NBD - Fender Jazz Bass Special (1987)

[JJTee]

Finally got my hands on one of these, since Duff inspired me to pick up the bass back from in 1992. Ideally I would have like a slightly earlier one (84 to 86 I think) that seem to have the back of the neck painted black, and obviously in pearl white like Duff’s (which he bought in 86, so guess it was an 85/86 model). My serial no starts ‘E7’ which I think is 1987. 

 

Anyway, it’s in very good condition, with (unusually) the original Fender knobs. It has the original oversized Japanese pole pieces in both pickups. They’re about 6.5mm across, and I’ve compared them to the SD Quarterpounders I had fitted in my Fender Aerodyne, and they seem to be about 6.7mm.  Feels quite heavy (4.2 kg) compared to the Aerodyne (3.8kg). Very solid. Love the jazz neck. 

Duff apparently switched out the Jazz pickup in his model for an SD Hotstack - I don’t know why (in one video I saw he said “it came with Seymour Duncan pickups” when he bought it). So there’s a bit of confusion as to what’s gone on. It’s difficult to tell from the available photos. Who knows what was in place when Appetite was recorded. His signature models have a Hot Stack jazz pickup and a generic Fender P pickup with normal sized pole pieces in both. 

 

Anyway, it could well be irrelevant as, to my ears, the magic is all the in the TBX rotary control (the one nearest the Jack) With all controls on max and the pickup selector set to both pickup, it’s instant Duff! And that’s even with the deadest strings I’ve ever experienced. There’s just a difficult to describe upper mid/top end character that comes through when the TBX is on full that is unmistakably that sound on the Gn’R albums. So I don’t I’ll be installing a Hot Stack. 

 

Anyway, sacrilegious as it may be to strip the excellent condition red finish, my plan is to take to Bow Finishing near Godstone to get it refinished in pearl white and the back of the neck painted black. 

[Belka]

Congrats - I have had a similar bass for 30 years now - my first decent one. Mine is the same colour but is a later model - a G serial which is probably a 1988 model. Mine has smaller polepieces on the pickups (although they're still a hot wind compared to standard pickups) and the beefier bridge.

 

I've tried the Seymour Duncan hotstack in mine (still have the original of course). It doesn't change the tone much at all, but its one advantage is it stops hum. The original is a true single coil and will hum a bit with both pickups on (and when it's soloed of course).

 

It's up to you of course, but personally I would leave the finish alone. Fender Japan's Candy Apple red was one of the nicest ones Fender ever did, and as you say yours is in great condition. Also, that finish, like most of the Fender finishes from the '70/80s, is incredibly thick. I presume Bow finishing know what they're doing but I'd imagine most paint shops these days instinctively will do thinner, lighter finishes, and you may end up altering the tone, which is not what you want. 

 

Also, even with a paint job it won't be exactly like one of the earlier Jazz Bass Specials that Duff used. Those had the truss adjustment at the heel, not at the headstock like yours, and I think some of them even had the micro-tilt adjustment hole in the neckplate. The necks were thicker too. 

 

Also, one thing I forgot - I think, although I may be mistaken - that the earlier 'Duff' basses had the old 7.25" radius, whereas yours and mine have a radius which is a lot flatter - somewhere from 9.5-12".

 

If you're really set on a white one, personally I'd hold out until one becomes available, then sell this one to fund it. You don't see them up for sale that often but they do come up. You could try reaching out to Bass Japan Direct - they might well be able to find you one.  

 

 

Edited November 23 by Belka

[Belka]

Here's mine:

[JJTee]

Thanks for your thoughts Belka - you’ve certainly given me pause for thought with the refinishing plan. I also wasn’t aware of the difference in truss rod access between the different years. I vaguely recall something about the very early versions not having a jazz-width neck (unlike mine and all the later ones), and perhaps they somewhere in between a P- and a J-width. I don’t know what year that’s from though. 

 

There are a few differences between the main run in the years 84 to 87, and from what I’ve read this was due to what was available at particular points in terms of hardware. So some have different bridges and tuners. And obviously at some point they stopped painting the back of the necks - sometime in 1986 I would guess. 

 

I knew Duff’s had a manufacturing defect in the neck which meant it had a slightly ‘egg-shaped’ profile which took Fender a couple of attempts to get right when they made a couple of copies of his original back in the late 80s/early 90s. 

[Belka]

4 hours ago, JJTee said:

 

 

There are a few differences between the main run in the years 84 to 87, and from what I’ve read this was due to what was available at particular points in terms of hardware. So some have different bridges and tuners. And obviously at some point they stopped painting the back of the necks - sometime in 1986 I would guess. 

They changed constantly throughout the '80s. At first they were badged as the Squier Contemporary Series starting from around '83 and seen into '84. They had the large pole pickups, but no selector switch, and probably no TBX. The necks were painted, but in the body colours, not black, and the hardware was just chrome.

 

Next was the PJ Bass, which is the early name of the JBS. These seem to have all the features of the later Duff basses. At some point in 1984/1985 they started badging them as Jazz Bass Specials rather than PJ Basses. Or perhaps PJ bass was what they were called for the Japanese market and JBS for export. Regardless, the PJ Bass name disappears in 1985.

 

Then, as you correctly say, sometime in 1986 there was the new neck without the paint and with truss access at the headstock, but with the old bridge and the large pole pickups.

 

Next, in '87/88 you have the same as above but with a higher mass bridge and small polepiece pickups. 

 

You also got models like the above but with unpainted headstocks and Gotoh lightweight tuners, and without a pickup selector switch or TBX. I always assumed these were later models but I've seen at least one listed as an '86.

 

There was also a re-run of the model around 1994 (probably off the back of the exposure on the Use Your Illusion tour), which got the painted neck and basic bridge back, but kept the small polepiece pickups.

 

Then you got the first version of the Duff signature, although this was Mexico made, not Japanese.

 

And finally the 2020 Boxer reissue, 

 

And all this is before looking at the other models: there was a medium scale version with slanted PJ pickups, a version with two slanted P pickups, a single pickup P Bass, and a JJ Jazz. There was an active version - The Power Jazz Bass Special, and its successor, which is also known as a Jazz Bass Special before being re-badged as the Precision Bass Lyte. 

 

I doubt many of these changes were to do with availability of parts (although the change to the smaller polepiece pickups could have been) - I think for the most part it's a design evolution. In 1987 They stopped exporting them and ramped down production (E serial numbers indicate they were for export) and later versions were supposedly Japanese market only, although they did still get exported (like mine). 

 

 

4 hours ago, JJTee said:

 

I knew Duff’s had a manufacturing defect in the neck which meant it had a slightly ‘egg-shaped’ profile which took Fender a couple of attempts to get right when they made a couple of copies of his original back in the late 80s/early 90s. 

I've heard about this before, but I've never exactly understood what he means by 'egg-shaped'.

Edited November 23 by Belka

[JJTee]

35 minutes ago, Belka said:

I've heard about this before, but I've never exactly understood what he means by 'egg-shaped'.

I think in profile, the bottom half was fatter/thicker and more bulbous than the top half. So looking down the neck the lower half was just a bit fuller feeling in the hand is my guess.