I think your Squier is better than this bass
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Feedback on price
- Thread starter NYgiant
- Start date
Appreciate all the posts and input, guys. I'll definitely pass then and try to be content with the six I already own! That is until I get bored and start looking again, which might be this weekend! Ha ha.
in 1978 several Japanese companies were beginning to make better P basses than Fender.
There must be a reason that Fender brought their manufacturing over there for the well respected MIJ Fenders that came after this ugly bass..
Just get one of those instead. They are more fun to spot in the wild too
There must be a reason that Fender brought their manufacturing over there for the well respected MIJ Fenders that came after this ugly bass..
Just get one of those instead. They are more fun to spot in the wild too
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
I wouldn't buy it at any price.
1. Late 70s Fenders was the period when their quality was at its worst.
2. All those marks/chips on the neck and headstock suggest it led a hard life. The missing wood at the end of the headstock means it slammed into something solid more than once.
3. The dark spots on the neck suggest possible water or moisture exposure. No way the chips on the back of the neck should have darkened like that, and the marks at the 12th fret likely are not just wear from playing.
4. At the very least, it has replacement tuners and jack (possibly damaged pickguard). In any condition, that kills any collectible value).
1. Late 70s Fenders was the period when their quality was at its worst.
2. All those marks/chips on the neck and headstock suggest it led a hard life. The missing wood at the end of the headstock means it slammed into something solid more than once.
3. The dark spots on the neck suggest possible water or moisture exposure. No way the chips on the back of the neck should have darkened like that, and the marks at the 12th fret likely are not just wear from playing.
4. At the very least, it has replacement tuners and jack (possibly damaged pickguard). In any condition, that kills any collectible value).
Not without playing it and inspecting it in person. I wouldn't pay much though. CHEAPO cast metal tuners. Broken PG. Abused. 3 Strikes. Ima gonna guess the frets are a mess too, they looked flat on top as if they'd been replaced and not crowned properly.
The neck finish is flaking off in big chunks right before our eyes. Looks like a beaver has been sampling the treble edge of the neck, and even she rejected it.
That thing isn't an antique classic. It's just a mistreated old bass.
The neck finish is flaking off in big chunks right before our eyes. Looks like a beaver has been sampling the treble edge of the neck, and even she rejected it.
That thing isn't an antique classic. It's just a mistreated old bass.
...or look at the selection of quality instruments in the TB classifieds and see what $2k (...or less) will buy. The late 70's Fenders were a hard-pass for me (...I was 21) when I could finally afford something decent.
Riis
Is the photo exaggerating the radius on that neck or is that the way they were back in 78? And I wonder how much GC took it apart to date it. They probably just looked at the control cavity. That thing has been rode hard and put up wet. I'd keep looking, unless you really get off on distressed.
THIS.
A few hundred dollars will buy a lot of P bass. Just get one with a good setup and you'll be ready to gig.
If you're a collector/reseller, that's different.
You may find that your $300 CV is actually a better bass than the one you're looking it. The late 70s was not a good time for Fender products. QC was slipping badly. If I was interested in one from that era I would shop around and for the best one I could find.
I know the OP already made a decision, but just to comment on the bizarre output jack... I wouldn't even want to know what surprise is lurking underneath that metal prophylactic.
I was thinking that, but I didn't want to say it!
Wise decision OP! I'm sure you have plenty of bass tones to enjoy from your 6 basses.
You could buy a brand new Fender American Pro II Precision for under $2,000. But I would never spend that much on a Fender, especially if you already have a Precision. Maybe buy an American Pro II Precision used? Or you can buy a Squier and mod it the way you want to? Or you can save up and buy something higher end?
I'd say this doesn't even qualify to be called a "players grade" vintage bass. I'd call it a "beater" and therefore worth substantially less money then even a player's grade vintage bass.
