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A Strange Fender J Frankenbas...
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Author:  fivebass52 [ March 18th, 2024, 3:10 am ]
Post subject:  A Strange Fender J Frankenbas...
So, I've agreed to help the widow of a fellow bass buddy that passed away last year... The plate shows "L15400", which puts it in the 1964 range, and the neck is stamped "7DEC1963 A". It's also a Right Handed neck, put on a left handed body, but, the body is not a Fender as far as I know. My friend was left handed, but played his bass strung righty... We live in Hawaii, where rust is as common as cockroaches, so, when taking a close look, rust has had its way on this bass. And, there's been a lot of cracking on the body paint over the years... My friend Joel owned this bass from the 60's on, but I don't know if he bought a right handed bass, and switched the body sometime after...

After breaking it down for pictures, the only thing on this bass that's Fender is the neck. No idea what the body is, but there are numbers in that neck pocket that may identify it. Badass bridge, and the controls/EQ is active only. So, the question is, what is this bass worth, and is it better to just sell the neck sell the body separately? It does sound good plugged in though... so it could be a great beater bass for someone...

Would appreciate any and all input that y'all can give me.... thanks. Pictures below, and I'll try to put in a link that can take you to the Folder they're in, instead of flooding the forum with over twenty pictures. But, Here are the important ones...

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Author:  fivebass52 [ March 18th, 2024, 3:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A Strange Fender J Frankenbas...
Here's a link to the Folder... https://fivebass52.imgur.com/all ... please go to the folder to see all of the pics. Click on the first one the use the right arrow to scroll through... and a couple more pics...

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Author:  LHBASSIST [ March 18th, 2024, 6:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Strange Fender J Frankenbas...
That is an odd one! Well, it's an 'A' neck with a round laminated fingerboard.. 1963? I always thought those fingerboards didn't happen until a bit later than that.. but, it is late '63, so who really knows for sure? The painted headstock is from that era. Early EMG's? And the second gen made for Fender basses Badass bridge... lots of pitting.. Hard to gauge the value, but if the neck plays well, and DOES NOT have the typical 'S' curve many of these have, it could be worth quite a bit to someone restoring a Pre-CBS Jazz bass- especially one in Olympic White!
Author:  fivebass52 [ March 19th, 2024, 5:49 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A Strange Fender J Frankenbas...
LHBASSIST wrote:
That is an odd one! Well, it's an 'A' neck with a round laminated fingerboard.. 1963? I always thought those fingerboards didn't happen until a bit later than that.. but, it is late '63, so who really knows for sure? The painted headstock is from that era. Early EMG's? And the second gen made for Fender basses Badass bridge... lots of pitting.. Hard to gauge the value, but if the neck plays well, and DOES NOT have the typical 'S' curve many of these have, it could be worth quite a bit to someone restoring a Pre-CBS Jazz bass- especially one in Olympic White!


Thanks for the info so far... what I'm curious about though is, is this an actual Fender body? The pot necks are installed through the body, then the plate, then a hex-nut, then the knob. Wasn't aware that Jazz bass pots ever were installed other than on the plate, then lowered into the recess on Top of the body. So, aftermarket body of some sort? Or a short-lived Fender body? I'll do my best to change out the rusty screws, and the string tree button, and try to clean up the bridge, but other than that, I'm not going to mess with it... the sale will be as-is! :)

So, the question remains, what would a decent price for this bass be?
Author:  LHBASSIST [ March 20th, 2024, 12:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A Strange Fender J Frankenbas...
fivebass52 wrote:
LHBASSIST wrote:
That is an odd one! Well, it's an 'A' neck with a round laminated fingerboard.. 1963? I always thought those fingerboards didn't happen until a bit later than that.. but, it is late '63, so who really knows for sure? The painted headstock is from that era. Early EMG's? And the second gen made for Fender basses Badass bridge... lots of pitting.. Hard to gauge the value, but if the neck plays well, and DOES NOT have the typical 'S' curve many of these have, it could be worth quite a bit to someone restoring a Pre-CBS Jazz bass- especially one in Olympic White!


