Hey all....so a friend from work who knows i play bass brought in an old beater bass that once belonged to an old girlfriend. The body is a homemade job with what looks like an old musicmaster single coil. Well the neck caught my eye. It looked like an old fender. Upon closer examination i noticed the clay dots. The neck is in fair shape. The decal was removed at some point and at a later date a new waterslide was applied but not properly placed. Anyway i figured it was an older p neck so i removed it to see the date. I was stoked to see an august 64 stamp! The tuners were replaced but im not sure if new holes were drilled but im thinking probably. There is also a small crack near the e tuning gear. Frets are pretty decent actually, no pits. Oh, rosewood board. What is something like this worth? Any ideas? He said he would sell it if anyone was interested.
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I found a 64 p bass neck on an old beater!
- Thread starter sunfighter
- Start date
Well don't ask these guys!!! http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/what-exactly-do-i-have-here-980222/
Does it actually have a Fender serial number or just a date stamp? Without a Fender serial number or headstock logo it probably isn't worth much, but I bet it plays great and would be a great start to a parts bass!
Does it actually have a Fender serial number or just a date stamp? Without a Fender serial number or headstock logo it probably isn't worth much, but I bet it plays great and would be a great start to a parts bass!
Doesn't need to have a serial (since that's on the neckplate), a date-stamp is enough to give it it's value.
+1 they weren't using the serial# stickers in '64. Nice score! I'd be tempted to mount it on a Road Worn body, or try to remake someone's 60s bass, like Phil Lynott's.
Here is a pic of the neck stamp. The truss rod turns in both direction. The frets look like the might be brass(?). Also the waterslide is period correct but isnt on the same angle as others i researched, but it doesnt look like the finish was ever disturbed either. Im gonna post more pics.
Indeed a replaced decal (wrong model, wrong location) and replaced frets. That E-tuner crack is normal (as in: more basses from that period have that flaw). It's indeed stamped as an August '64, and is one of the last claydots ever made (they switched to pearloid as soon as September '64 from my stash of ebay-data). Everything else looks legit (the two holes at the back, doweled at the headstock, non-doweled at the heel, the veneer,...)
A correct replacement decal (transition-style with 4 patent-numbers) can be obtained for free from Fender directly, if you can prove it's a genuine Fender neck (which it is). It's a bit of a hassle, since you have to take it to a FMIC-service center, but it's worth the effort.
A correct replacement decal (transition-style with 4 patent-numbers) can be obtained for free from Fender directly, if you can prove it's a genuine Fender neck (which it is). It's a bit of a hassle, since you have to take it to a FMIC-service center, but it's worth the effort.
Hey thanks man. Appreciated. I traded him some midi cables for it! He's a laptop music maker so this all went over his head. Im gonna hold on to it and try building a bass around it. I like jazz necks better but already got a few of those.
Cunning plan. Don't cut corners, and go for a decent body, with decent hardware and electronics, and you'll have one hell of a bass!
