Fender Japan Traditional II 60s Precision Bass: Part Two

◀ Part One

Deep Dive

This is the second installment of a series on a truly good-looking and groovalicious three-tone-sunburst Fender Japan Traditional II 60s Precision Bass. In Part One, we took a look at some of this fine instrument's most prominent features and specifications. Honestly, after spending some serious face and ear time with it, I do believe that this bass "was created by fusing traditional Fender aesthetics of instrument making with sophisticated Japanese craftsmanship."

Enough about that, then. In this exciting episode, we'll take the bass apart, restring it with La Bella 760FS Deep Talkin' Bass Stainless Steel Flatwounds; and set it up for optimal playability. And, of course; there'll be loads of pics. Yes, I actually had to remove the neck in order to access the heel-mount truss-rod adjustment nut. Headstock access would have been way easier, but what the heck; Fender Japan wants to keep things as vintage as possible.

Now, since the neck was already off the body; I could not resist the temptation to remove the gorgeous four-ply tortoiseshell pickguard for a sneak peek under the hood. What I saw was nice, really nice. Neat soldering and wiring, CTS pots; and a Switchcraft #11 output jack. 

The Vintage-Style Split Single-Coil Precision Bass® Pickup was shielded by a Vintage-Style Precision Bass Brass Grounding/Shielding Plate, and the electronics; under-pickguard self-stick foil. The control cavity was unshielded, though. I was lamenting this shortcoming for awhile; before remembering that my Robert Cray Strat also lacked control cavity shielding when I first got it. It's a '60s thing, you know.

So, I got the fretboard nice and flat, reattached the neck; and proceeded to restring the bass. Setup wasn't a breeze, thanks to heel-mount truss-rod access; but you gotta do what you gotta do. In the end, I managed to get the action much lower than the factory setup without any buzzes or farts. The owner came by close to midnight to pick up his bass, being the busy guy he is. 

As the neighbors were already asleep, trying it out amplified was out of the question. He settled for a few minutes of unplugged noodling, and took his leave when Johnny (another neighbor's dog) started barking for no apparent reason. I guess Johnny isn't into Fenders.

Well, folks, that's the story on this three-tone-sunburst Fender Japan Traditional II 60s Precision Bass. One thing I can tell you is that the good folk at FujiGen Gakki certainly know they're doing; more power to them! Thank you for stopping by my humble blog, and do come again. Till we next meet, stay safe :)