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1987ish MIJ Fender P bass question.

santucci218

santucci218

Jan 26, 2007
5,570
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Pittsburgh
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#1
I recently acquired one of these. Its in pretty good condition. Everything seems to be original. Red finish with a Maple neck and fretboard. Any clue how much these things are worth? I couldn't find any in the talkbass sale section, and the 1 on ebay that is priced at 699 isnt seeming to sell, and its in worse condition. Also, the serial starts with E7. That means 1987 -1988, yeah?
 
#8
It seems there is a huge difference in what a bass is worth these days compared to what you can actually sell it for. The real "worth" is probably what you could resell it for in a weeks time, which is probably really close to what you paid for it. The collectible value is pretty much nonexistent anymore unless it is a truly vintage or seriously sought after bass.
 
#9
eaaa410 said:
It seems there is a huge difference in what a bass is worth these days compared to what you can actually sell it for. The real "worth" is probably what you could resell it for in a weeks time, which is probably really close to what you paid for it. The collectible value is pretty much nonexistent anymore unless it is a truly vintage or seriously sought after bass.
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Yes, but the term "Truly Vintage" seems to have a pretty flexible meaning. Who's to say what "Vintage" is? There was a time when, for Fenders, "Pre CBS" was the standard. Now, it seems that it means "anything more than 20 years old"...

For my part, if a Fender is made before 1970, I figure it's "vintage enough". The '70s? Fuggitaboutit.
 
#11
santucci218 said:
I didnt say it was, I was just curious as to the value is all. Also, anybody know if the original strings had blue silk on the top?
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I have a couple of '70s and a couple of '60s unused sets (and got those strings on all of the brand new Fenders i've bought back than in the 70s) and a few sets of the Dynamaxx (early 90s) series strings. They all have a blue silk on the top and on the bottom.

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#12
Depends on the color. Colors like aged whites and blues and rarer colors that can't be found on other models generally go for more. Is it like Candy Apple Red? My guess is 400-500...likely on the lower end of that spectrum, say around 450. Obviously those values fluctuate but if you were to list it on ebay or craigslist that would be likely the amount.
 
#13
BigOldHarry said:
Yes, but the term "Truly Vintage" seems to have a pretty flexible meaning. Who's to say what "Vintage" is? There was a time when, for Fenders, "Pre CBS" was the standard. Now, it seems that it means "anything more than 20 years old"...

For my part, if a Fender is made before 1970, I figure it's "vintage enough". The '70s? Fuggitaboutit.
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I would agree. The terms "vintage", "lawsuit", "classic", etc, all seem to be thrown about pretty frequently and loosely to make something seem more valuable or collectible. I have a 1985 MIJ Jazz Bass Special. Would I call it "vintage"? No, it's just older 80's model bass, cool maybe, but not vintage.

I would think the 70's basses would "vintage". The 50's and 60's should be "classic".
 
#14
Using ebay as the indicator (as it is the best indicator due to it's very free market system):

http://cgi.ebay.com/FENDER-PRECISION-BASS-MADE-JAPAN-NR-/330515572838?pt=Guitar&hash=item4cf4436866

^That one is pretty much yours, without the red color and the few light issues.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Precision-Bass-Japan-/140504093787?pt=Guitar&hash=item20b6b2545b

^this one is blue (desirable) and the upgraded pickup and vintage case so it will probably go for higher than the $400. Eliminating the upgrade/vintage case value and it's comparable to yours.
 
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#15
eaaa410 said:
I would agree. The terms "vintage", "lawsuit", "classic", etc, all seem to be thrown about pretty frequently and loosely to make something seem more valuable or collectible. I have a 1985 MIJ Jazz Bass Special. Would I call it "vintage"? No, it's just older 80's model bass, cool maybe, but not vintage.

I would think the 70's basses would "vintage". The 50's and 60's should be "classic".
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Okay, I'm going to go all Merriam Webster on ya...

Definition of VINTAGE
a (1) : a season's yield of grapes or wine from a vineyard (2) : wine; especially : a usually superior wine all or most of which comes from a single year b : a collection of contemporaneous and similar persons or things : crop
2: the act or time of harvesting grapes or making wine
3: a period of origin or manufacture <a piano of 1845 vintage>


Okay, skipping past the wine bits, the bit in bold is what strikes me as meaningful; "... usually superior...comes from a single year". The point is that the term "Vintage" implicitly means "Superior". I guess that's my rub with the term - folks use "Vintage" to mean "old", and for some reason, "Old" now means "great" (unless you're an old player like myself! :p). I submit that sometimes, old is *awful*.
 
#17
I have an 89 Surf Green MIJ P which I picked up for $500. Pup cover was missing, as was the orig bridge with a BAII installed. Original Pup was replaced with a Fralin. No big deal as these were improvements IMO.

Maybe 1 day these will increase in value I think but for now the remain a bargain for the educated bassist looking for a superbly made instrument with an age approaching 25 years old (which is actually the age something is considered vintage).
 

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