Description

Brads Mod #1 is a Fresher 70s Jazzcentric Bass. Modified Vintage MIJ Jazz Bass with Nordstrand Blade Pickups & Fender 1962 inspired Concentric style stacked controls. Giving you total control over each of these awesome Nordstrand pickups.

I’m always telling people that vintage MIJ lawsuit basses and guitars are amazing platforms for making mods to.  The quality of the builds and the 40 odd years of the instruments wood aging and maturing, gives you an excellent starting point to create something unique, or hone in on that vintage tone.

Fresher were a Japanese lawsuit era brand, producing Fender copies from the mid 1970’s to the early 1980’s.  They were not as “premium” of a brand compared to Tokai, Fernandes and Greco, but still made excellent instruments, in particular they have a reputation for their solid necks. This one is a fantastic example made from maple with block inly and black binding. So when I (Brad) got this one in, I immediately wanted to create something unique and kick ass.

So, in went Nordstrand Big J Blade pickups. I went with the Clean & Clear wind, keeping in with the theme of 70’s vibe and tones.  They are strong pickups with a great clean tone and although classed as “passive”, I’m not sure if that’s a word I would use to describe their tone and character.  I’m a big fan of the Fender 1962 style concentric wiring, with stacked Volume/Tone controls for each pickup. They give you a far wider tonal pallet than any other kind of passive wiring in my humble, yet strong opinion. If not already posted when you are reading this, we have some demo videos available soon. You can also purchase our Tone Merchants Concentric Control Plate for your own mods.

So here it is, Brad’s Mod #1. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed putting it together. As with all our guitars and basses it’s all set up – ready to gig, record or whatever you so choose to do.

Brad’s Mod #1 Fresher Jazzcentric Bass Specs:

• Lawsuit bass made in the mid 1970’s.
• Agathis or Camphor body. B+ rank condition.
• Maple on Maple neck with Black Block Inlay & Binding.
• Nordstrand Big J Blade pickups, in the Clean & Clear wind.
• Concentric 1962 inspired stacked controls. Vol/Tone, Vol/Tone.
• Original vintage tuners & bridge.
• 38mm Bone Nut.
• Weight: 4.3Kg.
• Un-padded gig bag (not original). Hardcase is additional cost.

Bass will be sent via a signature required courier, track and trace. Or can be purchased from our store in Albany, Auckland. Hardcase is available for an additional costs, Contact Us for more details if you require to be sent with a hardcase.