NBD: Fender Precision 1971 sunburst - where's the mojo?

[Pier_]

Hi everybody!

in the last days I become the owner of a gorgeous 1971 Fender Precision, alder/rosewood in sunburst finish, all original, photo attached.

now, what about the thread title?

in the last 20 years or so I've had a lot of Precisions, from Squier up to Custom Shop, passing through Japan (both alder and basswood models), Mexico (standard, classic, vintera ecc) and USA (highway one, american standard, american vintage...), but my only encounters with "vintage" Precision basses were in shops for a few minutes.

I tried some late 70's, a 1969 and a 1970 from the same owner, where the '69 was so consumed that the frets were at the same level of the fretboard wood and the pickup sounded like it had the tone closed, but the '70 sounded just right and was less used.

however, in the last weeks a friend of mine tempted me with this 1971, and after checking some details that I liked, I made the deal, giving him one of my recent Rickenbacker 4003 and a bunch of money.

the bass arrived, I did my usual setup, cursed the bridge positioning of the 70's Fenders and had to stretch the D and A spring in order to make them be useful, lowered the nut slots that were so high that I couldn't press the first frets, put a strap on (just 3.9kg) and went to a gig.

as I said, I've probably tried every Precision model from the early 2000 to today, from the cheapest to the highest priced (and for "tried" I mean bought, made a setup, played at rehearsals and gigs, sometimes recorded something), and I was expecting to find out something "more" from an instrument so old and "aged".

ok, the rosewood is beautiful, the alder is gorgeous, the neck profile (this is a B-neck, 41mm nut) is a big and rounded C, almost identical from the nut to the heel, and I love this kind of 70's profile, and also the body seems to be a little narrower from back to top, because the neck heel (without any shim) gets much outside the body that the truss rod nut is perfectly accessible without removing anything, and the bridge saddles, even with the low action I use (1.5mm at the G string 12th fret) still maintain a lot of height (I was used to the typical Fender setup with the G saddle all bottomed down to reach that action. with this bass I still have 2-3mm of height on the G saddle).

but despite these details, in the end, this is nothing more than a good Precision. it sounds like a Precision, plays like a Precision, it doesn't have any kind of "mojo" or "vibe" or anything that made me think that there's something more, it's just a good Precision, but any recent USA made bass has the same overall quality, and you don't even need to reach the CS catalogue.
an American Standard/Pro is on the same level of construction (with better shielding), and an American Vintage has the same look (except the TV logo).

the neck profile and saddles height are probably the only real interesting and characteristic things of this bass.

now, I'll certainly keep it and play it, the neck is the kind of measure/profile I like, but I was expecting something more, not only the smell from the case ahahah

what's your experience with vintage Fenders?


PS: the oldest bass I've ever owned was a '78 Gibson The Ripper, and I own a 1980 Aria SB1000, a 1985 Yamaha BB3000 and 1989 Yamaha TRB6p, and with those basses I've actually felt something special, in particular because there aren't recent versions built in the same way right now.

a Fender Precision or Jazz it's almost the same since it's birth...

 

[EdO.]

I had two early 70's P basses back in the day (mid - later 70's), when the band I was in was playing clubs on the road 3 - 6 nights a week. Both were three color sunburst with red tort PG's just like yours in the photos, which I thought then were fugly with the tort PG (not so much now), but at that point in my life I didn't have the coin to replace them. First was a used '71, second was a practically brand new '73. This was still in the era where they were just ordinary old used Fenders not the supposed collectors items they seem to be now. The '73 was a basically new instrument that belonged to the husband of a woman who worked with my mother. He'd bought it new because he wanted to learn, ended up sticking it in the closet when he didn't. He's heard me play, knew my mom, and wanted me to have it so made me what at the time seemed to be a pretty good deal on it and hey, it was like basically brand new....

Had to sell the '71 and work a sideline job to afford the '73, which I wanted because it was "new". Each saw plenty of play time before I parted with them. My recollection is that the '71 was a better built instrument while the '73 had the gaps around the neck heel common to that era post-Fender CBS Fenders but otherwise was a solid player. Both sounded and played like basically any other P bass I've ever played or owned since - good solid working man's bass but nothing particularly special.

