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Vintage Fenders


Reggaebass

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  • 2 weeks later...

From what I can tell this is 510xxx. I've got a '74 Jazz #410xx and an early '75 Precision #590xx so I'd have thought this was more likely to be a late '74 / early '75 bass. Intrigued by the "tortious guard"...

 

Although having said that, I don't know if you could still get black block inlays after they started doing mother of pearl on maple boards in '73 - '74.

Edited by mowf
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I've fallen down the rabbit hole now. Curse you @Reggaebass! Started looking at VintageBassWorld.com which tells me that my #410xxx serial number makes it likely my '74 is actually a '73...

Checked the pot codes and yes, they're all from 1973...

Checked the neck date stamp and it's too faded to be sure. The last 2 discernible digits are "53", which suggests a 1975 neck (!) (unless there's a digit missing from the end)...

Checked the pups. No stamp on one, on the other the last 2 digits are blurred but I think it's "73".

So, none the wiser then. And of course it makes no difference to how the bass sounds or plays.

 

 

 

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Edited by mowf
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11 minutes ago, mowf said:

Here you go. Bought from Bass Direct in 2020, all original (as far as I know). I put a tort scratch plate on as I prefer the look, I've got the ashtrays too which I love but it's just easier to play without them!

IMG_0018.jpeg.f1bdeee162d79a943d5ee49edd5e55f9.jpeg

That’s really nice 👌 , I never used to be attracted to the blocks but I think they look superb now 

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On 13/02/2022 at 09:04, mowf said:

From what I can tell this is 510xxx. I've got a '74 Jazz #410xx and an early '75 Precision #590xx so I'd have thought this was more likely to be a late '74 / early '75 bass. Intrigued by the "tortious guard"...

 

Although having said that, I don't know if you could still get black block inlays after they started doing mother of pearl on maple boards in '73 - '74.

My Jazz is #410xxx which puts it at ‘73/‘74 on the serial number date checker with the pots dated early ‘74.

 

I wish there was a way of checking what finish it left the factory with as my, rosewood necked, Jazz is white which I reckon is a refin which looked old when I got it in 1993. 

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1 hour ago, mike f said:

My Jazz is #410xxx which puts it at ‘73/‘74 on the serial number date checker with the pots dated early ‘74.

 

I wish there was a way of checking what finish it left the factory with as my, rosewood necked, Jazz is white which I reckon is a refin which looked old when I got it in 1993. 

Check the neck pocket. If its completely sprayed it usually indicates a refin

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just came across this Precision from 1971, not far from me. The price seems to be on the high side but does it otherwise look original? It doesn't seem to have visible stamps to date it properly? I could go and see it in person but can't make out if it's worth the trip.

 

https://reverb.com/item/43769619-fender-precision-bass-1971-sunburst

 

Thanks in advance

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1 hour ago, vincbt said:

Just came across this Precision from 1971, not far from me. The price seems to be on the high side but does it otherwise look original? It doesn't seem to have visible stamps to date it properly? I could go and see it in person but can't make out if it's worth the trip.

 

https://reverb.com/item/43769619-fender-precision-bass-1971-sunburst

 

Thanks in advance

Looks nice but a bit pricey I think, non original case and if I translated it right does it say Alnico pickups 

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10 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Looks nice but a bit pricey I think, non original case and if I translated it right does it say Alnico pickups 

Ah thanks, you are right I had missed the alnico pickups in my attempt at translating. Then yes definitely pricey

He also claims the case is original, but would need to be seen..

Not worth the trip

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One of many bass gear regrets is that I sold my '73 Precision ( Olympic white , maple board, A-width nut) for £200 in 1989. That was the going rate at the time, but still...😟

 

I remember going to America in the mid-1980s and the guitar shops were full of 70s Fenders at very reasonable prices( except  in NYC where everything was overpriced)  because there wasn't a huge demand for them. Nowadays they are just as sought after everywhere in the world.

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On 13/02/2022 at 10:55, mowf said:

I've fallen down the rabbit hole now. Curse you @Reggaebass! Started looking at VintageBassWorld.com which tells me that my #410xxx serial number makes it likely my '74 is actually a '73...

Checked the pot codes and yes, they're all from 1973...

Checked the neck date stamp and it's too faded to be sure. The last 2 discernible digits are "53", which suggests a 1975 neck (!) (unless there's a digit missing from the end)...

Checked the pups. No stamp on one, on the other the last 2 digits are blurred but I think it's "73".

So, none the wiser then. And of course it makes no difference to how the bass sounds or plays.

 

 

I think that's just the nature of Fender's, moreso the 70's stuff. All the parts were just pulled from parts-bins when needed, so the dates are all over the place.
The usual place to start is that ones bass is the age of the youngest part, ie in your case the bass would have left the factory in '75 as that is when the neck is dated.....unless it's a non-original neck. Just means the other parts were hanging around at the factory for a bit.

 

Si

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43 minutes ago, vincbt said:

Another one that just came up, the pickguard looks a bit odd, at least when it comes to the cutout to access the truss rod, but otherwise in decent shape

 

https://reverb.com/item/51671819-1973-fender-precision-sunburst-rosewood-fretboard-ohsc

 

 

Yeah looks nice, I’m guessing someone has made the truss rod easier to access by increasing the cutout, I messaged him a while back about his 71 jazz with black blocks 🙂

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On 01/03/2022 at 09:46, vincbt said:

Just came across this Precision from 1971, not far from me. The price seems to be on the high side...

Well over double what I paid for my '69 precision only two years ago. OK, I got mine on the cheaper side as it had a new neck - the old one was damaged, but was provided in the sale and a good luthier could likely repair it - but prices for CBS era instruments have gone nuts lately.

 

Weird, as it wasn't that many years ago they were being slagged off for being a sheet. Oh what a difference a bit of time makes!

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My favourite era for vintage Fenders is the early CBS years. For a start, the pre-CBS P Basses are too wide at the nut for me. I much prefer the A and B profile necks Fender introduced in the late 1960s.

 

I think a good example from the early CBS years compares perfectly well to the pre-CBS basses in every way. They certainly sound just as good to me.

 

It was later in the Seventies that things started to go awry to some extent, but a good bass is a good bass. There's good ones from the late 1970s and I have played some very poor pre-CBS examples. That's part of the beauty of old Fenders, sifting through a few and finding a good one for your own tastes.

Edited by Misdee
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8 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

 

...by people who were paraphrasing what they heard someone say in a pub once.

By nearly everyone, as I recall as recently as 20 years back.

 

Of course, the real vintage instruments are suddenly put of reach of mere mortals to the unloved suddenly becomes the next in line. It was near on impossible to find anyone that had a nice word to say about them, be it buyer or seller.

 

Thus it was with the Austin Allegro and the Morris Marina - both were laughing stocks while they were contemporary and for many years after, and now there are classic car clubs for them!

 

The altered perspective that time and history bring changes everything, logic or previous opinion be damned.

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43 minutes ago, Bassfinger said:

By nearly everyone, as I recall as recently as 20 years back.

 

Of course, the real vintage instruments are suddenly put of reach of mere mortals to the unloved suddenly becomes the next in line. It was near on impossible to find anyone that had a nice word to say about them, be it buyer or seller.

 

Thus it was with the Austin Allegro and the Morris Marina - both were laughing stocks while they were contemporary and for many years after, and now there are classic car clubs for them!

 

The altered perspective that time and history bring changes everything, logic or previous opinion be damned.


No - I was there, buying them. Early 70s Fenders have never been universally reviled. Later in the decade, yes.

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