1982 Fender Precision Bass Special Walnut. Can you take it to the bridge?

[ET777]

Hello. This is my first post here in the forum.  Earlier today, I purchased a 1982 Precision Bass Special in walnut, from an online dealer.  I will receive the bass sometime next week.  I did research and have found that these are fairly rare basses.  This bass appears to be in all original very good/excellent condition.  However what has me curious is this very large half moon shaped hi-mass brass bridge.  Its engraved "Fender pat. pending" and appears to be original to this bass.  Does anyone have any info on this bridge?  I searched up and down the web for info on it but came up empty.  The only other one that Ive found is on a current listing from Japan on ebay for a 1982 in Alpine white, which has this bridge, although that one is pretty beaten up.  Any insight on this? Was this a prototype bridge only in limited production? Thanks in advance.  Photo of the body of the bass I bought in walnut, and the alpine white one in Japan below.  

Edited Friday at 22:38 by ET777

[PaulThePlug]

Cure for neck dive...

[ET777]

7 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

Cure for neck dive...

 Yes, built in ballast.  I have not yet received the bass.  If its a boat anchor, then there is a return policy. However the price was good and  it appears to be a rare one. 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I've never seen this style of bridge, it isn't the most aesthetically pleasing piece of irnmongery I've seen.

 

I do however remember the 1982 Fender Precision Bass Special Walnut looking like this, having seen them at the time:

 

[ajkula66]

I owned a Precision Walnut Special back in the early '80s, bought it brand new. An expensive piece of gear it was and likely my favourite Fender P out of the myriad that I've owned over the past 45 years.

 

Never have I seen a bridge like that on any Fender bass from this era which doesn't necessarily mean it's not original...another head scratcher from the Dan Smith era I guess.

 

These are exceptionally well-made instruments in my limited experience. 

 

May you get to play it in good health and enjoy it thoroughly!

[ET777]

Mo' pics.  SN CD115xx

Edited yesterday at 00:14 by ET777

[ET777]

I’ve been doing some deeper digging into the origins of this unusual half-moon brass bridge and whether it was actually factory-installed. One detail that really stood out: the two outer screw holes on the bridge are not drilled into the body—both on the bass I just bought and on the example currently listed in Japan. Only the four inner screws (under the strings) are used.

 

I emailed the Japanese dealer about their bass, and this was their reply:

 

“The bridge you are asking about is the original High-Mass Brass Bridge adopted by Fender for this Precision Bass Special, which was a change from their traditional bridge design.  This brass bridge is a high-mass, top-load type. It was a modern feature Fender included to improve sustain and tone, following a popular trend at the time.  Unlike the traditional Fender plate bridge, this one has a thicker, heavier design. The increased mass helps transfer string vibration better to the body, which is believed to result in longer sustain. Some players did find the design a bit less comfortable.

Thank you,
Teeda”

 

I’ll also be emailing Fender on Monday to see if they have any additional info on this bridge.

The good news is that, based on the mounting pattern, it appears this bass could accept a standard Hi-Mass brass bridge without having to plug or drill any new holes, since only the four inner screws are used. If so, it would be an easy swap, and I could include the original bridge with the bass if I ever decide to sell it—assuming I even want to change it out at all.

Edited yesterday at 02:37 by ET777

[cocco]

These are colloquially known as "claw" bridges, try using that as a search term.

 

I don't know a great deal about them but from what I understand they're quite rare and sought after. I don't think they were produced for very long. 

[Bagman]

there was one here in Chch years back at Mac's Sound Cashel Street 

[ET777]

1 hour ago, cocco said:

These are colloquially known as "claw" bridges, try using that as a search term.

 

I don't know a great deal about them but from what I understand they're quite rare and sought after. I don't think they were produced for very long. 

 

Thanks very much coco! I did a search for that and immediately turned up a chat from talkbass.com.  I am reading it now....

