Fender Jazz Bass 1977 -LEFTY- (with video)

FINAL PRICE DROP !  MAKE AN OFFER, YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED.  I DON'T LIKE INVENTORY SITTING AROUND.

This is one heck of a musical intrument. Looks, feels, plays great. I'm mainly a guitar player but I know a good bass when I play one. It took it out to a few blues jams in town and this thing is a true rocker : it has that nice top end bite while remaining quite fat, and that's kind of elusive.  

The previous owner had swapped the original pickups for Seymour Duncans. Originals pickups were neatly stored in the case in the Duncan boxes. I put them back on. The only new solder points are the ones to reconnect the pickup leads. So all electronics are original, right down to the ouput jack, including all three CTS pots (the tone with a shorter shaft, as it should) dated 45th week of 1977.

The Olympic white finish is textbook 40 years old, with various hues of banana yellowing and fine spider-web checking. This is the kind of general effect Custom Shops can only dream of reproducing. There are a few gig earned chips, as this bass was on a few TV sets around Montreal. The colour matches the cream binding on the neck. The letters 'SE' are visible in the control panel area but only if you look at it real close under a certain angle. There are a few pictures where the bass is 'naked' Jaco style, and the shading variations gives a pretty badass look.

There is a <1mm gap at the top side of the neck joint. We're not used to seeing this nowadays because of CNC machines cutting even the cheapest Squiers below 1/64th discrepancy, sending them in the oblivion of the 'perfect' world we live in... In the 50s and 60s Leo had an eye on his crew, and yet no 2 pre-CBS guitars are the same... But in the 70s, body shaping did get a bit, let's say, more 'human' at times. There is also shrinkage, etc. to consider after 40 years... Don't let this fool you. This thing sustains for days and is a joy to play.

The neck has a gorgeous flame pattern. This is a very, very rare feature on non custom shop Fender guitars. It's a chunky one, and it plays with a purpose.

There is cosmetic damage on the tip of the headstock. I'm pretty sure I know what it is. I think this bass was carried around in a smaller guitar gig bag earlier in its life with the tip of the headstock protruding and it must have caught some rain. I had this happen to one of my Strats when I took it to Mexico with the headstock sticking out of my backpack...

The bass also has the 60s type control knobs, instead of those cheaper Strat style buttons that became standard for a few years on JB's starting in '77. They could be from '77 but I can't guarantee that. Same for covers. Probably original, but no guarantee.

This bass has the '65 type pearl dot inlays instead of the more usual square ones. Not all jazz's were made with square inlays in the 70s, but... I can't tell if the dots are original or not. The bass was professionnaly refretted and the fretboard most likely refinished in th process. There is hardly any play wear yet the bass has clearly played. So it's a redone fingerboard, basically. It could be the perloid dots were added at that point. If so, it's a top pro job. It could be, because the fret job is a higher standard than Fender's. Unless you are into the imperfect 'collector' guitars market, this should be seen as a true player's upgrade.

Bass is set up with no relief at all, for that 'unplugged slight buzz/great amped sound', you know the kind. Bring up the strings 1/16th, at will, for cleaner tone, either at rod or bridge, for prefered setting.