Withdrawn - 1962 Pre-CBS Fender Jazz Bass

Andy_Strings

Withdrawn - 1962 Pre-CBS Fender Jazz Bass. 

Olympic white refin, various screws changed, all hardware electrics original. 

Reggaebass

That’s a beauty, good luck with your sale 

ziggynugget

Oooof........ wish I lived closer to you.....
Actually, probably a good thing.
GLWTS.

Andy_Strings

@Reggaebass - Thank you  @ziggynugget ... I'm sure we've got some gigs coming up in Swindon.   

GuyR

Andy are you sure that’s a 63? The serial number dates it squarely in 1962 territory, along with the early 62 pots. My own 62 is numbered 85330 and I recently sold another 62 with a 76xxx number like yours. Andy Baxter currently has 74562, with an April 62 neck date and pots dated 12th week 1962. Is the join between the rosewood fingerboard and the maple neck flat, or curved like the radius of the fingerboard. If it’s flat, the neck is no later than August ‘62. A flat “slab” join in conjunction with the 3 knob control layout would be a very rare and desirable combination, made for less than a year.

Either way, it’s worth undoing the neck screws to check the date stamp on the heel, as a ‘62 would be even better than a ‘63.

Very nice bass BTW, it would be interesting to see the bridge area without the cover on and the four holes for the individual string mutes between the bridge and pickup. Very respectfully, genuine buyers would be encouraged by clear detail images of the pickup bottoms & windings, neck heel and pocket, pots and underside of the control plate, body under the scratchplate and closer images of the neck finish. An indication of the originality of the neck finish and the weight would be very useful also. 

It looks to be very much as you describe, scratchplate looks right, as do the knobs, tuners etc

If it doesn’t sell here, bass gallery in Camden would sell it quickly for a good price. As would Andy Baxter in Leeds.
I restrict myself to original finishes only, or you would have heard from me.

Good luck with the sale.

Andy_Strings

Thank you for that @GuyR ;, all read and received in the spirit it was given. I'll get it out tomorrow and and investigate further.  I simply believed it to be a '63 based on what I was told.  I'm intrigued to know more now, I'll update you, thanks for your comments.

Andy_Strings

GuyR said:

Andy are you sure that’s a 63? The serial number dates it squarely in 1962 territory, along with the early 62 pots.  A flat “slab” join in conjunction with the 3 knob control layout would be a very rare and desirable combination, made for less than a year.

@GuyR  Thank you for the knowledgeable advice. Your observations were 100% correct. The neck stamp is 7 APR 62A and it’s a slab board. Imagine playing a guitar for so those years not knowing!  I’ll revise the listing accordingly. 

GuyR

Andy_Strings said:

GuyR said:

Andy are you sure that’s a 63? The serial number dates it squarely in 1962 territory, along with the early 62 pots.  A flat “slab” join in conjunction with the 3 knob control layout would be a very rare and desirable combination, made for less than a year.

@GuyR  Thank you for the knowledgeable advice. Your observations were 100% correct. The neck stamp is 7 APR 62A and it’s a slab board. Imagine playing a guitar for so those years not knowing!  I’ll revise the listing accordingly. 

I’m pleased your further investigations led to a beneficial discovery. It might be worth advertising on Basschat. The fee is fairly nominal, £20 I think.
I guess it would have originally been sunburst, the red neck pocket is intriguing but doesn’t look like a Fender colour and there don’t  seem to be any other traces of red showing in the worn areas. 

Hopefully it attracts a buyer before long. It deserves to.

Zoonyboy

The wood seems to have the yellow Fender Fullerplast on it under the red. This was usually the basis of the factory sunburst finish, as it would be the first colour applied as a kind of dip or wash. My guess is that in the early days, someone wanted it red like the Shadows' instruments, so it was redone then. The white is a common later 60's alteration as it was easier to apply as a decent finish, over whatever was left after stripping off the unwanted colour(s). I've seen a few multi-layered jobs from these years and it fits a certain pattern. This doesn't spoil a thing for me, it proves it is a genuine nice old thing that has seen some life. It doesn't need further work in my opinion, it is honest and straight. GLWTS!