Vintage Fenders

[GuyR 430]

38 minutes ago, onehandclapping said:

The 62 slab here is a little darker/bassier than veneer board.An original stacker sounds very different to a vvt and it would  not be my pick.A reissue stacker compared to an original does not have the capacitors in that to my ear throttle the sound.The 62 here has a bigger neck than my 63 and 64 which are very similar,the 63 being my favourite.I did play another 62 slab vvt the other day and the neck was awesome being quite small like my 63...hope this helps😀

My 62 curved board has a smaller neck than my 64 and 65, which are both still similar to each other and narrow. The 62 is darker sounding, the 64 very zingy and modern, the 65 somewhere in between. To me, all early Jazzes are have their own individual character. I tried a wonderful 64 once with a very full feeling neck. It would be interesting to see how much variation there is between the measured profiles of vintage basses manufactured in the same month. It wouldn't surprise me to see a wide difference.

 

[rodney72a 37]

1 hour ago, onehandclapping said:

The 62 slab here is a little darker/bassier than veneer board.An original stacker sounds very different to a vvt and it would  not be my pick.A reissue stacker compared to an original does not have the capacitors in that to my ear throttle the sound.The 62 here has a bigger neck than my 63 and 64 which are very similar,the 63 being my favourite.I did play another 62 slab vvt the other day and the neck was awesome being quite small like my 63...hope this helps😀

I think you mean the resistors. The reissues do have capacitors - it's the resistors that are missing.

Edited November 28, 2020 by rodney72a

[Chiliwailer 864]

11 hours ago, GuyR said:

My 62 curved board has a smaller neck than my 64 and 65, which are both still similar to each other and narrow. The 62 is darker sounding, the 64 very zingy and modern, the 65 somewhere in between. To me, all early Jazzes are have their own individual character. I tried a wonderful 64 once with a very full feeling neck. It would be interesting to see how much variation there is between the measured profiles of vintage basses manufactured in the same month. It wouldn't surprise me to see a wide difference.

 

I think you’re right Guy, my experience from working in vintage shops and playing a fair few is that there can be quiet a difference. The necks were made and finished by hand after alL 

edit - and not to Lull or Sadowsky highly skilled and expected exact measurements! 

Edited November 29, 2020 by Chiliwailer

[bakerster135 68]

From my experience the pickup windings were pretty inconsistent too, which obviously contributes to the amplified sound.

The 65 Jazz I recently sold had factory pickups that were slightly overwound so had a darker, louder tone. My 66, on the other hand, has a tone somewhere between that and my 75 Jazz.

I compared the 66 with a friend's 62 last year, and found there wasn't a huge amount of difference acoustically or plugged in. I think I preferred my 66 amplified tbh, for its slightly bolder mid-range!

[mowf 67]

This is why you have to have so many basses. As I keep telling my wife.

[onehandclapping 92]

13 hours ago, rodney72a said:

I think you mean the resistors. The reissues do have capacitors - it's the resistors that are missing.

Thanks for the clarification👍

Edited November 29, 2020 by onehandclapping

[Obra 104]

This is my '68 P. Also a link to a great address:

http://vintagebassworld.com/description.php?manufacturer=Fender&product=Precision&year=0

[Reggaebass 5,329]

5 minutes ago, Obra said:

This is my '68 P. Also a link to a great address:

http://vintagebassworld.com/description.php?manufacturer=Fender&product=Precision&year=0

That’s a beauty obra, and thanks for that link, i don’t think I’ve been on that site, I’ll have a good look through it  👍

[Old Man Riva 708]

54 minutes ago, Obra said:

This is my '68 P. Also a link to a great address:

http://vintagebassworld.com/description.php?manufacturer=Fender&product=Precision&year=0

That site is ridiculous! Between that and old episodes of Columbo that’s my Sunday sorted!

[Reggaebass 5,329]

41 minutes ago, Old Man Riva said:

That site is ridiculous! Between that and old episodes of Columbo that’s my Sunday sorted!

Great minds old man riva, I’m watching columbo now 😁

[Old Man Riva 708]

1 hour ago, Reggaebass said:

Great minds old man riva, I’m watching columbo now 😁

One of my favourite TV shows ever! As a kid I was a sucker for the US cop shows - Columbo, Kojak, Rockford Files, Banacek, Cannon, Petrocelli etc.

Some great music too - watched a Columbo the other week which had a terrific Oliver Nelson score!

