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Pricing an Old Fender Jazz


bassjamm
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Hi all,

I appreciate this is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string question', but I'm looking for a rough idea as to how much the following bass would cost please.

An all original 1979 Fender Jazz in good condition but with all the usual signs of wear. Off white, turning yellow, bound and dotted neck.

Original paint and frets.

Thoughts?

Thanks
Jamie

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[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1352376430' post='1862251']
So how could you confirm that it is a '79 then?
[/quote]

Like Jazzman says, by the codes on pots and neck. But Fender also started messing with the Jazz Bass around this time. Rosewood boards went back to the slab neck in 1980, 4 bolt necks reappeared in '81 and dots came back in '82. By '83 they were using the one piece pickguard.

It was the comment about the dots that had me thinking in was an S9 serial rather than a '79.

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Take a stack of pics, front and back of body, neck and headstock.

Remove the neck and get pics of the cavity pocket and any stamps on either neck or body.

Same with the control cavity and check the pots for serial numbers.

If they lift out easily then remove the pickups and get pics of the underside of these as well.

Basically the more info you can get them the more likely it is that you'll be able to start dating it.

Depends if you just want an approx value for personal reasons or whether you're intending to sell it. If it's the latter then you should, ideally really strip it down and get a better feel for authenticity and dating.

I've seen a swathe of old Fenders in the last year and it's amazing what some, supposedly reputable, dealers will sell as an authentic vintage guitar :(

Saw one recently that had been through one of the highest profile dealers around that had been sold as 100% original with no refinish.

Took the neck off and the pocket and bridge had been shaved to take a neck that was either not original or had a seriously thick coat of gloss lacquer as part of a, very obvious, neck refin :(

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Hard to date 'em around this time, because they were starting to be built with pretty much whatever was left in the parts bin - I don't mean that in a derogatory kind-of way.

As a result, there's some interesting hybrids out there - dots and a bound neck being one.

Edited by wateroftyne
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[quote name='bassjamm' timestamp='1352319038' post='1861666']
Hi all,

I appreciate this is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string question', but I'm looking for a rough idea as to how much the following bass would cost please.

An all original 1979 Fender Jazz in good condition but with all the usual signs of wear. Off white, turning yellow, bound and dotted neck.

Original paint and frets.

Thoughts?

Thanks
Jamie
[/quote]

It might have a code on the heel of the neck that goes something like:
02011093

The way to decipher that is as follows:
02 01 10 9 3
02 = Jazz bass
01 = Neck type (rosewood) It will be 03 if it's maple
10 = tenth week of the year
9 = 1979
3 = third day of the week

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