


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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 2:25 pm
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Correct! The headstock is not the Performer headstock, but it is the correct headstock for the bass.

Hint #2: It has two toggle switches, instead of one. The second switch moves the tone control between the pickups.

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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 11:47 pm
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That's a prototype- there's a picture that has two switches and looks real similar in a book called, "The Fender Bass" by Klaus Blasquiz.

If it had another name, it either wasn't named in the book or I forgot it.

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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 3:19 am
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Oh yeah, I wasn't paying attention to the headstock. I just noticed the body and it reminded me of that one bass. I have no clue what this is, then. I'm curious to find out, though.

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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 4:26 am
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Zontar, you are correct, it is a prototype, and it has a great history/story. And you are also right about it's appearance in the book.

I am going to wait another day or so to see if anyone comes up with its original purpose, but nice catch on Klaus.

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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 9:17 am
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Is this the 5 string prototype bass?

It is of Japanese origin. Made by Fugi-gen gakki I believe in 1987.


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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 7:31 pm
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This is a four string made in California, several years earlier, designed by John Page.

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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 11:12 am
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Okay, I am back in the states so the time is up on this "what the heck is this" segment.

First, I know the picture isn't the greatest but it is the best single snap I had of it. It actually arrived at my house yesterday, so I will post a more complete story about it on the Jazz Bass board where it actually belongs.

What the heck is this? It is the Fender Elite Jazz Bass (prototype).

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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 11:46 am
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Wow, never heard about that one. That's certainly interesting.

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Post subject: Re: What the Heck is This? #7
Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 2:08 pm
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I too would love to hear about your Fender Elite Jazz bass prototype and the story behind it.

I posted her because I looked for a post under Jazz basses nad I din't see anything related to this bass.

Maybe you are still having too much fun playing it!

It looks like a cool find.

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