Help identifying P Bass year

[Hypnos78]

Hello group, first post, so not sure if this is the right place. I bought a 74 P Bass on here last year and love it. I took it apart last night, not find any information or dates to confirm the year on the body nor neck? Attached are pics of the Body, neck, heel and the neck cavity on the body.

After speaking to a few people already and reading a ton, I've realized that the body has filled in lower tug bar holes as well as the additional hole for the finger rest above the E string. Also there is something about the size of the cavity for the bridge wire?

Has anybody ever seen the " DAVI " stamp on the neck or the " TOM R " code/stamp on the neck plate of the body? The neck plate serial dates it to be 73/43, one pot is 73, but the rest is a mystery.

I'm considering purchasing another vintage bass (1969-1973), but am concerned now as to if the next one I buy will be accurate and legit? I'm not looking to sell mine anytime soon, just not sure does everybody take one's word for it when buying 3-5k guitar these days? Is it safe to say that all the ads on here and other classified sites when the owner says 100% original that it can actually be proven?

Thank you all for any input you may have or books, websites, or articles I can read about this topic. -Kyle

 

[ThudThudThud]

If this is Warmoth you may need to go back to whomever sold it to you and verify they were selling it as a "Fender."
To give the benefit of the doubt, it may have been an error on their part, or a misunderstanding on yours.

If it is a Warmoth, and just has a decal and hardware that indicate Fender, and was being sold as a Fender that's not kosher. If you love the bass it's not all bad, but it doesn't appear to be a Fender bass if those markings are indeed Warmoth.

 

[Hypnos78]

Wow, I'm in total shock. I bought it from a very stand up, wealthy guy, and highly doubt he knows this. I will be contacting him for sure. Thank you for your help. So moving forward, who can validate these things before I buy my next one? If there are no codes, do you run from it? So many I find people "say" it original, but how do we know when we are playing with big money, like on a 66 or 69?

 

[Bill Staudt]

I don't think that's a Warmoth neck. Their logo is burned in, not painted. I've also never seen a veneer fretboard Warmoth.

 

[Hypnos78]

I agree. The neck and tuners are legit but strange there is no code on the neck. There are some really faint letters at the bottom, but very hard to make out without intense light and a magnifying glass.

 

[Bill Staudt]

Body routes look correct for a '74 Fender Precision. I don't see any problem.

 

[The Bass Clef]

It’s common for vintage neck stamps to be missing, the construction is correct, so is the DAVI stamp. It definitely appears to be a legit 1970s Fender neck.

The body has the correct routing for the 1973-76 era, and the ground wire route under the bridge is also correct for the era. I don’t know who said the body or neck are Warmoth (I don’t see that post in the htread..erased maybe??), but neither are. The body wood does appear to be genuine mid 1970s Fender-made. There are a few things that raise my eyebrows though... First, the color “Sienna Burst” wasn’t offered until way later than ‘74 - it appreared circa 1979. What’s strange is, the finish in all the body cavities actually looks original, the paint stick mark looks right, and remnants of the white polishing compound are even still visible in the cavities. My opinion is, either it was refinished and done very well with Fender’s finishing methods and to their specs (perhaps stripped and refinished by Fender?), or perhaps it was an original one-off custom order in or around 1974, but that is not as likely. Possible, but not likely. It’s very strange to see that color on a body with pre-1977 routing like this one. Also, the top strap button is not in the typical spot, so it appears to have been moved up maybe a 1/2” or so.

As far as knowing what you’re buying online, you have to know what you are looking for in regards to authenticating vintage Fenders. And the seller either better have a great reputation or a great return policy... or they need to show the bass disassembled in several high quality (in focus) pics, showing the date stamps and codes, so people who do know what to look for can verify it. It’s not too hard to verify something online with good pics, but if you aren’t sure what you are looking for, then you should consult with someone who does before you buy anything vintage.

 

[Double E]

Definitely not Warmoth... am I missing something, who said it might be Warmoth in the first place?

 

[mikeswals]

looks like a real 74-ish body to me too.

the treble side of the neck pocket cutaway area has the typical "(" whoopdeedoo curve from the sloppy fixture they had for many years.

 

[The Bass Clef]

Oh, and that neck has black paint on it, which would also be pretty clear evidence it was refinished (again, likely by Fender)... That, or the neck isn’t original to that body. But since that color wasn’t an option in ‘74, I’m thinking it was just refinned by Fender in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s.

 

[Hypnos78]

Can anybody else weigh in on the bridge cutout? I just came across a discussion about this 72 P bass, of which 2 people have put up pics they feel are legit and BOTH have the same cutout that is being questioned on my bass. I'd really like to know the scoop before I confront the previous owner of my bass. Here is the link to 2 different basses people feel are legit 70's.
Invalid Link Removed

 

[Hypnos78]

It’s common for vintage neck stamps to be missing, the construction is correct, so is the DAVI stamp. It definitely appears to be a legit 1970s Fender neck.

The body has the correct routing for the 1973-76 era, and the ground wire route under the bridge is also correct for the era. I don’t know who said the body or neck are Warmoth (I don’t see that post in the htread..erased maybe??), but neither are. The body wood does appear to be genuine mid 1970s Fender-made. There are a few things that raise my eyebrows though... First, the color “Sienna Burst” wasn’t offered until way later than ‘74 - it appreared circa 1979. What’s strange is, the finish in all the body cavities actually looks original, the paint stick mark looks right, and remnants of the white polishing compound are even still visible in the cavities. My opinion is, either it was refinished and done very well with Fender’s finishing methods and to their specs (perhaps stripped and refinished by Fender?), or perhaps it was an original one-off custom order in or around 1974, but that is not as likely. Possible, but not likely. It’s very strange to see that color on a body with pre-1977 routing like this one. Also, the top strap button is not in the typical spot, so it appears to have been moved up maybe a 1/2” or so.

