The Sept '03 issue of 20th Century Guitar has an interesting article on the classic 1962 J. In the article, the writer cites some very bad changes brought about by Fender when CBS was running things. He cites "block inlays, particularly ungainly on a maple board", neck binding and "the dreaded three-bolt neck".
Did any one J have all of these [dubious] features?
"I got murder in my heart for the judge."
after 1974, all Jazz Basses had those features until they switched back to the rosewood board, then repealed the 3 bolt, then removed the blocks.
In theory, the 3 bolt isn't a bad idea- if it was executed well and qc was there- great idea. But Fender didn't exactly do the best job of executing a decent design. My 3 bolt G&L is as solid as any 4 bolt Fender. I had a 3 bolt Tele Custom that you could knock it in and out of whack with a little no effort bend.
*Recipient of the 2006 Time Magazine "Man Of The Year" Award*
Some people are like Slinkies . . . not really good for anything, but you
still can’t help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.
I have a '75 Jazz with the 3-bolt neck. That aspect of it has never given me any problems at all. What I don't like is the neck on mine is gimpy. Just resting my hand on it pulls the strings about 20 cents sharp. The tongue has a rise in it that I can't compensate for by adusting the truss rod and bridge. I just haven't been able to get the action low enough for my liking.
Oh yeah, the thing feels like it's made of concrete when you strap it on.
Hey Yard Dog, I remember shopping for a bass in 1976 and being told by Sam Ash they no longer sold NEW Fender basses. This was the reason- All new Fenders where coming back after the sale for a host of problems, Intonation, poor electronics (feeding back) and overall poor workmanship. I own two three bolt neck jazzes but they are newer basses. I know someone with a 1980 jazz that has a disgusting neck pocket, string alignment is non existant but it sounds great! Go figure. 70's Basses (mid to late) where for the most part horrible (trust me I was there) this is why companies like Ibanez, Univox, Carlo Robelli (Sam Ash house brand) and a couple of other knockoff companies grew by leaps and bounds. They saw the oportunity and went for it being Fender was having so many problems.
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