1959 Precision Bass

[57pbass]

Did Fender actually do a gold anodized aluminum pickguard in 1959 ???

This bass is all original.

 

[57pbass]

Wonderful.
I always ask these questions in these threads: did you buy it because it was better than a new 1979 bass or because it was cheaper?
I'm curious to know if the idea that older Fenders were better was already around at the time.

When I purchased this bass I was listening to music from the 60’s and 70’s. Lots of blues and classic rock.. My primary influence was John McVie who in those times played early Fenders..so I went on the hunt.
I do have a 78 P Bass which is a very nice instrument and well built. There’s a world of difference between these two instruments.

 

[icefly]

Nice!

 

[biobass]

Wow, that is a great question! Being on the older side at 67, I remember buying my first Fender at the age of 16. It was a '71 Jazz bass as memory serves. I moved up from an Aria SG bass. I couldn't wait to get rid of the Jazz since it was a CBS instrument, but it was cheap. I opted for an early '66 Precision, which still had much of the older Pre-CBS construction habits in place. I still have it today and it is an amazing instrument. So most definitely there was an acknowledged difference in the early '70s. In those days it was better necks, better tone, a perceived improvement in quality, and much more mojo! You could tell by the hue of the instrument if it was pre-CBS or not and we were completely aware of the neck and body dates. Overall, there was a tremendous disdain for CBS instruments in our area, and it is a feeling that still lingers. I believe that is why many older folks are willing to pay the high prices for these older instruments, and now that we can afford them, they sound even better in our experienced hands! They are a dream come true!

I bought my 1965 Jazz L-series in 1972 or 1973 for about $200 - $250, if memory serves. That was a lot of money for me back then.. I was debating wether to buy the bass or a decent used car for the same amount. For comparison, I think my out-of-state tuition and fees and room and board at GA Tech ran about $2000- $2500 per year (about $18,000 in today’s dollars); an older friend of mine was selling his mid-60s Jaguar XKE convertible for $1000, utterly and completely out of my price range.

in answer to the question about perceived value of the older Fenders, as Rhuddy posted, there was a definite bias towards pre-CBS (or just post-CBS) instruments at the time. The later 60s and early 70s instruments were very different. On average, to me they seemed heavier, not as resonant, and did not have the “open” and “woody” sound of the earlier models. Of course, CBS-Fender made some good instruments during that time as well, just different on average.

As an aside, my ‘65 Jazz is a wonderful instrument, which I will have until I can no longer play. My younger brother, also a bass player, will get it then. However, it is a player not a collectible. When I bought it, in an Iowa City music store, the previous owner had stripped the original finish off, wood-burned images of a cowboy riding a bucking bronco above the bridge, and a sunrise coming over a fence on the front top horn. His (presumably a he) graphic vision exceeded his wood-burning talents, however. Also, he must have played really hard with a pick, there were gouges in the wood between the pickups. One of the tuning pegs must have been loose at one time. There was a slight gouge and a piece of wood lifting up on the headstock.

I took it all apart, sanded down the body, stained it a brown walnut color, and sprayed on one coat of varnish. I had a local luthier fix the tuning peg and headstock. He placed pieces of veneer over the face of the headstock covering the decals. At the time, I wrote to Fender about getting new decals. They would have sent me new ones, all I needed to do was to give them the serial number. I was going to do that, and put a second coat of varnish on it, but it turned out that I needed it for a gig. I reassembled it and used it. About 20 years ago, I had a luthier add some shielding in the cavities and replaced the pots and wiring. I still have the originals, but there is a lot less 60 cycle hum when the pickup volumes are not completely equal. I added a Hipshot D-tuner around then, as well. I still have the original tuning peg.

It is a joy to play, but the reality is that my Roscoe Beck V gets the most gigging time these days. Just about all of my pop/rock, corporate, and musical theater gigs call for 5-string. The RBV was designed to be as close as possible to Roscoe Beck’s early ‘60s Jazz in sound. It does come very close to my Jazz with the added versatility of series and parallel pickup settings.

 

[timmus]

I'll be in my bunk...

 

[bobyoung53]

Paint is looking a little krinkly, time to bust out the krylon...

It needs a bridge pickup too, Jazz, maybe a Ric high gain?

 

[bobyoung53]

Wonderful.
I always ask these questions in these threads: did you buy it because it was better than a new 1979 bass or because it was cheaper?
I'm curious to know if the idea that older Fenders were better was already around at the time.

Pre-CBS Fenders were known to be better even in the early 70's. I bought a new 70 P, REALLY beat it and sold it a few years later to a local guy. I saw it in the newspaper being sold as a '64 a few weeks later.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

Oh, my, yes!

 

[mb94952]

Awesome! I have a friend who bought his '58 P around the same time, paid about $500 I think.

That was A LOT of money then. Probably 3 months rent.

 

[jimmydean]

That's pretty sweet.......any thoughts on how your going to "Relic " it ?

 

[JRA]

congrats on your ax, OP! pretty cool to have an instrument for that long --- especially one that keeps on giving!

 

[Dynacord]

Wonderful.
I always ask these questions in these threads: did you buy it because it was better than a new 1979 bass or because it was cheaper?
I'm curious to know if the idea that older Fenders were better was already around at the time.

The 'vintage' concept was definitely already a factor by the late 70's (earlier, really) and they often went for more than then new models - and it was driven in reaction to the current stuff. Hence Fender introducing the vintage reissues in the early 80's. There was clearly a market for them. For context, I remember buying a brand new Jazz Bass at Leo's Music in Oakland in 1979 for $385 out the door (sales tax included) with the case. They had a beautiful '64 (IIRC) Olympic White/matching headstock Jazz (with super birdseyed neck) at the same time and it was $1,100.
It's also true that great deals could still be found on them back then for cheaper than new as well though (that was still true to a degree until the proliferation of the internet).

