Help me ID this Tele Bass

[artdrtr]

Something is not right....Listed as a '71. Serial 318054 on neckplate only. And "4 02 71 [C or 0] stamped under clear coating on heel edge. small F700 in circle stamp on bottom of neck.

"T. Chambers" stamped in neck pocket

Has only "Fender" on headstock, no "Telecaster Bass" or other copy... looks new and MIJ style?

Headstock looks brand new compared to body wear -- Frets board look clean, no clear coat wear

The tuning pegs have a slight roundness to their shape and not straight lines.

The finish seems really thick like my MIM J...


http://fuq.encycmet.com/questions/4702/ - Sounds like this post was for the same bass serial number. But he called it a P. and said it was stamped Korea -- but the bass I see today has clean headstock... Did they refinished the MIK headstock with Fender only decal? and what's up with heel stamp?

[artdrtr]

more pics...





The knobs and control plate look new.

[artdrtr]

last pics.







The more i see it, it must be a MIJ or MIK neck, on a factory worn body. New control plate and bridge, maybe 71 PU??

[Mr.Fingers]

No, everything is correct, even the filled/doweled hole beneath the E-tuner, that's always visibly on lefty necks, since they just flipped the neck over for the final shaping. On righty necks, that hole fits nicely underneath the E-tuner, on lefties, it's visible.

The thick finish is also correct, it's a '71, and from 1968 the thin nitro finish was replaced by a thick polyester finish

[Britsie]

Mr Fingers strickes again.

[Dragan]

the photos are edited in photoshop hence the shiny look. I guess its much darker naturally,my concern would be why there is no Precision bass (as it is not telecaster bass,but Precision)underneath Fender logo on the hs.

EDIT control plate and knobs looks as a brand new,no photoshop can do that!

[Petethebassman]

Originally Posted by Mr.Fingers

No, everything is correct, even the filled/doweled hole beneath the E-tuner, that's always visibly on lefty necks, since they just flipped the neck over for the final shaping. On righty necks, that hole fits nicely underneath the E-tuner, on lefties, it's visible.

Looks correct to me, too. On my lefty '75 P-Bass there's the doweled hole in the same spot:

Originally Posted by Dragan

the photos are edited in photoshop hence the shiny look. I guess its much darker naturally,my concern would be why there is no Precision bass (as it is not telecaster bass,but Precision)underneath Fender logo on the hs.

That is a Telecaster bass, and a very beautiful one it is, also quite rare in lefty! In the 1968-1976 period Fender used the bigger "TV logo" font on headstock decals and the model name wouldn't fit on lefty headstocks, that's why lefty Fenders from that period have usually only the Fender logo on the headstock, here's my '75:

[Dragan]

from what I know, these type of P basses are often called tele bass,(cause of bodyshape and headstock)but Fender had a production line called telecaster bass for some short period of time-the ones with humbucker just below the neck,often called mudbacker.
basses like this one are just Precision basses.

[KPJ]

Originally Posted by Dragan

from what I know, these type of P basses are often called tele bass,(cause of bodyshape and headstock)but Fender had a production line called telecaster bass for some short period of time-the ones with humbucker just below the neck,often called mudbacker.
basses like this one are just Precision basses.

Sorry, you are incorrect. Fender issued the Telecaster Bass in 1968 as you see it here. It is considered the first re-issue, as it is pretty faithful to the original '51 P-Bass. Up until 1971 it had the single coil pickup which was then switched to the large humbucker in 1972.

[Dragan]

Originally Posted by KPJ

Sorry, you are incorrect. Fender issued the Telecaster Bass in 1968 as you see it here. It is considered the first re-issue, as it is pretty faithful to the original '51 P-Bass. Up until 1971 it had the single coil pickup which was then switched to the large humbucker in 1972.

thank you for the info! checked at wiki, supports your words. I am not Fender expert,obviously.

[KPJ]

Originally Posted by Dragan

thank you for the info! checked at wiki, supports your words. I am not Fender expert,obviously.

There's a lot to know. It's hard to know everything. If you are interested in Fender bass history, an excellent book was written a few years ago that has a lot of info: The Fender Bass: An Illustrated History

[Energy]

Originally Posted by KPJ

The Fender Bass: An Illustrated History

A must-have for Fender afficionados.

[smcd]

Originally Posted by Petethebassman

In the 1968-1976 period Fender used the bigger "TV logo" font on headstock decals and the model name wouldn't fit on lefty headstocks, that's why lefty Fenders from that period have usually only the Fender logo on the headstock

VERY interesting! As I looked at the photos, I thought "If this is a fake, it's one of the best I've seen". The only thing that made me doubt was the lack of the model ID on the headstock. And now I know why. I thought "How did I not know this", and I realized I've never seen a lefty Tele bass, ever. Not even in photos.

[artdrtr]

Wow, thank you for all the info!

[artdrtr]

Any insight to this post I found referencing the same serial number and description:

" It's a Fender Precision Bass, Squier Series. The serial number near the tuners is 318054. From what I can find on the net, that makes it a 1972, 1973? It is also labeled made in Korea. It's yellow in color, I thought fiberglass, but didn't look very carefully. Has a white pickguard (I think they're called...), missing a few screws. There are two small cracks on the body in the bends nearest where the necks bolts on."

http://fuq.encycmet.com/questions/4702/

Could Korea have used the same serial number as the bass in the picture? Interesting how it matches the description, but doesn't have the "made in Korea" on headstock as the post claimed.

[Mr.Fingers]

I've got no knowledge of any Korea fenders that had the serial on the neckplate, nor of korea-fenders that have that charistic doweled template hole. It really is a US-made Fender, everything is there (the Fender-stamped CBS-tuners with the curved sides, the correct greybobbin pickup, the thick polyester coat, that doweled hole, the correct decal,...)

maybe the replaced controlplate has a sticker of "made in korea" on it, a blank neckplate I purchased had the same sticker on it.

[msb]

The Squiers were contoured , the Tele basses were slab bodied like the one in the photos .

[Dragan]

Korea from '72? very unlikely.

[JimB52]

Is there a picture of the neck heel stamp?
Generally the Telecaster Bass should have a stamp that begins with '23' for the Tele model number.
Like this -



Were the lefty basses perhaps stamped differently?

/

[artdrtr]

Here is what the heel stamp looks like. Very hard to read.

Originally Posted by JimB52

Is there a picture of the neck heel stamp?
Generally the Telecaster Bass should have a stamp that begins with '23' for the Tele model number.
Like this -



Were the lefty basses perhaps stamped differently?

/