Ahh, the last of the 4-bolt neck Jazz Basses. The original Jazz Bass design began production in 1960 with the "stack knob" control circuit and by 1962 the 3-knob control update took over. The Jazz Bass design was basically unchanged since (why mess with perfection?); until early 1974 when the 3-bolt 'tilt adjust' neck design and bullet truss rod appeared. These changes were not very well accepted by the public. Players and music stores alike found the new adjustment features both difficult and unreliable. To this end, the previous 4-bolt 1960's and early 1970's Jazz Basses became instant collector's items-highly sought after by players and collectors alike. This 1973 Fender Jazz Bass has all of the features you would want and it proudly wears its original 'custom color' Olympic White finish-a rare feature. It was made at the original Fender factory in Fullerton California, U.S.A. It has been well cared for over the years and shows plenty of handling evidence. It is a mojo machine and refuses to be mistaken for a new 'relic' bass but rather displays its originality and character like a champ. Other than a aftermarket brass nut, the bass is all-original and free of repairs. It is set up and ready to play.
The contoured offset body is in excellent condition and the Olympic White finish has toned to a "Vintage Creme" hue. As you will find, the White finish is indeed rare and very desirable, as most jazz basses in 1973 were sunburst, black, brown or natural. The original finish is a factory poly-base coat with a nitrocellulose clear coat. There is really cool transverse line checking all over the body and headstock. It is fairly light but can be view easily up close and looks killer. There is also some longitudinal checking above the pickguard on the bass side with overlap between the two types of checking. It looks so cool! The finish and clear coat is 100% original. The body contours are nice and the shape is comfortable. There is light handling evidence all over, just typical stuff-see photos. On the backside, there is some toning in the belly-contour; again it is honest mojo and looks great. The neck joint is a good fitment and the 4-bolt neck plate is super-solid.
The neck itself is nice and straight. The truss rod functions. The neck width at the nut is the standard Jazz Bass 1.5" wide unit. The neck depth measures .818" at the 1st fret and .980" at the 12th fret. It has the typical tapered Jazz Bass neck profile that is best described ed as a small C shape. The original tuning machines all function smoothly and the bass stays in tune perfectly. The headstock and logo display very nicely with percent patina. Again, transverse line-checkin appears on the headstock which has toned to a beautiful amber hue. The 1966-style logo is very nice. The rosewood fingerboard is very clean and has a nice soft feel. The pearloid block position markers are nice and elegant. The frets have been professionally leveled, crowned and polished and appear near-factory height and look clean and crisp-see photos. The action is set low for an easy playing experience. The string height is currently .010" at the 1st fret and .095" at the 12th fret. It plays easily up and down the fingerboard with no dead spots and no clack.
The pickups both have an excellent signal and great balance. The neck position measures 6.44 ohms and the bridge position measures 7.40 ohms. The controls all work smoothly and quietly. The original CTS potentiometers date to the 43rd week of 1973 (October). The harness is clean and correct. The pickups have the quintessential Jazz Bass punch and attack with the brilliant treble and more defined bass low end. Sounds fantastic. The pickguard is nice and flat-the little thumb rest is missing but easily replaced if you so desire. The chrome covers look nice with minimal patina. The bridge and saddles are super clean fully adjustable.
This Bass is lots of fun to play. The bass weighs in just over 10-lbs.. pretty decent for a big bass guitar. It feels nice on a strap or in your lap. It sounds really clear and is perfect for a variety of uses including studio, live, songwriting etc. It has a string resonance and is even fun to play unplugged on the couch!
Included is the original Fender hard case which features the cool orange interior and it is in good condition.