I've owned (and still own) Squiers that were/are at least as good an instrument and currently own a 2023 a Mex P that (IMO) is a much better built bass than those were. I'm of the view that while there may be some mojo to some of the older pre-CBS Fenders, generally speaking you can get a new or newer one that does the job equally well without the "vintage" pricing. Hindsight being 20-20 I do wish though that I'd just kept the '71.

 

[jallenbass]

In many cases, whether old or new, a bass is just a bass.

 

[Lobster11]

You did put flatwounds on it, right??

 

[UntitledProject]

In many cases, whether old or new, a bass is just a bass.

And I'm my hands, it's barely that.

 

[Ricky Rioli]

Now we know why it's looking untouched

 

[urkel3000]

Buying a 70s fender without playing it first is kinda like walking into traffic blindfolded

 

[WWilliam]

What gives a bass mojo? I don't know but out of 20 basses I own just three have mojo. But maybe if you played them you would pick out different ones? What happens to me is that I like different basses for different songs. Also some days my bass sounds killer other days not so much. Is it my ears change week to week?

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Well you took/left off the ashtrays...that's where they hid the mojo back in the 70s!!!

...also flats, always gotta use flats

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

Beautiful, happy NBD! These early 70's Fender's are usually pretty great.

 

[Crackle]

There is no good reason to think that an old bass is something special. I have a 100% original 1974 Precision Bass that could use some fretwork to be playable. The frets look like it was used a lot back in the day. But yet I have newer, better basses that I choose to play. I leave the old bass alone.

 

[gwangi]

Hi everybody!

in the last days I become the owner of a gorgeous 1971 Fender Precision, alder/rosewood in sunburst finish, all original, photo attached.

now, what about the thread title?

in the last 20 years or so I've had a lot of Precisions, from Squier up to Custom Shop, passing through Japan (both alder and basswood models), Mexico (standard, classic, vintera ecc) and USA (highway one, american standard, american vintage...), but my only encounters with "vintage" Precision basses were in shops for a few minutes.

I tried some late 70's, a 1969 and a 1970 from the same owner, where the '69 was so consumed that the frets were at the same level of the fretboard wood and the pickup sounded like it had the tone closed, but the '70 sounded just right and was less used.

however, in the last weeks a friend of mine tempted me with this 1971, and after checking some details that I liked, I made the deal, giving him one of my recent Rickenbacker 4003 and a bunch of money.

the bass arrived, I did my usual setup, cursed the bridge positioning of the 70's Fenders and had to stretch the D and A spring in order to make them be useful, lowered the nut slots that were so high that I couldn't press the first frets, put a strap on (just 3.9kg) and went to a gig.

as I said, I've probably tried every Precision model from the early 2000 to today, from the cheapest to the highest priced (and for "tried" I mean bought, made a setup, played at rehearsals and gigs, sometimes recorded something), and I was expecting to find out something "more" from an instrument so old and "aged".

ok, the rosewood is beautiful, the alder is gorgeous, the neck profile (this is a B-neck, 41mm nut) is a big and rounded C, almost identical from the nut to the heel, and I love this kind of 70's profile, and also the body seems to be a little narrower from back to top, because the neck heel (without any shim) gets much outside the body that the truss rod nut is perfectly accessible without removing anything, and the bridge saddles, even with the low action I use (1.5mm at the G string 12th fret) still maintain a lot of height (I was used to the typical Fender setup with the G saddle all bottomed down to reach that action. with this bass I still have 2-3mm of height on the G saddle).

but despite these details, in the end, this is nothing more than a good Precision. it sounds like a Precision, plays like a Precision, it doesn't have any kind of "mojo" or "vibe" or anything that made me think that there's something more, it's just a good Precision, but any recent USA made bass has the same overall quality, and you don't even need to reach the CS catalogue.
an American Standard/Pro is on the same level of construction (with better shielding), and an American Vintage has the same look (except the TV logo).

the neck profile and saddles height are probably the only real interesting and characteristic things of this bass.

now, I'll certainly keep it and play it, the neck is the kind of measure/profile I like, but I was expecting something more, not only the smell from the case ahahah

what's your experience with vintage Fenders?


