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For sale 1968 Fender P-bass, olympic white (faded), almost all original, OHSC, Tons of pics!

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1968 Fender Precision Bass
The Good:
-olympic white, faded to a butter scotch color on exposed surfaces. under the pick guard, under the "wings" of the bridge cover, and in the neck cavity it's still pearly Olympic White. The finish is cracked throughout and has slight buckle rash on the back and wear along the forearm contour on the top, but I'd say is 90-95% still intact.
-serial # is 1472XX on a "F" plate
-Overall great condition for a nearly 42 year old instrument
-both ashtray covers, with some of the foam still under the bridge tray.
-neck dates to Aug. 1968 (full neck code reads: 5 AUG 68 B ) and the neck pocket clearly shows the original location of the factory paint stick.
-Pick up is the original black bobbin bottomed (say that 3 times fast) fender with cloth wires (just before the switch to plastic covered)
-The CTS pots date to the 42nd and 44th week of '66 putting them in the giant CTS pot purchase Fender made in 1966, capacitor is also correct for the era. All solder joints show no sign of breakage, and pots show no additional marks of repair or separation from the pick up. The pots do have a small amount of static, but nothing major
-Bridge is the correct "barrel" type for '68
-the 4-ply (w/b/w/tort) tortoise Pick guard is almost fully intact with only two small corners missing and one crack between the control knobs. I would venture to say it has slight shrinkage, but nothing major, and still has the metal plate under it. The black thumbrest below the G-string also appears to be original, as do the metal knobs with set screws.
-The neck finish is mostly intact with nice nitro finish cracking you'd expect from a 42 year old instrument and light wear along the top and bottom of the neck from the 2nd to 9th frets with center finish still nearly completely intact. Pearl dots adorn the rosewood veneer board. The truss rod still has plenty of play left in it as well.
-The logo is the appropriate black Fender logo with "precision bass" stretched towards the tip of the headstock
-the keys are the original "Fender" marked standard clover keys (not reverse) and are in excellent working order but could use a few drops of oil to help them keep from sticking (IMO)
-the original strap buttons are still intact, including the one on the back of the head stock as well.
-The case is the original orange lined fender case, with all 3 latches still working as well as all hinges still intact. it even still has an old LaBella string wrapper in the pocket!

The bad:
-The nut has been replaced, which lends me to believe that it may have also been refretted at some point in its life. It appears to have mainly been strung with flats and the frets currently show only slight wear.
-The case is beat to hell. The handle is still there as well as all the other stuff you'd want with it, but if you plan on taking this to a gig it may be a sound idea to invest in a new case.
-This thing must have been owned by either Joe Camel or the Marlboro Man. Thanks to what I'm sure was caused by cigarette smoke, The olympic white has faded to almost a butterscotch tan finish and the nitro on the headstock is almost as faded
-the two screws that hold on the pick up cover are no longer with the bass
-still has all the funk from being stored in "grandpa's closet" for a few decades on it

Despite all the bad I still believe this is in above average condition for a 40+ year old instrument and I'm sure you'll agree. I'll post a ton of pics on here, but I have a bunch more I can direct you to. If you have any specific picture requests please let me know, but I would like to avoid removing the pickguard or neck any more if possible.

Asking $3200 + shipping. International is Ok, but I won't disassemble it or falsify value for cheaper shipping or import costs. Paypal is ok, as long as it's a personal payment.

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Comments

Aug 23, 2009
385
73
Man! I've seen some yellowed basses, but this one is by far the yellowest! But that isn't a bad thing. Nice bass!
 

Bridge Builder

Commercial User
Mar 22, 2000
1,156
86
46
Cincinnati (yes, our chili is weird)
www.jkennedyguitars.com
Disclosures
owner: J. Kennedy Guitar Repair, Guitar tech for Walk the Moon
Did you try to clean the bridge up?

I took a small amount of naptha to it after that pic was taken to get some of the crap off, but mainly just left it the way it was. If a prospective buyer wants me to give it a full fledged, "disassemble it, scrub the crap out of it" cleaning I'd be more then happy to do it.
 
Feb 15, 2008
14,147
2,877
FL
I played this bass, and it feels awesome! It does show some age.. if you couldnt tell, and the olympic white is super faded, but there none the less! Serious player here!

Free bump for a good friend and TBer!
 
Dec 26, 2007
10,314
1,375
36
NY, NY
Wish you took trades and I had something you wanted.

Free bump for a beautiful bass with a matching headstock. ;)
 
Jul 1, 2006
447
1
DC area
For a second, I thought it was wearing a white pickguard in the one photo... All that checking too... epic win.
 

Bridge Builder

Commercial User
Mar 22, 2000
1,156
86
46
Cincinnati (yes, our chili is weird)
www.jkennedyguitars.com
Disclosures
owner: J. Kennedy Guitar Repair, Guitar tech for Walk the Moon
Perhaps I should've been clearer. How much cash would you require on a potential trade?

I guess it would really depend on the bass being offered, but yesterday i shelled out as much money on a Carl Thompson as I did on my car so I should really stay cash heavy.
 

Sufenta

Trudging The Happy Road of Destiny
Mar 14, 2002
2,978
577
The Signpost Up Ahead.
Just a reminder: You gotta be at least 18 to buy tobacco products, so make sure you card the buyer before this sale.

Nice bass!
 

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