Fender Jazz 24 fret 1988 made in Korea (I think)

[Ypapa]

Hi all,

I’ve come across a fender jazz bass with 24 frets, hip shot tuners, active with a lovely flame maple top. It’s got through body stringing, it’s made in 88 and it seems like a great price at £395. 
 

has anybody come across one and what do people think ok this particular bass? I myself, have never seen one of these and from looking online they seem to be very rare.

 

picture attached isn’t the actual bass but I thinks it’s basically the same one 

 

[Bassassin]

Never seen one in the flesh but there were a number of these turning up on Ebay - new ones too - some 15 or so years ago. It's not going to be from 1988 (pretty sure the only non-US Fenders back then were MIJ), more likely the mid '00s. I think you're correct that these are Korean-made.

 

 

[OliverBlackman]

These were in the Fender catalogue around 2006/7. 

[Machines]

Think I saw this on a website marked down from £750 or so. @AndyTravis and I determined it was mid 2000s and basically a Cort. Decent for price but forget anything about its age being accurate.

[Bassassin]

MusicRadar review from 2008:

 

Fender Jazz 24

[Ypapa]

I saw the same article but this bass is advertised as a 1988 and the serial number shows up as 88-96 on a site I found.

 

We probably won’t be able to really ascertain the age but has anybody played one?

[AndyTravis]

Sub £400, great bass.

 

i always felt 1/4lb SD pickups and a preamp was a bit overkill.

 

I’d drop in some classic stack SD’s and it’d be a lovely bass

[bubinga5]

These were around £650 when they came out in 2005. I bought a tobacco burst one brand new back in 2006 I think. They were all Quilted maple apart from a black one.

 

I owned it for a few years. sounded great, nice and light too. Cant remember the neck profile but it wasnt super skinny if i remember. I thought the electronics sounded great.  A really nice bass.. i think £400 is a bit steep mind. 

 

a Talkbass link with more info. https://www.talkbass.com/threads/2-octaves-1-bass-the-fender-jazz-bass-24-thread.1242462/

Edited January 2, 2022 by bubinga5

[Ypapa]

Thank you for all the help people… I think I might have to go for it… a fender with 24 frets will eventually become a collector’s item I reckon 

[AndyTravis]

14 minutes ago, Ypapa said:

Thank you for all the help people… I think I might have to go for it… a fender with 24 frets will eventually become a collector’s item I reckon 

Probably wouldn’t go that far…but…it’s a decent bass for £400.

[Machines]

42 minutes ago, Ypapa said:

Thank you for all the help people… I think I might have to go for it… a fender with 24 frets will eventually become a collector’s item I reckon 

 

Buying a Fender as a potential investment is very risky. Forget the money side of it and pretend in 10 years you'd get the same money back for (+/- inflation), do you still want it ?

[AndyTravis]

4 hours ago, Ypapa said:

I saw the same article but this bass is advertised as a 1988 and the serial number shows up as 88-96 on a site I found.

 

We probably won’t be able to really ascertain the age but has anybody played one?

That’s really inaccurate.

 

05 serial is 2005 Korea (cort)

 

my reference is that I was working at a main fender dealer when they were launched and everything Korean and fender in the 2000’s was made by cort.

 

they finished the run in about 2008/9 with a satin black version.

 

they didn’t sell particularly well.

 

they were nice though.

[AndyTravis]

[Bassassin]

5 hours ago, Ypapa said:

I saw the same article but this bass is advertised as a 1988 and the serial number shows up as 88-96 on a site I found.

 

We probably won’t be able to really ascertain the age but has anybody played one?

 

There were Korean-made Squiers in 1988, not Fenders. 80s MIK Squiers were made by Young-Chang & had an 'E' prefix.

[EMG456]

I have one and it's my favourite Jazz Bass, admittedly probably because of the 24 fret neck and compact body.

 

Pickups are great and match very well with the preamp.

 

Woodworking is nice (typical Korean of the time) but note it's a veneer top, not a thicker maple layer.

 

The battery box allows you to put the battery in reverse polarity which I'm led to believe destroys the preamp- worth checking.

 

I'd have no hesitation buying another to defret or a five string version.

 

I've had several queries about it when out gigging- most bassists assume it is an expensive one-off Custom Shop bass. 😀

 

I'm playing it albeit in a folky context in this wee demo that one of my bands put together from footage taken at a gig. Audio is from the camera mic so lets say honest. Played through a Phil Jones Bass Briefcase combo.