PS: the oldest bass I've ever owned was a '78 Gibson The Ripper, and I own a 1980 Aria SB1000, a 1985 Yamaha BB3000 and 1989 Yamaha TRB6p, and with those basses I've actually felt something special, in particular because there aren't recent versions built in the same way right now.

a Fender Precision or Jazz it's almost the same since it's birth...

You are very lucky!!!! A BIG CONGRATS!!!! Beautiful bass.

 

[J Wilson]

My experience is that they are old, and OFTEN over-priced to say the least.

I will have to give in to the fact that many think that ALL 'vintage' guitars (and it's hard to cull from the 'old' stack truly 'vintage' instruments) and in some cases, I'll grudginly admit they see and hear something I simply don't. Although paying three to four times what a new Fender Custom Shop or Alembic costs for some old rode hard/put up wet axe probably makes that vision difficult for me.

I believe this is what actually happens:

QC from the 80's backwards in time was hit or miss, nowhere nearly as well developed a process as we consider standard today. These were not made via CNC and all the modern tools, these were cut from patterns and all the close work (virtually all the work actually) was down to the skill of the worker at any given station and the calibration of his Mark One Eyeballs. So Fenders and most any other brand could and did vary from one to the next of a given guitar or bass. It was very common for experienced players looking for, let's say, a new Precision Bass (like I was) in the 70's to try as many new ones in as many stores as they could go to in a pre-online world until they 'found a good one'. And often, as when I was starting out and test-driving new Fenders in the mid-70's, they were often clunky, fat necked, and just felt unwieldly.

I'm not one of those guys that automatically knee-jerks that every CBS/70's Fender was junk, that's not right. But . . . . with the sloppy specs and basically an honor system as far as quality went, you wound up with a lot that were OK, just not reliably great.

But . . . every so often, the right neck would wind up with the right body, and magic happened. This still happens today. When I worked at Gibson on the line in the early 90's, I'd often handle close to 200 still-warm brand-new Les Pauls every day on the line. Most were just fine, but once or twice a day, I'd pick one up and think 'Oh yeaaaahhhhhh . . . . THIS is special'. Same build process, same specs, but just some particular pieces of wood that were joined essentially at random in production.

So I completely believe that like the OP, there are lots of 70's Fenders that are just fine . . . . and the occasional 'Oh yeeaaaaaahhhh . . . . ' example, which are rare, but out there. But neither Gibson or Fender had a step along the production line called 'Mojo Injection'. Or anyone else.

The problem is that most sellers think that 'Old=Vintage' and price accordingly, when in fact that may not be the case, and you can wind up paying 'vintage money' (or a pile of cash and a Ric) on what is simply an 'old' bass, because it's so very hard to judge which is which.

I live within five miles of Gruhn's, Carter Vintage, and Rumble Seat Music, three of the greatest vintage guitar stores in the world, and that's a question they deal with every day (and don't always get right).

 

[logdrum]

The one I inherited from my friend that passed was meh. I fixed it up as much as possible and sold it and gave a huge portion of the sale to her daughter when she married. It was heavy, chunky. I should have tried geezers on it but it had better value kept as OG as much as possible. It was just an old Fender bass.

Yours looks really good if that is 9/10 the one I has would be 4/10, still sold for a pretty penny for someone into old Fender basses.. The best one I've had is a 2014 standard with the CS-62 pickup. Put together well, very nice neck and the pickups are awesome.

 

[DaBigBadaBoom]

Opposite experience. Tried so many new Fender and CS basses and all left me feeling cold. Got a 78 fretless P and while it's heavier than new Ps the vibe is utterly different. Endlessly inspiring. Not just a replaceable tool.

Maybe keep trying to find a P that's more inspiring than a new one. They exist.

BTW also tried 60s Ps I wouldn't rate for the money, and some new basses from other brands I would rate. Modern Fender just leaves me cold.

Did the same for guitars a few years back and ended up with a 74 tele deluxe. Tried every CS fender and loads of new and expensive boutique offerings. The only new guitar I played that made me excited was a Tyler. Holy moly.

