Up for sale, a 1988 Fender Jazz Bass model JBR-80M in exceptional, 100% original condition and in perfect working order. A very early Fender Japan example with active electronics, this Jazz Bass was crafted in exceedingly small numbers in a year where this model was still a non-catalog, special order instrument. Crafted at the famed Fujigen factory, this golden age "Made in Japan" Jazz Bass was sold only within the Japanese domestic market and is rarely seen in Japan or elsewhere.
Distinctly modern in its features and offered in later years under the "Pro Feel" Fender Japan banner, the JBR-80M features a pair of Hotrod 7J pickups with an active preamp boasting a Master Volume knob, center detent Balance pot for a smooth gradient between the two pickups, and center detent Bass and Treble knobs. The bass has a lightweight ash body with broad, dynamic grain, paired with a one-piece maple neck and a thick slab 22 fret rosewood board. The neck plate and heel are also contoured, designed to offer extended access to the highest frets. The tone is smooth, full, and able to provide boosted thump, a present midrange growl and burp, and plenty of top end articulation. Professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, this Jazz Bass is strung with 45-100 roundwound strings, dialed in with comfortable action and spot-on intonation.
The neck has a slender C profile carve at the nut with good shoulder in every register and lightly rolled edges on the thick rosewood slab, measuring .825" deep at the 1st fret and .985" at the 12th. The original medium jumbo fretwire is nearly perfect with its full factory height, well-rounded crowns, and tons of meat. The headstock features vintage-style Fender tuners with full-size baseplates, long stems, and clover buttons. Above the contoured neck plate with micro-tilt adjustment, the Made in Japan text and H-prefix serial number are present.
All of the electronics function flawlessly, with perfect "Fender" gold silkscreening on the pickup covers and gleaming chrome knurled knobs on the control array. The bridge is a unique top-loader design with heavy-duty saddles, officially model FBT-4C. The gloss Walnut finish is very clean, with wear limited to one finish chip on the outside edge of the treble side body horn and a few faint finish scratches and a stray nick or two on the back.
