Fender American Vintage '62 Jazz Bass Lake Placid Blue (pre-owned)

Fender American Vintage '62 Jazz Bass — Lake Placid Blue (2000)

Fender’s American Vintage series captures the ’62 Jazz where it counts. Nitrocellulose lacquer over an alder body. Rosewood fingerboard on a maple C-shape neck. Vintage-voiced single-coils wired the original way: stacked Volume/Tone per pickup, the spec Leo set in 1962 before Fender simplified to V/V/Master Tone later in the decade. This is the Jazz Bass at its most articulate.

This one was built in Corona in 2000 and finished in Lake Placid Blue, a true 60s Fender custom color that Fender only ran on the AVRI line between 1999 and 2001. Twenty-five years on, it carries cool dings across the lacquer and the classic belt-buckle wear on the back that only comes from being played. Frets are in perfect shape, electronics are clean, every part is original. Ships in the original Fender hardshell case with case candy intact.

Body, Neck & Woods

Alder is the J-bass tonewood for a reason. It sits warmer than ash without going thick, with a balanced midrange that lets the bridge pickup’s bite and the neck pickup’s roundness both stay distinct. On a vintage build like this — alder body, nitrocellulose finish, no contouring beyond the original 1962 spec — the body actually contributes to the tone instead of getting damped under modern polyurethane.

The neck is a one-piece maple C-shape with a rosewood fingerboard, no graphite reinforcement, no modern truss-rod re-engineering. Twenty frets, pearl dot inlays, 34-inch scale. The frets here have somehow stayed perfect across 25 years of ownership — no flat spots, no buzz, no work needed. Nitrocellulose on the back of the neck means it ages with you: a played AVRI feels broken-in in a way no new finish can fake.

Pickups, Wiring & Sound

The two single-coils are the American Vintage ’62 spec: full output, soft top end, emphasized lower-midrange. The bridge pickup carries the upper-mid burp Jaco taught the world how to use. The neck position sits warm and round without losing definition.

What separates this from later Jazz Basses — including most modern reissues — is the stacked concentric control layout. Two knob positions total. Each is a Volume on top, Tone on bottom, one set per pickup. That’s how Leo wired it in 1962, before Fender simplified to V/V/Master Tone in ’63. The result is a more flexible tonal palette than V/V/T offers: dial in a dark, round neck pickup against a bright, biting bridge pickup, blend them, and roll either tone control back independently. Once you’ve spent time with this wiring, V/V/T feels limited.

This is a Jazz Bass for someone who already knows what they want from a J — vintage spec, real nitro, played-in feel, and the original stack-knob wiring you can’t get on the standard Player or American Pro lines. The dings and belt wear are part of the deal. Comes in the original Fender hardshell case.

Condition

Frets: in perfect shape. No flat spots, no notching at common fingering positions. Plays cleanly across the neck — no buzz, no fret work needed.

Finish: plenty of cool dings across the Lake Placid Blue lacquer, plus the classic belt-buckle wear on the back of the body. None of it affects playability — this is honest play wear from a bass that’s been gigged for 25 years, not damage.

Electronics: clean. Pots are quiet, switching is solid, both pickups output as expected.

Originality: 100% factory. Original pickups, pots, bridge, tuners, pickguard.

Includes: original Fender hardshell case with case candy intact. The original strap and cable that shipped with the bass are no longer with it.

Weight: 4.6 kg.