LeftyBassist.com

After thinking about it far too long, I finally bit the bullet and ordered a 1994/5 Fender Jazz Bass V and I quite like it.

I bought it online from a high-end pawn shop (think Rolex and Louis Vuitton instead of used sports equipment and video games) and it was a bit more than I wanted to pay, but they dropped the price and it's almost exactly what I wanted.

First thing that struck me is how clean it is. Other than a dent the seller mentioned, a few minor scratches here and there and some odd scuffs on the pickguard, it looks brand new. I assume it spent a lot of time living in a closet. The only thing that shows its age is some dull metal and a few spots on the side of the neck where the coating is yellowing and slightly detached. Other than that it's spotless. It is missing 2 pickguard screws which I found a bit odd considering how clean it was, but oh well.

It plays great, the action is super low and I only needed to do a little bit of adjustment. It's nice and boomy and sounds like a Jazz Bass should. I think it's using right-handed pots though which is a bummer. I have an Epiphone like that and it's a bit annoying. I'll probably fix it one day but I tend to just dial a sound in I like and keep it like that, so I'm in no rush now.

Nice! Did Fender USA make this, or is this an MIJ?

This is a MIJ. Apparently made by FujiGen for fender.

Still, technically a Fender... and I wish I had it instead of you! Congrats, Brother!

Wow! Never seen one of those before.

They were only made for the Japanese domestic market so they're hard to find outside of Japan and these days, pretty rare locally too.

There's not a lot of information about them in English and I can't imagine they made a lot, I'm guessing a couple hundred total max, maybe even less.