Pre-Owned 1980's Chandler/Tom Anderson 3-Pickup Active J-Bass Red With Case
If you're looking for a great playing, cool looking and killer sounding unique bass that doesn't exist elsewhere, you've landed at the right spot. We just took this one in, and there's a lot going on....
What we have here is a "Partscaster" style bass composed of some high quality stuff. It starts with a Chandler neck. For those that don't know, Chandler (of San Francisco) made high-quality, aftermarket replacement and custom necks built during the 1980s and 1990s, primarily in the USA. Players gravitated towards them for the top-notch quality, stability and feel. That's exactly what you get with this. It's rock solid maple with a sleek, slim profile and topped with a nice rosewood fretboard. As soon as we picked it up we noticed how well it played.
When the neck was purchased in the 1980s, it was taken to John Carruthers shop - a Fender decal was applied, some Carruthers-branded shims were applied, and it was paired with a Tom Anderson body. Yes, it's a Tom Anderson bass body - that in itself is rare, as Anderson made very few basses. Almost everything by Anderson was a 6-string guitar. In fact, we've only seen one Tom Anderson bass, which was here a couple of years ago. We've included a photo of the inside of the neck pocket, showing the Anderson logo (as well as the Carruthers shims). This alder body was painted a vibrant red, and looks great.
What's really interesting is that the body was routed for 3 pickups - that's truly what makes this an unique bass. The pickups are EMG J Active pickups. You also get 3 stacked knobs, so you can control the volume and tone of each. The end result is a huge variety of tones at your fingertips. If you want clear and modern, you got it - feel free to slap & pop to your heart's content. Time to dial the tone back and lay down some reggae lines? Easy come easy go. And if you need to add some fuzz or overdrive to really rock out, this bass can take it. The low end is tight and focused, the midrange has a nice punch that's aggressive without being brutal so you'll stand out even in a dense mix, and the top end is bright and dynamic. It being an active bass gives you a high output and hum-free experience. Overall, it's a very versatile bass that will be usable in nearly any setting.
Additionally, the bass was outfitted with locking strap buttons, a modernized Fender bridge, and Fender deluxe tuners. Also, this bass comes with a 1980's Fender hardshell case.
The bass is in excellent condition - the previous owner took great care of it. By the way, it's only had one owner this whole time, until now. Of course it shows signs of being played (it is over 40 years old) but nothing major, and it's surprisingly clean. Setup to play perfectly by the techs in our shop, it's ready to go.
This is definitely something you won't see often....better said, you'll never see! It's the only one out there.
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