send your maple fingerboard jazz basses!!

#22
bon viesta said:
come on, i’m asking you to send pictures!!! :thumbsup: i have a maple fingerboard walnut jazz on the way so i’ll soon be able to show mine off in due time, but how many of you guys chose a maple fretboard on a nice jazz bass as opposed to the usual rosewood fretboard?
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I wasn't actually looking for a maple neck Jazz at the time. I was looking for a Jazz Bass that had the same neck profile, shape, and radius that my 1965 Jazz had. I bought my '65 Jazz in 1966 and it was stolen in 1976 along with all my touring gear. I finally found this bass almost 10-years later. I was working part-time at a music store when a fellow traded this MIA '82 Jazz in on an Aria Pro II in 1985. After searching for almost 10-years, I had decided that Fender didn't make any necks like my '65 after 1965, so I didn't really think much about this new bass. We had about 40 Jazz Basses hanging on the wall and another 50 or 60 P-basses. I finally picked it off the wall about 4-days later, played a couple of things on it, and it just felt like home!!!

I had to leave it on the wall for a month to try to sell at retail before Kelly, the owner, would sell it to me, but sell it to me he did and gave me a good price on it. Didn't think much about the maple neck at the time (I was ambivalous about it) but didn't take long to realize I was getting much better sustain than my '65 did. This bass also growls more easily when I dig into the strings over the bridge pickup. I think most of that is because it has the 70's pickup spacing (4" center to center), which puts the bridge pickup back closer to the bridge than the 60's and current spacing (3.6" center to center).

I have since come to appreciate the white binding on the neck and the black dot markers. Also love the fact that she is Olympic White with white binding, white pickguard, white pickup covers, and white strat-type control knobs. I've played her for 35-years now and her color has slowly matured to a buttercream that I think is nicely set-off by her stark-white accoutrements. I affectionately refer to her as "my White Lady".
 
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