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is this a real fender?

D

daniel sanchez

Guest
Feb 10, 2015
99
28
Ontario, Canada
#1
hey guys, im new to talk bass:) im also new to fender basses, so i have someone who is selling me a 2013 MIM fender p bass. I dont know much about fender so i cant tell if its real or not. I went on a couple websites looking for this colour but cant find it anywhere, so i dont know. The pickups have been changed and a thumb rest and bridge cover have been installed. the reason it feels weird to me, is it is a maple neck but the neck feels so plastic. like it feels as if it was a guitar hero video game neck..... dosnt feel cheap just feels weird to me. the serial number and everything is there, so it seems legit, am i just over thinking it and this is how fenders are?
let me know what you guys think.
dan iphone 031.JPG
dan iphone 032.JPG
dan iphone 033.JPG
 
#3
I'm not a Fender-experten, but the lacquer looks homogenous along the neck and head, so if someone changed the Squier logo (from a Vintage Modified Squier P) for a Fender one (s)he did a really good job. What makes the alarm ring is the pickup cover: "Duncan Designed"? Those non-USA pickups sound (for me) really good so you have two options:

a) Refinished VM Squier P

b) Real MiM Fender Precision with Duncan Designed pups

The VM body is maple and it's lightweight, perhaps if you can test it... I don't know if the MiM is alder or not...

Sorry I cannot help a little more.
 
#4
It looks like a Squier Vintage Modified P bass body, maple by the looks of it, with a post 2009 Fender Mexican P bass neck. Those are the original pickups for the VM. In the UK, a VM goes for less than half the price of a Mex.

Someone has either been ripped off and bought it like it is or is trying to rip you off by not selling you the real deal. Unless you are getting it for a low price, back away from the deal. There are plenty of P basses around.
 
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#7
FantasticFour said:
Isn't the VM Precision agathis?
I thought only the jazz was maple.
Click to expand...

Squier did issue a VM Precision in a natural finish with soft maple body, as the Jazz; that has since been disco'd.

Daniel, regarding the legitimacy of the bass in question: it appears to be comprised of a Squier VM body with a swapped-MIM neck. That aside, if the price is right, it may be OK. If the seller is asking, say, more than $300 USD, either negotiate or say "no thanks". Squiers get modded quite often, but an honest seller should disclose that, rather than pass it as a US or MIM model.
 
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#9
FantasticFour said:
Oh, I didn't know that.
That must have been before I was looking for a P or I definitely would have grabbed one.
Now I wonder if they were discontinued because they didn't sell, and if so, why.
Click to expand...

I hope I wasn't "talking bollocks" earlier, but Squier's website still advertises the VM Precision in maple, complete with "Buy It Now" button and all that. I have seen very few of these as of late, unless they are up on Ebay/Amazon/Craigslist or NOS in small, independent shops. Word on the street and on TB has been they are no longer in production, but you can find one with a little research and persistence.
 
#10
TheAnalogKid said:
I hope I wasn't "talking bollocks" earlier, but Squier's website still advertises the VM Precision in maple, complete with "Buy It Now" button and all that. I have seen very few of these as of late, unless they are up on Ebay/Amazon/Craigslist or NOS in small, independent shops. Word on the street and on TB has been they are no longer in production, but you can find one with a little research and persistence.
Click to expand...

I couldn't find it on the site I have access to in Europe.
Tried to get there through the Fender.com website changing the location to US but I got an error message.
I guess it will be harder to find one around here but I'll definitely keep an eye open.
 

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