Vintage Fenders

[Reggaebass]

15 minutes ago, miles'tone said:

That's the place I bought the 1965 P I had for a while from. Good experience, good people to deal with.

That was a beauty miles, I remember it well 

[ped]

Here’s a question for you experts. My hootenanny button is missing. Should it be the same as the other strap buttons, and what sort of screw holds it in? It can’t be a normal screw as it’ll be too long, but a pickguard sized screw surely is too small to hold any weight (not that I’d actually use it?)

 

 

[briansbrew]

24 minutes ago, ped said:

Here’s a question for you experts. My hootenanny button is missing. Should it be the same as the other strap buttons, and what sort of screw holds it in? It can’t be a normal screw as it’ll be too long, but a pickguard sized screw surely is too small to hold any weight (not that I’d actually use it?)

 

 

Here you go Chris, just a bit bigger than a guard screw

Edited Tuesday at 19:59 by briansbrew

[ped]

8 minutes ago, briansbrew said:

Here you go Chris, just a bit bigger than a guard screw

Ah thank you, so you happen to know the size? The pin looks the same as the other two. I think I have one somewhere. 

[ossyrocks]

7 minutes ago, ped said:

Ah thank you, so you happen to know the size? The pin looks the same as the other two. I think I have one somewhere. 

I have some old Fender screws in the workshop. If Brian can tell us the dimensions, I can see if I have anything. 

[briansbrew]

9 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

I have some old Fender screws in the workshop. If Brian can tell us the dimensions, I can see if I have anything. 

[Burns-bass]

I’ve got one of these buttons somewhere if you want it? (free obvs)

[ossyrocks]

8 hours ago, briansbrew said:

 

Could you give me more accurate measurements please Brian. Haha.

 

I'll have a look today.

 

Rob

[ped]

8 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

I’ve got one of these buttons somewhere if you want it? (free obvs)

 Very kind, thank you. Let me check if I have one and I’ll let you know  and thanks for the measurements @briansbrew and for checking for the screw @ossyrocks !!

[Geek99]

#spiritofbasschat

[Geek99]

That should be a basschat theme @ped

Emblazoned across the head bar, a nod to Rush to please most members. You can send my royalty cheque annually, when it will Doubtless dwarf the gdp of France 👍 

Edited yesterday at 08:46 by Geek99

[thodrik]

Got my old s9 Precision a proper set up. New nut, new jack socket and tidying up of the wiring. I’ve owned it since 1999 and it has had a lot of use, as shown by the way the nitro finish on the neck is flaking off. Might get the neck refinished eventually but will leave it as is for now.

 

Pick guard was like that when I got it. It does make for easier access to the wiring I suppose.

 

Not a ‘proper’ vintage Fender compared to classic earlier models, but it is a damn good workhorse bass.

 

 

 

[Sparky Mark]

41 minutes ago, thodrik said:

Got my old s9 Precision a proper set up. New nut, new jack socket and tidying up of the wiring. I’ve owned it since 1999 and it has had a lot of use, as shown by the way the nitro finish on the neck is flaking off. Might get the neck refinished eventually but will leave it as is for now.

 

Pick guard was like that when I got it. It does make for easier access to the wiring I suppose.

 

Not a ‘proper’ vintage Fender compared to classic earlier models, but it is a damn good workhorse bass.

 

 

 

I think S9 = 1979, so 46 years old. I reckon that qualifies as vintage based on the 30+ years definition of vintage guitars. 

[Mrbigstuff]

6 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

I think S9 = 1979, so 46 years old. I reckon that qualifies as vintage based on the 30+ years definition of vintage guitars. 

From what I remember some s9 serial numbers covered early 80s too. This one has some transitional features.

[SurroundedByManatees]

23 minutes ago, Mrbigstuff said:

From what I remember some s9 serial numbers covered early 80s too. This one has some transitional features.

Correct, could be up to 1982

[BassAgent]

IIRC that goes for both S8 and S9 serials.

[thodrik]

30 minutes ago, Mrbigstuff said:

From what I remember some s9 serial numbers covered early 80s too. This one has some transitional features.

Exactly. It could be made from 1979-1982 using whatever bits and pieces  Fender found around the factory at the time.

 

I haven’t had it taken apart and dated all the various parts. The only thing I know for sure is that the nut and jack socket are less than a week old.

 

[Burns-bass]

17 minutes ago, thodrik said:

Exactly. It could be made from 1979-1982 using whatever bits and pieces  Fender found around the factory at the time.

 

I haven’t had it taken apart and dated all the various parts. The only thing I know for sure is that the nut and jack socket are less than a week old.

 

Lack of holes for chrome covered strings suggests it’s 80s.

 

Not s criticism as it’s a banging looking bass and likely better than the late 70s ones.

[thodrik]

3 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

Lack of holes for chrome covered strings suggests it’s 80s.

 

Not s criticism as it’s a banging looking bass and likely better than the late 70s ones.

I did think that. 

Whether it is a 1979 or 1982 bass doesn't really matter to me as I bought it for less than £400 in 1999. It was the cheapest way that I could buy an American made Fender. At the time (late 1990s) the late seventies/early 1980s Fender Precisions were cheaper than the new American Standards.

 

Any notional increase in value from the bass being a 1979 bass rather than a 1982 bass would be off-set by the damage of me playing it constantly for 26+ years and mostly storing it in a gig bag so it has cosmetic dings aplenty. It is very much a 'never sell' bass so if someone told me that it was a 1982 bass worth 'only' £1,200 or so rather than £1,500-£1,600 late seventies P-bass it would make no difference to me whatsoever.
 

Edited 7 hours ago by thodrik

[ezbass]

In today’s money, that’d cost around £880 (according to Google anyway), I call bargain. Looks great too.

[rwillett]

47 minutes ago, thodrik said:

It is very much a 'never sell' bass so if someone told me that it was a 1982 bass worth 'only' £1,200 or so rather than £1,500-£1,600 late seventies P-bass it would make no difference to me whatsoever.

Which is a great attitude to have. 

[ossyrocks]

On 30/07/2025 at 06:03, ossyrocks said:

 

Could you give me more accurate measurements please Brian. Haha.

 

I'll have a look today.

 

Rob

@ped I've drawn a blank on the screw I'm afraid. Although on the plus side, I've realised how much vintage tat I have accumulated over the years, which I could probably sell !

[ped]

5 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

@ped I've drawn a blank on the screw I'm afraid. Although on the plus side, I've realised how much vintage tat I have accumulated over the years, which I could probably sell !

 

No problem, thanks for looking. I had a similar feeling when I was looking for the strap button I thought I had (couldn't find it). Never mind, tbh it's dead weight anyway isn't it?

[Sparky Mark]

6 hours ago, SurroundedByManatees said:

Correct, could be up to 1982

Thank you for the clarification, and at 43 to 46 years old, she's still "vintage".