Vintage Fenders

[Old Man Riva]

6 hours ago, peteb said:

 

This was very common with Fenders, especially from the 70s that were not thought to 'vintage' until relatively recently!

 

I've got my 78 P bass on a stand next to me right now. These days it has a Badass bridge, a different p/up, new pots and (I think) a new nut. It's also had a re-fret and the back of the neck now has a satin finish. The only original things left are the wood, the scratchplate, the knobs and the tuners, which still work great.  It looks, sounds and feels like a 70s Fender, just it's had a few tweaks over the years to ensure that it plays and sounds how it should! 

 

A similar tale here. The ‘73/‘74 Jazz I’ve had since the early/mid 80s has had five different sets of p/ups in it - the originals, 70s cream coloured DiMarzio, first generation EMGs, a sourced set of ‘74 p/ups, and currently a set of Seymour Duncan Antiquity. The original owner was responsible for the first two sets, and I’ve piddled around with the rest!

 

I took off the tug bar and covers (as most people did at the time) and left them in a wardrobe at my mum’s decades ago. She then had a clear out and they ended up at the main Coventry tip! The original case is long gone too.

 

It’s been played to within an inch of its life, and I still love the thing as much today as the first day I had it… 

[tauzero]

6 hours ago, Old Man Riva said:

A similar tale here. The ‘73/‘74 Jazz I’ve had since the early/mid 80s has had five different sets of p/ups in it - the originals, 70s cream coloured DiMarzio, first generation EMGs, a sourced set of ‘74 p/ups, and currently a set of Seymour Duncan Antiquity. The original owner was responsible for the first two sets, and I’ve piddled around with the rest!

 

I took off the tug bar and covers (as most people did at the time) and left them in a wardrobe at my mum’s decades ago. She then had a clear out and they ended up at the main Coventry tip! The original case is long gone too.

 

It’s been played to within an inch of its life, and I still love the thing as much today as the first day I had it… 

 

My fretted mid-70s P got a diMarzio (I'm currently trying to sell the original pickup) and there's a rout under the scratchplate where I put an active EQ and battery, which I subsequently removed. I also hacked the scratchplate around and removed the remnants of the rather battered sunburst finish. I part-exchanged it in 1988 - I occasionally wonder what happened to it. It wasn't unusual for mods to get done to them, like J bass bridge pickups. Nowadays it seems that doing anything like that is regarded as sacrilege - even a decent refin so it doesn't look like it got towed to every gig (why are Fender finishes so fragile?) is regarded as an evil deed.

[mikeswals]

On 24/10/2025 at 00:05, Pow_22 said:

So the Rickenbacker is really not bonding with me (or vice versa) so im considering trading it it and going back to a fender (either P or J).  Initial feeler searches have thrown this up locally@-

 

https://www.sellusyourguitar.co.uk/product-page/fender-jazz-bass-natural-1976-vintage-electric-bass-guitar

 

Ad states replacement volume pots and a refret.  Doesnt seem to mention the pickups.

 

one nit pick: the chrome neck pickup cover is for a P, its wider than a J cover

[mikeswals]

On 01/10/2025 at 13:37, rwillett said:

What's a CAR please?

 

Burst & CAR

[dodgnofski]

‘Candy Apple Red’ - my least favourite finish ever! - no offence😂🙈

[rwillett]

3 hours ago, mikeswals said:

 

Burst & CAR

 

I suppose if nothing else, I'd force myself to accept a CAR Precision if somebody ever gave me one.  It would be a struggle but I reckon I could handle it. I'd probably need to be given the burst as well so it all balances out. 

 

Is there a list somewhere I add my name to?

 

Rob

[Mrbigstuff]

14 hours ago, mikeswals said:

 

one nit pick: the chrome neck pickup cover is for a P, its wider than a J cover

Out of interest what’s the measurement difference?

[mikeswals]

19 hours ago, Mrbigstuff said:

Out of interest what’s the measurement difference?

 

Here's the two side by side:

The J cover is 47mm wide, the P cover is 57mm wide

Edited October 31 by mikeswals

[JazzyJ]

Another moment of madness, never mind.

A November '63 Jazz. Refin at some point in early '70s. I believe it could have been CAR originally. Apart from that all looks good. I had it taken apart to confirm (photos to follow later on this week).

Rusty strings, frets aren't great, sounds superb plus some provenance.

 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

Do You think it was orinally Dakota red?

[JazzyJ]

11 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Do You think it was orinally Dakota red?

Maybe, I just saw a fleck of red under the refinish.

I'll pop some more photos up tomorrow

 

[BassAgent]

It was probably originally sunburst. CAR was a custom colour in those years AFAIK, which would have meant it had a white pickguard.

 

But it looks amazing! Love the wear on the neck, and the fact you have photos of the original owner add to its mojo. Enjoy that beautiful instrument.

Edited Monday at 09:08 by BassAgent

[Stub Mandrel]

10 hours ago, JazzyJ said:

 

 

This is clearly pre-refin, the dark tone in a b&w is right for a deep red.

 

Great to have such a record and his wife seems pleased it's gone to someone who cares.

