SurroundedByManatees

Two "other" classics, great stuff! I've wanted to try a T-40 for years, but never got to actually buying one..

Any song by George Ezra. That shotgun song is possibly more annoying than green green grass. Tough to choose though.

Build quality of the (late) 70s basses is not great imo. Large neck pockets, sloppy routing around the bridge pickup. Like you wouldn't accept from a squier affinity nowadays. The necks seem to be consistently nice though, and they can be great playing and sounding basses like Fenders of any era. If you're looking for a late '70s spec's Fender, my advice would be to watch out for one that was finished in the early '80s from the Dan Smith era. I've owned a '81 finished Jazz that had an S9 serial number and had all the specs a late '70s would have. But with tight neck pocket, way deeper cutout and rounder curves, better routing. Similar story with a '82 finished precision.

Could well be that you're right about that. So that would possibly make 3 replacement tuners...and the E might be the original?

3 of the tuners bear the ® after the logo (used from 1972 and on iirc), and 1 doesn't. Their positioning is far from straight, which makes me think this are (old) Fender tuners on another make neck with newly drilled holes? Just guessing

I bought it from a dealer on reverb. I hadn't seen one before myself and liked the creamy looks with the ebony fretboard. The placement of the pickups seemed good for a fretless, so did some research and ending up buying. The fact that I just sold my '66 jazz didn't help not buying it 😉. It's really a fun bass to play, and I like how it sounds. Especially with pickups solood, brings out the mwah more apparent than with the two pickups active.

Got this one in last week, a nice fretless in see through blonde finish. Probably late 80s.

Looks legit (and very clean) to me. Some pretty grain too. The black in the burst does seem to have that typical brownish hue, that you often see during this era. I see an 8. digit on the pickups, so it probably is dated to 1980 or 1981 (last digit is covered by foam). I've seen these S9 serial on finished basses up to 1982.

My kitchen scale says 4.18 kg

A few pics that show the fit of the neck in the pocket and some fretboard figuring. The fretboard was pretty dry, so I had apply a lot of oil. I will let it absorb and polish the fretboard again within a few weeks and add some more oil if needed. I've changed the strings to Fender flats, because they were already cut for shortscale through body, and were in reach 🙂. It's a very good match. It still has some of the character as when fit with rounds, but just with a little more complexity.

Mine arrived yesterday. I have to say I'm genuinely happy with this purchase! Build quality is good, even better then I expected. Tight fit and finish, and the neck feels great without sharp fret-ends. The neck feels a bit like a jazz profile to me. Action can be set low without any problems, so that's great. I expected the tuners to be crappy, like on the cv '70s precision I've owned, but they are better (thicker blades) quality and run smooth. No need to change them so far . The laurel fretboard looks pretty nice actually, it has some vertical striping that reminds me a bit of the pattern you'll find on some ebony fretboards. Lighter and cheaper though . It looks like it could use a bit of oil, will take care of that tomorrow. Soundwise it's a very interesting bass. Unplugged it's already pretty loud and resonant, which I take as a good sign. The two pickups provide a lot of sound options. From the YouTube video's I've already heard that these pickups have a lot more presence and articulation, and it's indeed the case. I've owned a Fender modern player telecaster bass once, and it was way more muddy with it's two similar humbuckers. With the neck pickup solood I'd say it still has a usable sound (you can still go to mud city using the tone knob), warm but still with enough presence. I think it would keep standing in a live situation. It's even a bit twangy in higher registers, very nice with a little bit of added drive. The bridge pickup solood is nice as well. Of course a bit brighter, but not thin. When played at the bridge it even does some snarly J-bass bridge pickup like sound. I think. The both Pickups together sound full with the right amount of grunt and presence. A very usable and pleasant sound that I think could be usable in a wide range of styles. For now I leave the rounds on (they come with Fender strings) as it actually sounds good as is. Though I'm sure some flats would be nice too. I have a set of Fender flats and Thomastiks in the drawer that are already cut for through body shortscale, so will give them a try soon. My feeling says the Thomastiks will be a great match. All in all I can say this is just a well built, comfortably playing bass, with more versatility and presence that you would expect from a bass with these wide range humbuckers. And of course she looks great too. I'll ad some pictures tomorrow.

Bax-shop, a large retailer in the Netherlands. They had 5 in stock apparently. I saw them listed a bit cheaper at other stores, but they were all sold out... I didn't want to pre-order as you never know..

Just ordered a green one, should be here on Tuesday! I just looked and listened at some demo video's and couldn't resist any longer. The color looks sooooo nice in the video's, better than in the stock pictures.

I don't think you understand what I mean. In short; it looks different than all others I have seen as in appearance and lack of shrinking. We are talking about the pickguard, not the whole bass...

Ive seen worse mistakes at reputable dealers. Things can slip through.

I think they are very similar specd. The '65 with Brazil fretboard though vs indian rosewood on the '66. I'd go with the one that Baxter is selling if I had to choose, considering the prices too. These '66s can be very, very nice basses.

Based on what I see in this pictures, I'm pretty certain that the pickguard of that '65 has changed. There is no hint of any shrinkage of the material, which is unusual I think. Along with the looks of the tort I would say it's a replica. The pickguards from this era that I have seen had more depth, swirl, and we're far less busy. The pickguard on the '65 looks the same in all the photos from different distances and angles, I don't think it's a saturation issue.