A New Family Member!!!!

Hello All,

Well, I was taking a little trip today and happened to stop at a cool little shop. The guy who owns it is a bass player and always has some unusual inventory. I bought a Fender American Zone Deluxe from him a couple of years ago and I turned a fellow TBer on to a beautiful Victor Bailey 4 banger that he bought.

I was starting to look seriously at the '08 American Standard Ps but wanted a maple fretboard. The only thing that was turning me off a bit was the gloss finish on the fingerboard.

Low and behold, he had a 2001 NOS Fender MIA P bass w/a maple board. Took it down, plugged it in and WOW!!! This is a GOOD PBass.

Finish is Sky Blue w/parchment pickguard. The finish has aged nicely to a bluish green, very retro and almost art deco looking and a really nice aged tint to the neck. The only negative is that the plastic over the pickguard had a Fender label on it and there is an outline that is whiter than the rest of the guard where the label was. He is ordering me a new PG at no charge. I will keep the old one and see if I can get it to even out.

He agreed to $850 out the door so I pulled the trigger. Not a steal for a new P Bass but a fair price and it's from a local guy and it's a killer instrument I was able to pick out myself.

I will post pics a little later but right now, I just have to play my new baby!!!!

 

I know, I know!!!

Here you go:

 

I kind of thought the same.

I do believe it is an aged version of Fender's #51 Sky Blue, that would be period correct.

You can't see it in the photos but it now has a bit of a green tint.

 

A little more info.

I pulled the neck and PG and just as suspected, the finish as aged to a nice, mellow blue/green.

Date stamps are April/May 2002. Except for the fading and the pickguard issue, this bass is near perfect. Nice star grounding and good neck pocket fit.

The neck tint is also naturally aged, under the pocket is much lighter.

I am geeked that I found this as a NOS in a store that does not let just anyone come in and beat on instruments (GC, etc.).

I will give Eric Hanson at Hanson Pro Music in Port Huron, MI a shameless plug here. Like I said before, he always has somthing a little different or hard to find there. It's not a huge store but I was at another local shop the other day and they must have had 100+ basses on the wall but nothing out of the ordinary (kinda like cable, 300 channels and nothing on ).

Anyway, I plugged in to my UA LA610 pre that I use for recording and this combo reeks with that vintage, thumping P Bass tone. Can't wait to use this in some upcoming projects.

This find made this a great weekend before going back to the grind on Monday morning.

Cheers to all!!

 

Hey all,

A little update on my new P.

Got the new parchment guard on and it looks great. I am hoping I can age the original and get rid of the sticker blemish...we'll see.

Found a set of TI flats I forgot I had and put 'em on.

Absolutely the cat's a** (that's good!!). The Chromes were great but the TIs just play nicer with that same fat tone.

This bass is all I could ever ask for in a P Bass. Everyone here says when you find a good one, grab it and hang on to it. Dire straits will have to happen for me to give this one up!!!!

Gotta go play now....later

 

Yeah, I know, it's kinda got some mojo in the fact that it was hanging on the rack long enough to make that mark.

I still can't believe that someone didn't find this bass earlier. Probably because it was in a little, out-of-the-way shop that did not allow just anyone to grab it an play it without the shop owners supervision.

If any of you ever are in the Port Huron, MI area, you should stop in and see Eric. He may just have something you may like.