For fans of first generation Precision Basses

[Dark Horse]

I started this page to post photos and info on these great basses.

Enjoy !

HOME - FENDER PRECISION BASSES: THE FIRST GENERATION


PS - I'm not selling anything, not tracking, not doing anything but sharing photos of cool basses.

[joeyl]

Cool pieces of history. Although I like the early 60s more, those are classic cool!

[epy]

I just bought this bass. It's a reissue. But absolutely identical.

[thedevilisbad]

I have a 1970 Aria that is a copy of this! It's short scale, and I'm sure it doesn't sound as good, but it was only $60!

Aria FE**ER Bass Clones

[JohnnyB53]

My local guitar store currently has a blonde slab '53, contoured blonde '54, and contoured sunburst '55, all complete with pickup and bridge covers, on display. The bass player for Heart dropped them off to sell.



The slabs of '51-53 are very cool, but for me personally, I like the '54-56 models, which have the single coil pickup and big pickguard, but contours for playing comfort.

[superfunk47]

DH, you are the MAN. Always linking us to the coolest stuff.

[koobie]

Wow, what a trove. From the vintage I would have expected the finish on the necks to be more ambered, but they're pretty light, I wonder if they were sitting in closed cases for much of the time.

[Dark Horse]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB53

My local guitar store currently has a blonde slab '53, contoured blonde '54, and contoured sunburst '55, all complete with pickup and bridge covers, on display. The bass player for Heart dropped them off to sell.



The slabs of '51-53 are very cool, but for me personally, I like the '54-56 models, which have the single coil pickup and big pickguard, but contours for playing comfort.

Cool selection @ Guitarville

[Dark Horse]

Originally Posted by koobie

Wow, what a trove. From the vintage I would have expected the finish on the necks to be more ambered, but they're pretty light, I wonder if they were sitting in closed cases for much of the time.

All depends on how they were used over the years and what environments they were used in. One of the 53's is heavily ambered.

[Dark Horse]

I have lots more pics of first gen P Basses, but I only want to include ones with known serial numbers on the site. If you know anyone who might like their first gen P Bass included, by all means let me know .

[lowphatbass]

Right on DH! I really appreciate what you've done, your passion, fantastic execution and good taste is completely obvious and I love it.

Thank You!


So you know, your "pictures of basses you'll really hate" was my primary source of desktop material for my work computer for a good long time

[Dark Horse]

Originally Posted by lowphatbass

Right on DH! I really appreciate what you've done, your passion, fantastic execution and good taste is completely obvious and I love it.

Thank You!


So you know, your "pictures of basses you'll really hate" was my primary source of desktop material for my work computer for a good long time

Thanks for the kind words -

I got a lot of "desktop material" from that thread too - I love those old "played in" basses.

[mccartneyman]

I played my first gig on a '53 P borrowed from a friend's dad. Apparently he sold that bass and a tweed Bassman amp about six years ago for not a lot of money.

[mccartneyman]

Originally Posted by JohnnyB53

My local guitar store currently has a blonde slab '53, contoured blonde '54, and contoured sunburst '55, all complete with pickup and bridge covers, on display. The bass player for Heart dropped them off to sell.

Wwo! Heart's on tour this summer with Def Leppard. Don't thinkI would've taken those on the raod, either.

[KeithKlaxwell]

there's always a small handful of 51-53s at the Guitar Center on Sunset in LA. i played a 52 in there, unreal.

[sanchorb]

Wow, the one that blows me away is that "1952 Precision complete with the original leather gig bag, containing spare strings and picks. The bass was originally owned and played by a female country singer from Pennsylvania during the early Fifties. We have a lovely letter from her family which came with the guitar. The bass is a particularly early model with a serial number of # 353 and the initials of Fender's famous neck craftsman Tadeo Gomez on the neck heel" That is the kind of thing you want to find, a well kept instrument with lots of years!! I sure hope to hold on to my Stingray long enough so maybe a future grandson can look around grandad´s stuff and say "look what grandpa kept on this instrument case". To all who like this pictures, take a look at this link, a Fender factory tour from 1959. If you think about it, any guitar you see on that video, if it was alive today, would be worth hundreds.

YouTube - Fender Factory Tour 1959

[chuck norriss]

My jaw dropped to the floor. I'm not a complete idiot for wanting the Squier copy; I just can't afford a real '52. So I'm a partial idiot.

[AphekGreg]

Can anyone tell me how much the early ones weighed? I'd especially like to know the body weight, which I guess will be hard to find, as nobody is going to strip the parts off an original to weigh it.

[Caca de Kick]

Originally Posted by mccartneyman

Wwo! Heart's on tour this summer with Def Leppard. Don't thinkI would've taken those on the raod, either.

He talking about Hearts original bassist (who still lives here), not their current one. He's sold quite a few very nice early Fenders through Guitarville.