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1978 Fender P Bass...MOJO

#41
I don't think I've ever seen flat head intonation screws before, but you obviously do have them. I wouldn't put it past Fender to have had them at some point in the past.

Here's a photo I found online of a bridge with the long intonation screw like yours:

longg.jpg


Edit: It seems that at least some old Telecasters (60's era) used flat head intonation screws, so the odds of Fender using them elsewhere at some point is more likely than I first thought. Then again, they may just be regular screws from a hardware store.
 
#42
mcarp555 said:
I don't think I've ever seen non-Phillips intonation screws before, but you obviously do have them. I wouldn't put it past Fender to have had them at some point in the past.

Here's a photo I found online of a bridge with the long intonation screw like yours:

longg.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow...that's good info.

So, it's possible the bridge is older than the bass...of course the intonation screws (the flat head ones) are incorrect.

Anyway to date it appropriately?
 
#43
JellinWellen said:
A GC employee straight up lied to your face, and you are surprised? Whenever I go into a GC I make absolutely sure I know what I want because when you ask an employee questions they will lie to you 9/10 times. Had a guy sell me something that was broken and they had another at a diff store for 80$ more then what I paid. He told me this: I can't just take a discount off something just like that. I got my money back and left.
Click to expand...

90% of customer questions are answered with a lie? Sounds made up.
 
#44
The book ("The Fender Bass - An Illustrated History" by Black & Molinaro) clearly states (pg. 102) that the long "G" intonation bridge is found on the 1969-1973 bridge. You won't be able to date the bridge any more accurately than that. But that doesn't mean on January 1st, 1974, all the basses in production had a different bridge. The long "G" bridge would have been used until they ran out. Nor does it indicate that this was the original bridge first used on this bass. You would need to check other areas of the bass to see if you can get a better idea of what year(s) are a match for what you find.
 
#45
mcarp555 said:
The book ("The Fender Bass - An Illustrated History" by Black & Molinaro) clearly states (pg. 102) that the long "G" intonation bridge is found on the 1969-1973 bridge. You won't be able to date the bridge any more accurately than that. But that doesn't mean on January 1st, 1974, all the basses in production had a different bridge. The long "G" bridge would have been used until they ran out. Nor does it indicate that this was the original bridge first used on this bass. You would need to check other areas of the bass to see if you can get a better idea of what year(s) are a match for what you find.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help. Makes me feel a little better...I checked the pickups ans pots, but haven't taken the neck off yet...so maybe I'll do that and check the dates.
 
#47
Okay...cruddy cell pics of headstock and where the neck meets the body...seems like the shade of the neck changes for where it meets the body...thinking maybe a 78 neck with a different era body?

uploadfromtaptalk1376240433716.jpg
uploadfromtaptalk1376240446893.jpg
 
#49
Project7Bass said:
I talked them down from 1699.99 to 1500.00 for this bass...

I feel a more fair price with the new info would be 1299.99-1399.99

Just my opinion.

Or they can refund me some loot...put a new bridge on and call it a day. Lol.
Click to expand...

All original except the bridge and tuner, you didn't do badly at $1500. Expect to pay a $1-200 premium for buying it through a store, a store offers returns and warranty of some kind but they have overhead so they need to charge a little more. If this was a private sale, then yes you overpaid, it would realistically be $1400ish. And yes, doing research on 70's Fender is difficult because some sellers ask for far too much, but that is why it is an asking price, you can ask whatever you want for something.

On a note of 70's Fenders, even the .5 lb under 10lbs is a MJAOR plus, 10lb+ is considered a boat anchor and shaves at least $100 of the price right off the top. You will be looking to find another under 10lbs if you do not keep this one.
 
#50
Headstock looks period-correct for '77-'78. Tuners are a little out of focus, but don't appear to be Schallers, so '77-ish. 1977-1978 is pretty vague generally but based on the serial # I'd lean more towards '78.

All in all, if you like the way it plays, I'd keep it. Other than the Hipshot and two flat head intonation screws, it looks just like it's supposed to. A few battle scars, but that's to be expected. Did you pay too much? Eh, $1500 is probably the high end of the range, but not an unheard of amount. Say $1200-$1400 for a 'standard' finish, a hundred extra for the mocha in what looks to be good shape.
 
#53
I have bought many vintage basses from GC in the past. Here's my advice for anyone considering buying a vintage piece from any store..

I never assume any guitar store or their employees know jack crap about vintage basses. Even the Hollyweird GC is much more knowledgeable about the guitars, and they're simply just a lot more interested in the guitars than the basses. They use their guitar knowledge to date the basses (which much of it is the same), but they rarely know the details and nuances from year to year of the vintage basses. I've used that lack of knowledge to my advantage more than a few times and I've scored some deals off GC due to their ignorance. So, it can work both ways I've found.

Often there is an advantage to buying private if you do a little homework yourself. Many private sellers (myself included) do something that GC does not - take the bass completely apart and provide pics of all the date codes and stamps to prove authenticity of the parts and the finish before you even buy it. I do everything I can to erase any doubts that the basses I sell are the real deal, and I truly think the vast majority of TBers do the same. I've also found that sellers on TB are much more likely to disclose issues about a bass than GC. Because we actually play the basses before we sell them, not hang them on a wall for everyone and their sister to mess with before you buy it.

I have had some bad experiences over the years buying from retail stores and had to take the basses back because they were misrepresented. I've never had a bad experience buying from the classifieds here on TB. I even feel safer buying on Ebay than GC (unless they allow me to take the bass apart right there in their store - which I am not afraid to ask them if I can). I've found that most playability issues can be adjusted out so the whole "buying sight unseen" is rarely an issue. And when I get a bass that truly has a warped neck or something not easily fixable, that wasn't disclosed by the Ebay seller, I get a refund. Ebay sides with the buyer about 99% of the time if the seller just straight up refuses to give a refund. If it gets to that point (and it's happened to me only twice in 12 years of ebaying), they will place a hold on seller's Paypal account and put the brakes on all their biz on Ebay/Paypal until the case is resolved.
 
#54
Well, brought it to GC...

No love found there...

Offered a few options to them....

1. Some cash back.
2. Replace the intonation screws.

They wouldn't do either...lol

So they refunded all my loot via check.
 
#55
So this one has a happy ending...

The GC down here is Virginia Beach was really cool about the return, even though they would help me out with my suggestions in how to remedy the issue, and actually agreed with me that the bass was priced to high...so, they refunded my money.

Today, I walked into a local music store...as I turned the corner to view the bass selection, right in the center of the wall is a beautiful 1976 Fender P Bass in Walnut with the original case!

This bass is in excellent condition and far exceeds the one I found at GC...so I bought it!

So much happier with this one.

Thanks to all who offered advice in this thread too.

:)
 

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