1965 Fender Jazz Bass Electric Bass Guitar

Overview: How about them apples? As a bass-man myself, it's hard not to get that little quivery, shivery feeling when you open the case of an old Jazz Bass. I started on a cheap knock-off Jazz Bass as, you know, John Paul Jones played one -- so why not? This proper Jazz Bass is an absolute bruiser, however, and completely addicting once you have it in your hands. It arrived needing some sprucing-up after decades of father/son use in local bands up here in Vermont, but now that it's happy to trot it feels ready to spring back into action.

Interesting features: It's mostly a stock J-Bass but there are a few replacement parts -- two non-original knobs and a later, Fender, replacement bridge. The bridge and pickup covers are missing, of course, but the enjoyment certainly remains. This bass had a ton of grunge and nicotine-induced surface ick that came off in cleaning, though it (luckily) has no smokey smell about it. It's had a fresh refret done by Ancel and that allowed us to deal with the usual "Fender ski jump" nonsense one gets with most older Fender bass necks (it makes us crazy, daily). It plays like a champ, now, and the neck feels like home.

Repairs included: It got a bunch of cleaning, a refret with medium/tall fretwire, and a good setup. It's playing spot-on and ready to serve.

• Weight: 9 lbs 6 oz
• Scale length: 34"
• Nut width: 1 1/2"
• Neck shape: medium C/D
• Board radius: 7 1/4"
• Depth at first fret: 56/64"
• Depth at seventh fret: 31/32"
• Body width: 13 5/8"
• Body depth: 1 5/8"
• Body wood: alder
• Bridge: replacement adjustable
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: maple
• Pickups: 2x original single coils
• Action height at 12th fret: 3/32" bass to 1/16" treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 100w-45w
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium/taller modern wire

Condition notes: As you can tell (and as noted), it's had a long, stage-ready life. It has the wear and tear to show -- finish rubbed-off in areas of the top and back, a lot of yellowing/greening to the finish clearcoat, lots of nicks and dings and scratches here and there, the clearcoat on the back of the neck practically gone and worn into greyness from play, deep orangey coloring to the lacquer on the headstock face, stuff like that! The hardware is all worn, too. It has replacement strap buttons, two replacement knobs, and a replacement (Fender) bridge. The nut is new (and bone) and the frets are, too. The bridge and pickup covers are missing.

It comes with: It has a non-original, likely '80s, hard case.

Consignor tag: TMAB