bakerster135 Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 (edited) I'm looking for opinions on a 65 Jazz Bass that I bought, advertised as all original aside from a body refinish, which I managed to pick up for £3500. The bass arrived and looked pretty good to me, aside from some fret pitting, so I took it in to the Bass Gallery on Friday for a fret dress. Martin and John examined the bass and confirmed that, aside from the refin, the majority of it is original, however, they noted that the three control panel screws are not but, more notably that, at some point the neck and headstock have been lightly relacquered...They explained that this is evident by the fact that dirt is visible under the lacquer layer on the back of the neck, but also that the headstock waterslide decal is under a layer of lacquer when Fender would have actually placed this on top of the lacquer in 1965. Obviously I'm slightly concerned by this as I was under the impression that the refinish was the only non-original element on the bass. I have asked the seller whether they were aware of this work and why it was carried out, but I just wanted to enquire with those vintage Fender experts on here whether you feel this was a fair price to pay for the bass? Also, at this time would Fender have used the same screws for the control plate as they used on the pickguard? Some pics below, though unfortunately didn't get one of the neck before it went to the Gallery... Would really appreciate any assistance with this, thanks! Edited January 14, 2018 by bakerster135 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 It wouldn't bother me on a bass with a body refin. Looks nice and sounds like a fair price but I'm no expert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerster135 Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 (edited) 39 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said: It wouldn't bother me on a bass with a body refin. Looks nice and sounds like a fair price but I'm no expert. Thanks for your advice, Pete. Yeah, it's ok as it sounds great and is totally a player, but I just wish they'd been more accurate in the description... Waiting for confirmation, but naturally suspect it was done at some point in order to protect from further wear to neck and headstock. Edited January 14, 2018 by bakerster135 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 12 minutes ago, bakerster135 said: Thanks for your advice, Pete. Yeah, it's ok as it sounds great and is totally a player, but I just wish they'd been more accurate in the description... There’s a good chance it’s an innocent mistake on the sellers part, if they are not a dealer. Not everyone knows, or thinks to check, around lacquer issues and how to look for the signs. Seller may just have been ignorant to it themselves. Or not of course. Are the Gallery sure it wasn’t a headstock refinish as well? Therefore a new decal applied and the back of the neck sprayed to match the lacquer? Many custom colour Jazzes had matching heads, so it’s fairly common. It may well be that hasn’t happened, but it’s worth a mention and closer look at the logo. At least the price you paid is in the right ballpark, the refin is nice and the fingerboard looks stunning. If it sounds and feels as good as it looks then I doubt you’ll be too bothered soon. I used to have a 64 Jazz that had a body and head refin, it was still a joy to own until it became part of the deposit for my flat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 1 hour ago, bakerster135 said: Thanks for your advice, Pete. Yeah, it's ok as it sounds great and is totally a player, but I just wish they'd been more accurate in the description... Waiting for confirmation, but naturally suspect it was done at some point in order to protect from further wear to neck and headstock. That sounds likely to me, if only to prevent the logo wearing more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 I've seen a 60s Precision in a shop and it looks really nice, except the body has been refinished in white; a bit of a shame, I thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerster135 Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, Chiliwailer said: re the Gallery sure it wasn’t a headstock refinish as well? Therefore a new decal applied and the back of the neck sprayed to match the lacquer? Many custom colour Jazzes had matching heads, so it’s fairly common. It may well be that hasn’t happened, but it’s worth a mention and closer look at the logo. At least the price you paid is in the right ballpark, the refin is nice and the fingerboard looks stunning. If it sounds and feels as good as it looks then I doubt you’ll be too bothered soon. I used to have a 64 Jazz that had a body and head refin, it was still a joy to own until it became part of the deposit for my flat! Thanks for your advice Chiliwailer! Must admit, we didn't look at the headstock face in scrupulous detail, though the decal separation can still be seen underneath and it does very much look like the original rather than a reproduction. Either way, it is a great player and sounds amazing so I think I should just enjoy it really... Does anyone know re the control panel screws being the same as the scratchplate ones though? The current ones look kind of goofy so would at least like to replace those with something a little more period-correct! Edited January 14, 2018 by bakerster135 