Fullerton Precision - wrong decal?

[charlie_vz]

Hello All,

I just found this mint 1982 Precision '57 reissue on eBay. It looks too good to be true. It is in great condition and everything looks right except for the decal on the headstock. It doesn't look like other decals I've seen on other '57 reissues from that era. It looks thicker (bolder). I saw one that looked similar on a 90s reissue. Am I right to be skeptical?
Fullerton reissues are 4 times the price of those from the 90s and, being reissues, must be very similar. Seems very easy to swap the neck plate and make a profit.
Seller is asking a lot for it since it is very clean, so I'm on high alert... possibly too much. Am I being paranoid? It does seem strange that Fender would use different decals on the same model though.

Thanks,
Charlie


Strange decal - thicker contour, bolder 'PRECISION BASS'
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Here's another 1982 Fullerton '57 reissue with the decal I was used to:

 

[The Bass Clef]

I have had a few Fullertons and I've noticed the 2 different decals, both on the '57 and the '62. Either style is correct. I even have some comparison pics, but don't have my hard drive hooked up at the moment. I wondered about the same thing though a few years ago, and I found other examples of both styles so it's normal.

 

[FranF]

Perfectly normal. My first two had that decal.

 

[FenderOli]

Everythings fine.

 

[One Drop]

Nice bass, love the Fullerton '57s. Be aware the neck probably has a V shape to it.

If you are going to put this one away to sell down the road, you might get your money back.

If you want a bass to play, personally I'd avoid paying the premium for a mint collector's peice that will immediately lose value as you add wear to it. Plenty of nice more played versions of this bass for much less.

People have been asking crazy amounts for Fullertons since a few years, not necessarily getting any where near the asking price I think this is priced quite far above market value, even for a minty one, but of course it's your call.

My '83 Fullerton P became my number one a few years back, the neck is simply a work of art and it sounds just perfect, the right balance of grunt and bottom, aggressive but only when I need it.

 

[mikeswals]

Seems very easy to swap the neck plate and make a profit.

No, the decal placement on the Fullertons vs the FMIC late-80's 90's Precisions is in very different locations.

And you'd have the neck date at the butt-end under the finish too.

 

[charlie_vz]

Wow! Thank you. I didn't my question to be so completely answered! Thanks for the pictures! It's interesting that they used different decal. Although, the logical explanation is that they were running out of old decals from the earlier Fullerton days.

 

[FranF]

They were never using old Fullerton decals, actually. They were new, but not exactly well researched... ;-)

 

[charlie_vz]

Well, I drove to Germany to pick up this bass yesterday. It's wonderful! Thank you all for your advice.