Who are you dealing with at Daves? Im in a band with two of the guys that work there. I'm guessing though that you are either dealing with Tylor or Dave. Both great guys!
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1958 Fender Precision
- Thread starter BearCave
- Start date
I'd have done the deal already! I paid about the same for my 1956 P, and don't have any regrets. I too have a lot of basses and many i don't play very often. Quality over quantity is my new motto.
As the owner of an original 63 P Bass, I'd like to give you some thoughts on ownership of a vintage bass. Obviously, the biggest concern is the price. I bought my 63 about 25 years ago for $1,000 which I thought was too much at the time. Although I love my bass, I doubt if I would pay today's prices for it. Of course, the higher the value of an instrument, the less inclined you are to take it out in a gigging situation where it could be stolen or damaged. An instrument that is fifty or sixty years old is going to have some issues, such as worn frets, scratchy pots, rusty bridge screws, etc. On a regular used bass, these wouldn't be grounds for much concern, but on a vintage bass, any changes you make can drastically affect the value as well as the sound of the instrument.
On the plus side, there are few things that compare to the wood of an old Fender. My 63 is amazingly lightweight and you can feel the resonance of the dried alder wood in the body when it is unplugged. The worn lacquer on the back of the neck has a great thin feel that can't be duplicated by the plastic feel of the lacquer on the reissues. The pick up has that certain sound that only old Fenders seem to have. I've compared my bass to reissues from the Fender custom shop. They sound good, but I can always pick out the sound of my bass blindfolded. The old Fenders just have a certain magic.
So, while no one but you can ultimately make the decision, those are the pros and cons of vintage ownership as I see it.
On the plus side, there are few things that compare to the wood of an old Fender. My 63 is amazingly lightweight and you can feel the resonance of the dried alder wood in the body when it is unplugged. The worn lacquer on the back of the neck has a great thin feel that can't be duplicated by the plastic feel of the lacquer on the reissues. The pick up has that certain sound that only old Fenders seem to have. I've compared my bass to reissues from the Fender custom shop. They sound good, but I can always pick out the sound of my bass blindfolded. The old Fenders just have a certain magic.
So, while no one but you can ultimately make the decision, those are the pros and cons of vintage ownership as I see it.
I had one just like it back in the late 70's/early 80's when I was playing in a full-time country rock band that based out of LaCrosse and later Madison, WI called Wet Behind the Ears and it was a really nice bass to be sure ... but I got mine for only $500 back then (which I just put into an online inflation calculator using 1978 as the basis compared to 2015 where the current buying power of that same $500 would now be $1,830) … so ten grand is a whole lotta dough to pay for a bass … even for one as uber cool as a '58 P. I wouldn't take that plunge myself … there are plenty of boutique Fender knockoffs, best of breed off the shelf Fender type basses and FrankenFenders where everything just came together like magic out there that are plenty good'nuff, IMHO. In my TalkBass icon picture, I'm playing a Fender 50th Anniversary ash Precision body loaded with a Fender Custom Shop '59 Precision pickup with a "to die for" (at least, for the way I like'm) 1999 Fender Hot Rod Precision maple/rosewood Precision neck strung with a set of 105 - 45 Sadowsky flatwound strings. It's about as good a P as they come for what I like in a bass … I got it off of eBay for $550.
Then there's this … what do you do with a $10,000 bass? Take it on the road and leave it unattended? Have roadies be responsible for it? Leave it on it's stand while inebriated people stagger by it in an attempt to navigate their way to the men's room entrance which is right by where you're set up?
Lastly, a 57 year old bass can be a bit of a time bomb in that the pickups can go microphonic, the pots can fail and truss rods can eventually give out. If any of these things happen on your watch where you have to compromise the "original-ness" and you paid top dollar for an all original vintage bass, it's going to hurt the street value. The '58 Precision that I owned had literally had the you-know-what played out of it and it really needed to have the neck refinished to be a good player. However, that would've devalued it a fair bit so I kept it original until I quit playing music full time and liquidated my '58 P, '60 P and '60 stack knobs J along with a bunch of P.A. equipment to help finance my return to college to get a computer science degree. I don't regret selling those basses one bit as just about everything good in my life came as a result of getting into computers. However, I do think about that 1960 Precision from time to time … it had been refinished twice and had been played about as much as any instrument I've ever seen. It was olympic white with a tortoise shell pickguard and the rosewood fingerboard was jet black like ebony … the quintessential "player's" bass.
