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

[Hellzero]

As @SurroundedByManatees mentioned, the bridge was not factory fitted, but is an add-on, I remember owning a set of original Fender brass knobs still in their packaging that I gave to a friend needing them and they were so heavy!?!

 

You now have to search for the original bridge which is the one not fitted (so the packed one) on this fully original 1982 (aka Dan Smith era) Fender Precision Bass Special and you can also try to find the original ashtrays while you're at it..

 

 

If you look at the image above, you'll understand that the two outer holes on your bridge were meant to align with the bridge cover holes. 😉

 

Just in case you want to read the Fender ad provided, again, by @SurroundedByManatees, here it is:

 

 

My main question is: How much does the whole bass weigh as, with all that brass, it must quite heavy? I guess around 5 kilos or even more...

 

Edited 19 hours ago by Hellzero
More coffee please

[HeadlessBassist]

Personally, I'd leave the 'Claw Bridge' on. It looks very individual and cool. Definitely a talking point.

[wateroftyne]

11 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

As @SurroundedByManatees mentioned, the bridge was not factory fitted, but is an add-on, I remember owning a set of original Fender brass knobs still in their packaging that I gave to a friend needing them and they were so heavy!?!

 

You now have to search for the original bridge which is the one fitted (not the packed one) on this fully original 1982 (aka Dan Smith era) Fender Precision Bass Special and you can also try to find the original ashtrays while you're at it..

 

 

If you look at the image above, you'll understand that the two outer holes on your bridge were meant to align with the bridge cover holes. 😉

 

Just in case you want to read the Fender ad provided, again, by @SurroundedByManatees, here it is:

 

 

My main question is: How much does the whole bass weigh as, with all that brass, it must quite heavy? I guess around 5 kilos or even more...

I may have misread this post, but the bridge in the photo isn’t the factory bridge for these.

[Hellzero]

3 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

I may have misread this post, but the bridge in the photo isn’t the factory bridge for these.

I guess you mean it must have the "regular" high mass one, but it was also an add-on.

[wateroftyne]

6 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

I guess you mean it must have the "regular" high mass one, but it was also an add-on.

Again, might be misunderstanding but the hi-mass is the stock bridge on these.

[Hellzero]

This one?

 

[wateroftyne]

3 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

This one?

 

Yep, that’s the factory one. Specifically one of the earlier ones without the Fender logo.

[Hellzero]

6 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

Yep, that’s the factory one. Specifically one of the earlier ones without the Fender logo.

My bad, I need to reformulate my post correctly.

[snorkie635]

44 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

My bad, I need to reformulate my post correctly.

My office, and clear your desk.

[ET777]

Hello. Thanks for the updates.  I am checking the used market for a used Hi Mass bridge from that era.  The ones that Ive seen that come original to this bass in 82 say "Fender pat. pending" on them just like The Claw does, however I have yet to find one that is stand alone for sale and I doubt that there are many out there.  As Hellzero pointed out, the earlier ones don't have the logo?  I like The Claw and it works and sounds fine, however the bass is 11 lbs as it is now, and going to a standard Hi Mass bridge may take 1 pound off of it and make it around 10.  My Ibanez Blazer from 81 is 9.5 pounds which is a P Bass style bass, for comparison.  I don't mind the 11 lbs on this one, since its a studio bass anyway.

 

Last night I put Flats on it, and spent time dialing in the action and intonation.  I got the A, D and G strings dialed in perfectly. Nice low action up and down the neck and intonated perfectly.  However the E string is a tiny bit of a struggle.  It plays perfectly below the 9th fret, but starts to get a little high action from there.  At the 12th fret open, from top of the 12th fret crown to the very bottom of the string, its about 1/8th of an inch, so a little high but not unplayable.  I can work with it.  That E also has a bit of issues intonating.  Its still a bit sharp (fretting the 12th fret) and I have to move the saddle all the way back in order to get it to be perfect. (it did this with both rounds and flats, so its not a "flats" thing).

 

So.... ultimately the bass may need a light "shim" in the neck cavity towards the rear, maybe the width of a business card.  That would help with the geometry and angle and get it a closer in intonation too.  However as it is, its pretty good so I am going to play it all day today to evaluate exactly how I want to tackle this.

