Earliest Antigua P Bass?

Nope. That's a P that JJB painted himself. Don't think the Antigua finish came along until '78/'79.

 

The bass was disturbingly obnoxious in this band.

 

I had a 78 Tele bass in Antiqua.

 

I gotta Stranglers promo for an East Lansing gig.

 

That bass, along with a torn 15" speaker, was part of the 'Barracuda Bass Sound'. JJ himself said he'd never found a P that sounded like that one. I can't recall what happened to that one.

 

1977 was the first year. Whether that's one of them or not is questionable – especially due to the dark-colored pickguard, which was either painted or swapped out from a different Precision.

 

Pics please!

 

Love the Antigua finish.

 

Appeared in 1976 in the “More Cowbell” SNL sketch...

 

Unfortunately I don't have a pic of that one.

 

That's not an antigua (or what we used to call "pukeburst" back in the day). That is a "greenburst." And if you look at this pic of the body up close, it does appear that it's a homemade job. Looks like an olympic white one that he sprayed the outer edges of it with green spray paint:



EDIT: Just found out this was a 60's bass that JJB bought from Hugh Cornwell, and its fate was retirement when he broke it. He tried to glue it back together but said it was never quite the same.

 

The bass still exists! It has been on public display in the last ten years and the new singer of the Stranglers has used it onstage.

I disagree that JJB got his tone from blown drivers. I think he just got crunch from a Hiwatt amp. Blown drivers would sound fuzzy and unpredictable.

 

Hugh painted that Olympic white 63? before he gave it to JJ

There some copies fans have made

 

I remember when Antiqua came out. A local shop had a display of all models, pbass, jbass, stratocaster, telecaster, all in the Antiqua finish. Pretty cool display with all Fender amps, a Rhodes piano and a set of Rogers drums. I dont think the finish was very popular though.

In hindsight though,, I wish I could have bought the whole display and stored it away somewhere.

 

I remember seeing a display like that too. Might have been at Midwest Music in Cincinnati.

 

Could very well have been. They did the same thing with a whole set of G&L basses and guitars in Blueburst.