Fender bass parts

#1 08-09-2010, 07:41 AM

I'm always amazed at the amount of money that is being asked for original bass parts. Just checking out ebay for bridge/pickup covers... early 1970s P and J cover sets are around $200. Is it this worth it? Just wondering what other peoples' thoughts are on how much this really affects the value of a bass?

mulchor · #2 08-09-2010, 08:19 AM

Kinda crazy, ain't it?

bassteban · #3 08-09-2010, 08:22 AM

1. IME people often ask way more than they get
2. If I had a 63(year of my birth)P w/ALL the original parts except maybe the tuners or pickguard, I could see paying a good chunk of change to get it as near 100% as possible- to a point

Pilgrim · #4 08-09-2010, 09:37 AM

I don't care about the difference between old and new...the the prices are ridiculous on old Fender satuff. I have a '63 P and it's no better than my stock 2000 MIM J. Different, but not better. Only boomers (like me) with too much money (not like me) and nostalgia are paying those prices. People who actually play their basses should stick with newer gear and not pay collector prices.

If I were buying a bass to flip it, I'd probably put the old pieces on IF I could profit by doing so. For my own "keepers", I buy new parts.

Labi · #5 08-09-2010, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassteban

1. IME people often ask way more than they get
2. If I had a 63(year of my birth)P w/ALL the original parts except maybe the tuners or pickguard, I could see paying a good chunk of change to get it as near 100% as possible- to a point

I once saw an add in local papers, a guy was selling a mobile phone number. Nothing special, something like 130971 but the price was ridiculously high. So I called and asked him why did he put such a high price on it, and he said that it might represent someones birth date (13 sept. 1971) He was actually hunting for that particular buyer

bassteban · #6 08-09-2010, 09:54 AM

^that's reaching. Dude has seen too many episodes of Antiques Road show(not directly related, but to me that's where a lot of this *I found it in my garage & sold it for a bazillion dollars* mentality comes from).

Edit: And Pilgrim, I am mostly in that boat- I had a 73 Precision for awhile but my MIM/Allparts mutt P sounds WAY better. I dumped the 73. OTOH, I have a set of very old P tuners; if I find a piece here & a piece there I'd love to have a mutt of old stuff.

timmus · #7 08-09-2010, 09:59 AM

I believe that ebay has been the #1 reason we are seeing these kinds of prices on "vintage" stuff like Fender guitars, etc

EagleMoon · #8 08-09-2010, 07:48 PM

With pickup covers, they haven't changed much over the years. To me, that wouldn't be worth it at all if I can get a new part that looks exactly the same. If it was something they don't make anymore then yeah maybe. But Fenders have been pretty much the same for a long time. I agree it's nuts what people ask for old stuff, which is all it is. It's like the antique thing...one person's antique is another person's garage sale item.

Pilgrim · #9 08-09-2010, 09:35 PM

Yep...you'd have to be a really sharp person to tell an old cover from a new cover. I'm sure there are those who can...but for me to worry about it, I'd have to be preserving a collector bass worth a number of thousands.

And BTW - the '63 P sounds great, but so does the 2000 MIM J I mentioned...and it's bone stock with the addition of covers. I'm not one who believes the MIMs are lacking in anything.

The P:

The J:

Oren Hudson · #10 08-10-2010, 05:56 AM

Great pics my friend Pilgrim. There is one difference that I discovered several years ago. The PU cover for my '66 P was pretty beat up and rusty. So, I bought a replacement from Fender. Seems the new one at that time, the early '90s, was significantly longer (going across the strings) than the original. To fit the standard '66 holes, I had to bend it so much, that it looked like the golden arch. Way to much. So I took the original and had it refinished, then roughed it a little to match.

lowendblues · #11 08-12-2010, 01:13 PM

These things are worth $$? I think I've got 2 complete Pbass sets from back in the day in my tool box.

Complete with glue and foam rubber marks inside....

mulchor · #12 08-12-2010, 02:23 PM

One aspect that puzzles me. If I take a '63 neck from one bass, a '63 body from another, pups from another, etc. Basically take all the parts of a '63 bass and attach them together. Do I really have an all original '63 bass?

If the parts range over a set of years, say 63-65, do I have a legit all original '64 bass?

I've so far avoided the curse of wanting to collect old axes. But part of what's kept me away is the uncertainty of the provenance.