1975 Fender Precision Fake?

[ronswanson]

Hello. I'm Looking for some advice on a bass I've purchased via auction, I've yet to collect.
 

It was listed as 1975 Fender Precision Bass mocha finish. From the photos I thought the neck and neck plate looked genuine. I thought the body had obviously had a hard time and had some bits changed but didn't think too much of it.

 

3 or 4 things looked obviously non-original for a Fender:

• bridge
• pickups
• knobs
• string-through - I wasn't sure about this but thought it was possible or could have been a mod.

 

By chance, after the auction I saw an image of a P bass copy on Facebook that has made me doubt it's fully authentic - a Hondo H-830 Fame. Any one of those parts being different didn't ring any alarm bells but seeing the Hondo having 3 or 4 similarities is a bit of a co-incidence.

 

The bridge design matches a Hondo exactly. It's also string-through with the holes on the back not in a straight line. The knobs are dom topped rather than flat.

 

The pickups on the "Fender" seem to have "EMG" written on them, while the Hondo I think has DiMarzio, so nothing to conclude from that.

 

What do you think? Genuine or partscaster?

 

I've got other photos but hopefully you can zoom in on these.

 

Hondo Fame 830 on reverb for reference:
https://reverb.com/item/29455437-hondo-fame-830-bass-guitar-used

 

Next steps will be to pass the info back to the auction house and suggest checking the neck pocket and pots. It's a 3 hour round trip so I'm hoping to resolve this without having to go in person.

Cheers!

[warwickhunt]

Cant see the neck clearly but the body is a wrong un! 

 

[diskwave]

Thru body holes arent even in line... somebodys been at it with the dremel. Neck looks good but who knows and theres no-way to chk the bodies authenticity. Red flags everywhere, but if its a player, then for the right price.....

[wateroftyne]

The string-through routes don't look factory, though..!

[Burns-bass]

Deleted post as I was wrong.
 

This is the bass I had seen.

 

Might be good as a reference?

 

https://richtonemusic.co.uk/fender-1976-precision-bass-mocha-hard-case-2nd-hand/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17621730406&gbraid=0AAAAAD_dMP3g5GEaSq-BJVH3JCCIPv-ag&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxo_CBhDbARIsADWpDH6QFy1oJPV75GkeXgflwqYVhEsDYkGIdtm5VpjOL6DXnNRJLpUpqvYaAn7qEALw_wcB

Edited 4 hours ago by Burns-bass

[warwickhunt]

The fact that the bridge and alignment of the ferrules are 'exactly' as per the Hondo screams that the body is simply a Hondo.

 

[Doctor J]

Cancel the order now, that's a cheapo body. Dots on the neck aren't right and it looks like  J width nut to me.

 

Fakedy Fake from Faketown.

[wateroftyne]

1 minute ago, warwickhunt said:

The fact that the bridge and alignment of the ferrules are 'exactly' as per the Hondo screams that the body is simply a Hondo.

 

They look aligned on the Hondo, but the OP bass looks like a frown...?

[walshy]

I can hear the alarm bells ringing from Northumberland! 

[wateroftyne]

6 minutes ago, walshy said:

I can hear the alarm bells ringing from Northumberland! 

Aye, it’s clearly a mutt. Just wondering how - if it’s a Hondo - they let it out of the door with those routes.

[walshy]

Just now, wateroftyne said:

Aye, it’s clearly a mutt. Just wondering how - if it’s a Hondo - they let it out of the door with those routes.

Aye looks like it was done with a machine gun from distance or maybe the GG 😉

[MrFingers]

It went to hell, got beaten, and refinished, there and then travelled all the way back... But it's legit. What is an instantly recognisable feature is the 2 filled dowel holes at the rear of the body. One near the end of the body, the other next to the neckplate (prior tot 1969 they were both on the centerline of the guitar, the top one was moved because you could see it on a sunburst).

The neck is also a typical 1970-1975 neck, the difference in discolouration between the headstock face (nitro) and the rest (poly) checks out. I bet that if you remove the E-tuner, you'll also see an (unfilled) dowel hole between the bottom two mounting screws for the tuner.

 

 

[Mrbigstuff]

1 hour ago, MrFingers said:

It went to hell, got beaten, and refinished, there and then travelled all the way back... But it's legit. What is an instantly recognisable feature is the 2 filled dowel holes at the rear of the body. One near the end of the body, the other next to the neckplate (prior tot 1969 they were both on the centerline of the guitar, the top one was moved because you could see it on a sunburst).

The neck is also a typical 1970-1975 neck, the difference in discolouration between the headstock face (nitro) and the rest (poly) checks out. I bet that if you remove the E-tuner, you'll also see an (unfilled) dowel hole between the bottom two mounting screws for the tuner.

 

 

If the neck is Fender, it’s had a new nut, fingerboard, inlays and frets. The body might be but again has been modded beyond meaningful originality. It’s a dog if there ever was one.