Rick's Fine '52

Bargain, great bit of kit!!

Have a worthy bump from me.

So, after years of hunting, and considering a few I've seen over the years, none of which were quite good enough, but having the patience (Unusual for me!) to wait for the 'right' one, I've finally completed my set of original first series JV basses, with the addition of a near mint '57 Precision. The hunt is over, I can sleep easy!

These are by far the best reissues Fender have ever produced, far superior even to the early Fullerton Vintage reissues.

Here's the set, all together;

Just sold, sad to see that one go!  😞 

Had one of these, they are fab combos, bump worthy!

Something I want out there, so come on folks, cash in those savings plans, this is a steal for what it is! 😉

14 hours ago, pmjos said:

Would be great to hear this. Is there a sound file?

 

Sorry, but I don’t have one available. I’ll look into it when back from hols. 

It sounds like a ‘55 Precision 😉

I’m not being funny, but how is this still here?

I’m tempted to extend, just so I have somewhere to put this!!

On 26/06/2018 at 16:14, jensenmann said:

Now that´s a fine collection. Congrats! 

How do those early Bassman amps compare to the 59 and blackface?

The tone of the ‘52 & ‘53 is to die for, so warm and creamy, louder than you’d expect too. They have volume and tone, which is all I need (as with my basses). The others have far more range and controls, if you need it, and a bit more oomph. 

The early ones are a bit special if you ever get a chance to play through one.

I’m going to give this a worthy bump, what an amp, had one back in the early 90’s, loved that tone.

If I didn’t already have too many amps, I’d have this. Great combo, great sound, great value. Amazed it’s still here. GLWTS

Majority of mine have a traditional BBOT, and I can’t say I’ve ever had one move, or found it hard to adjust alignment or intonation. They are simple, and work perfectly in my opinion. 

Would something different audibly (for most players or audience members) change the sound? Unlikely. 

Vintage cloth wiring

In response to a couple of PM’s;

The weight (with covers on), is exactly 8lb’s, nice and light.

3 minutes ago, discreet said:

Been back over and over again to look at this. Not doing myself any favours!! 

Overwhelming 1955 P GAS!!

You need to see it close up, and play the damn thing! 😁

It's a bargain too for what it is. 

Here's some pics of the case I'm chucking in with it.

50's style red lined interior, tweed exterior, inside lined pocket, with duckfoot tab.

Similar aged appearance, in keeping with the bass. 2 of the 3 latches work perfect, the 3rd is missing the loop, which I'm sure would be a 2 minute job to replace if inclined.

I think it suits very nicely. Not sure how old it is.

1 minute ago, Marc S said:

I most definitely do not "need" another bass......
But this looks so awesome -  I keep coming back to look at it!
Please, someone buy it and help me with my addiction! lol

None of us 'need' more than one, let's be honest, but since when were guitars ever about 'need'? 

Oh, and yes, it is an addiction! 

9 minutes ago, BCO62 said:

Hi,

nice bass, really.
What about its weight? Price complete shipping to Germany included?
Is there a problem to to ship to?
Thank you for info,

best regards
Bernd

Thanks for the message, but not looking at shipping abroad, apologies.

33 minutes ago, ead said:

I'm with Roger2611 and Lozz196.  When I went looking for a vintage Fender I deliberately sought a bass that had some visible wear as to me it probably signals it's a good item and has been used not abused (and hopefully maintained) rather than stuck in a cupboard.  As original as possible and un-modded.  Mine actually has one none-vintage strap button but I guess I could always remove the old hootenany button and use that instead and leave a hole in the headstock.

Gratuitous vintage Fender pics (it's a '66):

Nice bass, lovely dark rosewood too, all in great condition!

I’m not sure how some people play their instruments, but a well looked after, yet old instrument won’t always be battered, bruised and have large sections of wood showing through. Some do, and I feel represent those that simply didn’t look after it, probably back in the day when they didn’t feel the need to look after them so much, as the value and desirability simply wasn’t there. 

Old and clean instruments are desired because they are looked after, like collectible cars, or anything else, they are not un-played because they have ‘issues’. Never understood that theory?

Personally, I look for an instrument that is as original as possible, including the finish, then the best condition I can afford for my budget at the time, depending what itch needs scratching at the time. 

I’m not suggesting worn guitars aren’t also good instruments, many certainly are, they’re just not as well looked after, and prices will reflect that. I have an ‘82 JV proto Jazz bass from April ‘82, I bought it in ‘84, gigged regularly with it until ‘95, and still play it very regularly, it doesn’t have any additional marks on it from the day I bought it 34 years ago. Doesn’t make it a bad bass, it’s actually one of my best, and most played. I also look after it.

Having said all that, I love to see an instrument with nice honest wear, even if I rarely buy them. 

Too many heavy relic things around these days which actually look nothing like a genuine old guitar, which is influencing how people I think about stuff I think.

I’ve had two, both blonde, both definitely poly.

2 minutes ago, Marc S said:

Ooooo, no no no - Tort is never nasty on a bass
I must admit though, the white scratchplate looks nicer on this bass than I'd have thought it would
Now if that was off-white pearloid.....

Tort is fine, but not on custom colours (except OW), Fender didn’t use it for a reason.

The tort Fender use now is awful too, even on their high end stuff!

I love tort...., old, proper tort, and only on sunburst! 😉

I’m not on that bus either, I must say!

It’s even a bloody refin! 😂

10 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

Sound analysis, but a prototype (which didn’t go into production) is - in some cases - less valuable than the iconic basses for sale. Personally Rick I’d take a mint example (like you own) than a prototype. 

Any asset for investment is speculative, and this one is pretty high on that level. As are those Les Paul’s. I mean £500k for a mass produced instrument seems bonkers... (I appreciate they’re scarce, but even so it’s illustrative of a bit of hysteria in the market).

 

On a personal level, I agree with you. As a collector, if I had this sort of money, I’d rather have two nice stack knobs. This is a bit niche, and as you say, will not be for everyone. To be fair, it belongs in the Fender archive museum.

Investment wise, I also agree, a one-off could be hard to sell on, highly reduced market, whereas a ‘regular issue’ bass would always be a sound investment, and a desirable piece.

An interesting view on ‘59 Les Pauls, is that experts suggest that over twice as many have been sold, as were actually made. Conclude what you will from that, but with that statistic, you wouldn’t see me parting with that sort of money for one! 

8 hours ago, ben4343 said:

I find that price quite interesting. Not a "Maybe I buy it" interesting of course, but rather that a Les Paul of the same vintage goes for 10 times the price, and is possibly a not unreasonable guitar version of a Fender Jazz...?

If my bass budget existed in the 10s of thousands, rather than the single hundreds, I would buy and play that in a heartbeat, but then I guess so would most of us 😄

Fortunately for us 4-stringers, basses have always been relatively 'cheap', compared to 6 string equivalents. The most sought after, and rarest versions are closing the gap, but 'general' examples are still far more reachable for some.

A near mint '54 Strat would be £75k, a near mint '54 Precision would be around £17k

An excellent '51 Broadcaster would be £60k, a comparable '51 Precision, around £20k.

As suggested, a clean '59 Les Paul would now be around £500k, based on the last two that sold.

This is a one-off, prototype of the most sought after Fender bass model. If you're Geddy Lee or Guy Pratt, or any other wealthy Fender collector with serious dollar, this is a comparative snip at £60k, for such an important part of bass history. Undoubtedly a lot of money, but then good value is a very different thing altogether.

Lovely piece, and nice to see it available on the open market.

These look so much nicer with the white guard and not those nasty tort ones. GLWTS, lovely bass, have a bump.