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For sale 1973 Fender Telecaster

Sold
$2,000.00
Location
Lexington South Carolina, United States
Strings
4
Status
This item has been sold and is no longer available!
Status
4 members are watching this classified ad

Details

Ships to:
  1. United States
My father was a bass player and collector of basses. I am finally listing his basses for sale after his passing.

My father had a note listing it as a 1968 but the serial number puts it at 1973. I remember him telling band mates that it was custom made for a famous musician, but I don't remember the musician's name. When taking it apart the neck is a 1968 Fender and the body is a 1973 fender.

The bass used to have a brass pick guard. I helped him switch it out for the white pick guard on it now. The brass one was getting corroded from his sweat.

This my dad playing in 1987.

This bass was made in Fullerton USA.

Serial # 400640

Applicable shipping costs will apply to anywhere in the continental US.

If you would like additional information/pictures send me a message.

Please see my other listings.
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Reactions: BigAlBass69, pbass2, bassfat and 5 others

Location

Lexington, SC, USA

Comments

inmanibus

inmanibus

Aug 17, 2015
5
10
What I see doesn't seem so weird. Looks to be an early version Telecaster bass neck, probably 1968 (maple fretboard with no skunkstripe, original paddle tuners), bolted to a '73 Telecaster bass body in Mocha Brown finish, missing the "ashtray" chrome bridge cover but with a Precision bass chrome pickup cover added between the bridge and pickguard. Strap buttons have been replaced. Wearing those Fender flatwound strings -- no doubt this bass thumps.
 
Last edited:
boroman

boroman

Apr 27, 2009
374
149
boro
www.dustblow.com
inmanibus said:
What I see doesn't seem so weird. Looks to be an early version Telecaster bass neck, probably 1968 (maple fretboard with no skunkstripe, original paddle tuners), bolted to a '73 Telecaster bass body in Mocha Brown finish, missing the "ashtray" chrome bridge cover but with a Precision bass chrome pickup cover added between the bridge and pickguard. Strap buttons have been replaced. Wearing those Fender flatwound strings -- no doubt this bass thumps.
Click to expand...

And maybe second pickup under the chrome cover (?)
Also, non original bridge
Neck has no skunk stripe on the back and no trussrod teardrop on the front = VERY rare, maybe done in a week or two in early 68; but not with that decal... I mean, it could exist, who knows but remaining parts of patent number does not go pararell to the Fender naming, so it could be non-Fender neck or refinished neck or whatever... It could be verified by unscrewing bass apart, checking all the stamps, dates etc. To less information to tell what theis bass really is...
 
inmanibus

inmanibus

Aug 17, 2015
5
10
It would be good to see it without the chrome P-bass cover - and yes, it would've originally had a 2-saddle bridge, but since this modification is non-destructive it could easily be reversed - same goes for the non-original strap buttons. I believe the pickguard is a replacement too, as Mocha Brown Fenders came with black pickguards (b/w/b) and there's no tugbar/thumbrest nor holes for one.

While I don't share your suspicions of the neck being non-Fender or refinished, I agree it is a very rare neck. The partial patent number (2,968,204) from the damaged logo decal appears on mid-'60s Precision and Jazz bass decals as well. Based on info from Fender's website, where it describes the maple-cap/paddle tuners/logo decal variations, it's quite possible this is a prototype Telecaster bass neck. But as you said - only chance of knowing is to take it apart.

From "A Telecaster Bass History" on Fender's website ~
"The Telecaster Bass also had a two-piece maple cap neck with no "skunk stripe," although some models built later in 1968 did have the one-piece maple neck typical of the first Precision basses.
Some early models had the paddle-shaped Fender-made tuners found on the 1966 Jazz Bass.
This first Telecaster Bass version had three different headstock decals. The earliest was a regular silver Telecaster guitar logo with the word "bass" added underneath; only prototypes are known to have this decal."
 
Last edited:
L

Larry Hoyt

Larry Hoyt the son of Virginia Hoyt.
Jul 4, 2023
36
62
South Carolina
inmanibus said:
What I see doesn't seem so weird. Looks to be an early version Telecaster bass neck, probably 1968 (maple fretboard with no skunkstripe, original paddle tuners), bolted to a '73 Telecaster bass body in Mocha Brown finish, missing the "ashtray" chrome bridge cover but with a Precision bass chrome pickup cover added between the bridge and pickguard. Strap buttons have been replaced. Wearing those Fender flatwound strings -- no doubt this bass thumps.
Click to expand...
It does thump!!! My friend loved playing it and had to have picture taken with him playing it. 🤣
 
L

Larry Hoyt

Larry Hoyt the son of Virginia Hoyt.
Jul 4, 2023
36
62
South Carolina
boroman said:
And maybe second pickup under the chrome cover (?)
Also, non original bridge
Neck has no skunk stripe on the back and no trussrod teardrop on the front = VERY rare, maybe done in a week or two in early 68; but not with that decal... I mean, it could exist, who knows but remaining parts of patent number does not go pararell to the Fender naming, so it could be non-Fender neck or refinished neck or whatever... It could be verified by unscrewing bass apart, checking all the stamps, dates etc. To less information to tell what theis bass really is...
Click to expand...
Added new pictures. The neck is definitely a 68. No second pickup.
 

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