 

This is an old skool, thumpin' P Bass. Its thick, heavy and rich like the best German Chocolate.  Its got a deep "nutty" tone.  Its got that 70s Pop and Soul P thing down cold.  I'm playing along with a top 100 hits from 1979 right now (Blondie, EWF, Bee Gees etc) and it just fits in to the mixes of those classic songs perfectly.  Its the sound.  It also can do the early 70s Soul and R&B (Stax, Willie Weeks, Chuck Rainey, Gamble/Huff/Philly sound etc).   I keep it in the Passive mode most of the time and prefer that over the active, but I could see switching to active for certain more aggressive style songs, or in particular live situations.  I really like the neck. Its not too thick and its fairly fast.  Its closer to my Fender Jazz bass than it is to my Blazer P.   This bass is a beast.  I appreciate all of your comments and suggestions. 

Edited 9 hours ago by ET777

[ET777]

I found the 1982 Fender price list online.  These were 1250 list, which was Fender's highest priced bass that year.  They offered a lot of Walnut across the line that year:  https://guitar-compare.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/1982-June-1.pdf

[ET777]

I've been poking around online getting more info on the bass.  I found an original brass Hi Mass Bridge for sale on Reverb but the seller is asking $231 for it plus $71 for shipping and he is in Europe.  So adding tax and probably tarrifs to it, would push this close to $400 so I'm going to pass on it. 

 

https://reverb.com/item/92743282-fender-precision-jazz-bass-bridge-vintage-80-s-gold-brass-ultra-rare

 

I will probably just get a new Fender HI Mass Bridge which is about $60 and have it available in case I ever gig with the bass, so it would take 1.5 pounds off of the weight.  

 

I was able to set it up perfectly now, its got super low action and is intonated with The Claw in.

 

I also found an interesting Ebay listing for a Tweed 1982 case.  This is the exact same case that my Walnut came in.  Identical.  So its possible that the case is original that it came in from the factory or dealer in 82.  Its mint condition, and since the rest of the bass is pretty much original including the Eveready, then the case probably is too.   I had thought that it would have been a black case, however it is period correct and could be original to the bass. 

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/227096921278?_skw=1982+precision+bass+special&itmmeta=01KBXZ8E83Y52RJGNCEZGS8WN3&hash=item34e00804be:g:dIIAAeSwFyFpIfmw&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAABAFkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1d%2BECoCo4LYo2FIWPBZqinhdQRzGE5DvMKUonn0kRmFb2C0ycQDb8qhlRfoD5oxLqmgtKxE4Nw9DaupqSyJV9hG0UPguoSDlI%2BnKvWhL3hFrKQ43V8YTFSHUaOQ%2FJUgG5Lc8S9GBb0ApdeC4rBPcegJTkpbHoZsjmiRAJx0P3GUXZ7Dvs1sczW%2FQYIMhfvSuy0nFB0jBY0d%2Bn%2BcB8c5kfaWMvSgQIbOfL%2BnacyVS4DxLAJb576QF17weBhL%2ByQok7J06%2Bx%2B3L6yChLjq8UvShkWEzzWK48Zs80qL4klhXt4sZMrp2lpq1Tlfz%2FSt91cpFI%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5jkob_fZg  FENDER USA 1982 REISSUE TWEED JAZZ OR PRECISION BASS CASE FIRST YEAR GOOD SHAPE Seller comment:  

"This case once held a blonde 1982 '57 Precision Reissue that I sold to my most famous Rock Star customer eons ago in a flight case instead. So I've had the case for over 20 years. I know it's a 1982 but you can tell by all the details that it's the Real Deal. The lighter brown leather ends and the padded leather handle are the most obvious and the super-fuzzy lining is a trademark of Fullerton-era cases. It's a great case whether you own a Precision or Jazz Reissue because it fits them both. It's also a great alternative to spending over $2000 for a real 50's tweed case and it offers better protection.

 

The case is solid overall with no tears, a few scratches & scuffs and some soiling on the outside. The leather ends are in fine shape as are the latches, hinges and the leather handle. It has been stored dry & smoke-free all its life so there is no abhorrent smell with this one. "

 

I also found a Reverb listing for a Walnut from 8 years ago.  Seller listed an original tweed case and paperwork.  So apparently these did come with tweed cases.  Go figure.

 

https://reverb.com/item/7062339-fender-precision-bass-1982-walnut

Edited 46 minutes ago by ET777