LeftyBassist.com

Hi all. Currently I have a MIM jazz, an Indonesian jazz and a Chinese/Indonesian precision (squiers the last two). I am going to sell the Squiers to fund a better Precision. In the UK, vintage precisions are rare and expensive. The modern MIA guitars don't do it for me, I don't want black or 3 colour sunburst. It's possible to get a 57 or 62 RI Japanese guitar imported. These come in a selection of colours. I particularly like the vintage white/tortoise/rosewood '62. The price of one of these is quite expensive - £850 vs £1100 for a MIA standard.

Does anyone have experience of modern Japanese vs American instruments?

Or is anyone considering selling a precision bass?

I did not like my '62 reissue Jazz Bass, it had not punch and an un-focused sound. After trying all kind of pickups I came to the conclusion this bass was a dud. Later I had exactly the same experience with a 1998 MIM Jazz. They both had a basswood body and my conclusion was, I did not like basses made with basswood. I know a lot of guys on this forum share my opinion about basswood, we've often talked about it, yet some guys swear by their '62 reissues.
The Japanese '75 reissues have an ash body are totally killer and look awesome. They are quite expensive new though ($1500)

I presume that my 2010 MIM Jazz is basswood. I like the sound of it. But I am a beginner, pretty much. There's no ash Precision available, only basswood ('57 and '62) or alder ('70).

I am torn between my desire to just have one, and my desire for value - I'm keen to try a lot of basses, but be able to sell on with almost no loss. Of course this is not really possible if you buy new.

MIM Jazz Basses made after 2004 have an Alder body and they are indeed pretty good. Now if you are looking for a P Bass that is not Sunburst or Black, you can find a few mid-90's ones sometimes on Ebay or Leftybassist. At that time Fender made some Precisions in different colors (cream, red) and a few Precision Hot-Rods (Orange, White) as well. There was a Hot-Rod Precision on the bay recently.
Here is a picture of my 1996 American Standard Precision. You buy them used and if you don't like them you can re-sell them for the same price anyway.

The only MIJ Bass I own is a Jaguar Bass I ordered from Japan a few years ago. It's a great bass - classic J-type tones with the addition of active electronics. It can get noisy in active mode, but it also has a humbucking option to eleminate some of that. The only other MIJ instrument I own is an '87 Strat. I will never sell that guitar. It's the best Strat I've ever played. I used to own an Amercian Standard Strat and sold it and kept the '87 MIJ instead 'cause ot totally nails that classic vintage quack and Hendrix tones.

Gotta agree with F-L. I am not a fan of basswood either. Not to say a good instrument can't be made with one. But I have yet to run across it. Just my 2 cents

Hmm, my only non-basswood Japanese option is the 1970 RI in Olympic white/black pickguard. Not a combination I am in love with. It's also £1000, imported. Which is effectively brand new MIA standard territory.

Seems the best thing for me to do is wait until something pops up second hand. Waiting isn't one of my core skills though. I don't tend to do it

You got it!

You can be impulsive if you are a right-handed bass player, not if you are a lefty. I am currently looking for a five and I'll wait up to a year to get the right one at the right price to pop up.
Check Craigslist and Ebay every day...

I have been offered a perfect, 3 month old American Standard in 3 colour sunburst/rosewood for about 70% of new retail. I'm tempted by it, even though the colour scheme isn't perfect. It's not that I don't like it, but it's about the most common, and the same colours as both my Squier Jazz (soon to be for sale) and newly acquired Mexican Jazz.

The best Strat I've ever tried was a Japanese '75 reissue. I am kicking myself every day for not buying this used guitar. Kurt Cobain and I both agree with PJ on MIJ Fender Guitars.

I own a '75 Jazz Bass reissue (ash), '57 Precision reissue (basswood) and an E-series Squier Strat from '87 (alder).

I bought the Precision very cheaply on eBay in the UK with the intention of only using the neck for a project, but I never took the time for it so that bass has been sitting in my rack eversince (2 years now), occasionally getting a few minutes playtime. The previous owner stated the pickup has been replaced with a Kent Armstrong. I don't know if this is true, I never took it apart to check. I really disliked the tone of this bass at first: very dry and flat, and dark. Funny thing is I've come to appreciate this bass over time. It feels pretty good, it's light, very comfortable to play, and it lays down a dark and heavy thump that works well in lots of styles. It lacks that low mid growl that a good Precision has, so if you're looking for that classic P Bass tone this is indeed not the bass to look for. But the build quality is excellent and it looks very good.

The '75 Jazz is a fantastic bass. It comes stock with USA-made '70s RI pickups, and I had the pots upgraded to MEC with a switchable active 6 dB bass boost, and I love it! Plays and sounds great, and it's a real looker too.

That Strat is a great player but to get the tone I wanted and more tuning stability, I upgraded it with a graphite nut and string trees, locking Schaller tuners, CTS pots and switch and DiMarzio Blue Velvet (neck and middle) and a DiMarzio FS-1 (bridge) singlecoils. It's a great guitar now, and I'll never sell it! The FS-1 is just about the hottest singlecoil pickup you're likely to find, with enhanced bass and low mids, and works really well in the bridge position. The Blue Velvets are just classic, glassy singlecoils but slightly warmer. I ordered them with lefty staggered pole pieces. I really love it!