1978 precision bass help

[Honkey tonk]

A bit Sorta eyebrow raising, not exactly sure why?

 

[punchdrunk]

The serial number on my 78 is straight as a string, and the top of the "S" is level with the numbers and the bottom of it hangs below. So I dunno.
Probably alot of variations.

Not mine... neck pocket is tight as a glove. Maybe I just got lucky. I've heard this so often. Don't know if mine was just accidentally made perfect, they were hit or miss, or a few were clunkers and they gave em all a bad rap.
My guess is the latter.
Very nice looking bass by the way.

My main player is a 77 (and has been for 3 decades).. your’s is an anomaly. Lucky you!

 

[nukebuick]

What about what appears to be "Made in USA" in small letters under the "ION" in Precision? My 77 doesn't have that. Mine also has straight numbers, although the leading 7 is a bit larger than the rest. Just another data point.

 

[JimmyM]

I've got an 83 neck that's similar and the numbers aren't quite straight, either. Who cares? It's a great neck, I'm 100% sure it's a real Fender neck, and that's all I care.

 

[nukebuick]

Regarding my "Made in USA" decal comment above - I see some others with that now. So - never mind...

Looks legit, and I agree with Jimmy M

 

[LeFunk Machine]

Aren't the tuners supposed to be different?

 

[P A U L]

I've got an 83 neck that's similar and the numbers aren't quite straight, either. Who cares? It's a great neck, I'm 100% sure it's a real Fender neck, and that's all I care.

I have an '83 too. While mine seems much more straight, it's still not perfect, like as if every number/letter were placed separately, by hand...

 

[mickebas]

As mentioned, look under the pick guard. If it the original one the serial should be there too.
The bass looks cool to me.

 

[CB3000]

Looks original to me-I’ve seen that type of serial number variation before.

 

[blastoff]

i like the little birds eyes on the ‘scroll’. looks like maybe a narrower nut like it could be a A neck. could just be the camera angle. anyways, looks good.
heres a pic of my crusty 78 for fun. numbers not quite as wonky but i wouldn’t say laser straight either.

 

[TJIann]

Here's are a couple of pics of my 78 headstock for reference related to your original question plus the other comments on truss rod plug and tuners. I'm the original owner so I know it's all original.

Also, I will add, relative to one of the comments above, that the neck pocket is very tight to the body on mine.

 

[Alex J]

Looks fine to me. There are all kinds of serial number variations in the late 70s. My jazz has the S and then a huge gap until the numbers, for instance.

Probably worth checking the dates of the other components though. My jazz and precision both have S8 serial numbers, but the pickups date them both to 79. S8 can run from 78 - 82/3.

 

[jamro217]

Looks right to me. By the late '70's Fender was pumping out instruments like they were souvenir tee shirts: "If they don't fit, no problem, nobody's gonna come back to Tahiti to return it."

 

[DavC]

i would agree with checking under the pickguard ... and checking the pots/pickups for their dates to gert an accurate build date .. !?!

my decal on my S9 looked weird ... and it dated to be an 81 build .. maybe the waterfall decal was in 2 pieces ..??

 

[Pdaddy1978]

Here's are a couple of pics of my 78 headstock for reference related to your original question plus the other comments on truss rod plug and tuners. I'm the original owner so I know it's all original.

Also, I will add, relative to one of the comments above, that the neck pocket is very tight to the body on mine.
View attachment 4006222

Wow... my P has # S870416... just 2 figure different than yours.
Could it be our basses laid in the nursery next to each other?...
Little brother!

 

[_Obra_]

Here are my recently sold '78 and '79.
Sometimes the serial is not aligned at all, sometimes it's better... that's the Fender from the end of '70.
It would be more suspicious to me if it is perfectly aligned

 

[hypnoroll]

thanks you all for the help. I'll go and try it and check under the pickguard

 

[Alex J]

thanks you all for the help. I'll go and try it and check under the pickguard

The code on the pots will probably give you the most accurate build date, so they are worth checking too.

They can be looked up Link Removed.

 

[capnjim]

They used those serial numbers up until 1983. Maybe they used the best ones first and used up the wonky ones later, in the 80's.

 

[hypnoroll]

The code on the pots will probably give you the most accurate build date, so they are worth checking too.

They can be looked up here.

thanks but the link doesn't work for me