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Post subject: 51 cij p bass
Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 7:04 am
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Location: Sunny Albion NY
Hello All,
Have a question maybe some one can help with, just picked up a 51 reissue p bass.
Problem I'm having is decoding the serial number, as cij is supposed to have a 5 digit following the letter serial.
My serial is Q00_ _ _ _ and that is not jiving with info I've found.
Any Help would be appreciated.
Thanks


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Post subject: Re: 51 cij p bass
Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 8:18 am
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That whole Japanese Fender serial number issue is totally wacked out. :? Post some clear well focused photos and include the entire serial number. Then maybe some of the real experts on this forum will help. :wink:

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Post subject: Re: 51 cij p bass
Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 8:23 am
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I used to own a CIJ 51 P bass. Killer bass, btw. I want to say mine had a Q at the beginning... or perhaps another letter? However, I think mine was an 05 or 06 model and I think it would fall in line with what you are talking about. Sounds legit to me. Congrats on the bass. They are really well made, and sound and play fantastic.

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Post subject: Re: 51 cij p bass
Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 9:36 am
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Thanks for the input people!
The whole serial number is Q004264
I'm still really confused on this, because here on Fender's site is where I got the info on what the serial numbers are supposed to be.
At any rate this is a KILLER Bass! It will probably be my number one go to bass.
And that's out of having 15 basses right now!


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Post subject: Re: 51 cij p bass
Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 4:20 pm
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Ok, tried again to post pics, but it doesn't seem to want to let me.
HELP!


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Post subject: Re: 51 cij p bass
Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 2:49 am
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Location: Albemarle, NC
Linnin is right. Fender Japan serials are beyond whacked out. They recently started REPEATING serial formats! In 10 or 20 years this is going to really cause some head scratching.

But hey I just found out that your serial appears to be a valid Fender Japan serial that decodes through the Guitar Dater Project as:
"Your guitar was made at the
Fuji-gen Plant (for Fender Japan), Japan
in the Year(s): 2002 - 2004"

Taking the serial Q004264 and going by the Fender guide here:
http://www.fender.com/support/articles/japanese-instruments-product-dating/
yields the result that Q followed by 6 numbers would mean it is a 1993-1994 which is impossible since this model wasn't even in existence then!

So what is going on here with the oddball serial? Why this discrepancy? The answer is simply that the Fender.com site and most other online guides will only decode serials from Fender instruments intended to be sold new in North America originally. North American distributed instruments are the only ones FMIC is actually responsible for supporting and they pretty much ignore everything else.

Fender warranties are different in countries outside North America and Fender leaves it up to international distributors to provide support for the instruments they distribute in their territory INCLUDING serial dating assistance. Fender detects an instrument that is not subject to the North American warranty by the oddball serial that doesn't fit into the serial pattern for a North American distributed instrument. This is also true historically even for USA made Fenders exported as they will also have oddball serials that don't fit the serial format listed on the Fender.Com site.

Foreign distributors change often, so sometimes it is impossible to ever decode foreign distributor serials. Instruments that cross territorial boundaries are also difficult to date because you won't know the original territory where it was sold therefore you can not know what distributor to check with without knowing the original country it was sold in. A Catch 22. Worse, some countries have more than one distributor simultaneously and divides the country up into separate distributorship territories.

So what you have most likely is an instrument that was intended to be sold new somewhere outside of the FMIC home territory and thus excluded from their support network. It is exactly the same as one with a North American serial, it just won't be eligible for warranty service in North America. FMIC keeps North American serials unique and appears to only list the North American serials on the Fender.Com site since those are the only serials they are actually responsible for supporting.

Hope that helps and hope it makes sense. Foreign serials give me headaches. Where's the Tylenol?


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Post subject: Re: 51 cij p bass
Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 7:28 am
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Thanks brother Dave,
That's the same as I came up with for dates, but I thought I was starting to lose it!
I wasn't sure when the model came out being from out of USA, but I just wasn't sure.
Send me your address and I'll send you a couple something for the headache l! lol


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Post subject: Re: 51 cij p bass
Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 1:57 pm
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I think Fender Japan started the 51 RI about 1995 but they were not exported heavily until later. The Blue Flower and Paisley models were first and are more collectible. Then came the blonde ones which aren't really blonde but more of a mustard color approximating an aged 51 that hung in a smokehouse for 40 or 50 years. Next came the Sunburst 51's which have the same finish as the Sting.

The pickup on the 51 RI is said by some to be close to a 55 spec pickup. It is pretty vanilla sounding to me compared to some of the aftermarket options. The electronics are not the strong point on any Fender Japan bass and this one is no exception. Apparently they are still being made by Fender Japan and just not distributed by FMIC in North America.

You can buy a brand new one right now on Amazon from a dealer in Japan for $1,328.94 + $0.50 shipping. I think the seller meant $50 shipping when they put the item up and made a typo. They come with a gigbag now. The item page is here on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Fender-Reissue-Precision-OPB51-SD-Electric/dp/B0016KJCKW

Fender Japan makes a lot of models FMIC doesn't import for distribution in North America and so does Squier. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if FMIC brought it back to their catalog in the future. It wasn't the biggest seller. First generation P-Basses appeal to more experienced players who know what they are and what they can do. New players tend to go with a modern P-Bass or Jazz depending on what their influences are. Few players in big rock acts gig with these. However Dusty Hill of ZZ Top and Jim Mayer of Jimmy Buffet's Coral Reefer Band are a couple of players who have used first generation P-Basses live recently.


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Post subject: Re: 51 cij p bass
Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 3:44 pm
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Great info on a great bass. Thanks Dave!


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Post subject: Re: 51 cij p bass
Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 5:51 am
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Glad it's all figured out. There's a hundred things on here about Japanese cereal numbers. Why can't they just get it together? It's like everything in Japan has to be complicated on purpose. They are SO smart. :shock:


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Post subject: Re: 51 cij p bass
Posted: Mon Jun 09, 2014 5:23 pm
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My '06 CIJ RI has a serial number decal on the neck heel (not inside the neck slot, but visible without removing the neck) that is F______ (six numerals).

Mine is lightly modified with a Quarter Pound single-coil, a four-saddle bridge, an Electrosocket output jack and (most importantly) black pickguard screws. It was shipped in a cardboard box from Japan and has resided in humid Deep East Texas, and has had one quarter-turn of the truss rod in 8 years!

I am a HUGE fan of the 51 RI. It has to compete with an SR5, an AVRI '57 P, and a Classic '50s P, and it is the one that makes it to gigs with me. I love the round, warm sound, tolerate the uncontoured body, and in general, I won't part with it. It's sitting on a stand next to me, and I love looking at it almost as much as I love playing it. I have a combo that does pop standards from the '20s, '30s and '40s with a few from the '50s and '60s, and a warm, present bass tone that doesn't overpower the vocalists, electric guitar and percussion (NOT drum kit) is needed. The '51 RI does the job.


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Post subject: Re: 51 cij p bass
Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2014 6:12 am
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Be aware if you're looking at the Blue and Pink Tele Bass RIs instead of the 51 and Sting RI that the Tele issues have modern radius necks. (like the ones on the current non-Custom Shop Cabronita and Tele basses being produced now)

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2012 Fender American Vintage 57 Precision Bass RI
2014 Fender Super Bassman and Bassman 100T/410 Neo


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