Help in identifying my P-Bass?

Rusty Razorblade

Rusty Razorblade

Mar 21, 2015
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#1
I bought this for $100. I guess it could be a knockoff. But it was said to be a Fender. The neck plate says Fender, for what that's worth. I sent it straight home with a band mate, who took the photograph for me today, since I won't be able to get it from him for at least a couple of months. It has an Allparts neck. I need to play it a little, but it was purchased just to be a backup, and it does sound good. I let another guy play it at open mic before my band mate took it with him. He said it played great, and it felt good to me.

My issue is that the pickguard has 11 holes. I have found some ads for 11 hole guards for two knobs, but most have 13. The oldest ones and their reissues have 10, and some have 12 or 14 holes. When I can take the neck off and examine it better I may be able to ID it without the Fender neck. But if anybody can peg the model I may order a new pickguard and then paint it black, if the resale value is low anyway.

Thanks for any insights.

95501227_267328211061936_305447933673734144_n.jpg
 

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#3
Rusty Razorblade said:
I bought this for $100. I guess it could be a knockoff. But it was said to be a Fender. The neck plate says Fender, for what that's worth. I sent it straight home with a band mate, who took the photograph for me today, since I won't be able to get it from him for at least a couple of months. It has an Allparts neck. I need to play it a little, but it was purchased just to be a backup, and it does sound good. I let another guy play it at open mic before my band mate took it with him. He said it played great, and it felt good to me.

My issue is that the pickguard has 11 holes. I have found some ads for 11 hole guards for two knobs, but most have 13. The oldest ones and their reissues have 10, and some have 12 or 14 holes. When I can take the neck off and examine it better I may be able to ID it without the Fender neck. But if anybody can peg the model I may order a new pickguard and then paint it black, if the resale value is low anyway.

Thanks for any insights.

View attachment 3808247
Click to expand...
At first glance, the body seems off, as does the pickguard. I'm assuming the remaining knob is not "original" to the bass... and that's a Jazz ashtray. It seems to me to be a knockoff with a Fender decal.
 
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#5
It looks like a not-Fender body with a Fender pickguard, but I could very easily be wrong. Without having the neck or pickguard off, it might be hard for anyone to tell you what it is. If I were you, personally, I'd go ahead and get an 11-hole pickguard of your choice, but get it from someone that'll accept returns just in case. I'm interested to see which of the P-bass-ologists on here figures it out, haha!
 
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#8
lug said:
Upper horn looks a bit lean for a Pbass.
Click to expand...
I'm about 95% sure it's not a fender. The Allparts neck isn't OEM so the neck has been replaced. The pickguard looks little off
Rusty Razorblade said:
I bought this for $100. I guess it could be a knockoff. But it was said to be a Fender. The neck plate says Fender, for what that's worth. I sent it straight home with a band mate, who took the photograph for me today, since I won't be able to get it from him for at least a couple of months. It has an Allparts neck. I need to play it a little, but it was purchased just to be a backup, and it does sound good. I let another guy play it at open mic before my band mate took it with him. He said it played great, and it felt good to me.

My issue is that the pickguard has 11 holes. I have found some ads for 11 hole guards for two knobs, but most have 13. The oldest ones and their reissues have 10, and some have 12 or 14 holes. When I can take the neck off and examine it better I may be able to ID it without the Fender neck. But if anybody can peg the model I may order a new pickguard and then paint it black, if the resale value is low anyway.

Thanks for any insights.

View attachment 3808247
Click to expand...
I'm about 95% sure it's not a Fender. The Allparts neck isn't OEM so the neck has obviously been replaced. That could have been because of a bad neck or someone was trying to "clone" a p-bass.The pickguard looks little off in two places. (1) Take a look at the finger relief radius at the lower horn. The radius of the pickguard does not match that of the body. (2) Same situation down by the controls.

Taking all of that in consideration there is always the possibility that the body is a Fender and you may be able to tell that if your remove the neck.

Bottomline: I could be wrong but believe someone took an inexpensive pbass style bass and reworked it to try and replicate a Fender. If it plays & sounds good, that's all that matters.

I have a Vintage ICON V4MR (p-bass copy) that I wouldn't trade for a new Fender P-Bass. It's very well made, sounds great, and it plays better than most pbasses I've had the pleasure of playing.
 
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