Musky

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='1171727' date='Mar 22 2011, 08:26 AM']One of the benefits of this forum is that the combined knowledge of fellow Basschatters should keep any risk to a minimum, if not eliminate it [color="#9932CC"]altogether[/color]. (EVERYBODY:- "One of the benefits of this forum is that the combined knowledge of fellow Basschatters should keep any risk to a minimum, if not eliminate it."[/quote] +1 Yesterday I added a [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=128339"]timeline for the features on a 70's precision[/url] for anyone who is considering picking one up. There's doubtless omissions and errors in there, so if anybody wants to correct it please chip in.

I'd tell them that waiting until the 28th is unacceptable. Ask them to double check the transaction to confirm that they've debited €315 from you. Then have them check what items were sent out to you. If there is a mismatch between the two totals (which they already seem to agree there is), politely demand that they send you out the bass. If they have no record of you ordering the bass, tell them you'd like to order it now (assuming it's in stock) and have the €315 they owe you credited to this order. If they won't play ball tell them that you're cancelling the order for the bass and demand that your money is credited to your account immediately. It's ridiculous that they expect you to wait a week just to hear why they have you money but won't fulfil your order. I'd love to hear their explanation!

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1170772' date='Mar 21 2011, 03:29 PM']No wonder we didn't recognise it - Clem built it himself. He's done two of them, one in 1994 and the other 10 years later. The driving force behind the twin cutaway was simply to have the only one on the planet. I can dig that. Just in case you're interested (and you're also a lefty) he's selling one at the moment. BTW, those two photos are from different gigs.[/quote] Blimey - that's a pretty comprehensive answer. I thought you might chip in but didn't expect you to talk to the man himself! Cheers! I knew it was Clem from the Fabulous Penetrators but didn't know he worked in Denmark Street. I also knew they were from different gigs - I was at the one in the second picture! Looks like I'll never have one of these beauties though - I'm a righty. In Clem's hands it sounds as good as it looks.

[quote name='daz' post='1171367' date='Mar 21 2011, 09:32 PM']Can i ask who is this 'JH' who reports anyone who even vaguely hints at Rickennbacker connections with their 'Fakers, such as mentioning, Lemmy, Paul McCartney etc in their ebay listings? Is this person really that anal ?[/quote] John Hall, the CEO of RIC. I don't think he's anal, but possibly obsessive about defending his US trademarks (even if they don't apply in the UK).

