fender lead bass?79-83

[justin fleenor]

anyone ever heard of a lead bass, i have a fender lead 2 and they are mia but not quite as expensive as a mia strat anyways wiki says there was a lead 1 lead 2 lead3 and lead bass ive seen all the number leads but ive yet to find a lead bass, do they exist?

 

[gary m]

I recall seeing magazine ads for the 1 and 2, but nothing else. This would have been early '79, as I recall. Perhaps the bass came after?

 

[Fishheadjoe]

I've got a Lead 3 guitar, but I have never seen or heard of a Lead Bass!
Fishheadjoe

 

[justin fleenor]

i know the lead 2 i have is really cool and 1 can be had for under 600 usually i was hoping there was a relatively inexpensive vintage usa fender bass out there but i think wiki is making things up or maybe its a baritone..

 

[JIO]

I didn't know about the maple bodied Lead III guitar w/hb pu's. (saw an '88 that fit this description) I don't think a bass version was ever made as I have never seen a picture in any Fender related documentation.

My vote for an inexpensive verging on vintage Fender bass would be the gen 1 22 fret American Standard (boner) basses.

 

[justin fleenor]

according to the same source that says there was a lead bass the lead series was between 79-82 mine is a 1980 anyways lead bass sounds fake.lol

 

[JIO]

according to the same source that says there was a lead bass the lead series was between 79-82 mine is a 1980 anyways lead bass sounds fake.lol

yah, I saw that. The '88 I saw on line was modded and the body was unlike the I & II. Somewhat confusing.

http://axvault.com/?guitar=j-heinz-arts-fender-lead-3-with-modifications

 

[justin fleenor]

omg i thought mine was funny looking,also read something about the early ones having less refined cutaways,if its on the internet it must be true.
mods on m,ine wood pickguard and charvel pups

 

[veebass]

I recall seeing magazine ads for the 1 and 2, but nothing else. This would have been early '79, as I recall. Perhaps the bass came after?

Your memory is good.
There is some info and a pic of one on p31 of "The Fender Bass" by Klaus Blasquiz. Apparently some prototypes were made in 1979. It was double cutaway, vol/ tone plus 2 mini toggles for pickup selection, 34 inch, 2 singles coils set obliquely and looks a bit like a strat.
Here is a link to a page witha pic at the bottom.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[PortlandBass77]

"Lead Bass (1979). There’s a very good reason why few if any have ever seen the fabled Lead Bass model of 1979—it never made it past the developmental stage. Little is known about the model, which was intended as the bass member of the short-lived Fender Lead series of guitars of 1979-1982, but at least one Lead Bass prototype was built. A photo of it that appears in author Klaus Blasquiz’s 1990 book, The Fender Bass, shows a distinctly different instrument—long scale, with the same double-cutaway body shaped that characterized the Lead I, II and III guitar models. Most notably, it had two slanted eight-pole single-coil pickups, with two black control knobs (volume and tone) and two pickup selector mini toggle switches, all mounted on a Stratocaster-like pickguard. It never went into production, thus becoming a Lead that was never followed up on."

I am trying to locate the picture.....

EDIT: Here yahs go:

 

[justin fleenor]

thats a shame its kinda pretty,thanks for clearing things up

 

[hsech]

The body really looks small for that neck.