• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

NBD - '71 Precision back in the fold

#28
GretschWretch said:
That bass was been very well cared for. I'm happy you were reunited. I'm also happy you did not post in Geordie, as only about three people on TalkBass would be able to understand it.
Click to expand...
I used to co-host an open mic with a geordie who was a particularly fast talker. I occasionally had to translate for the Americans in the audience. My family are scousers, so it's mutually intelligible...maybe like Spanish to an Italian? :laugh:
 
#30
wateroftyne said:
About 20 years ago, I sold everything I had and bought a 1971 P from a chap in Indianapolis via eBay (I'm in the UK, and it was back in the days when it was financially viable to do this kind of thing).

I loved everything about it - the rich, deep sound, the chunky neck, the light weight... it became my right arm for the next 10+ years. We travelled the world.

Like many marriages (but not mine, I must add), familiarity sank in, and I got a wandering eye for something from the 60s. So four years ago, in a moment of stupidity, I sold it.

....and immediately regretted it.

After four years roaming the wilderness, howling at the moon, the buyer got wind of my sorrow and offered it back to me. And for this I am INCREDIBLY grateful.

When it arrived, as soon as I picked it up it was like having my right arm sewn back on. It's like no time has passed. Happy days!



View attachment 4471899 View attachment 4471900 View attachment 4471901
Click to expand...


Good story. Congrats!
 
#31
Great story. I am the original owner of a 71 Fretless P, purchased new for around $300 or so when I was 17. Played the hell out of it through the 70s, and of course it didn’t survive the 80s without getting turned into a PJ. Had a 65 fretted neck on it for a while but now have the original B neck on it. Like yours, the red faded from the sunburst on front. The tort pickguards from that era are vibrant.

Enjoy your new old baby!
 

Attachments

  • 170A0F88-8FCA-4B59-BF8A-F965B2005FF7.jpeg
    170A0F88-8FCA-4B59-BF8A-F965B2005FF7.jpeg
    1.1 MB · Views: 34
  • Like
Reactions: Shawn Luckman
#32
wateroftyne said:
About 20 years ago, I sold everything I had and bought a 1971 P from a chap in Indianapolis via eBay (I'm in the UK, and it was back in the days when it was financially viable to do this kind of thing).

I loved everything about it - the rich, deep sound, the chunky neck, the light weight... it became my right arm for the next 10+ years. We travelled the world.

Like many marriages (but not mine, I must add), familiarity sank in, and I got a wandering eye for something from the 60s. So four years ago, in a moment of stupidity, I sold it.

....and immediately regretted it.

After four years roaming the wilderness, howling at the moon, the buyer got wind of my sorrow and offered it back to me. And for this I am INCREDIBLY grateful.

When it arrived, as soon as I picked it up it was like having my right arm sewn back on. It's like no time has passed. Happy days!

69-74 are the best playing P Basses in my opinion......by the way, very nice bass



View attachment 4471899 View attachment 4471900 View attachment 4471901
Click to expand...
 
#35
Texaspandj said:
Light weight '70s bass? Oh that's a Winner, and might I add KEEPER.
Congratulations on your reunion.
Click to expand...

Don't know... I have a '75 P that is not just my lightest ash-body bass, but even less weighty than most - if not all of my Fender alder basses. The other '70s Fender bass I own is a Jazz Bass from 1978. I just start to love it again, but it is a boatanchor.

My - questionable - theory, based on too few basses: Fender decided to switch from alder to ash in the '70s. They started with mostly lighter weight ash bodies like swamp-ash. Maybe later in the 70s the sales figures went so high that not enough light weight ash was available or they wanted to lower the costs.
At least in part the qc issues Fender had in the 70s were a result of an ever growing demand they couldn't fullfill retaining their quality standards.
I often search for used Fender basses from the 70s, and it occures to me that many, esp. P-basses from 1971-1976 are not heavy boatanchors.
 
#36
wateroftyne said:
About 20 years ago, I sold everything I had and bought a 1971 P from a chap in Indianapolis via eBay (I'm in the UK, and it was back in the days when it was financially viable to do this kind of thing).

I loved everything about it - the rich, deep sound, the chunky neck, the light weight... it became my right arm for the next 10+ years. We travelled the world.

Like many marriages (but not mine, I must add), familiarity sank in, and I got a wandering eye for something from the 60s. So four years ago, in a moment of stupidity, I sold it.

....and immediately regretted it.

After four years roaming the wilderness, howling at the moon, the buyer got wind of my sorrow and offered it back to me. And for this I am INCREDIBLY grateful.

When it arrived, as soon as I picked it up it was like having my right arm sewn back on. It's like no time has passed. Happy days!



View attachment 4471899 View attachment 4471900 View attachment 4471901
Click to expand...


Dang, man, effortless playing and incredible tone. What are you playing through??
 
#37
bass_case said:
Great story. I am the original owner of a 71 Fretless P, purchased new for around $300 or so when I was 17. Played the hell out of it through the 70s, and of course it didn’t survive the 80s without getting turned into a PJ. Had a 65 fretted neck on it for a while but now have the original B neck on it. Like yours, the red faded from the sunburst on front. The tort pickguards from that era are vibrant.

Enjoy your new old baby!
Click to expand...

Thanks! Here's my fretless '71, which did manage to survive the 80s unmodded... the red has since faded on this, too.

pietro3.jpg


Lucky Chuck said:
That's curious... What did you get from the 60's that wasn't as good as this 70's model?
Click to expand...

I got a '63, which unfortunately I just didn't connect with. It also made me realise that I just don't get on with shallow 60s necks. I like the early 70s baseball bats :-)

lildrgn said:
Dang, man, effortless playing and incredible tone. What are you playing through??
Click to expand...

Thank you! Just DI'd into an interface, with a bit of compression applied in Adobe Audition.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ricky Rioli and Fun Size Nick
#40
Foeredetting said:
A humble question, what's a B neck? I have a -78 sunburst P, with a very comfey, rounded profile neck. Is that a 'B'? Or does B refer to something else than neck profile?
Click to expand...
Since the people that actually know this stuff haven't chimed in yet, I'll have a go. Then they'll jump in and correct me... ;->

I can't say if it's still this way, but back in the day, Fender made mostly 4 different bass neck types: A, B, C and D widths. An A neck had 1.5 inch nut (i.e. a Jazz bass), and B, C and (rarely) D were successively wider (i.e. P-bass nut widths). They also came in different radius. I'm aware of #7 and #9, but there may be more. Can't tell ya what those numbers represent, either, which is why I was gonna let experts 'splain it to ya...

Here's an old Fender Jazz with a #7 A neck from Oct. 1962:
IMG_0229.JPG
 
  • Like
Reactions: Foeredetting

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back