Fender 1979 Jazz Bass.
This bass sounds as amazing as it looks. I’ve played many Fender basses, including at least nine 1970s Fender basses. This 1979 Fender jazz bass has an amazing sound. It has a low growl. The neck and fretboard on this bass plays like a dream and is perfect.
I bought this Jazz Bass from the original owner who purchased it new, on August 5, 1980 at Windy City Music in Chicago. A Copy of the original Windy City Music receipt will be included to the buyer. The Jazz Bass serial number is S857660.
The vintage solid ash body looks great with its beautiful grain pattern visible through the transparent natural finish. Natural finishes don't show nicks, dings & wear spots nearly as much as damaged paint that exposes bare wood.
This bass has the advantage of 44 years of reliability, stability, and wood aging that prove it isn't likely to crack or have the neck warp. Thewoodworkerplace article says "guitars sound better over time due to the reduced moisture content in aged-wood. As wood becomes ever dryer, (due to it’s reducing moisture content), it becomes harder and more stable. As wood hardens, it’s ability to sustain a note improves."
The stunning beautifully grained Ash body is 1-3/4" thick. The Maple neck & fingerboard with beautiful pearl block inlays has remained stable for decades with no need to make repeated bridge, truss rod or neck tilt adjustments. The bass stays in tune. The bridge, nut grooves & neck are set up for excellent action & intonation with no fret issues. There's little fret wear because since buying this Jazz Bass the owner's playing has always been divided among at least 3 basses and had only played 2 gigs since 1990. The neck has no finish wear and the strings are new and the owner wiped the neck & strings with a cloth after each use.
The bass includes the original Jazz Bass hang tag owner's manual with matching serial number, original registration card, recently installed D'Addario EXL110-12P Nickel Wound Light strings with very little use, a truss rod allen wrench,spare bone nut, and case with 2 Keys.
In the 1990's the original gloss pickguard was given a satin finish with extra fine steel wool to eliminate reflections & resist fingerprints. The satin finish is reversible by buffing it back to a gloss.
Also added 4 black powder coated stainless steel oval head wood screws countersunk under the Jazz Bass's original micro-tilt 3-bolt chrome mounting plate to make it a 7-bolt joint. The original 3-bolt configuration works like new, but I wanted to simulate the sustain of a neck-through design.
The bass still has that classic Jazz Bass sound attributable to design, wood, and pickup type & positioning. Any or all of the 4 additional black neck joint screws can be removed to vary the joint stiffness. The 4 black screws don't affect the fingerboard and are positioned on different wood grain lines to prevent splitting. The joint & wood have held up perfectly and never had a reason to remove the 4 added screws, and the bass has low E string articulation & resonance not unlike a neck-through bass.
In the unlikely event the micro-tilt needs adjusting with the 7-bolt joint it's a matter of loosening the strings, removing the 3 original bolts and chrome bolt plate, loosening the 4 black screws, adjusting the micro-tilt, tightening the black screws, reinstalling the chrome plate and 3 original screws, and tuning the strings. It takes a little longer than originally which didn't require removing the bolt plate, but it's a moot point since I've never had to readjust the neck. The concealed black screws can be removed with no cosmetic issues, and the miniscule amount of wood drilled for them is insignificant.
He used the neck pickup for its deeper bass sound, so in the 1990's he replaced the original shielded aluminum neck pickup wire with high resolution shielded copper wire for more robust articulation & shielding since copper is a better conductor than aluminum. The original neck pickup wire is also included. One control pot was also replaced in the 1990's with an identical part #013446 250K pot date code R1379313 (the 13th week of 1993). Two of the original part #013446 250K control pots are dated R1377931 and R1377944 (the 31st & 44th weeks of 1979) indicating the bass was made sometime between Halloween of 1979 and when bought on August 5, 1980.
The bass has no buckle rash, headstock dings, or other cosmetic issues other than 2 small superficial nicks in the body's polyurethane finish that have been smoothly blended to make them invisible from most viewing angles without the direct reflection of a light source and aren't noticeable in the photos. One of the nicks occurred about 40 years ago on the top edge of the body between the upper & lower bouts and the other occurred over 20 years ago on the back where other basses have buckle rash.
This bass is in excellent condition. It's hardware is like new. It's electronics, hardware & truss rod work flawlessly, It's neck has superb action & stability, the frets are in great condition. It's a uniquely upgraded & well cared for iconic bass that's increasing in value over time. It isn't the untouched museum piece that it appears to be, but the patented G&L stringposts are Leo Fender's invention, the 7-bolt neck joint is custom shop quality, and the hi-resolution shielded copper neck pickup wire has better conductivity. These few upgrades are substantiated by logic & physics, refinements that distinguish boutique high-end basses. This bass is better than original and the upgrades are reversible. This is my opinion having played many basses, including several high-end. Comes with beautiful Fender case that is about in perfect condition for a guitar case from the 1970s.