Here's what I think a 1954 Jazz Bass would have really looked like

Description: "1954 Jazz Bass" In 2020, Fender unveiled the Squier Paranormal series, which included the "Paranormal Jazz Bass ’54". Now, if you're familiar with Fender history, you already know that there's no such thing as a 1954 Jazz Bass - it's like a unicorn; it's a fictional construct. Leo Fender introduced the Precision Bass in 1951; the Fender Jazz Bass was not available until 1960. The 1951 Precision Bass had several esthetic elements in common with the Blackguard Telecaster of that era: both had butterscotch blonde ash bodies; both had black 1-ply pickguards; both had straight chrome control plates with knurled cylindrical chrome knobs; both had maple necks with maple fingerboards; and the Precision Bass's headstock was fundamentally the same shape as the Telecaster's, essentially just a larger 4-string version of the Telecaster's headstock. The original 1951 Precision Bass had a "slab" body with squared edges, like the Telecaster. In 1954 Fender modified the original slab body by adding beveled arm and belly contours, and rounding the edges slightly. According to the advertising on the Fender website, “The Paranormal Jazz Bass ’54 turns fiction into reality, combining the easy playability and tonal versatility of the J Bass with the classic looks of its older sibling, the 1954 Precision Bass.” Well, I think Fender got a lot of things right with their fantasy creation of a 1954 Jazz Bass: the butterscotch blonde Squier "Paranormal Jazz Bass ’54" had an ash-veneered body with a 1-ply black pickguard, a straight chrome control panel with knurled chrome knobs, and a maple neck with a maple fingerboard. Those design elements would be historically consistent with the other Fender instruments in 1954. And the Squier "Paranormal Jazz Bass ’54" has the contoured offset body, narrower neck profile, and two-pickup configuration that have been hallmarks of the Jazz Bass since its introduction in 1960. So, for the most part, the design elements of the Squier "Paranormal Jazz Bass ’54" are historically plausible for an imaginary 1954 Jazz Bass. I bought a butterscotch blonde version of the Squier "Paranormal Jazz Bass ’54" because I thought it really looked cool and the idea of a make-believe 1954 Jazz Bass really piqued my imagination. I presumed that I would need to swap some parts out to make it a useful instrument for my needs, but I knew that the Chinese-made Squier guitars were reputed to be decent quality players and excellent foundations for mods. I've always preferred the sound of a P-Bass, but my hands are small, so a J-Bass neck is more comfortable for me. I identified two mods that I'd need to make on this bass: · I liked the J-Bass profile on the Squier "Paranormal Jazz Bass ’54", but I wanted a nicer neck. · I just couldn't get an authentic P-bass sound from the Squier "Paranormal Jazz Bass ’54", and there was some hum when I soloed the neck pickup, so I wanted to replace the stock neck pickup with a nicer split-coil pickup. As I said before, I believe that, for the most part, Fender got a lot of things right with their fantasy creation of a 1954 Jazz Bass. But their conception differed from my personal vision on a couple of aspects: · The Squier "Paranormal Jazz Bass ’54" has a "Strat-shaped" headstock, similar to all of the Precision and Jazz Basses since 1957. But from 1951 through 1956, the only Fender Basses made all had the "Tele-shaped" headstock. So in my mind, my imaginary 1954 Jazz Bass would have had that same headstock as the 1951-1956 Precision Basses. · The Squier "Paranormal Jazz Bass ’54" has two pickups with black plastic covers. But the '50s Blackguard Telecasters (which I've considered as a style foundation for my imaginary 1954 Jazz Bass) had an uncovered black bobbin pickup in the bridge position and a chrome tube covered pickup in the neck position. So I think that my imaginary 1954 Jazz Bass would have had a chrome covered pickup in the neck position. Since I was going to make two major functional upgrades anyway, I tried to address the stylistic discrepancies at the same time as I made my upgrades: · I upgraded the stock neck to a Fender-licensed AllParts neck (made in Japan). I selected the neck with the J-Bass profile (1.5" nut width) and the T-Bass style headstock. I added Gotoh open gear nickel vintage style tuners (20:1 ratio). And I strung it with a new set of Fender 9050L Stainless Steel Flatwound strings (.045-.100). It has been professionally set up by a Fender-certified luthier; the intonation is very accurate and the action is very smooth and comfortable. · I upgraded the stock neck pickup to a nickel covered DiMarzio Relentless J Neck Pickup (handmade in the United States at the company's New York factory). This is a split-coil pickup, co-designed by DiMarzio with Billy Sheehan, and, when soloed, it can produce a very authentic P-Bass tone. The Relentless J incorporates Neodymium magnets and produces 70 percent more output than traditional passive pickups, and it's dead quiet (no hum, even when soloed). In summary, here are the specs of this bass guitar: Body: Poplar with Ash Top and Back Color: Butterscotch Blonde Body Finish: Gloss Polyurethane Hardware Finish: Chrome Bridge: 4-Saddle Vintage-Style Control Knobs: Knurled Chrome/Black Concentric Controls: Stacked Concentric Controls Volume 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup), Tone 2. (Bridge Pickup) Neck: AllParts “Licensed by Fender®” Replacement Neck (made in Japan) Neck Material: Maple Neck Shape: "C" Shape Truss Rod: Heel Adjust Nut Material: Bone Nut Width: 1.5" (38.1 mm) Fingerboard: Maple Fingerboard Radius: 9.5" (241 mm) Number of Frets: 20 Fret Size: Jumbo Position Inlays: Black Dot Tuning Machines: Gotoh Vintage-Style (20:1 ratio) Orientation: Right-Hand Pickguard: 1-Ply Black Bridge Pickup: Fender® Designed Alnico Single-Coil Neck Pickup: DiMarzio Relentless J Neck Pickup (made in USA) Strings: Fender 9050L Stainless Steel Flatwound (.045-.100) The photos in this eBay listing include one picture of this bass side-by-side with a vintage Blackguard Telecaster. The intention of this photo is to display the stylistic similarities between the two instruments. The Telecaster is not for sale and is not included in this eBay listing. I love playing this bass - when I solo the neck pickup, it sounds like a P-Bass; but I can blend in the bridge pickup (or solo it) to get the authentic J-Bass "sparkle". For whatever reason, Fender discontinued the butterscotch blonde finish for the Squier "Paranormal Jazz Bass ’54" bass guitars after only a couple of years of production. So they're not making any new ones, and the used ones don't seem to come up for sale very often anymore. No case is included; the bass will be carefully packed and shipped immediately upon my receipt of payment.

Price: 699 USD

Location: Coralville, Iowa

End Time: 2024-12-11T13:48:37.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD