Fender pre-CBS Club: pics mandatory!

[zacmac]

I love the look of stripped natural P's with a tortoise guard. If I had a refin, i would leave it like that and let that wood shake & breathe

Can I play? I have this lovely old lady from 1962
A refin, but sweet nonetheless.

 

[SJLee]

The ground strips were phased out by '64. '63 was actually the transition year for the strips (as well as the individually mounted string mutes). Most likely, the '64s you saw that had strips were actually '63s, or possibly leftover '63 bodies with '64 necks/parts.

Thanks for the information. It's interesting with the new Fender AVRI series, and the accuracy they are trying to portray with this new series, that they chose to put a ground strip on the 64 Jazz. Totally through me off seeing that for the first time yesterday.

 

[The Bass Clef]

Thanks for the information. It's interesting with the new Fender AVRI series, and the accuracy they are trying to portray with this new series, that they chose to put a ground strip on the 64 Jazz. Totally through me off seeing that for the first time yesterday.

Fender is pretty notorious for getting the appointments wrong for the years they reissue.. especially with their ugly red-headed stepchildren - the basses. Technically, the ground strips on the new AVRI '64s aren't "wrong" because there are some real ones that exist (because they have earlier bodies), but yeah, the '64 "model" didn't have a strip. Hell, the Custom Shop makes a '64 with dots and binding (only done in 1966), and they make a '59 P bass with a black pickguard and a '70s headstock logo.. and that's the Custom Shop! On some of these reissues, I think they just have a grab bag full of numbers and that's how they decide what year they are calling it, haha! It's kinda sad when the company doesn't know their history as much as their fans.

 

[vectra]

Nice bass !!

 

[SJLee]

Fender is pretty notorious for getting the appointments wrong for the years they reissue.. especially with their ugly red-headed stepchildren - the basses. Technically, the ground strips on the new AVRI '64s aren't "wrong" because there are some real ones that exist (because they have earlier bodies), but yeah, the '64 "model" didn't have a strip. Hell, the Custom Shop makes a '64 with dots and binding (only done in 1966), and they make a '59 P bass with a black pickguard and a '70s headstock logo.. and that's the Custom Shop! On some of these reissues, I think they just have a grab bag full of numbers and that's how they decide what year they are calling it, haha! It's kinda sad when the company doesn't know their history as much as their fans.

Yes, I think I know some of the basses you mention which the CS calls a 59 RI with a 70's decal on the headstock. Confusing. At that point it may as well fall under their Pro Series moniker as the Pro (prototype) Series is about mixing and matching different appointments.

Sorry for the derail.

 

[ExaltBass]

The list of deviations in the '59 CS is ridiculous! Very little resemblance to mine.

 

[The Bass Clef]

The list of deviations in the '59 CS is ridiculous! Very little resemblance to mine.

It is. And what's even more strange is that the CS does do accurate '59s too (as well as pretty accurate '64s.. along with some the CS '64s that have '66 style D&B necks). I own a CS '59 that has blonde ash w/ a gold guard, and correct decal. It's a pretty faithful reissue, so I know they're capable of it, but it's almost like they choose to put incorrect features.

A few other models I thought of with odd/incorrect features..
The CS '60 P has a 10-hole tort guard (they had already gone to 13 hole before '59 was over).
The new '74 AVRI Jazz has '76-80s Schaller-style tuners.
The AVRI '62 Jazz has stack knobs which were a '60/61 thing, as well as slab fretboards. While there were some stack knobs and slab boards that left the factory in '62, the '62 "model" was when they changed to 3 knob controls and the curved boards.
The AVRI '62 P always had the wrong decal (no pat. #s), and the 12th fret dot spacing is off (although that one is pretty minor to me), and the '62 model was when they changed to curved boards (like the '62 Jazz).
The Japanese reissue models are even more off though.

 

[SJLee]

Which begs the question, are these discrepancies an attempt to prevent forgeries?

 

[ZonieBass]

Here's my 64 Jazz Bass that I've owned and played since 66. I did the refinish myself (I was young and foolish) and I still have the pickup covers.

 

[UK Philip]

ahhh, you don't get tort guards like those anymore.

edit: spitfire pickguards - thanks for the heads up because they are going to get my money right now. been looking for real tort for so long.

boom! ordered right off the bat.

 

[The Bass Clef]

Which begs the question, are these discrepancies an attempt to prevent forgeries?

No I don't think so, because they do make some faithful reissues too, just not all of them. I honestly think it's a matter of Fender needing to hire an actual vintage expert to make sure they recreate their own history with more accuracy. They have great luthiers, but they're not vintage experts.. obviously. And the suits sitting in the corporate office aren't experts either.

 

[D Bopp]

1963. It's a re-re-fin and the pickguard is by Spitfire Pickguards.

This is a great plug for spitfire!

 

[Mastermold]

No I don't think so, because they do make some faithful reissues too, just not all of them. I honestly think it's a matter of Fender needing to hire an actual vintage expert to make sure they recreate their own history with more accuracy. They have great luthiers, but they're not vintage experts.. obviously. And the suits sitting in the corporate office aren't experts either.

They know how to make accurate reissues but more than that they know how to market their products. Calling every reissue P-bass a "59" no matter what features if has (or doesn't have) is probably because they sell better than if they just called them a "Precision."

 

[The Bass Clef]

They know how to make accurate reissues but more than that they know how to market their products. Calling every reissue P-bass a "59" no matter what features if has (or doesn't have) is probably because they sell better than if they just called them a "Precision."

I agree they (kind of) know how to market well. That doesn't make this any less ridiculous to me though. Fender already has 1000 different variations of the P Bass, I don't think they need to start assigning wrong years to sell them now. Why not call it a '74 since it has more '74 features than a '59.. and then buyers would just have another reissue year to choose from. Better marketing.

My point was, they call the '62 Jazz a '62, when it has '61 features. And they have a CS '64 with '66 features, etc.. Calling it a '62 or a '64 isn't more marketable than (correctly) calling it a '61 and a '66. It's just wrong, and it makes Fender look stupid.

 

[peterpalmieri]

Well to be fair they did stop making the AV62 and came out with the AV64 which while it's not dead accurate is much more faithful to that year.

Regardless of dead nuts accurate the new AV stuff are great players.

 

[mikeswals]

Which begs the question, are these discrepancies an attempt to prevent forgeries?

No. The Custom Shop basses have small details put into place to prevent forged parts; when you remove the pickguard and neck you will find NOS and/or CC stamped in a couple places on the body and NOS stamped into the neck wood. The tuners have different gear pitches and tuner shafts with a rounded hole down the center. The bridge spiral barrels will also have a different pitch than originals.

 

[SJLee]

No. The Custom Shop basses have small details put into place to prevent forged parts; when you remove the pickguard and neck you will find NOS and/or CC stamped in a couple places on the body and NOS stamped into the neck wood. The tuners have different gear pitches and tuner shafts with a rounded hole down the center. The bridge spiral barrels will also have a different pitch than originals.

Thanks Caca. I was referring to the appointment discrepancies with the new AVRI series. Having two CS basses, I'm aware of the RELIC stamps under the pickguards.

 

[zacmac]

this bass, despite being a 66' has been tormenting me lately. I really dig the olympic white/tortoise combo

https://reverb.com/item/232416-1966-fender-precision-bass-olympic-white

 

[DavidBassista]

Asking price seems high. Maybe cause it's custom color?

 

[geddy402]

Yeah the custom colors go for more, but Olympic white is one of the more common custom colors. And $6k for a dead stock 66 oly white p bass isn't a terrible price.