petercomfort Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Hey guys. Im totally new to this forum, love it already I've been playing bass for around 10 years, but not seriously, as I'm a drummer! Apologies! A good friend of mine is selling this lovely natural fender jazz. Im interested but i want to be sure of what I'm buying! The neck is a Jazz as the pictures show with the serial - 0207 4264 on the butt of it. This is very faint and I'm hoping this is a familiar serial. There is no number on the body anywhere... i have looked under both pickups and where the neck came off. Is this a fake body or is a missing serial normal? The body is as you can see, natural and not lacquered, where as the neck is.... its most def a hybrid of sorts.... What do you guys think? Id really appreciate any advice! Peter [attachment=100637:IMG_0264.jpg][attachment=100638:IMG_0262.JPG][attachment=100639:IMG_0261.JPG][attachment=100640:IMG_0263.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
margusalviste Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 It's difficult to say anything based on the pics. The neck seems to be from 70s but the body is really difficult to date based on this photo. Perhaps this site helps a bit: http://www.guitarnucleus.com/fenderserial.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 [quote name='petercomfort' timestamp='1329869647' post='1549031'] The neck is a Jazz as the pictures show with the serial - 0207 4264 on the butt of it. This is very faint and I'm hoping this is a familiar serial.[/quote] Nope... On a bass that looks like that, you'd expect to find a serial number on the neckplate (metal bit that the screws that attach the neck to the body go through). It would be somewhere between 300,000 and 700,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) The number you have there is a neck code... 02 = Jazz bass 07 = Neck type (I'm guessing this is specific for block inlayed rosewood) 42 = week 42 6 = 1976 4 = day of the week, ie. Thursday So it was probably finished on Thursday October 14, 1976 Edited February 22, 2012 by dlloyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjay69 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 "On a bass that looks like that, you'd expect to find a serial number on the neckplate (metal bit that the screws that attach the neck to the body go through)." I wouldn't neccesarily say that, i have a genuine 78 Fender Precision, it's neck plate is completely blank, just a square block, also Shaller machine heads, but they might have been changed ? I have also noticed that many Fenders built in the mid to late 70's seem to have a certain natural wood "Look" finish to them similar to your pics, hard to describe. Mine also has that bit ot text at the very top of the headstock which seems to fit with others i have seen from the '78 period. Some pics of my Precision and others (after recent upgrades) here [media]http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjay69/sets/72157628162331605/[/media] The headstock [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjay69/6406532079/in/set-72157628162331605"]http://www.flickr.co...157628162331605[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 [quote name='jjay69' timestamp='1329910835' post='1549423']I wouldn't neccesarily say that, i have a genuine 78 Fender Precision, it's neck plate is completely blank, just a square block,[/quote] On a 78 Precision, the serial number would be on the headstock. [quote] The headstock [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jjay69/6406532079/in/set-72157628162331605"]http://www.flickr.co...157628162331605[/url] [/quote] That decal is not correct for a 78 Precision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjay69 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) I don't think you can say that, there is no one true decal that dictates a specific time. The serial number that everyone seems so obsessed with is under the scratchplate or somewhere by the electrics on mine, i dated it years back. The number under the logo is the patent number not the serial number Edited February 22, 2012 by jjay69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 [quote name='petercomfort' timestamp='1329869647' post='1549031'] A good friend of mine is selling this lovely natural fender jazz. [/quote] You don't give an indication of how much he's asking for it, which could make a big difference to some of the replies you get here. If he's asking vintage 70's fender money for it, then you want to be sure it's all kosher. If it's not expensive then that becomes less of an issue than whether it just sounds & plays OK to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) [quote name='jjay69' timestamp='1329912383' post='1549481'] I don't think you can say that, there is no one true decal that dictates a specific time.[/quote] I'm afraid it's true. The Fender "spaghetti" logo on your bass was not used in 1978 and had not been used since 1964/5. Edit: Coming to think of it, I don't believe Fender Precisions have ever had a "Contour body" logo... Maybe a Fender Expert will correct me on that? For reference, this is what a genuine 1978 Fender P headstock looks like, with a seven digit serial number usually starting with "S8" (there may be some S7s as well): Edited February 22, 2012 by dlloyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petercomfort Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Hey guys! thanks for all the replies! He is asking £750 for it. I have no concerns about the neck... it seems it is genuine... its just the body that concerns me! The plate has no number on it... and no other numbers to be found anywhere else on body :/ Should i be concerned about this? Thanks guys for all your help! p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73Jazz Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 [indent=1]Could you provide a picture of the back of the body?