52 Precision

[pudgychef]

Watching. And hoping for photos.

Me too
+1 for good deed

 

[Turnaround]

OP is also in the Pacific time zone.

That's no excuse. We want to know. Now!

 

[gumtown]

We wait with much excitement..

 

[Kirk Bryant]

But wait, we must, young Jedi.

 

[ICM]

I'm actively checking this thread hourly. The tension mounts!

 

[Engle]

Just got confirmation its there & I'm heading to the Community Band's rehearsal in a few minutes

 

[capnjim]

I bet its gonna be some MIJ P-bass copy.

 

[Lowendtech]

 

[Engle]

Well it turns out the gentleman was off by a few decades! He kept insisting he bought it himself in 1953. Finally I pulled up a picture of a 52 on my phone and then he said "wait a minute, I didn't move to Canada until 1956. wait, wait I'm wrong - it was 1973...." What can you say? I couldn't get mad at him!

So there we are. I guess it was too good to be true. It's nowhere near as rare, but it is a nice bass. The neck is straight - action is too high for my liking, it needs a fret job & I would replace the nut. The string spacing was on the nut is uneven and the slots are too shallow. I plugged it in and it sounds sweet!

Here's some pics. One thing that I found interesting was the jazz nut width. It's looks like less than 1 1/2"If those of you who know the early 70's fenders could tell me if it looks like correct, I would appreciate it.

He still wants assistance with determining the value & selling it. I am tempted, but my daughter counted today & we have 11 basses! Hmmm what could I sell?

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

Oh well

It is a really clean '73 though. I've seen these go for well over $1,500 in this condition, and this one looks to be all original except for the case. I would't do anything with the nut if it's original...sometimes they were cut like that, and the "A" width 1.5" neck was an option during that time. The long screw on the G string saddle is typical from that period as the bridge was placed further back on Fender basses for a few years in the early 70's.

Does it need a re-fret, or do they just need to be dressed?

- Steve

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

W He kept insisting he bought it himself in 1953.

I've had that happen to me a few times: and "old-timer" insisting that their guitar or bass is much older than really it is. Sometimes it's out of ignorance, sometimes they want to impress you and assume you don't know anything about vintage guitars.

- Steve

 

[Petethebassman]

I've had that happen to me a few times: and "old-timer" insisting that their guitar or bass is much older than really it is. Sometimes it's out of ignorance, sometimes they want to impress you and assume you don't know anything about vintage guitars.

- Steve

And sadly sometimes it's because of Alzheimer's disease in its' early stage.

 

[AltGrendel]

Shame, nice bass however. String spacing at the nut is odd. Do you really think it left the factory like that?

 

[JiroBass]

https://reverb.com/price-guide/guide/473-fender-precision-bass-1973-sunburst[/URL]

 

[Engle]

I believe the owner was mistaken about the decade and not being deceptive. He said it was a 72 model that he bought in 73. According to the Fender site, the number on the neck plate (373132) seems right. I did tell the owner the neck might have to be removed for appraisal.

He said his nephew borrowed it for a while. That guy played in a heavy metal band and had a pointy weird shaped bass, but when he went into the studio to record, he used the precision - go figure!

The nut appears to be original as there is some finish overlap on it. The frets can be dressed. The body is a little more scratched and chipped than the above pics indicate - I'll upload some more later.

 

[FranF]

I just got a '72 for $1500, so somewhere in that region? Case is non original on this bass too, fwiw....

 

[UK Philip]

That's a beauty. Love the glow of the sunburst, you don't see so many modern ones with quite that look.

 

[TomB]

I believe the owner was mistaken about the decade and not being deceptive. He said it was a 72 model that he bought in 73. According to the Fender site, the number on the neck plate (373132) seems right. I did tell the owner the neck might have to be removed for appraisal.

He said his nephew borrowed it for a while. That guy played in a heavy metal band and had a pointy weird shaped bass, but when he went into the studio to record, he used the precision - go figure!

The nut appears to be original as there is some finish overlap on it. The frets can be dressed. The body is a little more scratched and chipped than the above pics indicate - I'll upload some more later.

Serial number is within 6000 of my '72 Jazz (366xxx). I know that's not definitive with Fender, but it adds a data point. My jazz has no markings at all on the end of the neck. It would be interesting to pop this one and see, but I guess that's up to the owner.

 

[Garret Graves]

Thanks for following up Engle- kind of a let down, eh! The extra long G string saddle screw is indicative of a 1969-1973 bass as well (The Fender Bass book pg 102).

 

[Gaolee]

Oh, the agony of disappointment! Nice bass, but not as nice as a '52.