There's been an awful lot of threads querying the authenticity of some P bass auctions recently, so I thought I'd stick up a timeline to help with IDing the year or even if it's a genuine Fender. I've doubtless missed plenty of stuff, some of which I've thought too obvious for inclusion and some that a just don't know about. I've probably got some things wrong as well - there's a lot of contradictory info about, even in specialist publications, so if anybody has more info or wants to chip in please do. Hopefully between us we can come up with a definitive guide. I'm going to add some photos when I can get round to it, but if anyone has their own that will illustrate the descriptions stick them up. Edit: I haven't added any info on serial numbers, neck codes or pot codes as they're well covered at [url="http://home.provide.net/%7Ecfh/fender.html"]http://home.provide....cfh/fender.html[/url] [b][size=4][u]Precision Bass timeline[/u][/size][/b] All 70's basses should be found with 5 screw bridges, body end truss rod adjustment, a plastic neck plate cushion (from about 1968 to 1982), grey bottomed pickups with 4 or 6 digit serial codes. On the 6 digit code the last 2 are the year and on the 4 digit code the last number is the year. If no covers are in place screw holes should be evident. Note that not all colours were standard, and the Custom Colours may not have actually been applied to any particular model in any given year. [b]1951 - 1983[/b] From it's inception in 1951 until the introduction of the second version of the Standard, the Precision had it's truss rod adjuster at the body end. [b]1962 - 1980[/b] Fender used a what is known as a veneer fingerboard for their rosewood boards (replacing the much thicker 'slab' board). These can be spotted from the body end by the curved bottom of the fingerboard and at the headstock end by their concave line (bows toward the nut), just above the nut, whereas slab boards bow upwards. [i]Slab boarded '61 bass with upward bow (see photos below for examples of veneer boards).[/i] [b]1968 - 1971[/b] Fender tuners were simply stamped with the Fender logo. [b]1968 - 1980[/b] 'Thick Skin' Polyester finish replaces nitro-cellulose. Headstock still finished in nitro due to issues with the decal - this is why the headstock on 70's basses will discolour more than the rest of the neck. [b]1969[/b] Fender changed the maple necked basses back to the one piece used in the 50's. These had a walnut skunk stripe down the back. By the around 1979 Fender were installing truss rods from the rear as standard on all basses, regardless of fingerboard, so all will be found with a skunk stripe and a walnut plug above the nut. Prior to this rosewood necked boards could be found either with or without a skunk stripe. Strap button at the rear of the headstock is no longer fitted. Introduction of new black 'TV' logo. [b]1970[/b] Sunburst, Blonde, Olympic White, Lake Placid Blue, Sonic Blue, Firemist Gold, Firemist Silver, Black, Ocean Turquoise, Candy Apple Red. Fender began offering the option of either maple or rosewood boards. Fretless made an option. Bridge saddles with a single notch replace threaded saddles. Until 1973 the G string saddle has a longer intonation screw. [b]1971[/b] Firemist Silver, Firemist Gold and Ocean Turquoise metallics dropped as Custom colours. Tuners with ® symbol appear. [b]1972[/b] Fender Colour Chart (available early in the year) Sunburst, Blonde, Olympic White, Lake Placid Blue, Black, Candy Apple Red, Natural[Fender Bass: An Illustrated History gives the date as 1970 for Natural], Walnut B width necks (1 5/8" at the nut) begin to replace the C width (1 3/4" at the nut). [b]1973[/b] Lake placid blue and Candy apple red dropped. Tug bar moved above the strings to provide a thumb rest(apparently late in the year). Screw added to centre of the 'guard to keep it flat. Late '73 routed channel added between pickup and control cavities and an oval rout added beneath bridge. [b]1974[/b] Black pickguards becoming standardised, replacing white or tortoiseshell. [b]1975[/b] Custom colours discontinued. All remaining finishes now at the same price. Sunburst, Blonde, White, Black, Natural, Walnut. [b]1976[/b] Chrome Schaller tuners replace nickel plated items. Easily identified by a distinct 'shoulder' at the base of the head, more pronounced curves, a notch on the bassplate where the shaft meets it and a more squared off thread. NOTE: The nickel plated tuners were sometimes used on Precisions up to around 1978. Thinner black logo. Model name changed to sans serif font. Addition of 'Made In USA' below model name. PAT No.'s replaced by Serial number. Early '76 models had a 76 prefix in bold - later replaced by the 'S' prefix. Neck plate now just has 'F' logo. About mid '76 a circular router locating hole appears beneath the bridge, the routed channel between pickup and control cavities becomes slightly curved and the control cavity is slightly modified in shape. [i]In this picture there's been additional routing to deepen the channel - until the control cavity it should be the same depth as the pickup cavity.[/i] About this time Fender changed the pickup cover to have more curved sides. [I'm not entirely sure when this change occurred, so input would be welcomed!] [b]1977[/b] Tobacco sunburst and Wine finish introduced. Walnut discontinued. Option of Antigua finish with matching pickguard (discontinued '79/'80). Stickers with the serial number appear, usually on the pickguard but sometimes in the neck pocket. [b]1978[/b] S8+6 digits serials (rather than S+6 digits) occasionally show up. [b]1979[/b] 3 Tone Sunburst and Walnut discontinued. Blonde finish discontinued in September. Shielding paint used in cavities. [b]1980[/b] Standard colours: Black, Natural, Wine, Tobacco Sunburst.Custom colours (sometimes called 'International Colours'): Capri Orange, Monaco Yellow, Morocco Red, Sahara Taupe, Maui Blue, Cathay Ebony, Arctic White; Sienna sunburst (3 tone). Cherry sunburst (2 tone). Other colours - Precision Special - Lake Placid Blue, Candy Apple Red. Fender reintroduced the slab board. About this time hex head screws are used for the bridge saddles. Around '80 an additional channel is added from the control cavity running for about 3" towards the neck pocket. An earth wire is screwed into here. Control cavity shape is modified again. Router locating hole moved to beneath the neck pocket. Some Precisions around this period have a shallow circular notch to allow better access to the truss rod. [i]1982 routing - the same as a 1980 model (the colour is Sapphire Blue)[/i]. [b]1982[/b] American Standard introduced - slightly heavier bridgeplate, no thumbrest, 3 ply white pickguard