[Reggaebass 5,329]

The places I normally look to see what vintage fenders are for sale is

reverb, the bass gallery, vintage and rare, Andy Baxter, bass direct,   Are there any others that anyone can recommend 🙂

[bakerster135 68]

1 hour ago, Reggaebass said:

The places I normally look to see what vintage fenders are for sale is

reverb, the bass gallery, vintage and rare, Andy Baxter, bass direct,   Are there any others that anyone can recommend 🙂

New Kings Road guitars and ATB Guitars often get some gooduns in though their prices are, generally, eye-watering...

[Reggaebass 5,329]

3 minutes ago, bakerster135 said:

New Kings Road guitars and ATB Guitars often get some gooduns in though their prices are, generally, eye-watering...

Thanks bakerster, I’d forgotten about new kings road guitars, my friend bought a really nice P from them, and ATB guitars is one I didn’t know  👍

[GuyR 430]

2 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

Thanks bakerster, I’d forgotten about new kings road guitars, my friend bought a really nice P from them, and ATB guitars is one I didn’t know  👍

I have bought well from ATB and found them straightforward. I understand guitaravenue are reputable too, although that is not from personal experience.

If you have confidence in your own judgement, Gardiner Houlgate have four auctions per year. I have also got excellent value there.

[Chiliwailer 864]

9 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

The places I normally look to see what vintage fenders are for sale is

reverb, the bass gallery, vintage and rare, Andy Baxter, bass direct,   Are there any others that anyone can recommend 🙂

Gbase.com is good for seeing what’s in the States, and you can search by years. 

[Reggaebass 5,329]

8 hours ago, GuyR said:

Gardiner Houlgate have four auctions per year. I have also got excellent value there

Thanks guy, that’s good to know, I do look there but I wasn’t sure about buying from them 👍

[OliverBlackman 296]

16 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

The places I normally look to see what vintage fenders are for sale is

reverb, the bass gallery, vintage and rare, Andy Baxter, bass direct,   Are there any others that anyone can recommend 🙂

Some of the Denmark street shops still sell vintage gear. I occasionally browse Wunjo, No. Tom, and Hanks. 

[Reggaebass 5,329]

I’ve found this place that has quite a few vintage fenders/basses  in stock , but they are based in Italy,https://www.hendrixguitars.com/Hxbass.htm

[ped 6,910]

https://www.vintageandrare.com/category/Basses-52/4-string-69/4-string-69 Aggregates items from a bunch of used dealers

[mowf 67]

12 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

I’ve found this place that has quite a few vintage fenders/basses  in stock , but they are based in Italy,https://www.hendrixguitars.com/Hxbass.htm

I think this guy’s on Reverb as Albert’s Guitar Collection. Always interesting to compare the prices on Reverb and the shop website for the same guitars! He seems pretty pricey but I get the impression he really knows his stuff and the guitars are thoroughly checked out.

[LukeFRC 2,116]

2 minutes ago, mowf said:

I think this guy’s on Reverb as Albert’s Guitar Collection. Always interesting to compare the prices on Reverb and the shop website for the same guitars! He seems pretty pricey but I get the impression he really knows his stuff and the guitars are thoroughly checked out.

I like his '63 in Lake Placid Blue a lot. (not that I can afford a €25,000 bass - esp now there would be 20% VAT on top!) 

[Reggaebass 5,329]

4 minutes ago, mowf said:

I think this guy’s on Reverb as Albert’s Guitar Collection. Always interesting to compare the prices on Reverb and the shop website for the same guitars! He seems pretty pricey but I get the impression he really knows his stuff and the guitars are thoroughly checked out.

Thanks mowf, yeah looks like the same basses 

[Stingray5 529]

On 24/12/2020 at 20:34, Reggaebass said:

The places I normally look to see what vintage fenders are for sale is

reverb, the bass gallery, vintage and rare, Andy Baxter, bass direct,   Are there any others that anyone can recommend 🙂

Guitar Avenue. 
https://www.guitaravenue.com/fender.htm

[Reggaebass 5,329]

6 hours ago, Stingray5 said:

Guitar Avenue. 
https://www.guitaravenue.com/fender.htm

Thanks stingray, it looks like they are uk based too, at Leigh on sea , I’ll keep an eye on them,  they’ve got  a nice 61 jazz , it’s a shame it’s been refinished