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 35 minutes ago, bakerster135 said: Thanks for your advice Chiliwailer! Must admit, we didn't look at the headstock face in scrupulous detail, though the decal separation can still be seen underneath and it does very much look like the original rather than a reproduction. Either way, it is a great player and sounds amazing so I think I should just enjoy it really... Does anyone know re the control panel screws being the same as the scratchplate ones though? The current ones look kind of goofy so would at least like to replace those with something a little more period-correct! Great attitude mate, it's the bass itself that matters for sure The control panel screws were different back in the day, not sure exactly when they were phased out to be the same as the pickguard screws but it won't be hard to find out if you google some old basses. Yours might even be ok? For example the gorgeous 64 Jazz in the for sale section on this site or the 65 Jazz here http://andybaxterbass.com/details.php?id=1276 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiliwailer Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 (Zoom in to see the differences) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerster135 Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 15 minutes ago, Chiliwailer said: The control panel screws were different back in the day, not sure exactly when they were phased out to be the same as the pickguard screws but it won't be hard to find out if you google some old basses. Yours might even be ok? Yeah, I'd Googled quite a bit and mine are definitely different...Just couldn't be sure whether they differed from the scratchplate ones on the images though, but this clarifies so thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 5 minutes ago, bakerster135 said: Yeah, I'd Googled quite a bit and mine are definitely different...Just couldn't be sure whether they differed from the scratchplate ones on the images though, but this clarifies so thanks! Did they use crosshead screws in '65? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerster135 Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 9 minutes ago, prowla said: Did they use crosshead screws in '65? Yeah, all cross-head and no slot-head on a '65 JB as far as I understand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Typically the rule of thumb is half price for a refin....so if you think £7k is fine for an original '65, then you're in the ball park . But you like the bass, so if your bank account is happy enough, who cares! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 It sounds like the price reflects the refin to me, on a bass you'll play protecting the decal would be a bonus imo, ok it would be nice to be totally upplayed and untouched with the hangtags but then it would be £15 grand or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowla Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 3 hours ago, bakerster135 said: Yeah, all cross-head and no slot-head on a '65 JB as far as I understand... OK - thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuyR Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 Great looking bass. If it plays as well as it looks, you haven't wasted your money. If the seller didn't disclose the neck refin, there might not be any harm in seeing if they might make a gesture to compensate. I always get Martin P to look over any vintage bass purchase. It's a good idea to buy subject to his inspection, with the option to return. Re the screws, I'm no expert, but my 64 jazz has control panel screws matching those on the scratchplate. On my 65 they are slightly different - the control panel ones are a little smaller, but still they don't look like yours. Pm me an email address and I'll send a close up image from my phone if that is useful. even with a few unexpected changes, so long as you have the original pickups £3500 is OK. Any 65 jazz bass purchase can't be a bad thing!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishIcouldplay Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 It is worth noting that some of the custom shop basses are over £3000. I think that getting a refin is the best way of acquiring all the playability of a vintage bass without the hefty price tag and if you want to sell it it will be much easier. If you like it.....stick with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerster135 Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 Firstly, massive thanks to everyone for your comments on this. It's definitely made me focus on the fact that the bass is a great player and that, aside from these minor "adjustments" it's still a beautiful old Fender at its heart! :-) 11 hours ago, GuyR said: Re the screws, I'm no expert, but my 64 jazz has control panel screws matching those on the scratchplate. On my 65 they are slightly different - the control panel ones are a little smaller, but still they don't look like yours. Pm me an email address and I'll send a close up image from my phone if that is useful. 2 Guy, thank you very much for the offer, I appreciate it! I'll just stick with the screws that are on there I think though, everything else on/in the bass checks out...I'll just consider the overspray, screws, etc. as interesting additions in its 52-year history! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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