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First Fender bass finished black?
- Thread starter KimDealWithIt
- Start date
From 1963 Fender Jazz Bass Black - serial L17222 - Cesco's Corner Guitars.
No idea if the source is trustworthy.
I have this ‘62 Custom Color Jazz Bass. I have also seen at one time (but could NOT afford) an earlier ‘60 Jazz Bass with the same matching headstock etc. I believe use of Black as a color was first offered with the DuPont palette in 1957. Just how many custom orders were placed, and how many might exist, including black examples, is unknown.
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Pretty sure a black finish could've been special-ordered from Fender in the 50's. And other auto colors, too.
If there is a 50's original custom color black P Bass I'm quite sure Geddy has it. Will check the "Big Book" tonight... 
If there is a 50's original custom color black P Bass I'm quite sure Geddy has it. Will check the "Big Book" tonight...
I wouldn't be surprised if he does! I've seen a red '54 P (like Dakota Red). I seem to recall seeing a '57 Fiesta Red Fender Tele too, but it was so long ago I'm not 100% sure on that one anymore.
Speaking of oddball Fender finishes....does anyone else remember the '59 P bass 3-tone, rosewood, tort, "no-date" with a matching 3-tone headstock on ebay, back ~ 2003? Listed for $3500.
Yea, I thought I'd seen an early 50's P with a custom black finish, not a refin. ??
I think there were some early '50's slab bodied Ps with factory black finishes, but I could be wrong. The pictures were old, and the basses could have been repainted.
Never saw one in person, but black just like many other colors was certainly available (custom only!)
Here is some info about custom colors on early Fenders
Fender Custom Colors in the 1960s | Vintage Guitar® magazine
greetings
Wise(b)ass
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That’s kind of what I assumed, that as soon as they went to that palette they were at least theoretically available. I like to imagine Bill Carson going down to the factory floor every morning and interrupting whatever real work Forrest White was trying to do by pitching whichever zany solid color was on his mind that day, and White nodding patiently and waiting for him to leave so they could go back to spraying that day’s batch of sunburst.
Do you know you own the nicest bass ever made ? Lucky you !
I thought all '62 Jazz basses had the stacked knobs. I had a Lake Placid Blue Jazz years ago, that I always assumed was a '63, because it was V-V-T. The neck was stamped Dec. '62, so I figured it was a '63 with a yet to be used '62 neck. I no longer know the serial#, as I let the bass go years ago. Can you enlighten me, as to whether they made the knob setup change sometime before '63?? BTW, that is a BEAUTIFUL bass!!
Agreed with above statements on custom colors. No pics in illustrated Fender book of black examples ‘till 60’s chapter, but this shows black as custom color that was available since ‘50’s.
It was certainly possible in the 50's though I've not seen one. There were black Strats in the 50's. Fender had a promo/ad with Billy Carson playing a '57 Strat that was black with gold anodized guard.
P basses were done in other custom colors so black is entirely plausible - though 50's custom colors are very rare in general as this was before Fender released a custom color chart so many people were not aware of the option.
I had an original finish black '61 P bass...
Switch to 3 knob was mid to late '61. I've seen numerous 3 knob '61s. I've seen several '62 stack knobs but all had broken solder joints and were likely swapped control plates. There has long been rumors that there were a few '62 stacks to use up some found parts which is possible - though I have yet to see a confirmed 100% original '62 stack.
P basses were done in other custom colors so black is entirely plausible - though 50's custom colors are very rare in general as this was before Fender released a custom color chart so many people were not aware of the option.
I had an original finish black '61 P bass...
Switch to 3 knob was mid to late '61. I've seen numerous 3 knob '61s. I've seen several '62 stack knobs but all had broken solder joints and were likely swapped control plates. There has long been rumors that there were a few '62 stacks to use up some found parts which is possible - though I have yet to see a confirmed 100% original '62 stack.
Attachments
Love that bass.
It could be among the first Js with matching headstock. Though I'm guessing the body finish isn't original as I would expect to see the mute holes as those continued into early '63 as well as bridge cover holes. Regardless, very cool.
Earliest original matching headstock Jazz Basses I know of are '62 (know of a couple earlier ones with matching headstocks but were factory refins - including the Candy Apple Red stack knob that Norm Harris has in his book). I've never seen a legit matching headstock/stack knob. Of course, there could have been one off examples (such as there's one late 50's white with matching headstock gold guard/maple neck P bass that was done for Jimmy Bryant's bass player) but didn't become standard until mid '62; '62 was a year of many transition details, slab board to curved boards, pencil dates to neck stamps, tort guards as standard on custom colors to 'green' guards (there were a few earlier exceptions - usually on black basses - the '61 original black P I had was with a green guard) and matching headstocks on Js/Bass VI/Jaguar/Jazzmaster - '62s can be found with various feature mixes.
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Cesco's (Francesco Balossino) is one of the most trustworthy sources there is. He REALLY knows vintage Fender like few others.
A nice and super clean original black early '62 J:
Hi Dynacord 
That green one is pure dynamite!
Yep!
from the article i linked to:
quotes:
The mention “available in a DuPont Ducco color of the player’s choice at an additional 5% cost” first showed up in spec sheets for the Stratocaster and Precision Bass circa ’56, but customer requests for non-standard finishes actually go back to the early ’50s.
It’s difficult to identify precisely which colors were used on Fender instruments before 1960, partly because of the sheer number of automotive paint shades available at the time, but also because of the effect of aging on these colors.
end quotes
Funny detail about black:
quotes:
NOTES: #1 The Olympic White color listed by Cadillac in 1957 ...
#2 The DuPont code for Black listed by Fender in its charts (1711-X) is inadequate because it does not match any automotive black paint! There are several DuPont black paints for GM cars which Fender could have used in the 1950s: #99 in 1954 (Corvette), #2817-L in1958 (Cadillac) or #88-L in 1958 (Corvette), but it’s impossible to say for sure which paint Fender actually used at the time.
#3 The name Fiesta Red was given to...
end quotes
Several years ago I saw an early 60s Jazz on sale that was black.
The colour had bleached to a really fugly greenish tone.
=> could be the reason why we don't see a lot of black finishes on very old basses.
greetings
Wise
Wise
That green one is pure dynamite!
Yep!
from the article i linked to:
quotes:
The mention “available in a DuPont Ducco color of the player’s choice at an additional 5% cost” first showed up in spec sheets for the Stratocaster and Precision Bass circa ’56, but customer requests for non-standard finishes actually go back to the early ’50s.
It’s difficult to identify precisely which colors were used on Fender instruments before 1960, partly because of the sheer number of automotive paint shades available at the time, but also because of the effect of aging on these colors.
end quotes
Funny detail about black:
quotes:
NOTES: #1 The Olympic White color listed by Cadillac in 1957 ...
#2 The DuPont code for Black listed by Fender in its charts (1711-X) is inadequate because it does not match any automotive black paint! There are several DuPont black paints for GM cars which Fender could have used in the 1950s: #99 in 1954 (Corvette), #2817-L in1958 (Cadillac) or #88-L in 1958 (Corvette), but it’s impossible to say for sure which paint Fender actually used at the time.
#3 The name Fiesta Red was given to...
end quotes
Several years ago I saw an early 60s Jazz on sale that was black.
The colour had bleached to a really fugly greenish tone.
=> could be the reason why we don't see a lot of black finishes on very old basses.
greetings
Wise
Wise
I love how the black headstock washes out all the text other than the Fender logo. Looks killer! Fender Japan did a run of black J basses w/ matching headstock fairly recently.