 

[boombloom]

Hi everybody!

in the last days I become the owner of a gorgeous 1971 Fender Precision, alder/rosewood in sunburst finish, all original, photo attached.

now, what about the thread title?

in the last 20 years or so I've had a lot of Precisions, from Squier up to Custom Shop, passing through Japan (both alder and basswood models), Mexico (standard, classic, vintera ecc) and USA (highway one, american standard, american vintage...), but my only encounters with "vintage" Precision basses were in shops for a few minutes.

I tried some late 70's, a 1969 and a 1970 from the same owner, where the '69 was so consumed that the frets were at the same level of the fretboard wood and the pickup sounded like it had the tone closed, but the '70 sounded just right and was less used.

however, in the last weeks a friend of mine tempted me with this 1971, and after checking some details that I liked, I made the deal, giving him one of my recent Rickenbacker 4003 and a bunch of money.

the bass arrived, I did my usual setup, cursed the bridge positioning of the 70's Fenders and had to stretch the D and A spring in order to make them be useful, lowered the nut slots that were so high that I couldn't press the first frets, put a strap on (just 3.9kg) and went to a gig.

as I said, I've probably tried every Precision model from the early 2000 to today, from the cheapest to the highest priced (and for "tried" I mean bought, made a setup, played at rehearsals and gigs, sometimes recorded something), and I was expecting to find out something "more" from an instrument so old and "aged".

ok, the rosewood is beautiful, the alder is gorgeous, the neck profile (this is a B-neck, 41mm nut) is a big and rounded C, almost identical from the nut to the heel, and I love this kind of 70's profile, and also the body seems to be a little narrower from back to top, because the neck heel (without any shim) gets much outside the body that the truss rod nut is perfectly accessible without removing anything, and the bridge saddles, even with the low action I use (1.5mm at the G string 12th fret) still maintain a lot of height (I was used to the typical Fender setup with the G saddle all bottomed down to reach that action. with this bass I still have 2-3mm of height on the G saddle).

but despite these details, in the end, this is nothing more than a good Precision. it sounds like a Precision, plays like a Precision, it doesn't have any kind of "mojo" or "vibe" or anything that made me think that there's something more, it's just a good Precision, but any recent USA made bass has the same overall quality, and you don't even need to reach the CS catalogue.
an American Standard/Pro is on the same level of construction (with better shielding), and an American Vintage has the same look (except the TV logo).

the neck profile and saddles height are probably the only real interesting and characteristic things of this bass.

now, I'll certainly keep it and play it, the neck is the kind of measure/profile I like, but I was expecting something more, not only the smell from the case ahahah

what's your experience with vintage Fenders?


PS: the oldest bass I've ever owned was a '78 Gibson The Ripper, and I own a 1980 Aria SB1000, a 1985 Yamaha BB3000 and 1989 Yamaha TRB6p, and with those basses I've actually felt something special, in particular because there aren't recent versions built in the same way right now.

a Fender Precision or Jazz it's almost the same since it's birth...

IF YOU'VE PLAYED one Precision you've played one Precision. My 73 gathers value in the closet while I play a vastly superior Classic Vibe. Old doesn't mean great but it can mean expensive.

 

[DanAdams]

You just need to schedule a séance with your bass & your favorite local witches.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

what's your experience with vintage Fenders?

They are massively overhyped and the prices they sell for are totally ridiculous. And that's assuming you find one in good condition (most of them aren't at this stage).

You can get a far superior BRAND NEW bass for FAR LESS money these days. Including Fenders, but especially if you don't need the Fender logo on the headstock.

But of course, as a collectors item they will always be worth whatever someone is willing to pay for them. Some of them are even still good musical instruments. SOME of them...

 

[bherman]

I agree with posters above, there's really nothing unique about older Ps, many of the newer ones are built better. I started with a 1959 that I had since I was a kid, and it certainly had mojo in spades by the time I sold it a few years ago. But the parts bass that I put together (BloomDoom nitro body, carefuly specced Warmoth neck, Geezer pickups) plays and sounds every bit as good for about 20% of the investment. Never mind the 70s and 80s stuff, by that time Fender was just churning out instruments. I'm sure that many were good to great, but just because something is 50 yrs old doesnt mean its somehow special.

 

[MegaSwing]

Even from the same tree and back-to-back off the assembly line, they all come together in their own way.