So, for me it's hard to put a price on that because not only is it in really beat up rough condition it also has parts that have been changed out. Even if I could get it for 1000 bucks I would still be a hard pass for me. Although depending on if the body is original and underneath the broken pickguard it still looks good and it hasn't been chopped up in any way and if the pickups and all the electronics are still original and the neck is good and the truss works and isn't sunken into the neck heel. Then it might be able to be stripped for parts and bring in what I paid for it.
That finish on the neck is so old and cracking it's gonna fall off the neck in chunks with any kind of regular usage. If you look at it it's already started to do that. Frets look decent Compared to the condition of the rest of the neck and probably have been replaced. That also lowers the vintage value. Neck plate is incorrect for a 70's Fender and the tuners, which are a Chinese import copy of Grover tuners are incorrect. That leads me to believe it's a "parts bass". Before I would even consider purchasing that I would tell the seller that I need to remove the neck and check the date look under the pickups and see if they are dated and see if a body is dated and also to check the pots and see what their date codes are and see if it matches. All the original parts should fall within a year or two of each other.
All in all a hard pass for me unless I could get it super cheap.
So, for me it's hard to put a price on that because not only is it in really beat up rough condition it also has parts that have been changed out. Even if I could get it for 1000 bucks I would still be a hard pass for me. Although depending on if the body is original and underneath the broken pickguard it still looks good and it hasn't been chopped up in any way and if the pickups and all the electronics are still original and the neck is good and the truss works and isn't sunken into the neck heel. Then it might be able to be stripped for parts and bring in what I paid for it.
That finish on the neck is so old and cracking it's gonna fall off the neck in chunks with any kind of regular usage. If you look at it it's already started to do that. Frets look decent Compared to the condition of the rest of the neck and probably have been replaced. That also lowers the vintage value. Neck plate is incorrect for a 70's Fender and the tuners, which are a Chinese import copy of Grover tuners are incorrect. That leads me to believe it's a "parts bass". Before I would even consider purchasing that I would tell the seller that I need to remove the neck and check the date look under the pickups and see if they are dated and see if a body is dated and also to check the pots and see what their date codes are and see if it matches. All the original parts should fall within a year or two of each other.
All in all a hard pass for me unless I could get it super cheap.
Here, go check these out and be sure to take some anti gas meds first
This one sold new for 3750 several years ago. The guy that owns it now has about 8 basses for sale and will let it go, shipping included, for 2300 bucks. The bass is also stereo, has two output jacks, topside output goes to the neck pup only when used, side output handles neck and bridge pups when used by itself, and the bridge pickup alone when you have the topside output plugged in for the neck pup. The current owner didn't even know this until I pointed it out to him. How do you own a bass like that and not even know how it works? But that's another discussion for another day.
Then Ferner offers these two models that you can customize as little or as much as you want. Poor Kevin already had enough gray hair when I placed my order with him last year. He told everyone that when it came to the options sheet that instead of checking stuff off I just circled the whole page
Here are the pages for his Custom 68 and his Custom PJ Deluxe
He also offers the Cadet, a 30" short scale
The Supertone, a 32" medium scale semi hollow
And the Aviator which is a cross between a Thunderbird bass and a 57 Chevy rear fender with Kevin's own proprietary controls and switching design.
And if you want to see the bass Kevin built for me, it's all here in a photo album on TB
All the specs for my bass are in this NBD post here on TB as well. It started out as a Custom 68 slab body, but it wasn't a slab body when I got done. I spent a lot of money on this one. But when you start doing stuff like making the top bend and cover the forearm contour as well as make the body binding follow the forearm contour you start getting into a whole new territory of custom. The paint job and mother of pearl binding / block inlays weren't cheap either.
Happy gassing this weekend! Isn't TB a great place for
My vote is save up and buy something custom!I was thinking that, but I didn't want to say it!
Wise decision OP! I'm sure you have plenty of bass tones to enjoy from your 6 basses.
You could buy a brand new Fender American Pro II Precision for under $2,000. But I would never spend that much on a Fender, especially if you already have a Precision. Maybe buy an American Pro II Precision used? Or you can buy a Squier and mod it the way you want to? Or you can save up and buy something higher end?
