Fender American Vintage '63 Precision Bass Appreciation Thread

[Warpeg]

Let's have a place for AV '63 P-bass owners and fans to come together to share their stories and pictures of these rare birds. They were only made for four years, but they are arguably one of the finest bass models that Fender has ever made.

Here's the debut shot from the 2013 catalog. Note all of the colors offered and high price tag:

By 2015, the number of color options had been heavily reduced, along with the price:

Here's the model's final appearance in the 2017 catalog:

My 2013 Olympic White model when I first got it in December of 2013:

Here it is today, after several hundreds of gigs, rehearsals, and recordings:

 

[DavidBassista]

Love how the finish aged.

 

[Grinderman]

I read the subject line, 'Fender American Vintage '63 Precision Bass Appreciation Thread', then immediately thought, yes please, I want one too. I prefer Oly White and Sonic Blue. Thank you, Oprah.

Yours looked great new and looks great now. Are you saying you feel you might have paid $500 too much for it though?

 

[P. Aaron]

Let's have a place for AV '63 P-bass owners and fans to come together to share their stories and pictures of these rare birds. They were only made for four years, but they are arguably one of the finest bass models that Fender has ever made.

Here's the debut shot from the 2013 catalog. Note all of the colors offered and high price tag:
View attachment 4496913

By 2015, the number of color options had been heavily reduced, along with the price:
View attachment 4496914

Here's the model's final appearance in the 2017 catalog:
View attachment 4496915

My 2013 Olympic White model when I first got it in December of 2013:
View attachment 4496917

Here it is today, after several hundreds of gigs, rehearsals, and recordings:
View attachment 4496919

How's the case holding up?

 

[Pet Sounds]

I appreciate them. I don't appreciate it that I don't have one.

 

[Mike Vee]

I had a sonic blue 63 for a while. It was beautiful, but I never fully gelled with it for some reason. It just felt clunky. (That Strat however, KEEPER FOR LIFE!)

I also had this rare bird, which I regret selling. It's al an American Vintage - "Hot Rod 60s Precision" from the same era. Sort of the same bass in a P/J configuration with a slimmer neck and a few modern updates.

 

[ShoeManiac]

That's some serious finish checking, OP. Some guys pay extra for that!

 

[Warpeg]

...Yours looked great new and looks great now. Are you saying you feel you might have paid $500 too much for it though?

Haha. I certainly didn't pay anywhere near those list prices.

 

[Warpeg]

How's the case holding up?

It's still fully functional, but it's definitely got some bumps and bruises.

 

[Warpeg]

That's some serious finish checking, OP. Some guys pay extra for that!

My guess is that most of that checking happened during load ins/outs of winter gigs here in the snow belt. Instruments go through some pretty extreme temperature changes here.

 

[ShoeManiac]

Big swings in temperature are usually the main culprit for that kind of checking. Combatting that is one of the reasons why Fender made the move from nitro finishes to poly. The poly finishes hold up much better to those temperature extremes.

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

I always wanted one of these in 3 tons burst, but whenever one pops up I never seem to have the cash!

 

[SoulReflection]

Do they have PV '63 pups? Asking for a friend .

 

[Tanner5382]

Wow, I forgot they even made those in Olympic White. The mint guard looks so much better on Olympic White to me than tort does. Your Olympic White one looks great, really cool checking. I remember considering one of those when they were new. I was interested in the Seminole Red. Never got one though.

 

[murphy]

Do they have PV '63 pups? Asking for a friend .

Yes

 

[SoulReflection]

Yes

Yeah, I love mine although they are a lowly Player P .

 

[jj4001]

Here's mine I bought brand new in March 2018, date stamped July 13, 2017. One of the guitar players in my band helped me score a great deal on it through a buddy of his that works for Guitar Center. It was one of the last few they had in stock. I've played several hundred gigs and a handful of recording sessions with it from its purchase until I scored an even sweeter deal on a closet queen '66 Mustang this past July. It may no longer be my #1, but it's the best Precision I've had and I'll never let it go. My only complaint about this bass is I wish the rosewood board was darker!

 

[P. Aaron]

It's still fully functional, but it's definitely got some bumps and bruises.

Those custom cases are great for pictures but the SKB types fare much better in the gear trailer.

Awesome lookin' bass.

 

[DirkP]

The entire AVS series 2013-2017 wasn't that bad.
I have the sonic blue P along with a '64 J in Daphne Blue and another one in Lake Placid Blue. I call it the blue period. Both Js were rare: LPB was only available for a year or so, Daphne was a FSR of 150 pieces or so.

I have to admit, although praised for being period correct as opposed to the lighter ones used on the previous AVS series, I hate the clay dots!!! For pragmatic reasons: you don't see them on dark stages.
But they are great instruments. Maybe they were downsized to the AO series because of being too close to Custom Shop quality for a much lower price.

 

[spiritbass]

View attachment 4497461
Here's mine I bought brand new in March 2018, date stamped July 13, 2017. One of the guitar players in my band helped me score a great deal on it through a buddy of his that works for Guitar Center. It was one of the last few they had in stock. I've played several hundred gigs and a handful of recording sessions with it from its purchase until I scored an even sweeter deal on a closet queen '66 Mustang this past July. It may no longer be my #1, but it's the best Precision I've had and I'll never let it go. My only complaint about this bass is I wish the rosewood board was darker!

That's a bad rig, dude.