1975 Fender Precision for sale, how to avoid getting burned.

altamont · #1 02-05-2013, 07:22 AM

Hey guys,
there's a guy selling a 1975 Fender Precision at a really nice price. Or at least, that's what he's pretending it to be. It's a natural with maple neck.
He's saying that the neck (been refretted), body, bridge, wiring and pickups are all original. So I guess he changed the tuners and the pickguard.

I was thinking about taking a look at it tonight.
What do I have to look for? If it's really a 75' what are the specifics? Trust rod should be on the bottom of the neck, right?
Which decal? Serial is on the backplate?
I guess the better thing I could do is to gut it and look for neck markings and dates on the pots.

Sorry, I'm just no Vintage Fender expert here. Help!

the art guy · #2 02-05-2013, 07:31 AM

Check out this thread from the classifieds. I think the bass is sold, but it should give you some nice indications of what to look for.

1975 Fender Precision Bass, Olympic White, OHSC

How much is he asking?

altamont · #3 02-05-2013, 08:02 AM

That's the thing.
He wants 500$ for it.

gjbassist · #4 02-05-2013, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by altamont

That's the thing.
He wants 500$ for it.

$500! It's either a fake, hot or he really has no clue what it's worth!
Take off the pickguard and look at the pots, wiring and pickups. There are date codes on the pots. The last numbers of the code indicate the year and week they were made. For example 7508 would be the eighth week of 1975. That will give you some indication of if it's real and when it was made.

yodedude2 · #5 02-05-2013, 08:11 AM

at that price, as long as it's original fender parts, you should be able to sell the parts for about that much minimum (i would think). if it has the original finish, that's a big plus...

beware of a counterfeit from overseas. it won't quite look or feel the same...sorry, i haven't got much more to go on than that.

the art guy · #6 02-05-2013, 08:27 AM

Obviously that's a ridiculous deal if it's real. Sent you a PM with some more advice.

inthevelvet · #7 02-05-2013, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by altamont

That's the thing.
He wants 500$ for it.

That sets off a few alarms...

altamont · #8 02-05-2013, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by inthevelvet

That sets off a few alarms...

yup it does.

king_biscuit · #9 02-05-2013, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by altamont

Trust rod should be on the bottom of the neck, right?

To add to what others have said, Precisions never got the bullet truss rod/tilt neck setup, so the adjustment is going to be at the body end of the neck.

taurus1 · #10 02-05-2013, 12:17 PM

the serial number will be on the neck plate, not the headstock

**mjac28** · #11 02-05-2013, 12:23 PM

Back in the old days you could find deals like that but with the internet everyone checks eBay to see what somethings worth no way it's real for that price I could see his wife selling it because she got it in a divorce settlement and really wants to stick it to him I got a guitar that way and really regretted it and afterwards I got a hold of the guy and sold it back to him he even gave me a nice bonus on top of the price.