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Fender 60th Anniversary Precision Bass
- Thread starter Lobster11
- Start date
I am sorry to keep dwelling on this, but I tried the serial number dater site and it found the number unrecognizable. It's US11035660. US I know means US made, 11 is the year, and the last 6 = the unique id. First one I've owned with a 0 after the year. Maybe it was an early make? (I will really try to stop obsessing...)
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I have emailed or called at various times over the year and I have always gotten a good informative response. Don't expect a fast email response over the holiday season but do expect a response. They are quite good at getting back to people in my experience.
Pete, def keep us posted. I wouldn't worry about the serial number. Almost surely means it was an early one. As for the purple effect, hard to tell without seeing it in person, but I could imagine that being kind of cool on that particular bass. Obviously you'll have to decide if you think so too. Best of luck! Let us know what Fender says.
I'm thinking the purple tint and my discolored 60th are related. I have noticed that the finish on my 60th is way more fragile than my other basses. Maybe yours spent a little too much time in the sun.
I would've thought that too but it's an even purple on front and back, top and bottom. It may be the way the dye settled into the wood as someone mentioned earlier ... I'll wait to see what Fender says I guess. Maybe since its such a low serial number, they used a different paint?
Maybe. The finish is so easy to damage, though. Leads me to believe it was actually black when they sprayed it.
Either way, you've got the only one so keep her this time!
Either way, you've got the only one so keep her this time!
This discussion made me curious about serial numbers, so I found the page on the Fender site labeled "U.S. INSTRUMENTS PRODUCT DATING" here:
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... where I found the following, a little more than halfway down the page (italics/bold added by me):
So apparently you can't tell whether any particular bass was an "earlier" or "later" production, during this era, based on the serial number.
That said, I have no useful insights on the question of why Pete's sunburst is purple rather than black -- except to say that if it's a "fake," it evidently is an extraordinarily good one in every other way, and it's hard to imagine that anyone who went to the trouble of faking everything else perfectly would make the mistake of using purple instead of black.
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... where I found the following, a little more than halfway down the page (italics/bold added by me):
This new scheme uses the letters US as a prefix to designate an instrument made in the United States, followed by an eight-digit number. The first two digits of the number identify the year of manufacture, (10 for 2010, 11 for 2011, etc.). The following six digits are the unit identifier, although it should be noted that these final six numbers are not sequential and do not provide any other identification information about the instrument. This new scheme is now used on the majority of U.S.-made Fender instruments, with exceptions including the American Vintage series and certain special-run instruments.
So apparently you can't tell whether any particular bass was an "earlier" or "later" production, during this era, based on the serial number.
That said, I have no useful insights on the question of why Pete's sunburst is purple rather than black -- except to say that if it's a "fake," it evidently is an extraordinarily good one in every other way, and it's hard to imagine that anyone who went to the trouble of faking everything else perfectly would make the mistake of using purple instead of black.
Yeah, sometimes anomalies just happen. I had an early Highway 1 Strat in Honey Blonde soon after they were introduced. The skunk stripe on the back was so light that you could barely distinguish it from the maple surrounding it. I've never seen a skunk stripe that light before or after. Pretty cool-looking actually!
Cool info, Lobster. I'll let you know what Fender tells me. I'm 99.9% sure it's not a fake. Just a unique anomaly.
Yeah, I don't think there's anything to be concerned about in terms of authenticity. The issue for you is how you feel about owning what might be the only existing "purple-burst" version of this bass -- out of a line that evidently only includes a small number of bursts to begin with. If you don't like it, I'm sure you could get it replaced with no problem. On the other hand, though, you could embrace the fact that you have something entirely unique: maybe the only purple-burst 60th-anniversary P ever made! That seems kinda cool to me, and who knows: maybe it could become a collector's item!
Either way, welcome back to the club!
I can't find anything close to this. Guitar Center actually increased the price to $1499
Found one on eBay used for $1350. Saw that special neck plate listed for $60.(!)
Wow. The neck plate isn't even all that "special," as it was used on all 2011 USA-made Precisions, not only the Anniversary model.