 

Edited yesterday at 07:06 by ET777

[Geek99]

Kahler-made add-on to increase sustain and possibly reduce neck-dive. Never fitted by fender from what I read 

 

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1584071
that’s why you’re not seeing it in marketing from the time. Quite rare apparently 

[ET777]

Thanks for the link Geek99.  I just saw a link to one on Reverb that sold for 150 just a few months ago, which seems a good price for something so rare.  Could double for playing horseshoes with too. 

[Reggaebass]

Welcome ET, big fender fanboy here and I can honestly say that I’ve never seen one of those before, I’m following with interest 

[Beedster]

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/what-is-this-gigantic-fender-p-bass-bridge.1441155/

[HeadlessBassist]

Yes, welcome ET - that's a fantastic looking Precision. I'm looking forward to hearing how it plays/sounds when you get it. The early eighties were an interesting time for offshoot instruments like the Specials and Elites. Fender were forced to introduce preamps and other additions when other makers suddenly burst into the eighties with more 'up-front' powerful basses.

[Geek99]

1 hour ago, ET777 said:

Thanks for the link Geek99.  I just saw a link to one on Reverb that sold for 150 just a few months ago, which seems a good price for something so rare.  Could double for playing horseshoes with too. 

Or in a period drama, it could be part of a military uniform 

https://www.amrevmuseum.org/collection/british-gorget

[Beedster]

Just now, Geek99 said:

Or in a period drama, it could be part of a military uniform 

https://www.amrevmuseum.org/collection/british-gorget

 

....or a weapon 👍

[SurroundedByManatees]

I don't think it came stock on this bass.

 

I've read somewhere, that around that time Fender had a product line of brass aftermarket parts that could be used for "upgrading". I remember a local advertisement where this bridge was offered in it's original blister packiging. Also loose bridge saddle assamblies could be purchases from that seller from old shop stock, and probably other hardware parts though.

[SurroundedByManatees]

[PaulThePlug]

^ @SurroundedByManatees Epic Find!

[ET777]

The bass just came in and its a total Time Capsule!  It has the original Eveready battery in it from the early 80s...like the Bunny...still going! Union Carbide, Cleveland Ohio.  They sold the brand in 1986.  The battery compartment and screws appeared to be untouched.  The original foam was covering the battery.  The battery measured at 5.4 volts.  Not bad for 43 years old!   The action on the bass is very high. It has round wounds.  All of the screws appear to be untouched.  The active output was very weak and the tone controls did not work. They do work on the passive side and it sounds good.  I am going to continue to look in to that and gently examine the electronics.  Here are photos of the unboxing.  This bass has not been played much and probably was in someones closet for many years. It could use maybe a bit of polishing. Frets are close to perfect. No marks or gashes on it anywhere. 

Edited 16 hours ago by ET777

[ET777]

Just put a new 9V in and it works perfectly.  I will look under the pickguard but am guessing that this is the original preamp.  It sounds great as passive or active.  The bass needs a setup, a little cleaning and the output jack needs its solder to be touched up as its a bit shorting when the cable is moved in it. Be back to post gut shots later. 

[wateroftyne]

Ah, the claw. Very much of its time!

 

FWIW, this is a later variant. The earliest walnut specials didn’t have the ‘burst effect, and didn’t have ‘Fender’ stamped on the bridge (the standard hi-mass bridge that came with these basses, that is).

 

Yours is a beaut. Enjoy it.

[ET777]

Here are some gut shots. Likely the first time its been opened since the factory.  The preamp appears to be original, and is very quiet and everything is working great.  I cleaned the pots with D5, then the switch and jack and reflowed the jack.  The ring area had some exposed wire which may have been causing the short.  The pots are 2 from 1981 and 1 from 1980 all CTS.  Caps all look good.  Im not going to "fix" what is not broken by capping it since its all original and working and sounds awesome. 

Edited 10 hours ago by ET777

[Hellzero]

A very rare find indeed, congratulations!