Then there's this … what do you do with a $10,000 bass? Take it on the road and leave it unattended? Have roadies be responsible for it? Leave it on it's stand while inebriated people stagger by it in an attempt to navigate their way to the men's room entrance which is right by where you're set up?
Lastly, a 57 year old bass can be a bit of a time bomb in that the pickups can go microphonic, the pots can fail and truss rods can eventually give out. If any of these things happen on your watch where you have to compromise the "original-ness" and you paid top dollar for an all original vintage bass, it's going to hurt the street value. The '58 Precision that I owned had literally had the you-know-what played out of it and it really needed to have the neck refinished to be a good player. However, that would've devalued it a fair bit so I kept it original until I quit playing music full time and liquidated my '58 P, '60 P and '60 stack knobs J along with a bunch of P.A. equipment to help finance my return to college to get a computer science degree. I don't regret selling those basses one bit as just about everything good in my life came as a result of getting into computers. However, I do think about that 1960 Precision from time to time … it had been refinished twice and had been played about as much as any instrument I've ever seen. It was olympic white with a tortoise shell pickguard and the rosewood fingerboard was jet black like ebony … the quintessential "player's" bass.
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For those who don't know Dave and his shop:
Folks, if Dave says it's legit, you can bet your life on it. He's been doing this longer than lots of people here have been breathing.
Folks, if Dave says it's legit, you can bet your life on it. He's been doing this longer than lots of people here have been breathing.
- Jul 11, 2005
- 3,113
- 1,443
- Disclosures
- Gecko Leatherworks
The Fender custom shop makes fine basses. Does this bass compare as far as playability tone etc? The big money that you're putting on the table is the Custom shop fender and the Euro. If I were you I would check the sold listings on ebay for the basses you have. Since the financial melt down a few years back it's hard to tell what a vintage bass might be worth.
My 65 J used to worth 10K$ Now I doubt I could get 7.5K$. I suspect this bass would have once gone for noticeably over 10K$. I believe this bass came with a tweed case. You'll want one forsure even if it's a reissue or a generic.
You are really the only one who can say what this bass is worth. Play it and don't look at the money balance. If you love it the money isn't the issue. But for this load of basses make sure this is you're bass. You'll be playing it a lot.
Enjoy the bass.
Is it really over 11lbs? I had no idea they got that heavy in those years. Would be a complete deal breaker for me.
this appears to be the bass or one just like it. sorry if someone already shared
Super cool bass and I think you should try to get it, but.....may I play Devil's advocate?
Why is everyone calling this bass a "58"? The seller is listing it as a '59 and the serial # 38879 is definitely '59. Forget the pot codes, the penciled date on the neck butt and possibly in the body cavities are what counts. What are those dates?
It's also not in "near mint" condition. And there is no tweed case.
Here is a near mint '58. Neck and body dated 12-58. Serial # 30XXX. And of course, with raised A poles. (the case is from another Fender)
Why is everyone calling this bass a "58"? The seller is listing it as a '59 and the serial # 38879 is definitely '59. Forget the pot codes, the penciled date on the neck butt and possibly in the body cavities are what counts. What are those dates?
It's also not in "near mint" condition. And there is no tweed case.
Here is a near mint '58. Neck and body dated 12-58. Serial # 30XXX. And of course, with raised A poles. (the case is from another Fender)
Much as I love almost everything about the bass, anything over about 8.5 lbs. would be the deal breaker.For me. The 57' P I owned for 40 yrs was 8 lbs. in fact of all the 60s vintage basses I've owned and played I don't think I've seen many much over 9-9.5 lbs. I am really surprised if that's really the weight. Perhaps that's why it hasn't sold yet. But that said if the weight doesn't matter to you I can see the consolidation as a good thing especially considering your remaining stock of basses. So go for it already.
I can understand why he's firm on the price, but he's pulling your leg when he says there's no difference in value between a '58 and a '59. There most certainly is, and if he had an actual '58 in the same exact condition as the '59, you can be sure he'd be asking more for the '58.
Regardless, I hope you get the bass!
That bass is beautiful.... dig the back of the neck... if you're willing to part with the gear then hell yeah, I'd be all over that thing. Really a beauty. Congrats.
Sorry dude but you are being taken to the cleaners. That gear is worth much more than $10k.
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Greetings, and help me value my basses, please.
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