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Elvis' 1972* Fender Jazz Bass
At some point in the 70's, obviously, Elvis acquired this (1972*) Fender Jazz Bass. The Jazz bass was introduced in 1960. It featured two pickups with eight magnets each per coil operated by stacked concentric controls, which changed to a three knob arrangement around '62 or '63. Initially it also had individual string mutes in the bridge but those also would soon be dropped.
The offset body design and part of its name were borrowed from Fender's Jazzmaster guitar, that and a narrower neck set it apart from the Precision Bass. Made of alder bodies and maple necks with either rosewood or maple fret boards, they came in a variety of custom colors. Elvis' is a three tone sunburst with a three-ply vinyl tortoise guard.
Elvis' Jazz Bass has a serial number of 375557 which, according to Fender dates its manufacture sometime between 1971 and 1973. According to The Fender Bass - An Illustrated History by J.W. Black and Albert Molinaro, a series "F" neck plate with numbers between 330000 to 400000 is listed as 1972. Elvis' features the 4 screw neckplate of the original earlier (and current) design while Fender catalogs from 1972 list the newly introduced feature of the 3-bolt neck (2 screws and 1 bolt) with micro tilt adjustment.
While earlier Jazz basses sometimes featured a maple fret board laminated to the neck this particular model has a one piece neck as evidenced by the walnut skunk stripe on the back. The neck also has black binding and block inlays. Later maple models replaced this with pearl blocks and white binding.
This bass, along with his 1964 Precision Bass and many of his other guitars are still part of his collection at Graceland. added August 15, 2010 * Though the serial number for this bass places it in the range of 1972 for manufacture, several features suggest it as possibly earlier and, additionally, Elvis reputedly purchased a new bass in April of 1971. The history and specifications of the Jazz Bass presented her is courtesy The Fender Bass - An Illustrated History by J.W. Black and Albert Molinaro. Special thanks to Mike Eldred and Dave Maddux for the book. FENDER®, STRATOCASTER®, STRAT®, TELECASTER®, TELE®, P BASS®, PRECISION BASS®, and the distinctive headstock designs of these guitars are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
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