He bought a bass listed as 'Fender Precision P Bass Guitar USA *REPRODUCTION*' last July. The listing has long since disappeared, so there's no way of knowing if it's the same one, but the bass he's selling certainly fits in the reproduction category.

Yeah, I thought Verithin when I first saw it but there's no soundholes either. The nearest I could find looking at the vintage hofner site was the Club bass, but again none with double cutaways. In fact, looking around the site I was struck by how many variations there were of the various instruments. Did Hofner take custom orders or did they just try out lots of ideas and use what they had to hand? Hofner do (or maybe did, as it was a limited edition) a German made [url="http://www.hofner.com/gab/en/phpshop/43/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.zupf_flypage/product_id,267/category_id,10/"]Club CV[/url] which has the same pickup spacing, but it's only a single cutaway.

It's a vintage Hofner, but I can't figure out which one. Did Hofner ever do Club basses with double cutaways or is this something else entirely?

[quote name='MatthewKeys' post='1169663' date='Mar 20 2011, 04:33 PM']Thanks for that, I will read into it Do you know what valves I would have to buy in terms of like AX7 and AU7s.. because my amps original valves are 3 12AX7 in the preamp, and one 12AX7 and one 12A7 in the driver tube part. Does that mean I have to buy 4 12AX7 and 1 12AU7... or can I use 5 12AX7's? Thanks[/quote] I'll defer to Bryce's comparison here, and note that a 12AU7/ECC82 has much, much lower gain than a 12AX7/ECC83, which suggests that a 12AX7 wouldn't be appropriate in a position intended for a 12AU7.

[quote name='clauster' post='1169318' date='Mar 20 2011, 11:13 AM']FFS, how do plastic pickup covers get ingrained dirt??!![/quote] Best not to even think about it.

[quote name='karlfer' post='1169139' date='Mar 20 2011, 07:02 AM']What, only one output socket? My CMI has 2. . Weren't the origins of Fender Japan in Faker-dom? Karl.[/quote] Yep. Some of the early JV's had the same routing as the FujiGen made Grecos. Effectively they were Fender licensed 'fakers.

[quote name='tomb' post='1168989' date='Mar 19 2011, 11:04 PM']its a matter of taste, they simply dont appeal to me[/quote] None of them?

[quote name='Bassassin' post='1169078' date='Mar 20 2011, 01:29 AM']This auction is, in my opinion, excellent in every way. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/160559216667"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/160559216667[/url] Read the whole listing plus the additional stuff - bloody marvellous! Jon.[/quote] Amazing. Over half a million hits! So, are you going to be adopting this technique for your auctions in future then Jon?

You might like to checkout the [url="http://www.finnbass.com/showthread.php?t=22"]valve comparison thread[/url] over on finnbass. Very informative, and written by a guy who likes his valves!

Spider is an importers brand, and they seem to specialise in very low budget instruments. A mate bought one of their acoustic basses for £50 and had it delivered to my place, so I took the opportunity to check it out. Very nice to look at (for the money) and it played reasonably enough, although the intonation was out at the dusty end; to be expected with an uncompensated bridge I suppose. A few years on and it hasn't developed any problems and my mate is still using it in his living room for the times he can't be bothered to set up an electric. However if you do a search of this forum you should find comments about the acoustic saying that they're only fit for firewood (in fact I think someone did actually burn theirs ). No idea if they did anything other than cheapo instruments, but I'd suspect that the bass you mate has probably sold for under £100 new.

