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NBD 1958 Fender Precision
- Thread starter El8ed
- Start date
That is a very good point actually. I have my feelers out for an original pickup, but obviously they are hard to come by in usable condition. In the meantime I am wondering if there is anything out there readily available that could bridge the gap. The SD in the bass sounds very nice, deep, full and growly (less growl on the E-string) but it was installed 15 years ago and the level of attention to detail in vintage PU recreation has surely improved since then. Maybe something like the Klein 1958 Epic Series Precision Bass Pickup (P-Bass) would do the trick?
Thank you for your thoughts!
Cheers, Oliver
WOW, that was born the same year as me! I’ve always want a P as old as me, you beat me to it! Congratulations
Speaking of birth year basses, that one is mine and I don't mind admitting it! Interesting and beautiful combination of features circa 1958. Very rare and very cool!
Oops, sorry, my bad. The pick guard is the original one, but it was re-anodized to original spec by an artist who did/does a lot of work for the Fender Custom Shop. Lucky me this is not a for-sale ad ;-)
Congratulations on the bass….what a piece of history. I love the 59 RWs. I’ve never played original but my RW with a Kloppman is pure P heaven. Out of curiosity does it have a skunk stripe neck?
I just ordered a Klein 1958 Epic Series Precision Bass Pickup to replace the SD vintage. I’m not sure what I am looking for other than the very best for the Grande Dame of my bass family. 
Mr. Klein seems to go the extra mile when it comes to recreating period correct pickups. I’ll report back when it’s installed.
Mr. Klein seems to go the extra mile when it comes to recreating period correct pickups. I’ll report back when it’s installed.
Now that you mention this, I believe I remember seeing this bass and the story of it's restoration several months back. I did some digging into figuring out who the artist who did the pickguard restoration is out of curiosity... they're up in the San Francisco Bay region, right?
I just ordered a Klein 1958 Epic Series Precision Bass Pickup to replace the SD vintage. I’m not sure what I am looking for other than the very best for the Grande Dame of my bass family.
I've been working on this sort of '58/FCS-LTD-inspired P bass build since last November, loaded with Klein '58 Epic pickup.
I haven't revealed it yet here on TB with a New Bass Day type thread because I'm still awaiting the 1-pc maple neck from Musikraft (1-3/4" nut, soft V to C profile), but it's set up with another similar neck for the time being.
I have other basses loaded with pickups from Lollar and Lindy Fralin so I do have some sense of good quality hand-wound or scatter-wound pickups. I don't have a genuine '58 Fender pickup for A/B comparison purposes... kind of obvious... but the Klein '58 pickup does sound right for the role to me. Regardless of that, it certainly sounds fantastic, IMO. I love it.
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That is correct, Peter Kellet of San Jose. He has quite a reputation as an anodizing artist.
These beautiful pictures point to the fact that a Precision Bass refinish and re fret if done properly can truly be a thing of beauty to behold. Although, I'll never likely do that to mine, one things for sure, it it's done right it can restore the instrument to it's
original luster and sound. I'm not one that believes the P basses with have nearly no finish have some kind of unique mojo. Just my take, but all this talk about instruments with nearly no finish being special because of the wear and tear seems like smoke and
mirrors to me. Like I said, just my take.