Edited Monday at 09:51 by Stub Mandrel

[Reggaebass]

19 hours ago, JazzyJ said:

Another moment of madness, never mind.

A November '63 Jazz. Refin at some point in early '70s. I believe it could have been CAR originally. Apart from that all looks good. I had it taken apart to confirm (photos to follow later on this week).

Rusty strings, frets aren't great, sounds superb plus some provenance.

 

 

I absolutely love that Jazzy, congratulations, it looks great, look forward to seeing any more pics 

[JazzyJ]

53 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

I absolutely love that Jazzy, congratulations, it looks great, look forward to seeing any more pics 

Tbh, the frets are knackered but I'm fitting some new flats later on tonight and see how it plays.

A great deal as well 😎

[wateroftyne]

Love this! Originally Selmer Fiesta Red, maybe? That would explain the tort guard.

[JazzyJ]

Ok, I popped a set of TI flats on the jazz and despite the state of the frets, it plays and sounds absolutely sublime.

Just needs a minor setup to suit myself, otherwise I'll leave it at that.

The chap who I bought it from, acquired it 20yrs ago. Never gigged during that time.

Howard Livett, the original owner bought it new when he was 16yrs old apparently.

When I clapped eyes on this, it was a no brainer 🙂.

 

 

[Hellzero]

Should you have 24000 € burning your pocket, it's not a delirious price for an original 1955 Fender Precision Bass in excellent condition and owned by Jean-Marc Haroutiounian (born in 1964, so he can't be the first owner), a French professional bass player known for his work with Michel Sardou.

 

That said, it's at 22000 € on Reverb, meaning he certainly will accept the price they retail for, which is around between 15~18000 € depending on its condition.

 

 

The ads are here: https://www.zikinf.com/annonces/annonce-2396807

 

Fender Precision 1955 - Sunburst https://reverb.com/item/88147330

 

Edited Tuesday at 12:34 by Hellzero
More data added

[Reggaebass]

Wunjo have got a few in at the moment, the 64 jazz has got some serious play wear, looks genuine so it must have been played for years looking at the back, they also got a 72 jazz which I’ve enquired about 

https://share.google/jCYtp8qSFhcS08mP0

[ossyrocks]

6 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Wunjo have got a few in at the moment, the 64 jazz has got some serious play wear, looks genuine so it must have been played for years looking at the back, they also got a 72 jazz which I’ve enquired about 

https://share.google/jCYtp8qSFhcS08mP0

The '64 Jazz has some serious mojo! Love that one. The price isn't ridiculous when compared to other dealers either.

[Reggaebass]

1 minute ago, ossyrocks said:

The '64 Jazz has some serious mojo! Love that one. The price isn't ridiculous when compared to other dealers either.

Really dark fretboard too, i like that, I’d be interested to know who owned it before 

[ossyrocks]

45 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

Really dark fretboard too, i like that, I’d be interested to know who owned it before 

It's usually a mystery as to where they've been before, sometimes we get a bit of an anecdote, or info on the immediate previous owner. Full history is usually not available. 

With my '73 Jazz, which is very heavily worn, I bought it from BassBros, but Nick (@oldhorsemurphy RIP) contacted me as he'd only just sold it to them. He told me how long he'd had it, and where he bought it. He'd bought it from the original owner, who was responsible for ALL the wear on that bass. He must have played it every day since 1973!

[Geek99]

I look at it this way … I used to own an mgb

it went wrong more often than you’d expect 

when the fuel pump went I bought a new & better one. I didn’t seek a rebuild of the exact fuel pump it started life with. It had lasted well, but was frankly a bit rubbish. Theres no use in pretending that every “old” bass was made perfectly with components that were functionally perfect and that the whole thing emitted magic sparkles unless changed, whereupon it became as lifeless as the worst 70s Kay 

I didn’t add a whale-fin spoiler to it and in the same vein I’d never re-fin an old bass. It is irreversible 

 

it still looked like an mgb and if it had optical ignition rather than clunky old points, no one will know.
 

In the same way, it doesn’t matter if a volume pot has been replaced with a modern version of the same thing. Keep the old one for those of the potential buyers who might care, and use something better for you in your time owning it. No one truly gives a toss about original, unmolested solder joints. 🤷

 

afterthought: those “included original pots and pickups” where replacement has been declared to the buyer. I’d be really interested to know proportionally how many vintage buyers have gone to the trouble of having the original part repaired and replaced in the instrument. I suspect “quite few”… just as I preferred optical ignition and an electronic fuel pump. 

Edited 9 hours ago by Geek99

[Burns-bass]

17 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

It's usually a mystery as to where they've been before, sometimes we get a bit of an anecdote, or info on the immediate previous owner. Full history is usually not available. 

With my '73 Jazz, which is very heavily worn, I bought it from BassBros, but Nick (@oldhorsemurphy RIP) contacted me as he'd only just sold it to them. He told me how long he'd had it, and where he bought it. He'd bought it from the original owner, who was responsible for ALL the wear on that bass. He must have played it every day since 1973!

I sold Nick a 70s Jazz too. What a lovely guy he was.