LeftyBassist.com

Happy Friday, lefties.

Up for sale is my 1976 Fender Jazz Bass. It's was modded when I bought it from a C'lister in SF.

Let's start with the original parts:

- 1976 Fender sunburst ash (or could it be alder?) body (heavy 3-piece. With a cheap bathroom scale the entire bass is coming in at a consistent 11 lbs, maybe 11 1/2 tops)
- 1976 3-bolt neck with maple fretboard and pearl block inlays, white binding, a nice layer of gunk . This neck feels REALLY solid for any neck, 3-bolt or 4.
- black pickguard
- serial #76xxxxx (they actually started their serial numbers with "76" that year - you can see it's pre-printed and the following digits are not)
- tuners, string tree, neckplate, strap knobs
- cavity cover and control knobs
- original lefty case (!), handle's gone and has been replaced with heavy duty nylon boots laces (I didn't do it, but it works extremely well - very solid and comfy).

That's about it. But hey, that's most of the exterior, so the bass looks very original, at least.

And while I don't care about relic'ng, the body has some beautiful natural wear on its edges and back. As Prince would say, it's got the look.

Now for the mods:

- The body has been routed (near cavity, underneath pickguard) to hold a 9-volt battery. The route looks pretty clean. The battery's been removed and bass is passive with pots and wiring from Stew Mac.
- Lindy Fralin pickups with a 10% overwind on the bridge p/u (I dropped these in 2 months ago)
- New bridge from Fender in 1960's style. I would have gone with a 70's style, but to be honest, this bass has that too-often seen string alignment error that is very slight, but visible, on the g-string (sitting too close to the edge of the f'board). It's very slight - I don't notice it AT ALL when I'm playing it - but I can see it. I was going to make my own grooves with a Quan but I decided to sell that and go with a Fender part that did the trick. You can no longer see any string "offage." But the bridge isn't period correct, and is also very new and shiny at the moment.

Pics to follow by 2pm PST.

Looking for paypal $1999 shipped within CONUS or Canada.

Thanks.

Geoff

Pics 1:

Pics 2:

Pics 3 - the neck is solid, but it's got the usual 70's Fender routing (and likely wood contraction-expansion over 35 years), and I wanted to show the details. Tthe pickguard is deceiving in the pic - the neck-body gap isn't that wide there):

Pics 4:

Pics 5:

Pics 6:

Pics 7:

Pics 8:

Pics 9 of 9. It sure looks like a one-piece, but it's not. Fender did a great job on the 3-piece matching here.

Please PM me if you're seriously interested. I'm sure I'll be asked to provide pics with the pickguard off. Just need to take those. These pics should be good for interested parties, I figure.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

Geoff

WOW.

That's pretty

Very Cool bass ... but i've never heard about the 76 serial number thing. AFAIK fender switched from the classic serials directly to S6, S7, S8 and S9 ...

EDIT : just done a brief research ad in effect seem that back in 76 they produced serials starting with 76.

Yep, in mid to late 1976 they switched their serial number convention. For the remainder of 1976, the used a prefix of "76" or "S6" followed by 5 digits.

I'm 99.99% confident the neck of this bass was made by Fender in mid to late 1976.

I'm fairly certain the body was also made then, but of course with Fender, you never really know unless you see dates.

I owe any prospective buyers pics of the neck pocket and all body cavities (of the bass ). If there are any other pics you want to see, let me know.

Geoff

P.S. The pics show - that I haven't mentioned until now - screw holes in the lower bout and lower portion of body. This bass was used and played by a righty. Also, you can see how the nut's been filed for that, too.

I'm also open to offers. Pricing modded 70's Fenders can be tricky these days. Thanks.

bbl wrote:Yep, in mid to late 1976 they switched their serial number convention. For the remainder of 1976, the used a prefix of "76" or "S6" followed by 5 digits.

I'm 99.99% confident the neck of this bass was made by Fender in mid to late 1976.

I'm fairly certain the body was also made then, but of course with Fender, you never really know unless you see dates.

I owe any prospective buyers pics of the neck pocket and all body cavities (of the bass ). If there are any other pics you want to see, let me know.

Geoff

P.S. The pics show - that I haven't mentioned until now - screw holes in the lower bout and lower portion of body. This bass was used and played by a righty. Also, you can see how the nut's been filed for that, too.

Yep, I have the same kind of bass from 1976 and it has the 76 serial number on the headstock.

The neck on mine has been modified like a 60's fingerboard over time because my luthier told me that the black block inlays didn't sound has good as the white ones because the material used for the black blocks was too soft and the whites are made with a much harder material.

Nice bass and good luck with the sale. These basses weight a lot but they are worth it !!!!

very beautious mid-70's boat anchor you got their my friend. Good luck with the sale!

I like sunburst even though I'm kinda over it (just seen it way too much I guess). But on that ash body- WOW. I wish I could scoop this one up.

It has three of my favorite items on a Jazz Bass:
Ash body: Sounds assertive with a mid-scooped sound (it unfortunately might get heavy)
The 70's bridge pickup position adds to the punch and brightness -
The maple neck is great for this crunchy slap
=> Those mid-70's jazz are usually the ultimate Marcus slapper delight!

Good luck on the sale!

Hey, nice bass, could you send me pictures without pickguard, please.
Thank you.