Description

By IWTG 1965 Tribute Jazz Bass 3-Tone Sunburst w/Vintage Black Tolex Case – 8.6 Lbs!

“By IWTG” Instruments are different and unique in the boutique world of builds, not a factory replica, not a relic job, not a shortcut. It is a labour of love by people who didn’t just sell and collect vintage instruments, but actually played them for a living: session work, touring, stages and studios, on a daily basis. That experience changes how you think about what makes a great bass, and it is baked into every decision made on this Jazz Bass.

The goal was to build the most honest, accurate tribute to a late 1964 – early 1965 Jazz Bass that money and expertise could produce. A Custom Shop level player’s instrument with class, the kind of bass that makes FOH/Studio engineers stop mid-soundcheck and ask what they’re hearing.

The neck was custom ordered through Musikraft to exact period specifications: Riftsawn maple with a veneer-laminated Madagascar rosewood fingerboard (tonally and visually among the closest available alternatives to the Brazilian used on the originals) with pearl dot inlays, a bone nut, 7.25″ radius and a thin C profile measuring just .790″ at the first fret. The Lightweight Alder body came from MJT, and both pieces were then sent out for a thin nitrocellulose lacquer finish in a stunning, era-correct 3-tone sunburst. Thin nitro on a well-chosen body is not cosmetic, it breathes, resonates and it ages the way wood should. The result here is a bass that weighs in at just 8.6 lbs and is remarkably well-balanced, with acoustic resonance you feel in your chest before you ever plug in.

The pickguard is an Avant Garde real nitrocellulose tortoise shell, and if you’ve spent time trying to source an accurate tort guard, you already know how hard this is to get right. This one gets all nitro layers, a thick middle black layer, and a vivid, three-dimensional pattern. It is as close as it gets to what came on the originals, including the light bubbling due to exposure to lightning and stage heat. Pickups are Seymour Duncan Antiquity II, wound to vintage specs and aged appropriately. The electronics are wired with a period-correct harness using CTS pots, vintage cloth wire, and a genuine NOS 1960s orange dime capacitor at 0.05µF, the same cap value and type that Fender used in that era. These details are invisible to the eye but audible to the ear.

All hardware is Gotoh aged chrome throughout, bridge, control plate, and the period-correct Res-O-Lite reverse tuners that defined the look and feel of that era. The string tree, hootenanny button, knobs and thumb rest are genuine 1960s Fender originals pulled from a period instrument, and the neck plate is an F-plate with a random serial number consistent with the era. A period/placement-correct decal logo is fitted and can be cleanly removed if the buyer prefers an unmarked headstock. Every part of this instrument was chosen because it was correct, not because it was convenient.

This bass started life as NOS, no artificial aging or relic work. What it does have is a small amount of honest road wear accumulated during a couple of years in the hands of a working session bass player who took it on tour. There are light marks, fine scratches and a few tiny traces of use visible in the photos, all entirely consistent with a well-played instrument that was loved. It has already proven itself under real working conditions.

It comes housed in its original 1965 Fender black tolex Jazz Bass case, a stunning piece n excellent condition with all latches springing properly, no cracks, and the original Fender logo badge intact and looking great. The case alone is a rare find.

The sum of parts that went into this build equals or exceeds the asking price before you factor in the time, knowledge and care invested in the assembly. This is priced well below any comparable Fender Custom Shop instrument and it will outperform most of them in the hands of a player who knows what to listen for. If you are that player, this bass was made for you.

IT ships out to Continental US and select international destinations.