| FS: 1976 Fender Precision Bass - Player's Bass with MOJO
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For Sale is a 1976 Fender American-made Precision Bass
with fresh all new frets and fingerboard refinishing. Bass is a player's bass with a few modifications.
Here's the story behind this bass. I bought this bass about 2 years ago from the original owner who was one heck of a player. He had not played in about 10 years, but he played the heck out of this thing for years prior to that. When I got it it had a set of active DiMarzio pickups in it that were dead. The bridge was pretty rusty and the pots were scratchy. It had a black pickguard on it that had a access door made into it so you could replace the 9-volt battery under the pickguard. The original owner had the lower cutaway 'scooped out' / some of the wood cutaway so he could get his left hand deeper into the body and play higher frets. The real crazy part was this thing had an extra three frets added to it and it was done by adding the last three frets of a guitar neck and gluing it to the pickguard so the bottom three strings actually had three more frets under them Amazingly, the intonation was perfect! Amazing. This guy could play a bass nearly like Jaco Pastorius but he liked the P-bass sound so he did all this to a P-bass so he could play high notes, and get up there with ease. The work on the scoop out of the lower pocket was done very well.
I took the bass to a 30-year respected luthier in Los Angeles and had him to the following:
First, he cleaned it real good. The finish on the body is original natural finish that appears to MAYBE have had a coat of clear on it in the past. Hard to tell.
He replaced the dead DiMarzio pickup with correct mid-70's vintage Fender Precision Bass pickup. The control pots were practically worn out so he put brand new pots in with the same values as the factory originals but they are not the same brand.
I had him replace the bridge with a brand new BadAss II bridge due to the original bridge being quite rusty. Also, had him create a new White Pearloid pickguard to replace the old one. This turned out very well.
The original frets were worn like nothing I have ever seen. This player was an animal. He was a 'machine'! Thus, I had the luthier "re-plane" the entire fingerboard and put brand new factory correct frets on it. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST STRAIGHT, FLUSH FRETBOARDS I HAVE EVER PLAYED!
The tuners & string tree are all original and show the normal aging. MOJO. Original neck plate with serial # 76-467XX is here, too, which is correct for 1976.
The neck is very clean and appears to have a high quality clear overspray on the back with no dings, etc. Very smooth and not too chunky. The headstock is LOADED with that mid-70's nitro fading that looks kind of nicotine-colored. It is the original finish and looks awesome. The truss rod turns freely and, again, the setup is SUPERB!
The body is in remarkably good shape. There are a couple of very small screw holes that have been dowel-filled and a couple of dings & grooves as can be seen in the photos. The strap buttons are gold plated and are not original but work fine. Under the lower portion of the pickguard the body was routed years ago for a small pocket to locate the or 9-volt battery that powered the DiMarzio pickup. This route cannot be seen with the pickguard on. There is a good 'wear spot' on the top of the body where the player's right forearm has rested while playing all these years and this just adds to the MOJO.
There is nothing inoperative or out of whack with this bass. It is not a collector's bass as far as the body goes but the neck is true original.
This bass has good intonation, and it plays like a dream. The only reason I am selling is had another bass made that fits my hand size better. I have hesitated to let go of this bass due to the excellent setup and the super "old school" tone it has.
If you want a vintage Fender P-bass without all the expense of a super-original collector, this is the bass for you. The tone is MONSTER AWESOME! My friend has a 2005 Fender USA P-Bass and this thing blows that axe away on tone and evenness of sound on the fretboard. It is a player's bass and it is READY TO PLAY.
Looking for $1200. Or would consider trade on a vintage 1960's P-bass body for a project.
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Dan W. Howard
Official Fender Precision Bass Club #243
Blues Bass Players Club #556
Telecaster Bass Club #2
#1 Fan of the late Carl Radle
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