• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Fender Peeps - Is this one special?

bstringrandy

bstringrandy

Aug 18, 2004
712
629
67
Jacksonville, FL
#1
Okay, I finally got up the nerve to disassemble and document this P-Bass. I bought it 14 years ago and it was said to be all original. The only thing I've replaced is a bridge saddle spring and strings. It weighs in at 9.5 pounds and thunders like a P-Bass should!

I know that this is one of what they call the "Emerald Series" with this one being Sapphire Blue. The body appears to be a single piece of ash. I've heard that they're not rare, but I've never seen another one like it...

The pots date to 80 and 81. As you see the neck is stamped 82 and the S/N is a S9XXXXX.

Is this a Fulleron era "transition" bass? Does the name J. Torres on the neck mean anything?

Is it something special?

DSC02612.jpg

DSC02620.jpg

DSC02613.jpg

DSC02615.jpg

DSC02618.jpg

DSC02621.jpg

DSC02623.jpg

DSC02625.jpg
 
#2
Beautiful bass!!!

Looks like a "Smith era" Precison, and the '82 date sound right. The white PUP covers, lack of holes for the thumb rest, bridge cover, and pickup cover make it a Standard Precision like in the '82 catalog. The bridge looks the same as the picture on page 74 of "The Fender Bass - An Illustrated History" by Black & Molinaro. The finish WAS a "custom" color offering in that catalog called Sapphire Blue. As a Fender dealer at the time, these were GREAT basses. A '70s Precision made correctly! All the great fit and finish that characterizes the Fullerton-era Vintage Series reissues without being a VS.

BTW, it's not a one-piece body. There's a clear line in the treble-side in your rear view picture, and another grain mismatch in the bass side. Not that that's in any way a problem. They simply didn't use one-piece bodies because they would tend to warp. So they'd laminate wood together with the grain going different directions. 3-piece in my opinion is best because it gives you the strength and stability while keeping the neck and bridge mounted to the same piece of wood. AFAIK, they never used one-piece bodies. Depending on the finish, you can look at the rim of the body from the bridge end (like looking straight into the strap button) and you'll be more likely to see the grain, but they did a really good job of matching that one up.

John
 
#7
bstringrandy said:
Were there a lot of these made?
Click to expand...

Probably not- they were only made for a short period between '81 or so and when they closed the Fullerton as the company was sold to Bill Schultz et. al. in '85. Most of the interest among dealers and retail customers at the time was for the Vintage Series and they introduced the Elite Series as these were being built too. I suspect that they focused on the Elite and Vintage lines rather than the Standards. I have no idea however what sort of numbers they'd have been.

John
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back