Fender Precision Bass, fake or genuine?

[kmon]

Bad news is it's not a Fender. Good news is...well there's really no good news here.

 

[Dragan]

Hi All,

Hoping to pick your brains on this, my Bass knowledge isn't so great.

I have an old Fender Precision Bass which was given to me some years ago in pretty bad shape. It had since been kept in the loft (not me who put it there) and have recently found it and took it out. Unfortunately as you can see in the photos, it's in very poor shape.

Wondering if this could potentially be a fake Fender Precision, are there any specific tell-tale signs or any reliable way I could confirm if it was genuine or not.

If genuine, do you think it would be worth fixing it up?

Thanks!


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So you didn't bother even to remove that A string and put it correctly in a nut slot before taking photos.

 

[Cutter8]

0% Fender and not worth repairing, but the body, while a bit rough, isn’t bad looking. If the pickups work, you could put an inexpensive import neck on it for $100 or so and might wind up with a serviceable beater bass. Other than that, I think it is basically destined to be either wall art or firewood.

 

[Cutter8]

That is so fake I suspect we're being trolled.

You may be right, but the OP just joined TB a week ago and this is his or her first post. My gut says they just didn’t know how to tell if it was a real Fender or not and wanted to avoid throwing out something worth repairing.

 

[LowEndOperative]

Merely a Fender-shaped object, akin to a distant cousin with missing teeth.

 

[Killing Floor]

Only one way to find out. Real Fenders burn when you pour gasoline on them and toss a lit match at it. So.. if it catches fire it’s probably a Fender. If you want to know, that’s the way.

 

[jimmydean]

Just think , it only needs a new neck , tuners , bridge , knobs ,maybe pickups and a waterslide label and you could have a decent "FAKE FENDER" .

 

[WillyW]

If you take the neck off, it will fit in the trash can better.

 

[MarMar]

The decal looks like a sticker.

 

[DrWhipple]

Phony as a three-dollar bill.

 

[elshunko]

Not even the sticker.

 

[P. Aaron]

NOT a flying toy.

 

[HardNHeavy]

I dont think so

 

[Grinderman]

Fake as F.

 

[mrperkolator]

This is what happens when people have trouble getting gigs unless the head stock says fender....

 

[Pdaddy1978]

Oh my god.......
We've found THE FUNK MACHINE!!!!!

 

[Tommy Sparks]

By this point you’re know it’s not a Fender.
You said you don’t have much bass knowledge, here’s you chance to get some.
Check out stuff on YouTube about setting up, repair and soldering.
Don’t drop a lot of money on it.
It’ll be a good start without worrying about messing a good bass up.

 

[mrperkolator]

second glance.... with a little work this could be the perfect gigging bass - as long as it can sound good. Dumb guitarists might think it's an old fender, and no one would steal it.

I'd either go to great lenghths to make it pretty, or leave it half grungy for the "so fugly it's cool" look.

 

[bassliner50]

I would pass on it. Its beat to hell and there is nothing special about that non-Fender bass. Find a better example to spend time and money on. New to this? I'd look for a used Squier Classic Vibe or Vintage modified Precision. (Maybe $100-$200 range?) Best bet for your bucks. Avoid Squier Affinity if you can.

 

[Robot.G]

It's a "Fenderp"