Late NBD: A Beautiful 1972 Fender Precision

[bassist4dalord]

Incredible! Congrats!

 

[OnTheDownLow]

That's a beauty!

I agree with you about the early '70s Fenders. I had a '72 that was amazing. It's one of the few basses I regret letting go. I also have a '72 Tele that knocks me out every time I pick it up. Having learned my lesson with the P Bass, I'll never sell the Tele.

I feel like 72/73 was the unofficial end of the classic era for Fender. They are the last of the consistently really good ones.

 

[HardNHeavy]

looks brand new....nice find indeed

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Over the last year or so I have been buying and selling a lot of basses and parts. Honestly, it's got to the point that I am tired of buying and selling all the time chasing either feel or tone.

I decided that instead of having a constant GAS attack chasing and attempting to build what I have in mind I'd just suck it up and actually buy what I wanted.

As some of you may know I am a fan of early to mid 70s Fenders, specifically precision basses (I can't tell you how many posts I've made about Fender needing to make an early 70s Precision reissue) the neck profile on them is probably my favorite that Fender ever made. I know a lot of people don't like them but in the words of The Kinks, I'm not like everybody else. I love them.

And so,

That leads us to this post today. The guy that I bought it from said that he had purchased it from the original owners nephew. The original owner bought it back in early '73 and played it for a few years before putting it in his closet and only pulling out occasionally for about 30 years or so. The nephew inherited this bass from his uncle when he passed however he didn't play any instruments so it continued to sit unplayed even longer. The guy I bought it from is a collector/trader and he said he only ever played it a handful of times himself.

So here I am, officially the 4th owner but the 2nd playing owner this bass has ever had.

It is in immaculate shape, you can tell its been played some but definitely not a lot. Time to make some music with this beast.

Very nice. Enjoy!

 

[DrThumpenstein]

Classic beauty! Congratulations on acquiring such a fine instrument.

 

[PaulPriest76]

Love it! Looks like my beloved 76 "Leon".

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Glad you got your bucket bass. I'm generally not a Fender/P Bass kind of guy, but that's the classic, with rosewood board and burst, looks like somebody really took care of it. Finding one with the original case in that good condition is rare too. Nice Score!

 

[Mike Vee]

I love late 60s/early70s Precisions as well... really hoping for a proper US made reissue. Yours is amazing!

 

[Cleezmo]

Congrats and enjoy it!

 

[micguy]

I’m tempted to say “all you need is one good one”, but… yeah, I can’t say that with a straight face. I do believe that’s true for some folks. Whatever the number of good basses you need, the gap is one less. Nice bass!

 

[moreblues]

Very very nice! Great story about the history except the original owner dying and can never play that beauty anymore...such is life...

 

[devnulljp]

Wow, that's in beautiful shape too.

 

[Acoop]

Good for you. ... This is what you'd like to get your hands on and still can if you're persistent. ...
About 5-years ago, on a drive to Florida, I found a beautiful original 1973-P bass with a maple neck. One pickup was not working so I swapped them out for a set of Lollars and she really came to life. I let her go too early and right away I missed that early 70's P-bass neck and feel. ... So I started another search and luckily found an original, frets and finish, 72 P-bass Rosewood neck on a heavy black MX body, Fender anodized Pick-guard and forget-able MX pickups. I kept the neck, the pick guard and married them to a lighter Alder Fender sunburst body added Lollar pickups and she came back to life and she's a beautiful instrument, I call her my 59.

 

[JimboDeebers]

That's about iconic as you can get. Nothing says bass like a Fender Precision S/B R/W tort. To me anyway.

 

[bassfiddlesteve]

@OnTheDownLow if you haven't done so already, you should join the Facebook group I've linked to below and share some pics of your new bass. I'm one of the Admins and there is a lot of good 70s P-Bass info to be found in the group.

70s Fender Precision Bass Group

- Steve

 

[mtdkingstonheir]

Over the last year or so I have been buying and selling a lot of basses and parts. Honestly, it's got to the point that I am tired of buying and selling all the time chasing either feel or tone.

I decided that instead of having a constant GAS attack chasing and attempting to build what I have in mind I'd just suck it up and actually buy what I wanted.

As some of you may know I am a fan of early to mid 70s Fenders, specifically precision basses (I can't tell you how many posts I've made about Fender needing to make an early 70s Precision reissue) the neck profile on them is probably my favorite that Fender ever made. I know a lot of people don't like them but in the words of The Kinks, I'm not like everybody else. I love them.

And so,

That leads us to this post today. The guy that I bought it from said that he had purchased it from the original owners nephew. The original owner bought it back in early '73 and played it for a few years before putting it in his closet and only pulling out occasionally for about 30 years or so. The nephew inherited this bass from his uncle when he passed however he didn't play any instruments so it continued to sit unplayed even longer. The guy I bought it from is a collector/trader and he said he only ever played it a handful of times himself.

So here I am, officially the 4th owner but the 2nd playing owner this bass has ever had.

It is in immaculate shape, you can tell its been played some but definitely not a lot. Time to make some music with this beast.

Nice!

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

These 72's have a certain magic to them, deep and rich sounding pickups, nice slim necks with great stability. Here's my 72, we're twins! lol! Did you end up putting rounds or flats on yours? Mine needs a refret so I'm sticking to flats atm.

 

[OnTheDownLow]

These 72's have a certain magic to them, deep and rich sounding pickups, nice slim necks with great stability. Here's my 72, we're twins! lol! Did you end up putting rounds or flats on yours? Mine needs a refret so I'm sticking to flats atm.View attachment 4789266

I agree, the neck is awesome on mine as well. My favorite era P neck for sure.

I am a flats for life guy, I usually shove a mute under the strings as well for extra thud and thump.

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

I agree, the neck is awesome on mine as well. My favorite era P neck for sure.

I am a flats for life guy, I usually shove a mute under the strings as well for extra thud and thump.

Flats for life here too, great minds think alike!

 

[rholler]

It is in immaculate shape, you can tell its been played some but definitely not a lot. Time to make some music with this beast.

I also own a 1972 P-Bass, and I absolutely love it. I got it in the early 80's, and used it exclusively until about 10 years ago, when it was stolen. I did manage to get it back, and completely intact and undamaged, so it rarely leaves the house now! I picked up a Squier Vintage Telecaster, which I also love, and it has become my daily player. It sounds and plays just as good as the vintage 72, so I don't mind using it (other than the excessive weight)!

Yours is what mine looked like when it was new, other than the fretboard (mine is maple). In a fit of madness, I stripped and refinished mine. I still love it, but I sure wish I'd left it alone. The original HSCase for mine eventually just fell apart (literally!) and had to be replaced. Again, yours looks to be in pristine shape.

Congratulations on your new acquisition!!