1962 Fender Jazz Bass Vintage Pre - CBS Electric Bass Guitar Sonic Blue W/ Case
Item History & Price
Up for sale, a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass in exceptional condition and in perfect working order. Produced late in '62 and a true Pre-CBS instrument, this bass is 100% original with the exception of a professional nitro lacquer refinish in Sonic Blue with a matching headstock and a new bone nut. This is one of the nicest and most complete vintage Jazz Basses we've ever had the pleasure of offering for sale, featuring the original chrome "ashtray" covers, stock black bobbin pickups, and all o...riginal hardware.
The tone and feel of this bass is everything you expect from a Jazz Bass produced in Fender's golden era, with a very resonant body that delivers a clear and even sound across all of the strings. Weighing in at 9lbs 10oz "fully clothed" with the original chrome covers, this bass has just enough heft to sustain very well and deliver a strong, fundamental attack, while still balancing well on a strap and feeling easy on the back. Striking a note on the E string causes the entire instrument to vibrate and resonate, and this is a particularly soulful and rich sounding Jazz Bass. The pickups cover a wide sonic range, with growl, complexity and that slightly nasally upper midrange cut that defines a Jazz Bass bridge pickup, paired with the warmth and thump that balances things out at the neck position. Both original black bobbin single coil pickups are intact with their original windings. Professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, this Jazz Bass has comfortable action and a fresh set of 45-100 roundwound strings.
The one-piece maple neck has the traditional Jazz Bass "A" 1 1/2" nut width, with a slender C shape consistent with '62 spec. While notably slim at the nut, the profile gains more shoulder and heft up the board, filling the palm and fretting easily. The profile depth measures .745" at the 1st fret, graduating to .990" at the 12th. The Brazilian rosewood fretboard is a very dark and tight-grained cut, with original clay dot inlay and stock slender fretwire. The frets have their full factory height, showing moderate uniform wear on frets 1-5, with wear extending beneath the A and D strings until fret 7, and virtually no wear further up the neck. The truss rod nut is also flush with the heel of the neck, turning well and responding as it should, and the nut is a new hand-carved piece of bone for optimal clarity and sustain. On the headstock, the original clover button reverse tuning gears are intact, and turn extremely smoothly with particularly clean plating. As the headstock face features new Sonic Blue nitro lacquer, the decal is a correct replacement. The neck heel has its original bold November 1962 date stamp, also noting the "A" nut width.
All of the electronics work as they should, and the original Stackpole pots are all intact, dating to the 37th week of 1962. All of the original hardware is present as well, including the stock knobs, finger rest, and chrome bridge base with stock saddles.The control plate has notably clean plating, while the "ashtray" bridge and pickup covers show light, uniform surface patina. This original pair is quite the rarity, with the smaller mounting holes only seen on the first few years of production. The mint green pickguard is a vintage-spec replacement with the correct tint and edge bevel.
The original alder body is in excellent shape, and great care was taken to retain the integrity of the original body contours when the instrument was stripped prior to refinishing. The neck pocket is nice and tight, and all original contours were faithfully maintained. The nitro lacquer finish is glossy and vibrant, with light aging of the clear coat to give the faint greening effect seen on aged Sonic Blue. The tint and saturation of the lacquer is pitch perfect, and the finish was applied by Riggio Custom Guitars, along with a light relic treatment including horizontal lacquer checking and some strategic simulated wear, particularly along the belly contour on the back. The neck profile was also refinished by Riggio, with an extremely smooth transition from the muted gloss nitro in the higher registers to the bare maple behind frets 1-8. The profile shows zero additional wear.
The guitar comes complete with a mid-1960s Fender black tolex hardshell case with raised Fender "tail" logo on the exterior. All three original latches are intact, along with clean black leather ends and the stock handle.
Check out our shop "Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, " and please let us know if we can answer any questions!
Shipping in the continental USA will be $175, fully insured and shipped via FedEx Three Day. Expedited shipping available for an additional fee at buyer's request. We will happily ship WORLDWIDE, but please contact us for an accurate international shipping quote before bidding or buying, as cost varies by buyer location.
International orders will be declared as “merchandise, ” and the value of merchandise will be declared as the amount paid. We cannot declare anything as a gift or for a lesser value. No exceptions! The customer is responsible for all taxes and duty, which may be collected upon delivery, as well as any additional charges involved with import. We have all necessary CITES paperwork in-hand to ship rosewood worldwide.We do our best to describe all items with honesty and accuracy, but to be sure, please contact us with any questions or concerns prior to bidding or buying. We require payment within 48 hours of auction end. In the unlikely event of a return, buyer pays all shipping costs. Your positive feedback and five star ratings are very important to us, and we appreciate your communication in resolving any issues!
