Is this a real P bass?

[blastoff]

yea it wouldn't be a jazz neck. no binding, block inlays, bullet truss rod, three bolt... etc. the body feels vintage warmothy to me with that pretty grain

im also not seeing the nail holes. not where they're supposed to be.

 

[ravelax]

Neck pocket looks very typical of a late 70's Fender - like they routed it a little too deep along its edges. Nothing at all unusual about the way it looks for this era. I grew up with and learned to play on a 79 Jazz Bass - the neck pocket on that one looks just like this one. Same thing with the bridge, it looks a little cheap and roughly finished - that's how they look. No cause for concern.

Obvious refinish however, with a very obvious fake Fender decal (which is a bit of a shame, and could be worth replacing).

 

[JTL]

Pots date match the neck date; 1980.
The bridge ground would have had to be removed and replaced for the refin (and it appears that's the case) - otherwise the harness looks pretty much untouched.
The black shielding paint & ground screw started about that time.
I would have expected to see foil tape on the back of the pickguard where the controls are - maybe that changed after '79 - I don't know.
Can't tell if I see a brass shield under the pickups.
Pickups should have a date code stamped on the back - but they look "correct" to me.
Funny the upper horn strap button was moved to the early 50s position.
So yeah - it looks like a well-worn '80 P-Bass that's been (user) sanded/stripped & "re-finished"
(hopefully that beginner upright wasn't worth >$1,000)


at the end of the day - that's the most important thing...

I traded an upright I was asking $1000 OBO and would have jumped at a $500 cash offer. So honestly I don’t care if it’s a fake or not because it sounds good and plays well. I was really just curious because moving on I want to be able to tell people what it is. As of now I feel like I can confidently say it’s a 1980 P bass that had a full refinish at some point.

Thanks for all the insight!

 

[BassHole1]

I have a '79 P bass and the log is different. Should have a serial # under the writing. Looks pretty good, though.

How much was the bass you traded for worth?

EDIT: I saw you wanted $500 - $1K. I would say that's probably a good deal you got! If you want to sell, PM me......

 

[basted]

The headstock decal looks too big. Maybe it had a matching coloured headstock that got the refin treatment.

 

[metron]

Looks fake. Arent rear cutaways on Fenders much larger than that?

 

[mikeswals]

To me, everything looks to be a 1980 P bass, that was completely stripped and refinished, including a bogus decal.
Serial is of course missing.

I read that neck stamp as '80, and the pots are dated 20th week of '80, so maybe late spring/early summer?

 

[sunburst79]

It looks like there might be some sunken grain in the body in a few pics. Another sign of a refin or perhaps it’s just lighting and photo artifacts.

It’s original serial and any provenance are long gone. Nothings gonna bring that back. It’s possibly in the “Why Bother”category but replacing the current decal with one with the correct font wouldn’t hurt. It wouldn’t help either.

Not seeing an ethics issue with giving it a nudge back to its roots.

This would make a nice bass for someone that really cared more about how it sounded and played vs originality.

 

[SkylineFiver]

Is that a truss rod adjustment plug on the headstock?

 

[Bassdirty]

Dang, you guys are good with all the knowledge.

I don't know much bout Fender basses, (Not really my thing, although the Logo DID look kinda big, to an amateur like me).


But just wondering, (if Im understanding correctly)..
The OG headstock (in the 'before' photo) Looks decent enough to me. (from what I can see) Why would they 'Refin' that?

Perhaps back (whenever) this was done, they just wanted a nice new looking bass and didn't care about 'selling an old bass someday'.
(Personally, I would have kept it red).

Guy was probably annoyed to find out it was worth more NOT refinished.


^^^ (Hey, that DOES look good in Red).

T$

 

[mikeswals]

Is that a truss rod adjustment plug on the headstock?

Truss rod adjustment on this era would be at the butt of the neck, and yes a walnut plug would still be located at the headstock on a maple board neck.