Vintage 1977 Fender Precision Help

[unclejane]

Originally Posted by projectapollo

There seems to be a real question to the quality of the CBS era Fender products in this time era. Profit over quality. This lead to Japanese high quality copies and the eventual Fender Japan deal, shutdown of the Fullerton Plant, buy out of the company, etc.

So, what do I look for in a $1500 1977 Fender to be sure I'm not paying for scarcity vs quality?

The general rule of thumb on MIA Fender is:
- anything before around 2008 == collector's item
- anything 2008 or later == gigging instrument.

Your hands, arms and ears will thank you if you only shop for vintage Fenders as a collector. If you want to actually play it at gigs and recording sessions and such, get a new one.

So something from 1977 I'd only look at as a collector; I'd expect it to be otherwise a truly horrible thing to play (and it sounds like that's what you discovered anyway on this one).

LS

[Kevin aka Kebo]

2008 is a late model used bass
1982 and earlier is considered collectible
1973 and earlier is considered vintage

Late 70s stuff aint bad. Just because you played a bad one, doesnt mean theyre all bad..

[Kevin aka Kebo]

Again - I have an article in Premier Guitar explaing diff levels of vintage and collectible..

[michael_atw]

Originally Posted by godofthunder59

My '75 Walnut P is three piece, one of the pieces is like a half inch strip LOL! Really how much could Fender have saved gluing up stock like that???????

hahahaha...you'd be surprised. Before they cut it though, it might have been a 2" strip. Do that 1000 times over, you might save a few grand. Or more, I don't have the PPF of poplar/alder/ash.