Fender Peeps - Is this one special?

[bstringrandy]

Okay, I finally got up the nerve to disassemble and document this P-Bass. I bought it 14 years ago and it was said to be all original. The only thing I've replaced is a bridge saddle spring and strings. It weighs in at 9.5 pounds and thunders like a P-Bass should!

I know that this is one of what they call the "Emerald Series" with this one being Sapphire Blue. The body appears to be a single piece of ash. I've heard that they're not rare, but I've never seen another one like it...

The pots date to 80 and 81. As you see the neck is stamped 82 and the S/N is a S9XXXXX.

Is this a Fulleron era "transition" bass? Does the name J. Torres on the neck mean anything?

Is it something special?

[JTE]

Beautiful bass!!!

Looks like a "Smith era" Precison, and the '82 date sound right. The white PUP covers, lack of holes for the thumb rest, bridge cover, and pickup cover make it a Standard Precision like in the '82 catalog. The bridge looks the same as the picture on page 74 of "The Fender Bass - An Illustrated History" by Black & Molinaro. The finish WAS a "custom" color offering in that catalog called Sapphire Blue. As a Fender dealer at the time, these were GREAT basses. A '70s Precision made correctly! All the great fit and finish that characterizes the Fullerton-era Vintage Series reissues without being a VS.

BTW, it's not a one-piece body. There's a clear line in the treble-side in your rear view picture, and another grain mismatch in the bass side. Not that that's in any way a problem. They simply didn't use one-piece bodies because they would tend to warp. So they'd laminate wood together with the grain going different directions. 3-piece in my opinion is best because it gives you the strength and stability while keeping the neck and bridge mounted to the same piece of wood. AFAIK, they never used one-piece bodies. Depending on the finish, you can look at the rim of the body from the bridge end (like looking straight into the strap button) and you'll be more likely to see the grain, but they did a really good job of matching that one up.

John

[Dethrats]

what a beautiful bass! i love the color!

[loendmaestro]

thats a good looking bass.

[bstringrandy]

Thanks for the insight John!

After closer inspection, it is a 3 piece body and you have to look at the heel to clearly see the grain lines.

Were there a lot of these made?

[JimB52]

Haven't seen many of the Sapphire finish basses, but they do turn up from time to time.

[JTE]

Originally Posted by bstringrandy

Were there a lot of these made?

Probably not- they were only made for a short period between '81 or so and when they closed the Fullerton as the company was sold to Bill Schultz et. al. in '85. Most of the interest among dealers and retail customers at the time was for the Vintage Series and they introduced the Elite Series as these were being built too. I suspect that they focused on the Elite and Vintage lines rather than the Standards. I have no idea however what sort of numbers they'd have been.

John

[TolerancEJ]

Fantastic finish!

[Bongolation]

Originally Posted by bstringrandy

The body appears to be a single piece of ash.

That's glaringly a three-piece body.

Fender has never made a one-piece production body.

[JTE]

BTW, I don't know about rare or collectible, but I think it's special! And not in a "church lady" way either!

John

[bstringrandy]

Thanks guys! It's a 82 3-piece special standard p-bass in custom sapphire blue!

I knew the Fender folk on TB would come through!

[bolophonic]

Such an AWESOME looking bass!

[bstringrandy]

Thanks again everyone!