LeftyBassist.com

Pretty, yes. You could almost fit a 5 string neck in that pocket.....no wonder nobody played it.

mmm ... I love 60's & 70's tort. it just goes so well with nearly every body color and fretboard wood

agreed, that neck pocket is definitely a little wider than needed. they must have used a well worn template on that one

all the best,

R

Sigh. I wish someone would start bitch slappin' these dealers. Almost 6 grand for a '74 J??

That neck pocket issue is typical of Fender's 70's quality control.

pjmuck wrote:Sigh. I wish someone would start bitch slappin' these dealers. Almost 6 grand for a '74 J??

That neck pocket issue is typical of Fender's 70's quality control.

My 74 Jazz is identical (see avatar). Bought it from the same guy in fact. The neck pocket on mine is a little wide too, but not that bad. But the neck never moves and every note sings. It's magical I tell you

Damn... that is my favorite combination (white, perloid pickguard). I would love to own that bass but 5,750 B.O.... thats a lot of dough. Is it worth it in tone Matt?

gravesbass wrote:Damn... that is my favorite combination (white, perloid pickguard). I would love to own that bass but 5,750 B.O.... thats a lot of dough. Is it worth it in tone Matt?

Well, I paid $3000 shipped for mine about 3 1/2 years ago and I can definitely say it's worth every cent. At this price, if I had the $$ to blow, I'd do it. It's overpriced, but I still would. Mine was all original but didn't have hang tags and OHSC like this one. This thing is NOS quality it seems. If I were a collector, I'd say grab it, it would only appreciate in value. If it came home to me, the tags would get thrown in the case and this thing would get played.

Thanks Matt. I love it.. really. Out of my price range but I might be going down to LA this weekend for a few days so he is in Sherman Oaks. I might make my way there if available to view in person.

gravesbass wrote:Thanks Matt. I love it.. really. Out of my price range but I might be going down to LA this weekend for a few days so he is in Sherman Oaks. I might make my way there if available to view in person.

And you are of course required to give a full report if you get to check it out

pjmuck wrote:Sigh. I wish someone would start bitch slappin' these dealers. Almost 6 grand for a '74 J??

I agree. I'm pretty unimpressed with the ridiculous leap vintage dealers have tried to take with lefty stuff this past year.
I've read in a few places that the thinking of "What's the harm? They put something out there for a high price and if someone buys it then they're right about what the market will bear. If no one bites then they can try a lower price". My problem with that thinking is when greed fuels a dealer to make an arbitrary jump in the perceived value of a vintage bass by "putting it out there and see if anyone bites" you end up with a lot of guys thinking the bass in their closet is suddenly worth a lot more and ebay sees more overpriced basses as everyone tries to cash in.

That jazz is beautiful and really clean, but I don't understand how the seller arrived at that price.

Well it's this whole, "If it's old than it must be better or worth more" mentality, and the older the better as far as vintage value is concerned.

I'm not knocking this bass. It's in superb condition and even 70's stuff is getting harder to find, but I have a hard time justifying $6000 for any bass, and if I were absolutely forced to then it would be an Alembic, Fodera, or something handmade. But an assembly line bass? How much mojo or "magic" could it have beyond any other assembly line Fender? And even if it was special, is that really worth $4000-5000 more? 20 years ago you couldn't give 70's basses away and there was the whole pre-CBS vs. CBS argument. Fender's 70's era stuff was spotty quality at best (as was the case with many manufacturers then, ie. Gibson, Martin, etc.). Sure, you could find many diamonds in the rough, but you really had to look. Now EVERYTHING'S got value, even those garbage Musicmasters, which are inferior to just about any Korean bass made today and going for well over $1000, just because. What urks me even more is the greedy dealers who are jacking up lefty prices lately are the same greedy dealers who normally want nothing to do with carrying lefties, even though some vintage lefties can command 50% more on the market than a righty counterpart. So they help contribute to the rarity of instruments by not making them available to us, then when they finally get one they drive pricing up to insane amounts with the attitude, "Well, where you gonna find another?" So we get screwed coming and going.

I own several basses that have now jumped in value in leaps and bounds. To be perfectly honest, the whole thing makes me nervous. I still play my '72 J every day as my main bass, and I really don't want to start thinking about how much I'm depreciating it by playing it or have to consider retiring it for the same reason.

I have to agree with PJ. I remember quite clearly when CBS took over fender. Everyone I knew involved w/ music in the SF Bay Area at the time (alot of people!) thought the quality went right down the tubes big time. In those days nobody would touch the stuff. Sometimes vintage just means old.

Quote: And you are of course required to give a full report if you get to check it out

Hey Matt, I didn't make it down to LA due to the storm. I might still be going during the week. I'll try to see it in person an talk a price.

pjmuck wrote: I still play my '72 J every day as my main bass, and I really don't want to start thinking about how much I'm depreciating it by playing it or have to consider retiring it for the same reason.

Naw, it'll just fetch more cause it's a relic'd bass