Velarian

It’s right to be firm on this subject; give ‘em an inch and all that. If offloading gear gave you license to purchase more it wouldn’t be long before someone suggests a kind of carbon offsetting scheme where you team up with a fellow bass chatter who’s shifting kit but not replacing it so you can use their credit! 😉

I’m currently about 10 minutes away from Pudsey. If it had been a 62 Precision (YOB for me) I’d have jumped at the chance. If it had been an original finish, would it have been about £5k more?

Call me a traditionalist but a maple neck just doesn’t look right with a 3TS body. It’s rosewood all the way for me. On the other hand, maple and black body is where it’s at. I guess I’m influenced by the period I became musically engaged - mid to late 70s.

Only last night I had a bit of a wobble. I saw a bass that I’d really like to have but absolutely don’t need. Fuelled by a couple (or more) glasses of wine, I very nearly pulled the trigger but then something said “wait on, sleep on it before deciding”. This morning, in the cold light of day, I realised it was completely unnecessary so thankfully I’ve let go of the idea and I’m still on the wagon. Insidious this GAS thing is, isn’t it? 😂

No, I followed it up but it turned out to be cost prohibitive to have them CNC’d. I still have it at the back of my mind to look at alternatives but haven’t had time to do anything about it.

This bass mustn’t have sold last time around and it’s back in the sale on 5th March with a much more realistic guide price of £1,500 to £2,500. Seems about right for the year/condition.

I could probably assist with that. 😉

You are a member of the Four Tops and I claim my £5 😉

I’m still going strong and unlikely to falter any time soon. 🙂

Andy Baxter has just listed a ‘62 slab board Precision with loads of mojo. https://www.andybaxterbass.com/collections/bass-guitars/products/1962-fender-precision-bass-sunburst-3

Having successfully navigated 2023, I'm in.

Well, I made it! Not a single purchase of anything in 2023. In fact the last thing I bought was in June 2022 so I lasted 18 months. I think I may have cured my GAS and in 2024 I can see myself actually shedding some gear. There are only two things that might change things in the future; 1) an unexpected influx of a reasonable sum of money and; 2) the discovery of a pre-CBS Precision in original condition for a price that the aforementioned reasonable sum of money would cover. 😉

The hammer price for this was £2,300 so it looks like the dubious provenance didn’t influence the outcome.

125 Roubles. That’s £1.07 in today’s money! 😂

Maybe his wife has told him to get rid of it but he wants to keep it, hence the high price and unhelpful response? “Sorry dear, I’ve tried but it’s just not selling” 😂

She could probably get going with this 5 video series from Rich Brown:

Well, you live and learn. It appears that the spaghetti logo was never used on the Jazz bass. This is from the Fender web site regarding the transition logo: - "With input from Leo Fender himself, Perine perfected a new Fender logo, bolder and thicker, and with gold lettering bounded by a thin black outline. It was trademarked in 1960, and its first appearance on an instrument headstock came that year with the debut of the Jazz Bass guitar. Every new Fender model launched after that point would have the new logo, and by 1965 most Fender instruments and amplifiers used the new logo."

Ah right, thanks. I was expecting a spaghetti logo but my knowledge is very limited. The serial number seems to check out as '61

Is it really a '61? The pencil mark on the neck is indistinct but, from what it looks like and the headstock logo, suggests it could be a '66

From my limited experience I would say there can be variations. I once bought a P-bass "style" body which was subtly different to a standard P bass and the pick guard was completely different. Knowing the origin of the body would help and, if it is already drilled does it have 13 or 10 holes (some 70s Fenders also have an extra screw hole in the middle of the plate between the pickup and neck heel)? Also, where the truss rod adjustment is could be different e.g. Mexican fenders are adjusted from the headstock so the pick guard doesn't have a cut out for the truss rod adjustment which US Fenders have at the neck heel. For reference, I've just pulled out four spare P-Bass pick guards which I had lying around and laid them on top of each other. They're all 13 hole models without the truss rod notch and all the pickup holes, control holes and fixing screw holes lined up exactly. There very subtle differences to some of the curves or pointy bits but nothing which would materially affect the fit on a standard bass.

Hopefully that fact will temper any over enthusiasm on the day.

Yes the story may affect the price but, so far, it is unproven and I wouldn’t want to put too much emphasis on that. I would like to think it will attract a price that is commensurate with a standard bass of that period. An interesting one to watch for sure.

An interesting bass coming up for auction at Gardiner Houlgate

Well, I dithered and the temptation evaporated, so I’m still in. 🙂