Am I wrong about this being a fake?

[H K]

Supposedly a 1976 precision; Fender Precision Bass 1976 | Reverb

What do ya think?

Looks hella fake to me, heres why;
-The fretboard wear. The wear is between the strings. Either the guy who played this bent every single note, every single time, or someone took a dremel to it while the strings were still on...
-Very little signs of wear on the pickguard near the pickups, where 90% of Pbass players rest their thumb
-The wear on the back looks intentional, as in "ill do one scratch this way, then one in the opposite direction" literally drawing X's or circles with whatever used to scratch it up
-The wear on the upper horn! This is strange to me. I've seen a legit bass with this kind of wear before, but it surprised me then, and it still does. How to you wear on the top of the upper horn? Especially when the strap is so close. Your hand has no business up there.
-The wear on the treble side on the bottom of the bass. Again, looks way too smooth and "sanded". Does NOT look like it was caused by repeated use of a bad stand or anything like that. Definitely not "drop damage".

and ofcourse the obvious; no pictures of pots or neckpocket.

So what do you think? Fake or not?

 

[H K]

Actually there also looks to be some plastic under the screw on that PG

Could ofcourse be a replacement...

 

[eastcoasteddie]

Yeah, that wear looks too intentional…especially on the fretboard…

 

[UNICORN BASS]

The only comment i am qualified to make is, that is not in "excellent condition". Well played with loads of wear and mojo would be a more honest description. I voted for real but who knows?

 

[MMiller28]

Helllllllll no

 

[jimmydean]

The bass is a 76 that has had " some help " in it's road worn looks . The wear on the neck is text book fake and the wear on the hip is wrong . For that price , just buy a Nash and call it a day .

 

[Amano]

“In excellence condition” mmh nope. To me this is another reason for not liking fake aged. Just why. Also, body is a refin. From 74 Fender P. Basses came with a black pickguard. Its really rare the pick-up covers survived. Unless the bass was stored in a closset and pristine. Good luther maybe can lacquer the neck and restore. Better pass.

 

[mikewalker]

The seller's other three 'very similar' overpriced vintage Fender basses is a bit of a red flag

 

[micguy]

Wear does occur between the strings on a fretboard - the strings protect the wood right under them. That said, it's not often that you get significant wear divots in a bass fretboard.

If you look at my basses my "thumb wear" (it's actually a shiny spot on the satin poly) doesn't appear in the "normal" spot - I never anchor on a pickup. A fair number of folks anchor on the side of the neck.

Wear isn't always where you expect it to be. The bass in question is in Mexico - different cultures often play their instruments very differently. Don't jump to conclusions based on how things are in your neighborhood.

 

[Killing Floor]

Nearly no fret wear. The outer edge is totally wrecked yet there’s not a single mark where the hands/picks/fingernails would have contacted the body for 50 years. Body sides beat to hades, neck and headstock somehow spared the abuse.

And OH MY GAWD what kind of mad orangutan cut that nut?

Also, speaking of Nash, Not Every Bass started out as sunburst. It only happened on occasion. They didn’t change the color of every one midway through the build.

 

[BassDaddy77]

I wouldn't pay $300 for that obvious sham, let alone 3 grand.

 

[Will_White]

Could be a 76 but the wear doesn't match, no wear on the back of the neck with the amount of wear on the front is the big give away.

 

[IPA]

The seller's other three 'very similar' overpriced vintage Fender basses is a bit of a red flag

What, you don't trust zero feedback sellers in Guadalajara for all of your vintage Fender needs?

 

[Turnaround]

Supposedly a 1976 precision; Fender Precision Bass 1976 | Reverb

What do ya think?

Looks hella fake to me, heres why;
-The fretboard wear. The wear is between the strings. Either the guy who played this bent every single note, every single time, or someone took a dremel to it while the strings were still on...
-Very little signs of wear on the pickguard near the pickups, where 90% of Pbass players rest their thumb
-The wear on the back looks intentional, as in "ill do one scratch this way, then one in the opposite direction" literally drawing X's or circles with whatever used to scratch it up
-The wear on the upper horn! This is strange to me. I've seen a legit bass with this kind of wear before, but it surprised me then, and it still does. How to you wear on the top of the upper horn? Especially when the strap is so close. Your hand has no business up there.
-The wear on the treble side on the bottom of the bass. Again, looks way too smooth and "sanded". Does NOT look like it was caused by repeated use of a bad stand or anything like that. Definitely not "drop damage".

and ofcourse the obvious; no pictures of pots or neckpocket.

So what do you think? Fake or not?

Fretboard wear looks normal to me - the greyness will show where you finger touches the fretboard. That will not happen under the string.
New pickguard?
The bass is refinished and the new finish has been relic'ed. That's why the wear looks suspicious.

 

[alex1fly]

Serial number looks photoshopped or doctored. It's so much crisper than the rest of the headstock text.

 

[Lownote38]

Fretboard wear looks normal to me - the greyness will show where you finger touches the fretboard. That will not happen under the string.
New pickguard?
The bass is refinished and the new finish has been relic'ed. That's why the wear looks suspicious.

^^^ This! Body us refinished and relic'd. Pickguard is modern Fender pepperoni style as well. Other than yhose things, I don't see any issues.

 

[Mister Molina]

He had fun with his keys, some coins and a machete

 

[juancaminos]

I would lean toward fake. My Telecaster bass had more wear on the fretboard and back of neck in ten years of playing then this bass.

That said the neck is not as worn as the body. He must have had a real ornate and sharp belt buckle too.

 

[SulzerType2]

The seller's other three 'very similar' overpriced vintage Fender basses is a bit of a red flag

They look too similar in terms of wear, shininess, state of the pickguards. I don't like the headstocks on any of them.

 

[Dave W]

Too many red flags but I’m not convinced it’s fake. It looks like a badly reliced vintage Fender to me.