Up for sale, a 1969 Fender Jazz Bass in perfect working order, complete with the original hardshell case. This soulful Jazz Bass, clearly well-loved over the years, has Fender’s infamous “faux burst,” with an Olympic White base and sealer coat obscuring the actual wood grain, and simulated grain added below the Sunburst gloss. The aging of this faux burst is common for this particular finish application, presenting with an authenticity that’ll make any heavy relic green with envy.

With an alder body, maple neck and bound rosewood fretboard, the bass has a very smooth, balanced and deep-sounding natural acoustic tone channeled faithfully through the pickup pair. The gray bobbin pickups deliver a round, articulate sound, accentuating the sweet treble growl of a fresh set of 45-100 roundwound strings. The bass has plenty of upper midrange presence and burp, with a more woody, round sound with the neck pickup favored, and thicker thump with the Tone control rolled back. This Jazz Bass weighs 8lbs 15oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with easy-playing action and accurate intonation.

Neck Specs:

• Wood: Maple
• Shape: Medium U, measuring .840” 1st fret, .975” 12th fret
• Fretboard: Rosewood (bound), 7 ¼” radius, block inlay, radius planed to 9 1/2“ from frets 16-20
• Frets: Slender, leveled/crowned, moderate wear on frets 1-10
• Scale Length: 34”
• Nut: 1 1/2”, bone
• Tuners: Clover buttons (vintage 1970s replacements with “R”)
• Serialization: Six-digit stamp on F neck plate
• Factory Markings: Faint late ‘69 green ink stamp on neck heel

Body Specs:

• Wood: Alder
• Pickups: Gray bobbin single coil x2, original windings
• Controls: Volume x2, Tone
• Harness: CTS pots date to the 42nd week of ‘66, molded blue Ajax paper-in-oil tone cap
• Hardware: Bridge with steel barrel saddles, control plate
• Plastics: Four-ply “meatball” tortoise pickguard, ‘tug bar” finger rest, pointer knobs

The finish is decidedly unique, with two coats of Olympic White (each with a layer of clear), then a layer of evenly-applied faux wood grain, and finally a top coat of Sunburst lacquer, which exhibits tight checking where it remains. Even more interesting, the Oly White was not applied along the body perimeter, with areas of finish chipped through to the bare alder. Finish wear on the body is evident in the photos, while the gloss on the neck profile is clean and smooth, with just a couple small areas of light wear.

The original black tolex hardshell case is included, and two of the latches are functional. The frame of the handle is also intact.