LeftyBassist.com

Somehow all cool lefthanded Fender-stuff seems to be strictly limited to our Japanese friends. Fender USA currently only offers the American Standard Precision and Jazz to us, and only with a rosewood board and either in black or 3 tone sunburst. In Japan, they have a wide array of cool Strats, Teles (including a thinline and custom), Jaguars, Jazzmasters, Mustangs, Precisions and especially Jazz Basses (even including a 5-string!).

I would love to get my hands on their '75 Jazz Bass reissue, preferably in vintage white with a rosewood board.



Does anyone know where they can be bought? Officially, Japanese stores aren't allowed to export them. There are some who do, however. I've had contact with Ken of http://www.guitarshogun.com who can get one to me at 125.000 Yen including shipping. With import duties and 19% Dutch VAT, that'll set me back at over 1100 euros. At that price, I can get a brand new American Standard Jazz... So that's kinda holding me back. There's also an English site that trades in Japanese Fenders, but they're currently not trading because the British Pound Sterling has taken some serious beatings over the past few months and is very low right now.

Then there's this eBay-seller, also from Japan, who could get one of these beauties to my place for 1160 USD + 140 USD shipping. That's about the same price level as Guitar Shogun.

Does anyone know a more affordable way to obtain one?
Has anyone had experiences with buying from Japanese stores?

Thanks for your input. I've seen that eBay-store, it's the very same one I listed in my previous post, with the link posted in red. Pricing seems to be at about the same level as Guitar Shogun (the difference is only an approximate 40 euros). Seems like a good option too.

I ordered one of those from Ishibashi before they got the ban from Fender. I have to say, they "look" nice, but that's about it, no comparison to current American Jazz basses.

The '75 RIs are heavy, the neck joint is not solid (the one I tried, at least), the pickups might say USA, but they don't sound as good as pickups in MIAs, and the fret work was a bit rough. . . not awful, but not a great job either. Furthermore, these are '75 RI models, yet the pickups have '60s locations, not '70s, so they don't sound like a '75 Jazz. The bass just didn't speak to me in any way, even though I'm a fan of '70s-style Jazz basses.

In comparison, current MIAs are light (most are around 9 lbs) and they are made from very resonant alder. The hardware and construction are a notch higher overall than the MIJs. Also, MIAs resale value is higher, should you ever decide to sell. And the MIAs come with a military-grade hard case, and they have graphite reinforcement bars in the neck.

So, I know the '75's look is tempting, but if you are looking for a player, the current MIA Jazz is the way to go.

Should you still want the '75 RI, it seems you have already looked at the few places where to get them: eBay and Guitar Shogun.