The Gods have spoken and the truth has been told!
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
NDB: 1961 Fender Precision
- Thread starter DavidBassista
- Start date
Since I have family just north of New York City, during my regular visits I'd take a bus to Port Authority and make the short walk over to 48th Street and the music mecca that was once there. My first stop would Manny's, then cross the street to Rudy's. I'm glad that Rudy's has survived and sad that Manny's didn't. And I was able to visit Matt Umanov Guitars on Bleecker Street during its last week in business, and resisted the urge to buy a Music Man StringRay Old Smoothie they still had in stock; I left with a bunch of strings and t-shirts instead.
Yeah I wish I could have seen all that era. There was an accordion repair shop in that area, Alex Accordions, that was there until a few years ago. I used to get my accordions worked on there. One of the guys in the shop who was in his 90s was Pasquale Ficosecco, the grandson of the original Pasquale Ficosecco who started the Ficosecco brand in Italy in the 19th century. He was such a nice guy.
NYC still has some great non-corporate guitar stores. Near me in Brooklyn you have Southside Guitars and Main Drag Music. Rivington Guitars is in the East Village. Retrofret is in Brooklyn. Etc.
I'm still waiting for god to show us his 1960 blonde over ash bass!
Until then, this was my blonde '59: Precision Bass [Item #3781] [Build 1959] | A-1257
You got rid of it!? Why is there not a strap hook on the back of the head stock? Did they not do that on the maple boards?
Last edited:
'Hootenanny buttons' were 1960 (maybe some of the late '59s but I don't recall) until roughly '69. It's confused as the "57" reissues had them but that's one of the mistakes.
Just sold it as there were a couple other basses I wanted and have a kid in university. It's OK. Still have too many basses and I had that one for over 20 years. Great bass but had not gigged it in at least 10 years (though had recorded with it).
No, the hoottenany button was 60-69 thing.
But, no, I don't think any of the maple boards had the button. This was an April '59. There were rosewood slabs by the following month. A friend (Stevie Gurr - great guitar player who played with Dr. John) had an incredible mid '59 blonde - slab board and gold guard. Not many of those around.
Per David's request! These don't show the grain as good as I'd like, though...I'm still waiting for god to show us his 1960 blonde over ash bass!
Last edited:
Lovely bass. Some of the less transparent ones can be easy to mistake for Olympic White from a distance - that one looks right in the middle and the grain is there. "Sublime" sounds right.
And, as with Oly White, they can really vary based what life they've lived from stark white to ivory to quite yellowed.
I had an early '63 Jazz which was time machine brand new - very white (even the neck lacquer had not yellowed at all).
Thank you for posting these FranF. The bass looks amazing. That is a really nice pickguard too. Can you see the wood grain better in person? Also, is that a one-piece ash body or like mine does it have a smaller section glued on?
Boy, aint that the truth. Any '59 rosewood/ano is rare, one of the hardest-to-find Fender basses ever. Add the blonde finish to the mix?....that puts it into the stratosphere.
Speaking of '59 Fender rarities, this tort came off a '59. It's the earliest version of the Fender tort guard, the immediate successor to the ano guards. I found it in a vintage guitar shop in '83-84 for ten bucks. As it was already mangled, shrunken, cracked, pieces missing, extra mod holes, I figured it was worthless. Until....I spotted the ten mounting screw holes and realized it was a rare transition model. Bought it as a conversation piece. I've never seen another 10-hole tort since, and I always look for it on every '59 I see. (yes I still have it)
I'll echo Dynacord's comment on Fender blonde finish variations. You can see the evolution through the years, especially on Telecaster guitars because there are so many floating around from all eras. On many early-60's and mid-60's Teles, their blonde finishes look almost opaque, and become even less transparent as they age and discolor.
Anectdotally, I bought a '61 stacker Jazz bass from a vintage dealer back in '78. It was pretty heavily worn, but 100% original. It was sold as being Olympic White, but on close inspection I noticed I could see ash grain peaking through from beneath some of the butterscotching discoloration and mojo marks, especially at the butt end of the body. Conclusion?....dealer oversight, actually blonde/ash.
Wow! That's quite a score - especially for $10!
I've only seen that one other time - Gil Southworth has a '59 with a transition 10 hole tort guard (EDIT: my mistake, not Gil but Craig Brody). Super rare. My great "one that got away" story was a mid-'59, slab, gold guard, 3-tone and case in a pawn shop in the early 80's for $275. By the time I got it together it was gone.
To the OP, if looking at other blonde examples for reference, try to find originals if you can. It's easy to get thrown off by refins. Usually the grain is very subtle (on some refins people will bring out the grain more) and again, they go opaque at the edges. I had one of the 80's Fullerton "57" reissues in "Mary Kay" (blonde with gold parts) and, like the added strap button on the back of the headstock, another error was the finish had uniform transparency over the entire body.
Last edited:
It's subjective but I think the heavily yellowed ones look much better than the whiter ones - particularly in combination with the tort guards.
I envy you on that blonde stack! Had the chance at one in '85 but it was insanely expensive at over $3K at that time (I bought a Fiesta Red '60 stack for $900 around that time and other original custom color 3-knobs could still be found even from dealers in that range at that time). I was offered another fairly recently at $50K.... (I've never played the vintage game on that level).
Stealing a photo from Brody's page - it actually looks like an 11-hole guard on his - and, keeping it on topic, a very nice example on an original (medium yellowed) blonde:
Ah yes, the ones that got away. Too bad you're not local, I'd buy us a pitcher. I'm sure we could swap stories for hours!
I remember Southworth from a few guitar shows in the Chicago area back in the day. IICR, he had a slight southern accent, a real good "gift of gab", and was from maybe Virginia or Carolina area? I never did any deals with him, but a guitarist buddy did some trade deals with him.
Incredible bass with lots of charm. I wouldn't refinish it. I love how that aged tort looks with the color of the natural finish. It looks more unique and has lots of character. But, it's yours now! Enjoy.
