Help identify Fender Jazz Bass

[slowjam98]

Found this one for sale and it has an odd mix of features. Maybe it’s just a parts bass? I’m far from an expert on this kind of stuff, so I’m asking for the TB multi-brain to help.

Things I see:
MIM Jazz Deluxe Series neck
Ground strip
Stacked pots
Badass II
Plate where side jack would be?
Candy Apple Red finish?
Not drilled for pick-up covers
Not road worn (in the factory)

Anyway, what am I looking at here?

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

Fender Jazz Deluxe, mid-to-late 90s. Active pre-amp with boosts on the controls. The bridge and strap were mods. I could be wrong and it might be a parts bass but I had a similar Jazz, albeit with a cream body.

Random story, the one I had was a killer axe. I remember the guy who bought it had brought an American Fender from the store to compare it to. I said the bass was "as good as MIA" in the ad but this cat actually showed up with one for comparison.

 

[slowjam98]

Fender Jazz Deluxe, mid-to-late 90s.

Is it that simple‽ I guess I’m just not familiar with this particular configuration. I thought the MIM Jazz Deluxe had a standard bridge, no grounding strip, and VVT.

I said the bass was "as good as MIA" in the ad but this cat actually showed up with one for comparison.

Haha!

 

[BassAgent]

Looks like a MIM Deluxe that has been converted to a '60 reissue. The controlplate, bridge and grounding strip are probably replacements. Pickups are replacements too (originals are Noiseless). Originally wired with side jack. Pretty good basses, especially passive. The original preamp isn't great (IMO). It started out like this:

 

[slowjam98]

Looks like a MIM Deluxe that has been converted to a '60 reissue.

Yeah. I was getting those RI vibes from it. I was half thinking it might be MIA body/electronics. But I think you guys are right. Bridge, pup, and control mods on a MIM Deluxe.

I’m not in the market, but the seller is asking $275. Not a terrible price even for the condition.

 

[BassAgent]

Hmmm no not terrible but I still wouldn't go for it. No idea which pickups are in there and the MIM Deluxes I have played were terribly heavy.

 

[Whale]

Would you be able to share a few more pics please? Specifically, the neck pocket, the lower cutaway, the pot codes, and the neck plate (if it has a serial number).

Jazz basses started with the stacked pots and grounding strap, so apart from the MIM neck, the bridge, and the one black string it appears that someone might have been trying to give the bass a partial retro-vibe.

 

[Grinderman]

I agree with Whale--more pictures needed.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if it's a mix of parts, not that alone makes it good or bad. It depends on the quality and condition of the parts, fitment, workmanship, quality of the finer details of the set up, functional condition (frets, is the neck itself right, truss rod, pots, pickups, wiring jack, output, etc), and asking price.

 

[7dollarbologna]

 

[bassobrutto]

Fantastic deal for just $275! And I would be shocked if the pickups were poor. Someone who is willing to go to this trouble to convert a Deluxe active to a stacked knob passive would likely not settle for poor pickups. With the stacked knob circuit, the Badass, and the genuine Fender body and neck, the parts alone are worth way more than $275, possibly quite a lot a more if the pickups are anything decent at all.

 

[sawzalot]

I was going to say, the parts in that bass would sell for 3x what the seller is asking.

 

[slowjam98]

With the stacked knob circuit, the Badass, and the genuine Fender body and neck, the parts alone are worth way more than $275, possibly quite a lot a more if the pickups are anything decent at all.

the parts in that bass would sell for 3x what the seller is asking.

Yeah. That’s what I was thinking, too.

 

[Alivefor5]

If that were around here for $275, I’d be all over it.

 

[Killing Floor]

Yep. It’s a Jazz bass. You can tell by the 2 skinny pickups.

 

[rashrader]

Sweet parts bass, but that G String is cringe worthy. Get it!!

 

[Double E]

This was thrown together with parts from various basses. The neck and body are a mis-match. The neck being an MIM Deluxe a the body could be just about anything with a crappy (IMHO) BadAss bridge and a random double stack plate. The grounding strap is a throwback item as well found on re-issues.

The big red flag is that the bridge pickup does not fill the pickup route, a common trait of MIM Standard pickups from a certain era.

I'd likely steer clear of this parts bin special.

 

[sxaxsx]

As others have said, you can see in the one picture that it originally had a side jack, so I think its fair to assume that the body and neck are original to one another, a side jack deluxe body and a deluxe neck, just everything else was replaced.

 

[Double E]

As others have said, you can see in the one picture that it originally had a side jack, so I think its fair to assume that the body and neck are original to one another, a side jack deluxe body and a deluxe neck, just everything else was replaced.

That's a good point. So it would appear that someone tried to convert a Deluxe into a re-issue. Just doesn't seem well put together to me.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

Is it that simple‽ I guess I’m just not familiar with this particular configuration. I thought the MIM Jazz Deluxe had a standard bridge, no grounding strip, and VVT.



Haha!

The one I had was stock with stack knobs. It was an active pre-amp with the stack on the bridge side being treble and bass boost/cut. I cannot remember if the neck side pot was stacked or not. If I remember right, the knobs were not like the 60s stacks you see here, they were black plastic that was closer to a strat knob without numbers. I owned this bass for a short while probably 10~ years ago. I might be off the exact model but the one I had was a Mexican made Jazz Deluxe from the late 90s. It was heavy.