Need some guidance on a 1960 Fender Jazz Bass

#23
The pocket looks fine. They were laying the bodies on nail boards and painting them before they switched to a paint stick in the neck pocket.
The body at this point would have a date written in the pickup cavity.


Oh, and stop stringing it like a guitarist!!!!
Cut the string to length and stick the end down the center tuner machine hole. :D
 
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#24
Gunga Din said:
My YOB bass. Had the chance to buy one at a good price many, many years ago but by the time I'd raised the cash it was sold elsewhere.

Looks authentic to me. A '61? Do you still have the felt mutes? I was going to point out that the grounding strip from bridge-plate to the rear pup cavity was missing but, no, it's there. I can never understand why Fender came up with the reissue one that's about ten times the width of the original.

Keep that baby in the family!
View attachment 3502831
Click to expand...


It's a 1960 and the mutes are lost sadly. And yeah, teeny tiny ground wire... :)
 
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#25
Wait a minute.......the bridge grounding strip enters the cavity and is attached to one of the control plate screws for grounding. I never knew that was how they did it back then. I always thought the grounding strip attached to the grounding plate of the rear pup?

Screen Shot 2019-08-09 at 05.26.56.png
 
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#26
mikeswals said:
The pocket looks fine. They were laying the bodies on nail boards and painting them before they switched to a paint stick in the neck pocket.
The body at this point would have a date written in the pickup cavity.


Oh, and stop stringing it like a guitarist!!!!
Cut the string to length and stick the end down the center tuner machine hole. :D
Click to expand...

All these years and I just realized a few weeks ago how to properly seat the wire ends... :hyper:
 
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#31
Back in the 70's, I bought a really early 1960 (sorry can't remember the month now) stack knob bass at a pawn shop and sold it on to a great local bassist. I was a horn player back then, only bought the bass because I knew it was something special and I bought and sold a lot of pre-cbs Fenders.

Your photos bring back memories as everything looks just like like the one I had. The thing I can't remember now, is whether it had that skinny ground wire between the bridge and pickup or if it had the flat strap. I'll ask the guy I sold it to - he's still playing it.
 
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#34
Hi Jeff :)

Welcome to TB!

Jeff Leonhardt said:
My father, who just turned 79, worked for Fender in Fullerton back in the 60's. He was in the electronics R&D group. He got a 1960 Fender Jazz Bass and has had it ever since. He was under the impression it was a prototype, but with the dates on the neck and pots and the serial that seems unlikely. We do know it wasn't refinished, but the neck cavity/pocket is painted black (I attached a photo). Some think this is a sign of refinishing. I'm looking for information on other ways to identify/prove original vs. refin paint. Any and all opinions are welcome!
Click to expand...

Thx for sharing all those great pics!!!!! :thumbsup:

What a bass!!! :jawdrop: :drool::drool::drool:


greetings

Wise(b)ass
 
#36
Looks right to me. And great too.
About that black neck cavity, I think the black (very dark brown?) paint just goes so when the sunburst is painted. It has quite wide black area.
But can't be 110 % sure lookin only pics. Only difference is the grounding wire. But perhaps as proto they did it so, or some change it later. Pots are CTS, 25 week (end June) 1960 and the wiring, resistors and caps are right. Fits that neck date 7-60.
It has a Brazilian rosewood fretboard and right type "tortoise" pickguard which are very difficult to fake.
 
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#39
Wow, I'm not a big fanboy when it comes to vintage Fenders... but looking over these photos, paired with the backstory, I imagined a young man working at the Fender factory in 1960 putting the finishing touches on this one before sending it off in its new case... made me get an overwhelming feeling of warmth and sentimentality and the natural, corresponding desire to play that bass. I will say, don't think I got very good sleep last night and I'm alone in the office this morning without any coworkers to ground me, so my emotions are a bit wonky o_O:woot:
 
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