A wonderful January 1964 Jazz Bass - Refinished in Dakota Red by Scott Lentz

1964 Fender Jazz Bass

This January 1964 Jazz Bass weighs 9.50 lbs. and features an asymmetrical double cutaway, contoured solid alder body. One-piece lightly flamed maple neck with a wonderful medium-to-thick profile. Bound rosewood veneer fret-board with 20 original medium frets and inlaid clay dot position markers. The end of the neck is stamped in black "7 JAN 64 A". Headstock with transitional "Fender" in gold with black trim and four patent numbers and one design number in black below, "Jazz Bass," "Trade Mark," and "Electric Bass" in black on three lines beside, and "Offset Contour Body" at the ball end of the headstock. Single round string tree. Individual Fender tuners with oval "paddle" metal buttons. Four-bolt neck plate with serial number "L23324" stamped between the two top screws. Two eight-polepiece, single-coil pickups with outputs of 7.57k and 8.15k. Three-layer 'minty' white over black plastic pickguard with beveled edges and eleven screws. Three controls (two volume blend controls, one for each pickup, and one master tone control) and jack socket, all on metal plate adjoining pickguard. The potentiometers are stamped "304 6403" (Stackpole, January 1964). With the original thumb rest on the treble side of the pickguard secured by two screws. Seven-sided black plastic control knobs with white markings. Combined four-saddle bridge/tailpiece. Housed in the original Fender three-latch rectangular brown hardshell case with brown leather ends and dark orange plush lining (8.75).

This wonderful bass has been expertly refinished in Dakota Red by Scott Lentz. All of the electrics and parts down to every last screw are original with the exception of a later handrest and bridge pickup cover.

Note:When we purchased the guitar in July 2020 it had been poorly re-finished in red - we then sent it to Scott Lentz for a professional 'factory' re-finish in Dakota Red… the original color was most likely sunburst… Whoever did the first re-finish just cut the original wires and used plastic sleeves to cover the re-joining – and also the re-soldering on the pots was not up to factory standard. Scott used original 1964 Fender wires when he re-assembled the guitar and he re-did to factory standard, all the solder joints – he is the best in the business and now the solder joints and wiring look (and are) totally original. The original frets have been dressed and the neck has been oversprayed.

"After the introduction of the Jazzmaster in 1958, Fender needed an upscale model to augment the bass line. In 1960, Leo's new Jazz Bass borrowed the offset waist and part of the name from the Jazzmaster. It also featured a narrower neck width, which was faster playing than the Precision Bass" (J.W. Black and Albert Molinaro, The Fender Bass, p. 25).