The tone and feel of this bass is everything you expect from a Jazz Bass produced in Fender's golden era, with a very resonant body that delivers a clear and even sound across all of the strings. Weighing in at 9lbs 10oz "fully clothed" with the original chrome covers, this bass has just enough heft to sustain very well and deliver a strong, fundamental attack, while still balancing well on a strap and feeling easy on the back. Striking a note on the E string causes the entire instrument to vibrate and resonate, and this is a particularly soulful and rich sounding Jazz Bass. The pickups cover a wide sonic range, with growl, complexity and that slightly nasally upper midrange cut that defines a Jazz Bass bridge pickup, paired with the warmth and thump that balances things out at the neck position. Both original black bobbin single coil pickups are intact with their original windings. Professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, this Jazz Bass has comfortable action and a fresh set of 45-100 roundwound strings.
The one-piece maple neck has the traditional Jazz Bass "A" 1 1/2" nut width, with a slender C shape consistent with '62 spec. While notably slim at the nut, the profile gains more shoulder and heft up the board, filling the palm and fretting easily. The profile depth measures .745" at the 1st fret, graduating to .990" at the 12th. The Brazilian rosewood fretboard is a very dark and tight-grained cut, with original clay dot inlay and stock slender fretwire. The frets have their full factory height, showing moderate uniform wear on frets 1-5, with wear extending beneath the A and D strings until fret 7, and virtually no wear further up the neck. The truss rod nut is also flush with the heel of the neck, turning well and responding as it should, and the nut is a new hand-carved piece of bone for optimal clarity and sustain. On the headstock, the original clover button reverse tuning gears are intact, and turn extremely smoothly with particularly clean plating. As the headstock face features new Sonic Blue nitro lacquer, the decal is a correct replacement. The neck heel has its original bold November 1962 date stamp, also noting the "A" nut width.
All of the electronics work as they should, and the original Stackpole pots are all intact, dating to the 37th week of 1962. All of the original hardware is present as well, including the stock knobs, finger rest, and chrome bridge base with stock saddles.The control plate has notably clean plating, while the "ashtray" bridge and pickup covers show light, uniform surface patina. This original pair is quite the rarity, with the smaller mounting holes only seen on the first few years of production. The mint green pickguard is a vintage-spec replacement with the correct tint and edge bevel.
The original alder body is in excellent shape, and great care was taken to retain the integrity of the original body contours when the instrument was stripped prior to refinishing. The neck pocket is nice and tight, and all original contours were faithfully maintained. The nitro lacquer finish is glossy and vibrant, with light aging of the clear coat to give the faint greening effect seen on aged Sonic Blue. The tint and saturation of the lacquer is pitch perfect, and the finish was applied by Riggio Custom Guitars, along with a light relic treatment including horizontal lacquer checking and some strategic simulated wear, particularly along the belly contour on the back. The neck profile was also refinished by Riggio, with an extremely smooth transition from the muted gloss nitro in the higher registers to the bare maple behind frets 1-8. The profile shows zero additional wear.
The guitar comes complete with a mid-1960s Fender black tolex hardshell case with raised Fender "tail" logo on the exterior. All three original latches are intact, along with clean black leather ends and the stock handle.
Check out our shop "Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, " and please let us know if we can answer any questions!
Shipping in the continental USA will be $175, fully insured and shipped via FedEx Three Day. Expedited shipping available for an additional fee at buyer's request. We will happily ship WORLDWIDE, but please contact us for an accurate international shipping quote before bidding or buying, as cost varies by buyer location.
International orders will be declared as “merchandise, ” and the value of merchandise will be declared as the amount paid. We cannot declare anything as a gift or for a lesser value. No exceptions! The customer is responsible for all taxes and duty, which may be collected upon delivery, as well as any additional charges involved with import. We have all necessary CITES paperwork in-hand to ship rosewood worldwide.We do our best to describe all items with honesty and accuracy, but to be sure, please contact us with any questions or concerns prior to bidding or buying. We require payment within 48 hours of auction end. In the unlikely event of a return, buyer pays all shipping costs. Your positive feedback and five star ratings are very important to us, and we appreciate your communication in resolving any issues!