As far as knowing what you’re buying online, you have to know what you are looking for in regards to authenticating vintage Fenders. And the seller either better have a great reputation or a great return policy... or they need to show the bass disassembled in several high quality (in focus) pics, showing the date stamps and codes, so people who do know what to look for can verify it. It’s not too hard to verify something online with good pics, but if you aren’t sure what you are looking for, then you should consult with someone who does before you buy anything vintage.

can you help me understand what this DAVI stamp is?

 

[mikeswals]

Are you talking about the sideways oval under the bridge? Yes thats typical after about '68 you see that on all of them, easier for them to drill the hole at an angle for the ground wire compared to how they did it before.

 

[Longwheelbass]

Wow, I'm in total shock. I bought it from a very stand up, wealthy guy, and highly doubt he knows this. I will be contacting him for sure. Thank you for your help. So moving forward, who can validate these things before I buy my next one? If there are no codes, do you run from it? So many I find people "say" it original, but how do we know when we are playing with big money, like on a 66 or 69?

This is definitely a Fender body and a Fender neck. What is most unusual about it is the cherry sunburst which is extremely rare - as it appears to be original. Can you post a pic of the headstock, as this body may be a late 70’s build.

 

[Longwheelbass]

And as Caca mentioned the oval or pill shaped rout for the bridge ground wire began showing up at the end of the 1969 run. I personally have not seen a P, J or T Bass with the pill rout pre 1970 but there may be others who have. The “trench” rout for the pickup wires began appearing post-1972 on all P Basses, so your bass is as old as 1973, and as young as 1979. The headstock decal and tuners will help determine whether it is 73-76 or later. The “TV” logo on P Basses ran from 68 to 76, with the large capitals in the italicised serif font, and in 77 it changed to slightly smaller italicised capitals sans serif. I have seen DAVI on a P Bass neck before as well. Also, from 1969, many Fender necks were stamped with a different coding sequence using green and even occasionally red ink - most of which faded away after a few years, so it is very common to see a Fender Bass neck post-69 with no apparent heel date stamp.

 

[Hypnos78]

This is definitely a Fender body and a Fender neck. What is most unusual about it is the cherry sunburst which is extremely rare - as it appears to be original. Can you post a pic of the headstock, as this body may be a late 70’s build.

Sure, here is the headstock... Tuners have the "R" next to the Fender logo as well.

 

[Longwheelbass]

Sure, here is the headstock... Tuners have the "R" next to the Fender logo as well.View attachment 3294227 View attachment 3294228

Well that’s definitely a 72-76 P neck. The body may be a year or two younger - as Bass Clef said the Sienna Burst wasn’t offered till the late 70’s.
Have you checked the date codes on the pickups? May as well post a pic of them...if they are original to the body they should be grey bobbins with a six digit stamp with the last digit being the year.

 

[The Bass Clef]

And as Caca mentioned the oval or pill shaped rout for the bridge ground wire began showing up at the end of the 1969 run. I personally have not seen a P, J or T Bass with the pill rout pre 1970 but there may be others who have. The “trench” rout for the pickup wires began appearing post-1972 on all P Basses, so your bass is as old as 1973, and as young as 1979. The headstock decal and tuners will help determine whether it is 73-76 or later. The “TV” logo on P Basses ran from 68 to 76, with the large capitals in the italicised serif font, and in 77 it changed to slightly smaller italicised capitals sans serif. I have seen DAVI on a P Bass neck before as well. Also, from 1969, many Fender necks were stamped with a different coding sequence using green and even occasionally red ink - most of which faded away after a few years, so it is very common to see a Fender Bass neck post-69 with no apparent heel date stamp.

This body is from ‘73-76. That route became curved in 1976. The neck pocket also got “ears” on the corners circa 1977.

 

[The Bass Clef]

can you help me understand what this DAVI stamp is?

Just the name of the worker that either shaped, finished off, or inspected the neck. Not really an important marking, except there are other necks out there with that name from this era, so it’s another way to verify it’s 1970s Fender-made (and not a fake).

 

[moreblues]

You guys are good! Here is the listing info from who the O.P. bought this bass from.

For Sale Only – 1974 Fender Precision with contoured, solid alder body, maple neck with black side-dots and a dark rosewood board with mother-of-pearl dot inlays. The body was refinished in a cherry sunburst nitro – nice job and it looks like it was done many years ago. This is an excellent player’s grade P-Bass with great tone and feel (if you’re going to have a vintage instrument, IMO it should look like it’s been played, not sitting in a case unused). The pickup is a DiMarzio PAF split single coil replacement. One pot dates to ’73 and the other appears to be from ’78. The tone control knob is slightly bent, but operates freely with no problem.

Pretty good shape for its age with some typical player wear - various minor nicks, chips, dents & dings; surface scratches & some weather checking. A small piece of the pickguard (unoriginal) by the input jack has chipped off and there are a couple of extra screw holes in the body from previous strap buttons (see pics) and from a previous bridge cover. Overall the bass has a great look to it and sounds wonderful. Frets are in great shape with no wear. Fender-engraved nickel tuners are in perfect working condition. 1 5/8" nut width; 34" scale length. Bass weighs 8lbs, 13 oz. Neck is straight - truss rod works fine. Will ship with unoriginal tolex hard case - outside is worn but the inside is in good condition.