[quote name='tom1946' post='1166797' date='Mar 18 2011, 10:38 AM']My 75 reissue says 'crafted in' at the bottom of the neck and 'made in' on the headstock face [/quote] The reissues do, for some obscure reason.

There's [url="http://bassmusicianmagazine.com"]Bass Musician Magazine[/url] and [url="http://www.bassgearmag.com/web/"]Bass Gear Magazine[/url], both online and both free. I can't really recommend them as I rarely look at either - Basschat pretty much covers everything I'd like to know about bass.

I don't think it's an outrageous price really. Domestic Japanese basses aren't so easy to get hold of nowadays, and that one is in near mint condition. If someone specifically wanted that colour and didn't want the hassle of importing I can imagine that it would be worth that much to them. Especially if they happened to be within easy reach of Hove.

Relatively expensive basses bound up in gaffa? I present you with a '68 Rick - I decided I didn't like fireglow.

Well according to many ebay sellers if it's got Squier on the headstock, it's a Fender. I suppose by the same token it could say Heartfield as well.

[quote name='Jobo Pooks' post='1160685' date='Mar 13 2011, 04:55 PM']I've actually been on here 3 years. I don't post much due to heavy involvment in the healing process. I'm a novice bassist and at present trying to get up to speed for a gig in the summer. Bassist friend of mine died and some old band members are putting together something to honour him and also to benefit a local charity. The guy was a seasoned bassist so you will understand I'm on a learning curve as I haven't played any covers for years and want to make a good job of it. [b]At the moment I'm working on Free Mr big and the solo section, which I couldn't get the tab for (original studio one) so I've taken to splitting up the track with Nero and working on each individual section. Once played in WMP it repeats so no need to keep stopping.[/b] It's very similar to the original, but with my own stamp on it. The tabs would speed things up a bit. I'm really enjoying bass - it's a whole new experience. Thanks for the replies, ladies...... [/quote] You might like to check out [url="http://www.xs4all.nl/~mp2004/bp/"]Best Practice[/url]. It'll slow down the song to allow you to figure out what's going on without changing the pitch, and lets you loop sections of the song. If you're a Mac user The Amazing Slow Downer does the same thing with the addition of an EQ section which is handy for dialling out some of the other instruments. You'll have to pay for ASD though. Edit: I'm here, but too late it seems

[quote name='CrackityJones' post='1158056' date='Mar 11 2011, 01:51 PM']It's 150w, but the old CL, not the CL ND 4. Say's on back of amp "min 8 ohm's" - presumably that tells me the speaker is 8 ohms then? New to the terminology- wiring in parallel would be taking a jack from the "out" in back of SWR cab to the Warwick 12"? Appreciate your help... CJ.[/quote] By the sound of things it does seem that the speaker is at least 8 ohm, but you might like to contact Warwick just to double check. Almost all amps and cabs are are wired so that adding an extra cab will be a parallel connection and the SWR cab is no exception. There's a good article on series/parallel wiring [url="http://wiki.basschat.co.uk/info:amps:impedance_and_wattage#combining_speaker_cabinets"]in the wiki[/url].

What's the brand on this mystery P bass? The Squier Silver Series which came out in about '92 had a basswood body, but that's not to say Fuji Gen didn't make P copies for other brands with different specs. The P Bass Lyte also had a basswood body, but other Fender Japan precisions used Ash or Alder.

[quote name='wmsheep' post='1157089' date='Mar 10 2011, 07:36 PM']Right, now I`m on the right thread, think I`ll add "hang on a sec, the neck was sub standard so it wasnt stamped, the body was also sub standard and wasnt stamped, and the pots were also sub standard and weren`t... oh, you know the rest!!! yet they STILL put a serial number on the neckplate?? nothing wrong with that. In fact, as anyone who has ever owned a mid 70`s Leyland car will verify, it`s perfectly normal!!"[/quote] Yeah, but they only put the serial number on as an afterthought. After the plate was chromed.

More tracks than you can shake a stick at. [url="http://tinyurl.com/5twj698"]http://tinyurl.com/5twj698[/url]