Fender American Vintage II '66 Jazz Bass

[NikNik]

I don't need another Jazz (said that already this week) but this is a dream. Why Fender never reissued this in CAR, a more period-correct colour, is beyond me, for they'd clean up!

 

66 Jazz

[LewisK1975]

Wasn't this available in white too?  tried soo many Jazz's over the years (love the look) but always float back to precision shaped objects....

 

FWIW I agree on the Red, I think (I could be wrong) that there was an MIJ Red reissue of some description, might have been block inlays rather than dots though...

[Supernaut]

At least the pickups and machine heads are period correct. 😁

[NikNik]

2 hours ago, LewisK1975 said:

Wasn't this available in white too?  tried soo many Jazz's over the years (love the look) but always float back to precision shaped objects....

 

FWIW I agree on the Red, I think (I could be wrong) that there was an MIJ Red reissue of some description, might have been block inlays rather than dots though...

Yes, there is a white one.

I had a MIJ non-export  '66 d&b in black, with matching headstock. Unfortunately, it didn't come with lollipops. I do have a JB64 (stackpot retrofit) in CAR with matching headstock, but I've always wanted a d&b one again.

 

Edited October 17 by NikNik

[cocco]

7 hours ago, LewisK1975 said:

Wasn't this available in white too?  tried soo many Jazz's over the years (love the look) but always float back to precision shaped objects....

 

FWIW I agree on the Red, I think (I could be wrong) that there was an MIJ Red reissue of some description, might have been block inlays rather than dots though...

I had an MIJ 66 Jazz in candy apple red with matching headstock and dot and bound neck back in the day, around the time I bought that silver P off you. I don't know if you'd remember it but here's a photo from manic 16 years ago. It had clovers rather than lollipops and the guy I bought it off told me it was a non export model. 

 

I Shouldn't have sold it, but I didn't know what I had 😭. 

[NikNik]

13 hours ago, cocco said:

I had an MIJ 66 Jazz in candy apple red with matching headstock and dot and bound neck back in the day, around the time I bought that silver P off you. I don't know if you'd remember it but here's a photo from manic 16 years ago. It had clovers rather than lollipops and the guy I bought it off told me it was a non export model. 

 

I Shouldn't have sold it, but I didn't know what I had 😭. 

Yeh, shame no Lollipops.

 

These things are rare as hen's teeth. I got mine from a guy in Belfast around 8 years ago. Can you remember where yours went?

Edited October 18 by NikNik

[Misdee]

I've been looking at these '66 reissues since they came out but I've never found one that's a reasonable weight. They tend to be the wrong side of 9 pounds, and I can't abide a heavy Jazz Bass. Probably because of the offset body shape, to me a weighty J Bass feels particularly ungainly, more so than some other styles of bass.

 

It's a shame because I really fancy the green one, albeit that I would have to swap the tort scratch plate for an off-white one.

 

Fender are in a bit of a cleft stick when it comes to reissues (and all their other American-made guitars and basses) because they don't want to make them so appealing that they are taking business away from their own Custom Shop. So when Fender seemingly detract from what could be a much more attractive design it's usually a deliberate decision to do with stratifying their range of instruments.

Edited October 18 by Misdee

[cocco]

2 hours ago, NikNik said:

Yeh, shame no Lollipops.

 

These things are rare as hen's teeth. I got mine from a guy in Belfast around 8 years ago. Can you remember where yours went?

I sold it on here, way over 10 years ago and I don't remember who bought it.

 

It came from a guy in Bristol who had an actual 66 too. I'm pretty sure I found it on eBay. 

 

By the time I sold it, I'd sanded the neck back and put a bad ass II and set of overwound pickups in it. Thing sounded amazing. 

[NikNik]

On 18/10/2024 at 09:51, Misdee said:

I've been looking at these '66 reissues since they came out but I've never found one that's a reasonable weight. They tend to be the wrong side of 9 pounds, and I can't abide a heavy Jazz Bass. Probably because of the offset body shape, to me a weighty J Bass feels particularly ungainly, more so than some other styles of bass.

 

It's a shame because I really fancy the green one, albeit that I would have to swap the tort scratch plate for an off-white one.

 

Fender are in a bit of a cleft stick when it comes to reissues (and all their other American-made guitars and basses) because they don't want to make them so appealing that they are taking business away from their own Custom Shop. So when Fender seemingly detract from what could be a much more attractive design it's usually a deliberate decision to do with stratifying their range of instruments.

Good point. I never actually considered that.

 

I've looked at both the Olly White one and the Seafoam Green one, and after a bit more studying, I've discovered I don't like those fingerboards. I know 'rosewood' covers many species but those 'boards look like Laurel. I don't think I've seen a rosewood so light on a Fender bass. I guess I could use some Monty's Wax to darken it but on a £2K reissue instrument I'd expect the 'board to look more period correct.

[asingardenof]

3 hours ago, NikNik said:

Good point. I never actually considered that.

 

I've looked at both the Olly White one and the Seafoam Green one, and after a bit more studying, I've discovered I don't like those fingerboards. I know 'rosewood' covers many species but those 'boards look like Laurel. I don't think I've seen a rosewood so light on a Fender bass. I guess I could use some Monty's Wax to darken it but on a £2K reissue instrument I'd expect the 'board to look more period correct.

On a higher end one it might be Pau Ferro?