Can somebody give me info on this Fender P-Bass?

Roke3028

Roke3028

Oct 3, 2015
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#1
I recently traded a guy some old equipment for this Fender Precision Bass. I figured it would be a fun restoration project. The guy told me that it was from the 70s, but that's all he knows. He says that he took it to a luthier and that's who dated the bass back to the 70s, but he didn't really tell me much more about his luthier counseling. The thing I find sketchy about the bass is that there's no serial number on the headstock, or anywhere else for that matter. So it's really difficult to determine when exactly it was made and if it's a fake or not. The body itself seems pretty legit. I'm wondering if the body is original and the neck was replaced. I immediately took the bass apart upon getting it home to further my inspection of it. If anybody out there can give me some info about it or tell me what you think I would greatly appreciate it.
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#7
Agree with what the others have said so far. I wanted to add that before '76-77 fender stamped serial numbers onto the neck plate. For the neck, wrong decal and not stock tuners. Neither of my 70s fenders have dates on the neck, but both have the name of the inspector stamped on the heel side of the neck. Did you pull the pickups and look on the bottoms for dates? They should look something like this, minus the melted foam:
 

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#8
Body would have to be 73 or earlier (iirc) to have those control routs. The tuners are similar to late 90s Deluxe Series, but are mounted slightly crooked and there appears to be a finish crack from mounting. Bridge is non-Fender. Incorrect decal for the era. Non-original pickup (Dimarzio?) Non-original pots. And...water damage?
I have concerns, but that don't mean it's a bad platform to build on. How does it sound/play?
Do you feel the trade value is fair, even if it's not a vintage Fender?
 
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#10
MrRobert said:
Agree with what the others have said so far. I wanted to add that before '76-77 fender stamped serial numbers onto the neck plate. For the neck, wrong decal and not stock tuners. Neither of my 70s fenders have dates on the neck, but both have the name of the inspector stamped on the heel side of the neck. Did you pull the pickups and look on the bottoms for dates? They should look something like this, minus the melted foam:
Click to expand...
I just pulled the pickups and they happen to be "PATENT APPLIED FOR" or PAF pickups, which, after doing a bit of research, appear to be vintage Dimarzio pickups according to this eBay auction, these are the exact same pickups I just pulled from this bass, minus the bridge pickup.

DiMarzio Vintage 70's Cream Patent Applied for PAF P J Bass Pickups RARE | eBay
 
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#11
wraub said:
Body would have to be 73 or earlier (iirc) to have those control routs. The tuners are similar to late 90s Deluxe Series, but are mounted slightly crooked and there appears to be a finish crack from mounting. Bridge is non-Fender. Incorrect decal for the era. Non-original pickup (Dimarzio?) Non-original pots. And...water damage?
I have concerns, but that don't mean it's a bad platform to build on. How does it sound/play?
Do you feel the trade value is fair, even if it's not a vintage Fender?
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. I guess I haven't decided yet whether or not the trade was worth it, I have my concerns as well of course. But I took a risk and I'm not going to sweat it either way. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to plug in to an actual bass rig yet. My rig is in my friends studio and he's out of town for a bit, and my combo is in the shop due to overheating at a gig. I did however plug in to a guitar combo just to hear it talk, it's really tough to judge the tone of course, but at least it was clean without any hissing, buzzing or crackling.
 
#13
If the neck is in good shape you probably have a pretty darn nice bass anyway. If it were mine, I'd want one of those big rare funky brass fender "boomerang" bridges to tie it all together.
 
#16
MrRobert said:
Agree with what the others have said so far. I wanted to add that before '76-77 fender stamped serial numbers onto the neck plate. For the neck, wrong decal and not stock tuners. Neither of my 70s fenders have dates on the neck, but both have the name of the inspector stamped on the heel side of the neck. Did you pull the pickups and look on the bottoms for dates? They should look something like this, minus the melted foam:
Click to expand...
Pickups look to be Dimarzios
 
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