SpinalTap Posted January 5, 2012 Posted January 5, 2012 After much deliberation, I decided to put my fantastic 1960 jazz bass for sale. I bought this bass in 2010 from the owner of Bass Matters, a dutch bass shop, who is an expert on vintage Fenders. The bass is original, except for the pots, and the colour. When I bought it, it had a thick poly sunburst finish, that I had replaced for a fantastic nitro finish in faded Sonic Blue. The headstock had some water damage a very long time ago, but has no issues, and has some remaining parts of the original decal. Specs: Very light Ash body in refinished Sonic Blue Amazing smooth neck (very, very slim and fast playing). Dated august 1960 Thick slabboard brazilian rosewood with clay dots. original pickups, hardware, and amazing pickguard. re-issue stack knobs Serial number: 54XXX I'm selling it, because after twenty years, it is time to focus on other hobbies, and musical instruments more. I don't need to sell this, and if it stays with me, it is also fine. This is a vintage bass, for a player. I took it to all my gigs. No museum bass. For interested parties, I can make more detailed pictures of the neck heel etc. Just want to see if there is any interested, before I started loosening those bolts and screws. I'm asking 6900,- euro's (that is about 5750,- GBP) for this unique bass. I will consider partitial trades for 4 or 5 string basses, or EUB's. Shiping is no problem, but meeting (for people in the BeNeLux, Germany or France) is prefered, because of the rarity of this bass.
tony_m Posted January 5, 2012 Posted January 5, 2012 My perfect YOB (almost to the month, based on the neck date) bass!!! Unfortunately I simply can't afford (or justify!) buying her myself, but good luck with the sale.
SpinalTap Posted January 5, 2012 Author Posted January 5, 2012 To be precise, neck has a stamp from 8/60, but the bass was assembled in October 1960, en shipped to The Netherlands in November that year. It should be the first Fender JB exported to The Netherlands, and one of the first in Europe.
lozbass Posted January 5, 2012 Posted January 5, 2012 Wow - outstanding! Who did the re-fin and was the neck untouched (i.e., body only)?
SpinalTap Posted January 5, 2012 Author Posted January 5, 2012 Only a body refin by Patrick Koopman. One of the best for this kind of re-finishes. pkguitars.com The Neck has this smooth worn in nitro feel. Here is a picture of the back of the bass: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/829/img0216lr.jpg/
essexbasscat Posted January 5, 2012 Posted January 5, 2012 Did someone stir the creosote with the headstock ?
Sibob Posted January 5, 2012 Posted January 5, 2012 Really aren't many of these about at all, lovely bit of history Although the pickguard is original.....really needs to be a vintage 'mint-green' guard with the (stunning) Sonic Blue, it really is my fave custom colour! Good luck Si
SpinalTap Posted January 5, 2012 Author Posted January 5, 2012 [quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1325778833' post='1487545'] Really aren't many of these about at all, lovely bit of history Although the pickguard is original.....really needs to be a vintage 'mint-green' guard with the (stunning) Sonic Blue, it really is my fave custom colour! Good luck Si [/quote] I understand that. But, the earliest jazz basses (60-61) always had tort pickguards - even with the custom colours. So this is actually the right look for a custom colour JB from 1960. Later in the early 60ies the custom colours got the mint pickguards.
lozbass Posted January 5, 2012 Posted January 5, 2012 I shouldn't tease myself, but just for clarity, is it the stack knobs and pots (only) that are replaced, or the bell plate, wiring and cap etc. (i.e., the whole unit) too?
SpinalTap Posted January 5, 2012 Author Posted January 5, 2012 I actually don't know. The bell plate could be original, and the stacked pots have the tone knob that works in stages like it should. The pots inside are replaced, so let assume the whole set isn't original, because I don't know for sure. If some parts of the controls are still original, than it's a bonus for the potential buyer. But lets asume it is from later date.
99ster Posted January 5, 2012 Posted January 5, 2012 [quote name='SpinalTap' timestamp='1325779839' post='1487566'] I understand that. But, the earliest jazz basses (60-61) always had tort pickguards - even with the custom colours. So this is actually the right look for a custom colour JB from 1960. Later in the early 60ies the custom colours got the mint pickguards. [/quote] That's correct - a custom colour Jazz bass would have had a tort pick guard in 1960...
rapscallion Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Sonic blue is to die for. Incredibly jealous of this guitar
Stacker Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Have a bump from a stack-pot fan. Any idea what happened to the original pots? And I guess if they're gone, the caps/resistors are gone, too?
SpinalTap Posted January 6, 2012 Author Posted January 6, 2012 No idea. This bass is more than 51 years old. As you can see, it has been played, so it is not very strange that these were replaced at some time in his history. As I stated earlier. I'm not sure if some parts are still original from the controls, but let's asume it is al from later date, so that there is no misunderstanding of what I'm offering. Thanks for the bumps, guys. edit: new page. Here are the pictures and info: Specs: Very light Ash body in refinished Sonic Blue Amazing smooth neck (very, very slim and fast playing). Dated august 1960 Thick slabboard brazilian rosewood with clay dots. original pickups, hardware, and amazing pickguard. re-issue stack knobs Serial number: 54XXX
mrbassman_de Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 How did you find out that it's an ASH body ? If that's true, it MUST have been originally a See-Through Blonde finish - no exception ... A view into the neck pocket could be of some help...
SpinalTap Posted January 6, 2012 Author Posted January 6, 2012 It had a '59 burst re-finish when I bought it, so you could see the grain. I opted for a see through white finish, because that is the original colour. But the very old burst poly re-finish, left some black in the body, that would be seen, with a see through finish, so I chose sonic blue, my favorite custom Fender colour. An Ash body is more rare, so that's kind of a nice bonus!
Vanderveen Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Hey Rory, good luck with this sale... Love it, I'm going to have to save these pictures.
TimmyC Posted January 7, 2012 Posted January 7, 2012 Keep coming back to this thread just to have a cheeky look ... only window shopping unfortunately
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