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Fender pre-CBS Club: pics mandatory!
- Thread starter Mastermold
- Start date
You’ll have to call it a transitional period parts bass I guess.
Well, I guess it's quite an expensive bass and if you have worries about buying it, don't. You'll probably be regretting it sometime in the future when either a more perfect bass for a decent price crosses your path or when you decide to sell it and it doesn't get sold for the same doubts you have now.
My ‘59 is 59 this year! So, does this make it her Golden Birthday Year??
I bought this P Bass in the mid 70’s, at a pawn shop in Grand Forks, ND while doing a road gig, and have played hundreds of gigs on her since. She is a real player!
Many thanks to Ben Lindsey of Lindsey Guitars for help with the awesome restoration in 2013!
View attachment 2927605
It was the PJ on the left. A lot of damage done by previous owners were covered by the pickguard. You can also see where the forearm area was greasy. It was bleached, which helped, but was still clearly visible under the poly. It was trashed, when I bought it, and I had to strip and poly it and add a NOS (barely) '73 maple neck until I found a genuine '59 in sorry condition (thanks to TB Classifieds) in 2008. Ben restored the neck then for me, and later the Fiesta transformation in 2013. A Jazz pickup had been added in the early 80's, Ben fixed the previous fix in 2013 and transformed it into the present form. No visible repair lines.
The original LPB color is visible in the pickup and neck routs.
I bought this P Bass in the mid 70’s, at a pawn shop in Grand Forks, ND while doing a road gig, and have played hundreds of gigs on her since. She is a real player!
Many thanks to Ben Lindsey of Lindsey Guitars for help with the awesome restoration in 2013!
View attachment 2927605
It was the PJ on the left. A lot of damage done by previous owners were covered by the pickguard. You can also see where the forearm area was greasy. It was bleached, which helped, but was still clearly visible under the poly. It was trashed, when I bought it, and I had to strip and poly it and add a NOS (barely) '73 maple neck until I found a genuine '59 in sorry condition (thanks to TB Classifieds) in 2008. Ben restored the neck then for me, and later the Fiesta transformation in 2013. A Jazz pickup had been added in the early 80's, Ben fixed the previous fix in 2013 and transformed it into the present form. No visible repair lines. The original LPB color is visible in the pickup and neck routs.
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Sweet bass! Sad to see the routes resprayed though. Did he strip the headstock?
My refin guy didnt strip the face of the head, the heel where it contacted the pocket, the end of the heel where the date was pencilled, the pickup, control and pocket routes. All that factory marking and overspray is intact.
My neck was greyed like that too in several large spots. I guess maple prevented deep staining. Here’s what it looked like after bleaching. The nitro has yellowed nicely now.
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Here you can see how the face was left alone only the back and sides stripped and sprayed.
Shite brushed on oil deck varnish coming off
done
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Love the bass and the story behind it!
Concur and then some! Awesome!
This is how it looked when I got it back. I no longer have any 'as purchased' pictures. I love how it had the mandatory cigarette burn by the nut
The frets had worn down to unplayable, and the finish was DIRTY! Ben cleaned it all up, and he had to rebuild the area around the nut, refret (thin), and generally restore it. When he visited me, @joinercape helped me make a bone nut for her. I did the rough-out, and he did the last finishing. It is perfection... still
The back of the neck was very choppy, and super dirty. There was finish gone and dirt ground in. After cleaning the wood somehow, as I understand it, Ben used some solvent to even out and redistribute some of the nitro. It is super smooth, and easily the best Fender neck I've ever played. Wide and thin
Played a 1961 Precision today. First time I played a Pre-CBS. Lemme tell ya, beautiful, amazing. You guys know what I'm talking about, words cannot describe it. WOW!
Photos aren't great but I was too busy playing this through a B-15 to worry about photos.
Photos aren't great but I was too busy playing this through a B-15 to worry about photos.
If I had a spare $7500 lying around, trust me, I would have!So did you buy it??
