I'll echo the nothing about that looks Warmoth statement. As to dating whether a Fender is from 73 or 74, or indeed any year from the later 60's though the 70's, I see no real value in that. Any bass in that era is from Fender's worst period, and should be evaluated on whether it's a good player or not; it's not a "golden" era by any means.
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Help identifying P Bass year
- Thread starter Hypnos78
- Start date
You might not acknowledge it, but there is in fact a significant value difference between late ‘60s and late ‘70s Fender, with the mid ‘70s falling in between. A ‘69 sunburst Jazz for instance, is worth double what a ‘79 burst Jazz is. And late ‘60s and early ‘70s are generally still considered very good instruments by most players. It was the mid-late ‘70s that have the bad rep, starting around ‘75 (when Fender went fully over to the 3 bolt necks on the Jazz, Strat and some other models, and the average weight went up by about 2-3 lbs.). I’ve had many ‘74s that were still every bit still as good (and light) as the ‘60s basses.
One cool thing about music is everyone is entitled to their own view of things - which, in turn, helps set the value of things. A large part of my view is formed as a result of having lived through that era, when everyone was desperately looking for pre CBS stuff - nobody wanted a "Silver face" amp, or instruments from that era. I myself, at this time, build my own basses, - while they're basically Fender designs, I'm particular, and Fender doesn't really make what I want, so all the discussions about what years are good are.....academic to me. I have no dog in any of the various hunts; I'm more detached (some would say objective) than most folks when it comes to all of that.
On the finish, any chance this was a factory clear that had the cherry sunburst added later? Did Fender do clear over Alder in 74, or just Ash?
If not already mentioned, check the back side of the pickup for a written date. It might correspond to the pot code that you said says, '73.
{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. }
The guy who sold it to the O.P. did state in his ad that the body was refinished!.. SEE ABOVE
The guy who sold it to the O.P. did state in his ad that the body was refinished!.. SEE ABOVE
Wish I could, it has a replaced pickup mentioned in the ad somebody posted. DiMarzio I think? I took it out and put in a Fralin. By the way, can anybody help me understand the 4 and 5 digit codes on the pickups? Is the 3rd or 4th digit the year on those codes? THX!!
Can you please tell me more about how to find this guy? All I see is a twitter page. If he built this in 73/4, he must be older then, right?Yes my guess Fender custom built by Jason Davis look him up
I'm wondering if he said this because he also knew it wasn't a normal color that that year. However, others have posted on here that the paint may be original or factory redo?
Bass Clef - can you please help me understand pickguards for this 73/74 bass? Everything I've been seeing for a 73 or 74 has the higher thumb rest instead of the lower tug bar for holes in the guard? People are saying 72-79 are the same pickguard which makes no sense from what I've seen in this thread? If the tug bar stopped in 73, then there should be a different pickguard for 72-73 and 74-77, correct? Do you have any info on pickguard changes from 1969-1979 for me as that is the range of basses I can afford. Thanks so much!
Mid ‘73 thru the very early ‘80s is the same hole pattern - mounting screws/thumbrest/pickup cover. Everything pre mid-‘73 had the tugbar (and no mounting hole in the middle of the guard, in front of the pickup, since the tugbar served that purpose). The bass in the original post was drilled for either the tugbar or thumbrest after the fact, but it’s hard to say 100% for sure which one it had when it left the factory, since it could be a ‘73 body (and the only year it could have had either a tugbar OR a thumbrest).
Here are some photos of my 1973 jazz. I bought this bass brand new
and I still have the original bill of sale in the case. This bass is 100% original. The only thing I changed on this bass are the strings.Never taken apart. Hopefully these photos can be used by someone for information regarding something they may be buying.
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Yes my guess Fender custom built by Jason Davis look him up
Anybody know how to look this Jason Davis guy up? I see a twitter account, but no email or phone?
That is not a Jason Davis mark. 2 completely different eras of Fender, 2 completely different people, and nothing custom built about your neck - 100% 70s standard production. Not sure if rtslinger's post was sarcastic, but it's misleading.