[/indent] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petercomfort Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 [attachment=100663:IMG_0266.jpg][attachment=100664:IMG_0267.jpg][attachment=100665:IMG_0268.jpg][attachment=100666:IMG_0269.jpg][attachment=100667:IMG_0270.jpg]SURE... TOOK SOME NEW PICS IN DAYLIGHT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 It would have had a three bolt neck originally. Is there an extra hole under the neck plate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (£750 is a fantastic price for a 76 Jazz) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petercomfort Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 HEY BUD , THANKS. NO, I DONT THINK THERE WAS AN EXTRA HOLE UNDER NECK PLATE. COULD THE BODY BE A NON-FENDER? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 [quote name='petercomfort' timestamp='1329921213' post='1549774'] HEY BUD , THANKS. NO, I DONT THINK THERE WAS AN EXTRA HOLE UNDER NECK PLATE. COULD THE BODY BE A NON-FENDER? [/quote] It's a bitsa of some sort... probably a non-Fender body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petercomfort Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Ok guys. Its a 76 jazz neck with a random body... Is it worth 750? I've another contact selling a 76 for 1200 and it is genuine... Better spending my cash on that? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceH Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 That body isn't from a 70s Fender - the pickups aren't 70s spaced, they're 'standard' (60s style and mid-80s onwards). Most 70s Jap copies of Fenders also seemed to use the 70s style spacing so I'd say the body is likely more modern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 [quote name='petercomfort' timestamp='1329922451' post='1549800'] Ok guys. Its a 76 jazz neck with a random body... Is it worth 750? I've another contact selling a 76 for 1200 and it is genuine... Better spending my cash on that? Thanks! [/quote] It depends on a few things. What hardware does the body have? It may have just had the body replaced following an accident. You could always pair it with this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1975-Fender-Jazz-Bass-Body-Vintage-/270917972520?pt=Guitar&hash=item3f13f83228 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) TBH, there's enough of a whiffy smell about this that I'd pass. Not suggesting for a moment that your mate's a scammer, just that a scammer [i]might[/i] have been involved at some point in the bass's history. Certainly, the neck plate's wrong for the period and flatters to deceive Given the limited info to hand, there's even a remote possibility the neck's a fake - maybe an old Antoria or something redrilled for Fender tuners. Only way to get an indication is to: * Check the neck heel and see if it's got the recess for the metal adjuster plate. * Whip the tuners off and see if there are screw holes for smaller tuner plates For £750 you could get a nice clean Jazz out of the BC for sale forum. If you check the feedback section you'll know if you're buying from a legit BC-er. And for £1200, the world's your oyster. 'Vintage' basses. It's a minefield, as you can see from some of the other posts in this thread. Edited February 22, 2012 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73Jazz Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) [quote]Certainly, the neck plate's wrong for the period and flatters to deceive[/quote] I wrote this earlier and it's subsequently occurred to me that somebody might have replaced the body and used the 'wrong' neck plate precisely because they [i]didn't [/i]want to fool anyone. Contorted logic, but possible. Either way, there's a question mark and I wouldn't be plunging into the arcane world of '70's Fenders - Good or Bad?' - if I was just starting out like the OP. In fact, I wouldn't be plunging in even now. Edited February 22, 2012 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 [quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1329920739' post='1549757'] It would have had a three bolt neck originally. Is there an extra hole under the neck plate? [/quote] Wouldn't it have the Micro Tilt adjustment too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 [quote name='petercomfort' timestamp='1329918760' post='1549683'] He is asking £750 for it. [/quote] If all you want is a good Jazz bass there are far better ways of spending £750 than that IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 [quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1329923105' post='1549821']Given the limited info to hand, there's even a remote possibility the neck's a fake - maybe an old Antoria or something redrilled for Fender tuners.[/quote] I think it's unlikely, given the level of correct detail... Why go to the bother of furnishing it with a correct neck code if you're going to couple it with an unconvincing body? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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