1970's the dark ages of fender??

[smcd]

Originally Posted by Kmonk

CBS was cutting costs in the 70's. As a result the quality was inconsistent. They did make some great basses during that time as well. I own several 70's basses and love the way they play and sound. You have to inspect them carefully and make sure that you are getting a good one. I'm sure that is true for every manufacturer and every era.

Not true, no way. I don't know of another manufacturer that had such a run of bad quality as Fender did from '73-'79. No one even came close. Were it any other company, they'd have been put out of business 30 years ago.

[two fingers]

Here's the thing. It's a matter of percentages. In other words, during the late 70's, the percentage of "cherry" Fender basses was lower for sure. But there certainly were plenty of good ones. Let's just say 5 to 6 out of 10 for the sake of conversation (not scientific, just a hunch). But during the 60's, and from what I hear the most recent few years, the percentage is better. Maybe 8 or 9 out of 10 are great players. But there has never been a time period during which "all Fender basses were crap" (not that you were implying there was of course).

[gimmeagig]

Originally Posted by -=DanAtkinson=-

I've played probably 15-20 Fenders from the 70's. None of them impressed me. They weren't garbage, as some haters claim, but I would take a 2012 American Standard over any of them.

Love the look, however. So I made my own:

That looks great. What do you mean by "You made your own?"
Warmoth or did you really build it from scratch?

[two fingers]

Originally Posted by Tx Basser

I have treated her like she is made out of glass and she is in excellent condition.

I can't argue with that. That thing looks incredible.

[bassbully]

70's Fenders are hit and miss. I had a 73' and a 78' and both were excellent basses. Like any Fenders you need to check them out and play them they are factory production basses afterall.

[-=DanAtkinson=-]

Originally Posted by gimmeagig

That looks great. What do you mean by "You made your own?"
Warmoth or did you really build it from scratch?

Body and neck from USA Custom Guitars. I sprayed the finish, did the shielding, wiring, hardware, and setup. So it's a "parts bass", as some like to say. Just like every Fender ever made.

[-=DanAtkinson=-]

To the OP's specific question...Yes, if there was any low point to the Fender line, it was about 74-79.

[MEKer]

I bought new brand new 1972 Fender Precision in late 1972 from a music store in a Von's Supermarket "mall" on the corner of Tampa Ave and Victory Blvd in Reseda, CA. It was white, and man, that was a quintessential sounding P bass. Wish I'd not sold it back in the day (to get a 1969 Ric which I loved).

[Baird6869]

I would put my 1973 Jazz and my 1974 P up against any pre-CBS fenders.

Of course, I probably played 25-30 '70s Ps and the same amount of Jazz basses to find "the ones". Fender did make lots of junk in the 70s. The late 70s IMEare worse, but I have played terrible '70-71s too.

Here are my babies:

[taurus1]

I have a 76 and two 78's, I didn't know they were junk until the experts here said so. guess I'll give them away for whatever I can get.

[gimmeagig]

Originally Posted by taurus1

I have a 76 and two 78's, I didn't know they were junk until the experts here said so. guess I'll give them away for whatever I can get.

LOL

[taurus1]

Originally Posted by gimmeagig

LOL

got a 77 MM Sabre as well, guess that turd's gotta go too.

[sj_bass]

This thread has been a fun read... Going to school here in Fullerton back in the 70's, we used to talk crap about CBS Fenders all the time. There were some real turds, but there were also some gems. Most of the turds have not stood the test of time, mostly due to twisted necks, split bodies, and pickups that have all but disintegrated over the past 35 years (OMG I'm getting old!) Back in '78, some of us would rather spend $550 MSRP for a new Stingray, than $450 MSRP for a new Fender.

Keep posting those gem pics, though... I would really like to see a pic of one of the turds, too.

[HolmeBass]

My '77 Jazz just may be a "turd" - weighs a ton, at least 11 or 12 pounds if not 14, is not really easy to play, has a bit of a congested sound to it, even with Fralins in it. The low F and the C on the G string are particularly dead. That's why I mostly gig with my SSD (Spector) these days. It was the first bass I got, used from the original owner back in 1979 as a Christmas present, and was the only bass I owned or played up until I bought the SSD in 2003.



Here's me gigging with it:

[mjac28]

Originally Posted by taurus1

I have a 76 and two 78's, I didn't know they were junk until the experts here said so. guess I'll give them away for whatever I can get.

I'll take one sir

[PDQbass]

This is largely a myth perpetrated on this and other forums, judging by the 70's Fenders I have played over the years. Where are all these basses with badly fitting/warped necks etc.? Post photos of these poor quality Fenders if you have them. Never seen proof of the oft-related 1/4 inch neck pocket gap. I gig a '78 Precision which is beautifully made, sounds great and is as straight and true as the day it was made. Maybe there were really bad ones, but I have not come across one. Of course a brand new USA Precision will be just as good and cost very little more! One thing is certain, once these 'myths' are out there on the net they will never go away.

[C.Linton]

I don't know that it was a "myth" per se, PDQ, but I'm pretty sure it's an exaggeration. (BTW, I loved my '78 P-bass, it definitely was not crap)

[SoVeryTired]

Originally Posted by Lee Bruton

+1 here on the 75 J, I've owned one for 38 years, my 1 and only bass, sweet thing about it is i picked it up for $400
May changes over the years, turns out the only part stock is the body
USCG neck
EMG J pu's
Badass bridge
Hipshot tuners
Sounds great, so I've been told
GK amps
Oh ya, changed to 4 bolt neck when I went with USCG, still, had little trouble w/ 3 bolt setup

Probably not the best example of how great '70s Fenders are if you've changed everything except the body.

[smcd]

Originally Posted by PDQbass

This is largely a myth perpetrated on this and other forums, judging by the 70's Fenders I have played over the years. Where are all these basses with badly fitting/warped necks etc.? Post photos of these poor quality Fenders if you have them. Never seen proof of the oft-related 1/4 inch neck pocket gap. I gig a '78 Precision which is beautifully made, sounds great and is as straight and true as the day it was made. Maybe there were really bad ones, but I have not come across one. Of course a brand new USA Precision will be just as good and cost very little more! One thing is certain, once these 'myths' are out there on the net they will never go away.

Myth. Right. Everybody with any experience agrees, but it's a myth....

During the 1990's I scoured the classifieds and went to countless dozens of guitar shows in and around the northeast. I was always on the lookout for Fender bargains, and most of the bargains were on 70's Fenders. A lat 60's P-bass would be priced in the $1,500-$2,000 range, but a '76 would be $500. I've picked up and played so many CBS-era Fenders I couldn't begin to come up with a number. Invariably, when I was holding a bass that weighed a ton, had dead spots, sounded and played like crap, it was a mid-late 70's model. Where are these basses? I don't know, because I never bought one. You might find this shocking, but people don't hold onto instruments that are boat oars. They dump them for short dough to people who modify them to make them playable.




- I get a big kick out of people chiming in this thread with stuff like "All 70's Fenders were crap?! Yeah?! Well I have one that's nice, so THERE!" This despite *everyone* saying that not all 70's Fenders were junk. Man, you just can't talk to some people....

[Baird6869]

Here is a '77 turd i bought on eBay (my first and last sight unseen vintage Fender purchase). Total crap QC on this one.

Looks great but the original PU were thin sounding crap and had to be replaced, neck needed to be shimmed and the pocket was 1/4" too big... Oh, it also weighed 12lbs.

A buddy loved it and traded me for it. He played it at a gig in front of 15,000 people and said it killed. Go figure.... His bass tech must have magic dust!