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Post subject: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 3:05 pm
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I have a MIJ Precision Bass and I'd like to know a bit more about it. From what I think I know - it was made some time between 1984 and 1987. The position of the pug seems odd to me. I usually see the plug-in on the front of the guitar. The knobs also have numbers on them, and I don't usually see that. There is also a way to open it from the back, and I don't always see that.

Can anyone see anything in here that would give some clues about the guitar? I'd also like to know the real value of it. I paid about $250 for it.

Thank you for any help!

Pics: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/mybeautifulf ... cisionbass


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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 3:06 pm
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Serial is E603342


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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:58 pm
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can you post the pics directly on here? I can't log into what ever the log in thing is.


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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 11:57 pm
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I am trying to figure out how to post them directly. Do you know how?


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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 12:10 am
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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 12:11 am
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http://s1355.photobucket.com/user/Bruce ... d/library/


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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 3:40 am
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Pretty sure that is a Fender Japan "BOXER" Precision Bass single straight pickup version known technically as the Fender Japan PB-551. This was the entry level instrument in what was Fender Japan's domestic budget line at the time. Not everything Fender Japan makes for domestic consumption gets imported to the USA, even today.

The Fender Japan Boxer Precision Bass series had no pickguard, which is why there is rear access to the control cavity. The open backed control cavity with a plastic cover over it was a design feature of other brands of Japanese made electric bass models of this era and Fender Japan moved that feature over to Fender for the Boxers. All Boxer basses had headstocks and back of the neck painted black, rosewood fretboards, black hardware and black push on Stratocaster type knobs.

The Boxer series came with different pickups than other Fender Japan Basses before or since. Boxer pickups were called HOT ROD pickups known as the Hot Rod J-50 Jazz type and P-40 Precision type. They were more robust than the usual Fender Japan pickups.

The PB-551 had a single Hot Rod P-40 pickup pair mounted straight. There were other BOXER models with different pickup arrangements such as a P/J pickup pairings mounted STRAIGHT (PJ-555) and SLANTED PJ (PJ-535). Also there was a J/J pickup mounted straight on the JB-555. Late in the going, about the last year of the Boxers, they introduced a few fretless models with FL tacked on to the end of the model name. The fretless ones are scarce in the USA but the most rarely seen ones in the USA would be the P/P pickup pairing mounted SLANTED (the PB-555) in SILVER body color.

Your PB-551 was the base Boxer bass model and it listed for 55,000 Yen, which is about $542 US Dollars today.

Since the Boxer series was never officially imported to the USA by FMIC they look "funny" to American bassists. The instruments came in Black, Olympic White, Red and Yellow throughout the run. Initially there was also SILVER offered but that color was discontinued early on making the silver ones the most scarce and collectible for investment purposes today since there are far fewer of them.

Fender Japan Boxer Basses in any color at all are very seldom seen in the USA. They are a well made instrument typical of the E-series Fender Japan quality, however they are non-traditional in design which puts off some buyers.

I have only ever seen about 5 or 6 Boxers in person TOTAL. I see black ones the most. I've never seen even one of the elusive SILVER bodied ones and of course that is the one I want to see. I've not seen one in person for about 5 years now.

These do NOT pop up often in the USA at all. Sometimes one will appear on eBay. Sometimes you'll run into one at a regional guitar show, and then see the same one again a year or two later somewhere else. I consider them worth having because they are fairly scarce in the USA, are unique, play well, are light and have better pickups than most Fender Japan passive basses. You can actually gig them stock.

Like over 99% of Fender Japan's basses, all Boxers were made at FUJIGEN GAKKI'S plant in Matsumoto and are marked MADE IN JAPAN. Some of what was learned from making the Boxer series was incorporated into the HEARTFIELD project instruments that Fujigen Gakki would turn out later for the fledgling Heartfield brand and then later also for Fender branding on the P-Bass Lyte and the color treatment techniques and hardware were applied to other Fender Japan instruments later as well.

I don't know what kind of wood they used for the bodies but they are light and ding easily, so I'm guessing basswood. Not sure. I'm pretty sure most people would benefit from a hardcase for a Boxer. That honestly is all I know about your Boxer. I think yours is pretty interesting but the ones with the P/P slanted and P/J slanted pickup arrangements are more freaky. Still looking for the SILVER one!


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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 3:45 am
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Wait, I saw a Boxer 3 years ago, not 5. It was at GREENVILLE, SC.


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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 9:51 am
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Cool bass! I had a friend in college (late-'80s) who had a red one, though I can't remember the pickup arrangement.

There is a great website that has scans of Fender Japan catalogs - I found one for the Boxer series from the mid '80s - doesn't have your exact combo of color & pickups but you can see the range that brotherdave describes in the bottom left corner (it's a PDF that you may have to download): http://brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/fenderjapan/boxer/jp_03.html

Here is a link to the general website - this guy has quite the catalog collection!

http://brochures.yokochou.com/index.html#FENDERJAPAN

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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 1:04 pm
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Guys; This information is so great to have. Thank you very much!

I can tell you the Bass sounds amazing and it feels really nice to hold.

It's interesting that the Japanese models are so different.


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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 5:14 pm
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hieronymous wrote:
Cool bass! I had a friend in college (late-'80s) who had a red one, though I can't remember the pickup arrangement.

There is a great website that has scans of Fender Japan catalogs - I found one for the Boxer series from the mid '80s - doesn't have your exact combo of color & pickups but you can see the range that brotherdave describes in the bottom left corner (it's a PDF that you may have to download): http://brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/fenderjapan/boxer/jp_03.html

Here is a link to the general website - this guy has quite the catalog collection!

http://brochures.yokochou.com/index.html#FENDERJAPAN


That is a great resource page! Also just to the right of the Boxer basses is a PERFORMER which is another scarce Japanese issue to keep an eye out for. Fender Forum member Affprod has a Performer collection with one in every available color.


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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 6:58 am
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This is really interesting to stumble upon at this point as I just saw one come up for sale and could not identify it. It's red and it's in really goo condition. The guy is asking $400 (CDN of course, I'm in Ottawa) and I'm thinking of making an offer.

My question is: What is the scale length of these things. I read somewhere that it was around 32" - so not a a full scale, and not a short scale. The source of this info is not verifiable though, so I was wondering if anyone knows what the scale length is.

Any help would be appreciated.

Peace,
Pierre


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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 9:45 pm
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vox_rox wrote:
This is really interesting to stumble upon at this point as I just saw one come up for sale and could not identify it. It's red and it's in really goo condition. The guy is asking $400 (CDN of course, I'm in Ottawa) and I'm thinking of making an offer.

My question is: What is the scale length of these things. I read somewhere that it was around 32" - so not a a full scale, and not a short scale. The source of this info is not verifiable though, so I was wondering if anyone knows what the scale length is.

Any help would be appreciated.

Peace,
Pierre



Mine is about 34 inches.


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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:02 pm
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Trouble posting a picture? :wink:

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Post subject: Re: Trying to piece together the story on my MIJ P-Bass
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:47 pm
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Yes! Please tell me how. I tried to read the forum guides but didn't come accross the right info. Is it possible that I don't have the permissions yet?


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