My first truly custom bass has arrived, and it's one I never thought I would be able to own, so it's really a dream bass for me in every sense of the word.
About a year ago I conjured up an idea to do a Jazz Bass that was a mix of specs from the 60's to the present, combining a few of my favorite features from each era. All in all it's a 70's Jazz with heavy mods.
I have a 60's Custom Shop Jazz, so the only nods to that decade on this one are the alder body and the heavy relic nitro finish, with Olympic White over Sunburst. I have always been more or less ambivalent about relic finishes- I never really made it a goal to own a bass with one, but I also never got why people have such an aggressive hatred for them (it's just a damn finish option after all). Anyway, I've always had a weakness for the solid color over burst thing, especially after I saw a buddy's CS Strat with a surf green over burst finish. So here we are.
The 70's part- well, most of it. Blocks, binding, pickup spacing, 3 bolt neck with bullet truss. It's my favorite era of the Jazz Bass aesthetically speaking.
The 80's part- Had to leave that out, sorry.
The modern part- A silky smooth 9.5 fingerboard radius, and posiflex graphite stiffening rods in the neck. I'm able to get this neck dead straight with the lowest of action. This thing practically plays itself. I couldn't be happier with a bass. I've been a Fender Jazz Bass fan ever since I was a kid, and now I feel like I own the coolest one on the planet!
Here's the porn:
will start planning...
