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1958 Fender Precision on Craig's list
- Thread starter PDGood
- Start date
Fender didn't start the Hootenany button on the headstock till 1960. I've even seen early '61s without em.
Vstring3, there's nothing I see on this bass that jumps out as being fake. I know a couple things about vintage Fenders. I think yur trolling. In case you are serious, it's actually quite difficult and takes a great deal of skill and knowledge for someone to make a convincing fake. Those kinds of fakes are far more rare than Asian copies which are generally easy to spot. Most people with that level of skill do not need to make fakes, they can make a living making legitimate instruments.
I nearly pulled the trigger on a 58 at Gruhns two years ago that was almost that nice, and I could have gotten it for $8500.00. I think the Craig's list bass is closer to 9k than 13.5k.
I had to slap my hand away from bidding on that one in the last few minutes, lol. It was a good deal for that bass for sure, and it had a return policy. Someone scored!
Just beautiful. I'd be surprised from the pics and the description if this wasn't 100% legit.
Why not? It just don't get much better when it's authenticated by George Gruhn.
Well, first off, you are comparing pics of a '57 to the '58 for sale in the ad. I'm sure there are subtle differences from '57 to '58.
Makes sense, wasn't sure if it had something to do with the "Hootenanny" folk music TV show from the 60s.
I'm not claiming to be an expert, I just gave my opinion - one I feel strongly about, with no other motive (by the way, I'm not "trolling" and my asking others to see for themselves was partly an attempt to not push my opinion too hard on anyone - I feel the evidence is there for those who are interested to find it.) other than thinking it would be a travesty for someone to part with that kind of money on something that did not look authentic to me, compared to several photos of p-basses from that year - even compared to these specs:
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I am not an expert, but I've held a few vintage guitars and basses. Aside from the different bridge on basses from this year and the lack of a strap button on the headstock (which was standard for the bass in that year), I have an issue, compared to instruments that I've seen first hand, with the nitro in the pics, which do not seem to have the proper color for it's age (it's comparable to newer and recent necks). I would also be interested to see that bass in person, I'd like to see (because it doesn't appear to be so from the pic) if that logo is on top or under the lacquer.
I wasn't here to argue with anyone of a difference of opinion - if you have the money and feel that this is a good investment, have at it. I personally would rather see someone take a few extra steps evaluating an instrument at this price before buying it. If they do and find it's real - I certainly wouldn't feel some kind of loss for being wrong, I'd be happy for the guy to took the precautions and who scored a great bass.
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I am not an expert, but I've held a few vintage guitars and basses. Aside from the different bridge on basses from this year and the lack of a strap button on the headstock (which was standard for the bass in that year), I have an issue, compared to instruments that I've seen first hand, with the nitro in the pics, which do not seem to have the proper color for it's age (it's comparable to newer and recent necks). I would also be interested to see that bass in person, I'd like to see (because it doesn't appear to be so from the pic) if that logo is on top or under the lacquer.
I wasn't here to argue with anyone of a difference of opinion - if you have the money and feel that this is a good investment, have at it. I personally would rather see someone take a few extra steps evaluating an instrument at this price before buying it. If they do and find it's real - I certainly wouldn't feel some kind of loss for being wrong, I'd be happy for the guy to took the precautions and who scored a great bass.
There's never anything wrong with getting a professional opinion before you buy an expensive instrument. But you out-right called this one a fake. We just wanted an explanation. To suspect is one thing, but to call it out as a fake is another. If you were the one selling this bass, I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate someone on the internet saying it's fake and arousing suspension, especially if that person making that claim later admits to not be an expert on Fender basses.
Anyways, the hootenanny button may be on the '57 reissue, but Fender did not use them in the 1950s, they were a '60s thing. The book, "The Fender Bass - An Illustrated History" evens mentions the hootenanny button appearing in 1960 on page 106 (in the timeline section). Fender is notorious for not always being completely period correct on their reissues and this is one example. Another example is pearl dots on the '62 J and P Basses (real ones have clay dots). You won't find hootenanny buttons on any '50s basses if you look on ebay or other sites (possibly late '59 at the very earliest).
The bridge that this bass has is period-correct. The threads on the saddles were closer from '57-59 and got courser in mid '59 all the way to mid '68.
I don't see anything out of the ordinary wit the finish. Nitro ages very differently in different environments. The nitro on this bass looks fine to me for a bass that sat in a closet for 40+ years.
Nothing looks out of the ordinary on this bass. And according to the last 2 years of the Price Guide, it is in the $9K-12,500 range. So this one is priced pretty high for the market right now. $13K+ is what I would expect to see GC or another big retailer asking for it.
Makes a post, stirs the pot, won't mention anything to back up his claim, then when he does,
his info is wrong. Then will probably not reply any more and let everyone else stir about it for 5 more pages.
I made the post and had to leave for worship practice. I wasn't trolling, I wasn't pushing my opinion, either. I'm on this site everyday.
Now I'm wrong and the course of the conversation shows it, what good is it for me to post again on it? I said my piece.
