MacDaddy Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 I think it's important to remember that people known for playing vintage Fenders, were often playing Fenders that were not vintage. For example, Jamerson's stock '62 P bass was not a vintage bass when he was playing it in the 60's. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAgent Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 (edited) And also important to note: *the* Jamerson bass, the Funk Machine, was probably not a '62 Precision but way more likely a '65 or '66. This topic on Talkbass is a very interesting one to read. Edited February 3, 2022 by BassAgent 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 Just browsing as usual 😁and this came up recently, what do you make of the serial number, I thought 72 numbers were in the 340000 to 370000 ish, and has anyone heard of voltage Guitars http://www.voltageguitar.com/basses/1972-fender-jazz-bass-sunburts/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowf Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 (edited) 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 February 13, 2022 by mowf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowf Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 (edited) 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. Edited February 13, 2022 by mowf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 4 hours ago, mowf said: I've fallen down the rabbit hole now. Curse you @Reggaebass! Sorry about that mowf 😁, any pics of the whole bass 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mowf Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 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! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 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! That’s really nice 👌 , I never used to be attracted to the blocks but I think they look superb now 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike f Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OliverBlackman Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted February 23, 2022 Author Share Posted February 23, 2022 A friend sent me this to geek out on 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincbt Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted March 1, 2022 Author Share Posted March 1, 2022 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincbt Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misdee Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 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 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincbt Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted March 7, 2022 Author Share Posted March 7, 2022 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 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 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! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 2 minutes ago, Bassfinger said: Weird, as it wasn't that many years ago they were being slagged off for being a sheet. ...by people who were paraphrasing what they heard someone say in a pub once. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misdee Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 (edited) 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 March 8, 2022 by Misdee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misdee Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 Unfortunately I got rid of my old Fender basses some years ago, when they were still considered second hand rather than "vintage". Another great decision on my part👍. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 4 hours ago, Misdee said: the pre-CBS P Basses are too wide at the nut for me. Many ladies have said the same about me! 🤭 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted March 8, 2022 Share Posted March 8, 2022 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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