Fender Boxer PJ555 - Black, Modern Vintage, 1994

Fender Boxer PJ555 is a Japanese bass guitar, more widely known as the "Jazz Bass Special", manufactured in 1994 at the FujiGen Gakki factory. This model gained global recognition as the primary instrument of Duff McKagan from the band Guns N' Roses. The unit features a fully monochromatic, black aesthetic – from the body, through the lacquered neck and headstock, down to the hardware, which was a hallmark of this modern series lacking a pickguard. After our service work, which included fret dressing and shielding of the electronics with copper foil, the bass is ready to play.

Technical specification

• Manufacturer: Fender
• Model: Boxer PJ555 (Jazz Bass Special)
• Year of production: 1994
• Body: Basswood
• Neck: Maple – black lacquer
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Frets: Vintage (Condition: 90% – after dressing)
• Pickups: 1x Fender Japan P-Hot, 1x Fender Japan J-Hot
• Electronics: Passive (2x Volume, 1x Tone)
• Visual condition: Very good (details in description)
• Finish: Black
• Weight: 3.86 kg / 8.51 lbs

Body and construction The solid body is made of basswood. The instrument features a Black lacquer finish. A traditional Bolt-on construction is used with a classic neck pocket fit. The absence of a front pickguard is a factory design feature of this specific series. In our workshop, the electronics cavities were completely shielded with copper foil. The lacquer coating went through a polishing and waxing process.

Neck and ergonomics The maple neck has a narrower profile at the nut (width is 38 mm), specific to Jazz Bass necks. The back of the neck and the headstock (matching headstock) are factory-finished in black lacquer. The neck is paired with a rosewood fingerboard. The Vintage size frets retain about 90% of their original height (0.9 mm) and underwent a dressing process (leveling and polishing) during our service work. The fingerboard surface was cleaned and conditioned with lemon oil.

Sound The instrument is equipped with two "Hot Output" series pickups in a hybrid P/J (Precision / Jazz) configuration.

• Characteristics: The use of a basswood body and higher-output pickups provides a strong, massive bottom end from the Precision pickup and a clear, punchy attack from the bridge pickup.
• Dynamics: The passive electronics, featuring independent volume potentiometers for each pickup and a shared tone control, respond to articulation strength. The applied shielding lowers the circuit's susceptibility to external electromagnetic interference.

Additional information

The PJ555 "Jazz Bass Special" model is historically distinguished by its hybrid construction, combining the ergonomics of a narrower neck (from the Jazz Bass) with the body shape (from the Precision Bass).

This unit comes from the reissue of the "Boxer" series, produced in Japan in the 1990s, characterized by fully black metal hardware.

The "Hot Output" series pickups possess a physically stronger signal compared to standard vintage-style layouts, which factory-tailored this model for heavier, more overdriven musical genres.

The service work we performed included: fret dressing, full copper electronics shielding, finish polishing, fingerboard conditioning, hardware cleaning, and scale length setup.

Hardware

• Bridge: Vintage Style High-Mass – an enlarged (more massive) steel construction with adjustable saddles, factory-painted black.
• Tuners: Fender Japan Vintage Style – black, open-back mechanisms with classic buttons. The hardware went through a cleaning process and retains its mechanical efficiency.

Instrument condition

• Technical condition: The instrument is mechanically and electronically functional after a luthier verification. The truss rod works properly, and the frets are leveled.
• Visual condition: The guitar is preserved in very good visual condition. It shows minimal signs of use for a thirty-year-old instrument, visible against the light as minor scratches on the lacquer. There is no missing coating or wood cracks.
• Setup and Modifications: Copper foil shielding of the electronics cavities, fret dressing, lacquer conditioning, and a setup of the scale length and string action were performed.

Why choose this instrument

• Hybrid construction: The combination of a PB body with a JB neck is a proven and historically valued design offering high playing comfort for the left hand.
• P/J configuration: The pairing of two different pickups on one body provides very broad and useful tonal flexibility.
• Visual condition: The clean state of preservation of the original black hardware and lacquer is rare on the secondary market for thirty-year-old models.
• Ready to play: After our service work, the bass is fully prepared for regular playing without the need for a luthier visit.