I first bought this bass in 1983. It was originally a dark
brown that was obviously refinished. My very first Fender, a P-Bass
must have been owned by the same guy becuase it looked exactly like
the Jazz. After I got it, I modified the same way I did my P-Bass.
I added Di'Marzio pickups for higher output and a Badass bridge to
add to the sustain. Around 1986 or 87, I sold it to Paul Brown for $350, who was looking
to refinish and re-fit it with new hardware. In the early 90's I went
searching through all the used equipment stores in Dallas searching for
a used Jazz Bass that wasn't vintage. I actually came across my first P-Bass
and I want to kick myself for not buying it. It was the same ugly brown color
and had the repair patch in the back of the neck. It even had the same GHS Bass
Boomer light gauge strings on it. The guy would've sold it to
me $350 and now I would've had a vintage P-Bass as well. I couldn't find a
Jazz because there was a group of Japanese buyers going through the DFW area
buying them all up to ship over to Japan and resell at a significant markup.
The only ones left were just too expensive for a used Jazz. Gee, I can't imagine
why. I settled for the P-Bass with the two pickups I now have. A couple years later,
I talked to Paul and found out he had disassembled and stripped down my Jazz and then abandoned the
project because he was too busy with his new business to finish it. So, I bought it
back for the same $350 I sold it to him for and then it cost me another $400 to refinish
and reassemble it. Paul couldn't find the bridge so, I used his after-market one instead.
I knew the bass had to be vintage so, I about a year ago, I looked up the serial number
in bass book I have and found that it was manufactured in 1976. So, now I have a "vintage" Jazz bass.
It's a great playing bass for sure. Over the years, I've listened to demos I played on it
and it sounds pretty good too. But ya know what? Now that it's "vintage", and supposedly
has increased in value, it doesn't play or sound any better than when I first bought it
back in 1983. Imagine that! Which brings me to another sad point. When I bought it
back in '83, it wasn't even close to vintage.
1976 Fender Jazz Bass
Page 4
I first bought this bass in 1983. It was originally a dark
brown that was obviously refinished. My very first Fender, a P-Bass
must have been owned by the same guy becuase it looked exactly like
the Jazz. After I got it, I modified the same way I did my P-Bass.
I added Di'Marzio pickups for higher output and a Badass bridge to
add to the sustain. Around 1986 or 87, I sold it to Paul Brown for $350, who was looking
to refinish and re-fit it with new hardware. In the early 90's I went
searching through all the used equipment stores in Dallas searching for
a used Jazz Bass that wasn't vintage. I actually came across my first P-Bass
and I want to kick myself for not buying it. It was the same ugly brown color
and had the repair patch in the back of the neck. It even had the same GHS Bass
Boomer light gauge strings on it. The guy would've sold it to
me $350 and now I would've had a vintage P-Bass as well. I couldn't find a
Jazz because there was a group of Japanese buyers going through the DFW area
buying them all up to ship over to Japan and resell at a significant markup.
The only ones left were just too expensive for a used Jazz. Gee, I can't imagine
why. I settled for the P-Bass with the two pickups I now have. A couple years later,
I talked to Paul and found out he had disassembled and stripped down my Jazz and then abandoned the
project because he was too busy with his new business to finish it. So, I bought it
back for the same $350 I sold it to him for and then it cost me another $400 to refinish
and reassemble it. Paul couldn't find the bridge so, I used his after-market one instead.
I knew the bass had to be vintage so, I about a year ago, I looked up the serial number
in bass book I have and found that it was manufactured in 1976. So, now I have a "vintage" Jazz bass.
It's a great playing bass for sure. Over the years, I've listened to demos I played on it
and it sounds pretty good too. But ya know what? Now that it's "vintage", and supposedly
has increased in value, it doesn't play or sound any better than when I first bought it
back in 1983. Imagine that! Which brings me to another sad point. When I bought it
back in '83, it wasn't even close to vintage.