(SOLD) Used Greco Jazz Bass Sunburst 70s
Greco Jazz Bass, made in Japan early 70s, three tone sunburst. This comes from Greco's slightly ambiguous no-serial era, but we can deduce a few things. The 'Gneco' style logo puts in between 70-79, the lack of model number and not-quite-exact-F-copy hardware (truss rod cover etc) puts it in the early 70s, and the lack of 'Matsumoku' on the neck plate means it's a Fujigen made model. Fujigen Gakki didn't get a CNC router until 1981, so the neck, fretboard, body etc were all shaped entirely by hand. Leaving aside all the mystery, here's some what we can tell by playing it: it's awesome. The 3-piece maple neck is slim, solid and resonant, it's comfy and quick and feels invincible. We arranged a luthier re-wire to get all the electronics in good shape, so it's in good order there; it's got an amazing growl and thump when plugged in. The finish has aged to perfection, you can see the grain peeking through the thin lacquered burst. This will set you back several thousand less than a Fender of the same vintage, and it'll keep a 70s Fender very honest!
Model: Greco Jazz Bass (model number not specified)
Made: Japan, Fujigen Gakki factory, early 1970s (no serial, based on Gneco logo, neck plate and hardware)
Finish: 3-tone-sunburst, 3-ply tort guard
Body: alder (possibly ash)
Neck: maple with rosewood board, mother-of-pearl block inlays
Mods: bridge replaced with brass Schaller style, extra switching installed and removed and covered with tort
Pickups: Original Greco JB singles
Case: faux leather gig bag
Cosmetic condition notes: moderate finish wear. The machine heads, neck plate and chrome control plate are quite tarnished. The tort guard has some regular play wear. There's a bunch of little dings and chips around the bottom near the input jack and some buckle rash on the back. The lacquer is pretty thin and you can see it soaking into the grain to create a cool texture. There's some extra holes where an ashtray bridge cover was removed. Overall: fair condition (6/10).
Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. There's minor wear on the frets only, heaps of life left (7/10). Electronics all tested and working properly, they've been given a full once-over by our buddy Jon at JPGW, who's also done the set up with fresh 45/105s. Super cool!