Thanks for the info so far... what I'm curious about though is, is this an actual Fender body? The pot necks are installed through the body, then the plate, then a hex-nut, then the knob. Wasn't aware that Jazz bass pots ever were installed other than on the plate, then lowered into the recess on Top of the body. So, aftermarket body of some sort? Or a short-lived Fender body? I'll do my best to change out the rusty screws, and the string tree button, and try to clean up the bridge, but other than that, I'm not going to mess with it... the sale will be as-is! :)

So, the question remains, what would a decent price for this bass be?



I've been working on Fender basses since before there was even a replacement parts aftermarket.. like around 1967. All the oddball ones, with rear routing, are basses like the Jazz 24, and Duff McKagan, etc. Standard, traditional jazz basses all used the metal four hole, front mounted plate we are all so familiar with. Controls all go onto it, and it screws into the top of the body. The pickup routing was different than modern basses, but that's not a factor here. The shape of that control cavity is indicative of a Warmoth or other aftermarket body.
Author:  crescenze [ March 20th, 2024, 8:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A Strange Fender J Frankenbas...
fivebass52 wrote:
LHBASSIST wrote:
That is an odd one! Well, it's an 'A' neck with a round laminated fingerboard.. 1963? I always thought those fingerboards didn't happen until a bit later than that.. but, it is late '63, so who really knows for sure? The painted headstock is from that era. Early EMG's? And the second gen made for Fender basses Badass bridge... lots of pitting.. Hard to gauge the value, but if the neck plays well, and DOES NOT have the typical 'S' curve many of these have, it could be worth quite a bit to someone restoring a Pre-CBS Jazz bass- especially one in Olympic White!


Thanks for the info so far... what I'm curious about though is, is this an actual Fender body? The pot necks are installed through the body, then the plate, then a hex-nut, then the knob. Wasn't aware that Jazz bass pots ever were installed other than on the plate, then lowered into the recess on Top of the body. So, aftermarket body of some sort? Or a short-lived Fender body? I'll do my best to change out the rusty screws, and the string tree button, and try to clean up the bridge, but other than that, I'm not going to mess with it... the sale will be as-is! :)

So, the question remains, what would a decent price for this bass be?


I agree. The neck has the most value. Sell the neck and neck plate together. Get what you can for the rest. Probably part it all out.
Author:  fivebass52 [ March 20th, 2024, 8:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Strange Fender J Frankenbas...
crescenze wrote:
fivebass52 wrote:
LHBASSIST wrote:
That is an odd one! Well, it's an 'A' neck with a round laminated fingerboard.. 1963? I always thought those fingerboards didn't happen until a bit later than that.. but, it is late '63, so who really knows for sure? The painted headstock is from that era. Early EMG's? And the second gen made for Fender basses Badass bridge... lots of pitting.. Hard to gauge the value, but if the neck plays well, and DOES NOT have the typical 'S' curve many of these have, it could be worth quite a bit to someone restoring a Pre-CBS Jazz bass- especially one in Olympic White!


Thanks for the info so far... what I'm curious about though is, is this an actual Fender body? The pot necks are installed through the body, then the plate, then a hex-nut, then the knob. Wasn't aware that Jazz bass pots ever were installed other than on the plate, then lowered into the recess on Top of the body. So, aftermarket body of some sort? Or a short-lived Fender body? I'll do my best to change out the rusty screws, and the string tree button, and try to clean up the bridge, but other than that, I'm not going to mess with it... the sale will be as-is! :)

So, the question remains, what would a decent price for this bass be?


I agree. The neck has the most value. Sell the neck and neck plate together. Get what you can for the rest. Probably part it all out.


With that said, what do y'all think the neck and plate would be worth? What I'm thinking, I'll just sell the entire bass for their value, and let the new owner either play it as-is, or part it out on his own...
Author:  crescenze [ March 21st, 2024, 9:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: A Strange Fender J Frankenbas...
Sorry, I would be guessing on pricing. Selling them separately, shipping would be cheaper & easier, and maybe a faster sale. Maybe offer both options.
Author:  fivebass52 [ March 22nd, 2024, 4:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: A Strange Fender J Frankenbas...
crescenze wrote:
Sorry, I would be guessing on pricing. Selling them separately, shipping would be cheaper & easier, and maybe a faster sale. Maybe offer both options.

That's a good idea...
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