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Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
1972 Fender Jazz Bass
A Chicago studio ace owns this. Played on many top 10 hits. Unfortunately it was in a flood and that's where I come in. Complete do over. Everything was totaled off. Water logged to say the least. Neck was destroyed as well as the body. Needed major TLC. Stripped everything down to the wood grain and started there. The only thing I was able to save was the Fender logo. All the pots were corroded and the pickups were we'll say not happy. They worked but just did not have the same sound. Took the frets out, planed the neck, changed the radius from a 7 1/4" to a 9 1/2", stained the fretboard, finished it in oil, did a fret job, new hand carved bone nut, acid etched and reliced a new set of Gotoh tuners to look like the originals, stripped the body, painted it in black nitro, added the same pickups that Geddy uses and rewired everything. No big whoop. Hardly any changes. I have been told that it sounds better now than it did then. The owner used and liked this bass so much he carved his social insurance number into the back of it. A Chicago Legend.
Before
Rust?
That is rust under the original pickups. Everything had to be removed and done over.
Fret board.
It is totaled. Nothing can be saved.
Water Saturated.
Water got deep down into the fret slots and permeated the entire neck. I literally pulled the frets out with my fingers.
Bridge screws
Same saturated condition. Everything is swollen.
Nut slot
Same issue. It is completely saturated. The nut fell out by itself. No work required.
Fender Logo
Only original part of the neck left. Being a water decal, it remained in tact.
Nitro Paint job
You can have any color you want as long as it is black.
No easy way to do this. After I sanded the body down I let it dry out for a couple months. It lost over a pound in body weight in just moisture.
New neck profile and finish
7 1/4" to 9 1/2" neck radius change.
After I planed the neck and gave it a new radius I had to cut new fret slots. Then stained it with my own dirty tobacco stain and oiled it.
Nut slot.
Cut just so...
After the neck had dried out, the nut slot was a mess so I cut a new one to match the new fret slots. This slot has to be cut with a 9 1/2" radius to match the fret board as well. Color match of the new stain to the original headstock is bang on.
Frets
Don't Fret... Be Happy
New frets on a new fret board. None of the wood rot is left. The neck did get thinner. Good thing it was a deep profile to start out with.
Fret install
Fret Level, Crown , Polish
New neck is ready to go. Just need the body and we are done. In another month or so when it is dry enough to paint it.
tuners
New Gotoh tuners
They are acutally brand new. Just like the chrome one on the top. They have just been acid etched and reliced to match the ones that came off of the bass.
Original neck
Yuck.
Just a larger picture to show you how bad it really was.
enjoy the show
1972 Fender Jazz Bass
Before I call a project finished it has to pass the player test. I am not a bass player. I am a hacker at best. Luckily I know a few. Every single one of them that played this told me it was the best sounding bass they have ever played. Hence the whole dude from Chicago engraving his social insurance number into the back of it. It really does sound fantastic and I am sure that is why he used it for so many recordings. It felt like butter when I played it and the neck worked out better than I would have ever expected. The body paint is as thin as it gets and the nitro worked its wonders on the tone I am sure. I would like to thank Tom Brantley for suppling a set of pickups that he wound to Geddy Lee's specifications for his 72 Jazz Bass.