Did Fender actually do a gold anodized aluminum pickguard in 1959 ???

Mid '57 through mid '59. They were gold anodized and sprayed with clear lacquer. 10 hole screw pattern which then switched to 13 hole with the introduction of the tort guards (there were some transitional tort guards with 10 hole and even 11 hole pattern as well but those are quite rare).

 

[Dragan]

This bass is all original.

These pot caps too? Shouldn't they be flat tops? Maybe lm wrong but they looks rounded and kinda "new".

 

[57pbass]

These pot caps too? Shouldn't they be flat tops? Maybe lm wrong but they looks rounded and kinda "new".

I’ve never changed out anything on this bass.

 

[txhawaii]

I bought my 1965 Jazz L-series in 1972 or 1973 for about $200 - $250, if memory serves. That was a lot of money for me back then.. I was debating wether to buy the bass or a decent used car for the same amount. For comparison, I think my out-of-state tuition and fees and room and board at GA Tech ran about $2000- $2500 per year (about $18,000 in today’s dollars); an older friend of mine was selling his mid-60s Jaguar XKE convertible for $1000, utterly and completely out of my price range.

in answer to the question about perceived value of the older Fenders, as Rhuddy posted, there was a definite bias towards pre-CBS (or just post-CBS) instruments at the time. The later 60s and early 70s instruments were very different. On average, to me they seemed heavier, not as resonant, and did not have the “open” and “woody” sound of the earlier models. Of course, CBS-Fender made some good instruments during that time as well, just different on average.

As an aside, my ‘65 Jazz is a wonderful instrument, which I will have until I can no longer play. My younger brother, also a bass player, will get it then. However, it is a player not a collectible. When I bought it, in an Iowa City music store, the previous owner had stripped the original finish off, wood-burned images of a cowboy riding a bucking bronco above the bridge, and a sunrise coming over a fence on the front top horn. His (presumably a he) graphic vision exceeded his wood-burning talents, however. Also, he must have played really hard with a pick, there were gouges in the wood between the pickups. One of the tuning pegs must have been loose at one time. There was a slight gouge and a piece of wood lifting up on the headstock.

I took it all apart, sanded down the body, stained it a brown walnut color, and sprayed on one coat of varnish. I had a local luthier fix the tuning peg and headstock. He placed pieces of veneer over the face of the headstock covering the decals. At the time, I wrote to Fender about getting new decals. They would have sent me new ones, all I needed to do was to give them the serial number. I was going to do that, and put a second coat of varnish on it, but it turned out that I needed it for a gig. I reassembled it and used it. About 20 years ago, I had a luthier add some shielding in the cavities and replaced the pots and wiring. I still have the originals, but there is a lot less 60 cycle hum when the pickup volumes are not completely equal. I added a Hipshot D-tuner around then, as well. I still have the original tuning peg.

It is a joy to play, but the reality is that my Roscoe Beck V gets the most gigging time these days. Just about all of my pop/rock, corporate, and musical theater gigs call for 5-string. The RBV was designed to be as close as possible to Roscoe Beck’s early ‘60s Jazz in sound. It does come very close to my Jazz with the added versatility of series and parallel pickup settings.

great story. please post a photo of your '65. It be great if you had images before you refinished it.

 

[kentiki]

Wonderful.
I always ask these questions in these threads: did you buy it because it was better than a new 1979 bass or because it was cheaper?
I'm curious to know if the idea that older Fenders were better was already around at the time.

I started playing in 1973 and Pre CBS Fenders were already a thing.

 

[Luckydog]

Dan, what other strings have you tried on your 59? Can you describe how they were?

 

[txhawaii]

The 'vintage' concept was definitely already a factor by the late 70's (earlier, really) and they often went for more than then new models - and it was driven in reaction to the current stuff. Hence Fender introducing the vintage reissues in the early 80's. There was clearly a market for them. For context, I remember buying a brand new Jazz Bass at Leo's Music in Oakland in 1979 for $385 out the door (sales tax included) with the case. They had a beautiful '64 (IIRC) Olympic White/matching headstock Jazz (with super birdseyed neck) at the same time and it was $1,100.
It's also true that great deals could still be found on them back then for cheaper than new as well though (that was still true to a degree until the proliferation of the internet).



Mid '57 through mid '59. They were gold anodized and sprayed with clear lacquer. 10 hole screw pattern which then switched to 13 hole with the introduction of the tort guards (there were some transitional tort guards with 10 hole and even 11 hole pattern as well but those are quite rare).

$1100 back in the late 70s?!?!?! Thats probably the cost of a new car!

but no telling how much that bass actually sold for if it ever did. Anyone can say anything is worth more than it is. A rotten banana can be priced at $3 but it only takes one person to pay that price for it to be it that value.

 

[Dynacord]

$1100 back in the late 70s?!?!?! Thats probably the cost of a new car!

but no telling how much that bass actually sold for if it ever did. Anyone can say anything is worth more than it is. A rotten banana can be priced at $3 but it only takes one person to pay that price for it to be it that value.

Pretty sure it sold as it was no longer there on a return trip. Also pretty sure it could have been negotiated down to a degree with cash in hand - but was still going to be well more than the $385 for a new one regardless. That was a great store - outfitted Sly and The Family Stone, etc.

 

[57pbass]

Dan, what other strings have you tried on your 59? Can you describe how they were?

When I acquired this bass I restrung it with a set of ROTO SOUND Jazz Bass flat wound strings that remained on the bass until last year when I switched over to the TI set that are working out beautifully. The ROTO SOUND strings stayed in tune and sounded amazing but were very stiff. The bass was difficult to play and the lower tension TI’s resolved the problem.