'77 P bass Ebay Purchase

j.kernodle · #1 11-24-2010, 07:44 AM

Really didn't expect to be the winning bid on this auction, but hey... Guess I was.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Its gonna need a fret dressing, but seems like a pretty nice deal on a P-bass from my birth year.

Obviously its had a few mods (bridge, 'guard, duncan pup), but nothing outrageous. One question. Was oly white a factory color in '77? I see a tone of 'burst, black, and natural finish P's from this era, but don't run across white ones too often. Any of you 70's Fender bass experts have any major concerns with the bass? It was going cheap so it was an impulse bid more than anything.

basscheez · #2 11-24-2010, 07:49 AM

My '76 is Oly White, could be the twin of yours except my fretboard is rosewood.

joshwilkesbooth · #3 11-24-2010, 07:49 AM

I can't answer any of your questions. Just stopping in to say: nice score.

BassJunkie · #4 11-24-2010, 07:50 AM

That's a great deal! Have fun!

dalkowski · #5 11-24-2010, 07:55 AM

Except for the mods and "Made in USA" decal (I wonder why it's different?), yours looks like the exact twin of my own stock 77 P. So I'd say yes.

Spiritfield · #6 11-24-2010, 08:00 AM

Nice score! I responded to a friend of a friend's sale "feeler" on a '75 P that was in similar condition as far as things that were non-original. He'd had it listed on eBay twice with no bites. Bass sounded good but the guy was stuck on his price of $1500! Needless to say he ended up keeping that one.

If he'd been more resonable and had it priced at what your's went for I'd have probably bit. Enjoy!

plangentmusic · #7 11-24-2010, 08:08 AM

Nice hit. Enjoy.

That 66 white P is probably sweet too. But starting at 4K is a bit steep. (Though not unfair).

j.kernodle · #8 11-24-2010, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalkowski

Except for the mods and "Made in USA" decal (I wonder why it's different?), yours looks like the exact twin of my own stock 77 P. So I'd say yes.

Thanks, yeah, I'm leery of headstock decals and obvious signs of a fake. The little "made in the usa" tag seems fairly common on basses from that year. I know '76 seems to be about the year that they moved the Serials to the headstock and off the neck plate, so that wasn't a concern. And I've seen plenty with that wierd little gap between the S7 and the rest of the serial so that didn't worry me too much.

I'm excited.

Spinal Tapper · #9 11-24-2010, 08:14 AM

Nice score! IMO, a 70's P bass for under $1000 is a great deal any way you cut it. If it was my bass, personally, I'd throw $200 and snag a set of original 77 PU's, but I like original stuff.

I snagged a 75 P with added J PU for $600 over the summer. It's a really nice playing and sounding P bass.

bassbully · #10 11-24-2010, 08:25 AM

Nice score...love that color. My 78' needed a RI black pickguard and also had a clunky badass on in which i relplaced with a RI 70's bridge, besides that shes all original. Enjoy that bass, love the 70's P bass tone.

coreyfyfe · #11 11-24-2010, 08:48 AM

That's a pretty nice looking bass. I dig the oly white. Good score.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalkowski

Except for the mods and "Made in USA" decal (I wonder why it's different?), yours looks like the exact twin of my own stock 77 P. So I'd say yes.

That decal is correct for a 77. I have three 78s and one of the three is actually missing the "made in USA" but is 100 correct in every other sense and was being sold on consignment from the original owner, so I have no question as to it's originality. See the pic below for reference, fretless lacks the MIA portion, kind of hard to see behind the other headstock but the "precision bass" portion is lower on the headstock which would mean the MIA portion would have hung over the end and may have been clipped off.

Pilgrim · #12 11-24-2010, 08:51 AM

Looks real to me. I note that the seller says "it's a big, heavy piece of history"...so get yourself a wide strap. I suspect it's one of those legendarily heavy late 70's P's. But - the price was definitely right...and I love that classic color.

s_mcsleazy · #13 11-24-2010, 08:54 AM

ah one day i hope to own a fender jazz bass from the year i was born. 1991. so im guessing ill be looking for a japanese fender

coreyfyfe · #14 11-24-2010, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

Looks real to me. I note that the seller says "it's a big, heavy piece of history"...so get yourself a wide strap. I suspect it's one of those legendarily heavy late 70's P's. But - the price was definitely right...and I love that classic color.

+1 to this as well. My fretted P weighs in at 10.5 lbs, but feels like nothing with one of these:

http://www.monocase.com/mono-gs1-betty.asp

Nice and wide, thick padding, it's great.

dogofgod · #15 11-24-2010, 09:00 AM

sweet looking bass

Billy3000 · #16 11-24-2010, 10:41 AM

That is an amazing deal! I've seen tons of mid-late 70's p basses in WAY less stock and more messed up condition that the sellers wouldn't budge below $1200-$1400 for! I actually usually offer about that much for them with plans of returning them to as close to their original condition as I can and always get turned down! Great score!

A-Step-Towards · #17 11-24-2010, 11:14 AM

I saw that debated bidding but just did not want it for some reason.That is a nice price

dalkowski · #18 11-24-2010, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coreyfyfe

That decal is correct for a 77. I have three 78s and one of the three is actually missing the "made in USA" but is 100 correct in every other sense and was being sold on consignment from the original owner, so I have no question as to it's originality. See the pic below for reference, fretless lacks the MIA portion, kind of hard to see behind the other headstock but the "precision bass" portion is lower on the headstock which would mean the MIA portion would have hung over the end and may have been clipped off.

Yep, looks like mine. One of these days I need to pull off the neck to verify the year. But with my luck the screwdriver will slip and grind a deep gouge the length of the skunk stripe. So I leave it be.

coreyfyfe · #19 11-24-2010, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalkowski

Yep, looks like mine. One of these days I need to pull off the neck to verify the year. But with my luck the screwdriver will slip and grind a deep gouge the length of the skunk stripe. So I leave it be.

Good to know mine isn't the only one

I ended up pulling the neck up on mine while doing some other sleuthing with this bass. The 8-digit stamp matched up, the routing is all correct, the pots were actually dated 77 IIRC, the pickups dated 78, and the guard had the correct SN sticker, so like I said I was sure haha, but always good to see someone else had the MIA oddity like mine.

audiomitch · #20 11-24-2010, 01:13 PM

Nice! Welcome to the '70s, baby!

I got a good vibe from the sellers description, pretty straightforward and honest. Just from that I'd tend to doubt it's a fake.