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NBD: Fender Corona California Precision Bass


njr911
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Update!

I've bought a Fender 2001 Precision Bass in Sea Foam Green in good condition. It was a decent deal I think.

Now for the negatives -

Filthy rosewood board,
Frets need a good clean and have some very minor wear,
Sratchy tone pot
Badly in need of a set up and new strings.



Here's what it looks like under the hood, a messy bit of earthing, are they all like that ?




Now having trusted all my other bass's to the local luthier I might do this one myself...



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Anyone know anything about them ?

I've been offered a P bass in good nick and was just wondering over the quality, pickups and anything else I need to know really. Is it an S1? Whatever that is, not sure if it's good or bad!

Also what the value is?

I've been told it's in good condition but with a non fender hardcase.

Edited by njr911
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A US Model - which it will be if assembled in the Corona plant - then you`d be looking between £550 and £800 assuming it`s made from late 90s onwards. There`s no rhyme or reason for this, they just seem to vary that way, though the newer post 2008 models seem to be the ones fetching the higher prices - they did upgrades in 2008 and have to say they are very good basses.

The S1 switching is a feature where you can put the pickups in a different mode, making it sound more Jazz-like- not particularly useful imo as on the Precision it reduces the volume so live it wouldn`t be of much use. But you don`t have to use it, and for studio work it`s nice to have the option.

Condition wise, well as long as the truss rod works and the electrics work, I`m never that fussed about dings or scratches etc, it`s a question of do my hands like the bass.

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I once owned one of these California Series basses. They are exactly the same as the Mexican ones - one here [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/261158-fender-precision-special-pj-car-maple/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/261158-fender-precision-special-pj-car-maple/[/url] - the parts used on both basses are the same, the difference is that the Mexican one is assembled in Mexico by Mexicans and the California Series is assembled in USA by Mexicans and gets a Made In USA stamp and a USA serial number

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[quote name='njr911' timestamp='1430419679' post='2761321']
Corona California on the neck plate and a Z serial number
[/quote]

Then it's a standard American Precision like Lozz said rather than a California Series like Gareth had. You'll know if it has got S1 switching if you can push the middle of the volume knob in and it latches. I agree with Lozz, not much use on a Precision but you can get £50 selling the switch on eBay!

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You got it then, nice one! I picked up a mid 90s one once in similar condition and it became my favourite bass so I hope yours works out. Looks good from the pics but I'm not sure what the original colour is either. It does look like its had new set of pick ups in it, hence the messy soldering, but you can obviously swap them out or keep them depending on how they sound. I hope it was a bargain. Clean it, set it up and stick it a Hiscox case and you've got a great bass.
Steve

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Played it at my gig tonight and it's great, you really can't beat a USA P bass with rounds for rock and indie.

My set up was adequate but I need to do a bit more work on it tomorrow.

Scratchy pot has cured it's self after a bit of use.

I took the guard off to see if I could tell what the pickups were but not got a clue if they are original or not ?

Not sure what those markings mean either.

There's no shielding under the pickups but the guard is fully shielded.

The pickup covers are not attached to the pickups and the foam is stuck tot he bottom of the pickups?

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That bar code tells a story.

0056190 - Body, Am P-Bass, solid color
7 - standard case
51 - sky blue

Still no idea about the pickups. Look genuine. Maybe there was a replacement at some point or maybe a pot change.

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