To summarise, this is a superb bass both to play, to listen to and to look at.
http://www.kempsterc.freeserve.co.uk/images/74%20Jazz%20small.jpg
I was made up this christmas. One of my pressies was 'The Fender bass - An Illustrated History'. On page 125, there's a picture of Herbie Gastelum, who's been with Fender since 1961, sanding a neck. Was ths the 'Herb' who wrote his name in my neck pocket. Maybe that was my neck he's sanding in the picture!
I'm just glad I rescued this guitar and gave it the love and attention it's previous owner had obviously denied. My thanks to Andy Viccars who's done a fantastic job getting it back into shape - it's now doing what it should - making sweet music.
Model Year: 1974
Price: $225.00 pounds sterling
Where Obtained: Aylesbury UK
I dropped into a local music shop when I was on my lunch break and saw this guitar hanging up. It was a wreck. It had been badly defretted, no scratchplate, the finish had been taken off and then varnished with a brush. The neck binding was badly cracked and it had been fitted with EMG soapbars. The pickup cavities had been badly cut out and the screws for the pups protruded out the back of the bass.
It was cheap though and sounded good acoustically so I knocked 25 quid off the price and took it home for 225. I knew it was old and after much research, dated it to 1974.
I've since had it renovated by Andy Viccars who did a fantastic job. It's finished in in a nice creamy white with a black scratchplate.
It still has the EMG's on board as Andy couldn't guarantee he'd be able to do a seamless job on the paint if he filled the pickup holes and installed normal jazz pups.
The neck plate is four hole and has an 'F' logo and the tuners are marked 'Fender' with an 'r' registered trademark.
I dated the bass through the number stamped on the butt end of the neck, and the general features. All the screw holes were there for the pickup and bridge covers and the thumb rest holes were on the bass side.
The neck pocket is a poor fit, as I believe was normal for this era. The body is alder, made from three pieces and the truss rodd adjustment is from the body end.
Inside the neck pocket is written 'Herb'.
It currently has black knurled after market knobs which I plan to replace with more authentic items.
I initially had it renovated as a fretless, but have since had it refretted. This was done without having the neck binding removed, so unfortunately, the dot markers are on the fret, which is a little confusing at first.
This is a fast bass to play. The action is low and comfortable. When it was first refinished, the neck felt tacky for ages, but it has now cured very nicely. Sometimes, if I'm not careful, I can push the G string off the side of the neck, but thats more down to poor technique than the bass itself.
It's a heavy bass, but thats relative, as it's quite light compared to my Hohner six string!
This baby sounds great. Compared to my mim Jazz that I bought myself this christmas, it has a liveliness and resonance that defies belief.
I play it through a Trace AH-300-7 amp and 2x10 cab. All the sounds are there from the middly 'jaco' tone on the neck pickup to a full on rock sound with both pups on full and all the tone on.
The pups are pretty good for noise and give a good range of tones, although obviously, they've knocked a lot of 'collectability' value off the bass.
Despite having a maple board, it can still sound surprisingly warm.
This is a reliable bass and has given me no problems. it's fitted with Dunlop straplocks for peace of mind.
The finish has picked up a few knocks when it's been out, but I'm not precious about it, after all - it's a tool - a players bass not a collectors item
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