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Post subject: MIJ P-Bass pickup and capacitor identification
Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 4:24 pm
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I have a MIJ Fender P bass E# series Pb62 bass. I love this thing! Got a steal deal on it a couple of years ago. I wanted to identify what kind of pickup it was using and the capacitor. The pickup is kinda strange as it has different levels of height on each of the polepieces. Not just the A string. It has a brass plate underneath also. The capacitor is kinda strange also. Its a yellow chicklet style. Can anyone identify these? Were these stock or upgrade?


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Post subject: Re: MIJ P-Bass pickup and capacitor identification
Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 4:27 pm
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Also if these have any value? I was thinking about upgrading but it is a vintage pickup now I guess.


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Post subject: Re: MIJ P-Bass pickup and capacitor identification
Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 5:32 pm
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You are going to have to post some clear well focused photos. Do you know what year this was made? MIJ Fenders are hardly vintage by any stretch of the imagination. C.B.S. established Fender Japan in 1982. Last year F.M.I.C. declined to renew the contract and Fender Japan no longer exists and is defunct.

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Post subject: Re: MIJ P-Bass pickup and capacitor identification
Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 11:33 pm
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Well this is considered a vintage instrument now. Its over 25 years old. How do I post pictures to this forum? I am not familiar with this forum style.


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Post subject: Re: MIJ P-Bass pickup and capacitor identification
Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 11:36 am
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There is variance in the quality of electronics used in Fender Japan basses over the years but in general the electronics are the weakest link on stock Fender Japan basses. They look, feel and play great but most of the standard issues lacked real Fender tone. The hardware was also generally different from Fender USA hardware, but was serviceable being about on par with Fender Mexican hardware. Fit, finish and woods are their strength being superior to Fender Mexico making them good candidates for electronic upgrade modifications.

If you plan to keep a standard issue model upgrading the electronics to USA stuff can make sense. A complete electronics refit can be complicated by the pot shaft diameters on pickguards and mounting plates which can vary from US to Asian diameters requiring holes made for Asian diameters to be expanded by re-drilling before CTS USA made pots will fit. In such a case I'd leave the original pots alone unless they are malfunctioning and just change the pickup and cap plus perhaps the jack. 250k is 250k and changing to CTS pots will make no tonal difference. CTS pots will feel more familiar to players accustomed to them as will the USA knobs you would likely also need with USA sized pots, but CTS pots and even a Switchcraft jack will contribute nothing toward improving basic tone.

If it is any sort of limited run, signature or commemorative instrument then do NOT change anything! Everything has value but the limited Fender Japan models have substantially more value than the standard models while sounding exactly like the standard models. The limited run models are instantly recognizable because they always have special numbered neckplates engraved with the series name. These have the most value since there are far fewer of them. For example the Dunn and Jamerson models should be left totally stock. The limited run models are the only truly collectible Fender Japan basses.

The longer running standard issues generally are not collectible and probably will not be in my lifetime because there are just so many of them and thus these standard issues are far less valuable. Just because the E3 serialized Fender Japan models are now 30 plus years old does not make them collectible. While the E3 serials are the most coveted Fender Japan serials even they lag behind USA made Fenders of the same period by as much as 50 percent. The "Made in Japan" versus "Crafted in Japan" debate is irrelevant to Fender Japan basses since they were all made at the same place by the same people at Fujigen in Matsumoto while Spanish electric guitar production moved elsewhere when the "Crafted" decal first appeared. Only late in the going did anyone else make basses for Fender Japan and even then it was only some signature models like the Geddy Lee. It is also important to know that Fender Japan sold several GRADES of Fender branded instruments including a budget line for sale only in Japan which was never exported new, plus for a while ran a Custom Shop type operation by special order which also was not intended for export. Usually when looking at a Fender Japan bass in the USA it is a standard production model meant for export, however infrequently you could run across one of these domestic budget models or one of their special order models.

If you are in the market for a bass that looks, feels and plays like a Fender and you stumble upon a bargain on one then a Fender Japan model can be an affordable choice and with electronics upgrades one can sound almost indistinguishable from a Fender USA bass. The same can also be said for Mexican Fender basses too and they are usually even more affordable than their Japanese cousins. The neck heel truss rod adjustment location on the Fender Japan ones is less convenient than the.headstock location on the Mexican Fenders but the Fender Japan necks are very stable.

Sounds like a standard poly cap of some sort there. Here is a helpful link about posting photos on the Fender Forum: http://forums.fender.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=52777


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