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Over valued 70's P-bass?

#121
It kind of reminds me of the people who complain about 10 top PRS guitars that cost $10,000. Just because the average weekend warrior musician won’t pay that much doesn’t mean they’re not worth that much, because the Lawyer or Doctor who makes $300,000+ a year will buy them. You’re clearly not the target audience. You may say there’s a quality difference and yes there is, but most of what you’re paying for is aesthetic. A $10,000 PRS is not $7,000 better sounding or playing than the $3,000 PRS. Don’t want to pay the price you think is overpriced for a 70’s P, fine, don’t!
 
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#122
When I started playing back in the 70's, new Fenders were considered junk. I just can't see them going for the prices that are being asked now. Although I did have a late 70's P that was pretty good. As has been said before, they are hit and miss.
 
#123
I bought this one last week for $999, it’s pretty rough but I think it’s my favorite P Bass I’ve ever had! And I’ve had quite a few, 8lbs 4oz.
7700F382-6D05-400E-A0A5-ED4F28550BD7.jpeg
 
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#126
MingusBass said:
I’m certainly not here to tell you that you can’t find a better playing/sounding bass for less money but I can just say that 70’s Fenders and vintage Fenders in general look freaking badass and the good ones sound and play great as well.

Is my ‘78 J worth $4,000? Not sure, but it’s a fairly unique and very clean bass for its age that plays and sounds killer. View attachment 4939072
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Cool finish!
 
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#127
OK as a counterpoint to all this talk about vintage vs non-vintage, here’s another perspective. I stopped in my local music store, as I do every month or so to see what’s new. They were just unboxing a white Fender Aerodyne P bass MIJ. What a beautiful bass….nicely made, body fit and finish was perfect, nice neck and fretwork. Just over $1,300. I need another bass like I need a hole in the head, but jeez this bass was beautiful. My point - Fender has it’s act together today. If I wanted a P bass and liked Fender, I’d be looking at their new stuff vs “vintage” (AKA 40-50 yrs old) for the win all day long. This coming from a guy who spent most of his bass-playing life with a 59 P, the holy grail.
 
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#131
Stefan Cartmale said:
I'm not looking to buy a quality instrument for the sake of having one. I already have 4 great basses and a couple mediocre ones. They are part of a collection I've started as an hommage to Leo and I'm not a good enough bassist or a rich enough one to justify a 50-60 era p-bass though ultimately that would be the goal - to have one of each of Leo's designs period specific. A 70's music man, a 60's jazz, a 50/60's p-bass and an 80's G&L. I have an example of each but they aren't period specific. All are excellent bases though. Since I won't be able to throw down that kind of bread, I'm reserved to getting examples that are 'close enough' but I got a bit of sticker shock when I started looking at the 70's basses. Since it wouldn't be period specific if from the 70's, I'd at least like to get a bass that is a worthy player. I was curious what people with experience with them think about current pricing and what experience people have with them as quality. I'm prepared to drop 3-4k on a good bass this year- hopefully sometime this summer so I just wanted to do some preliminary research into what people know about them before hitting the pavement for my search. I'm probably crazy but I'd love to have this collection. I'd probably be smarter to change the parameters of the collection but since I just recently finished the 1st stage (getting a non-period specific example of each bass), I'd like to start upping the value. View attachment 4939384
Click to expand...
Nice!
 
#132
I purchased a ‘79 Precision last year. It’s the only vintage instrument I’ve ever owned, having wanted an old Fender for years but never having had the means. It’s definitely been around the block and done previous owners plenty of service, and at some point was stripped and refinished. As such it cost more like $2500 (although this was here in the UK where prices differ). The bass itself feels and plays wonderfully and despite having the characteristic late-‘70s weight I’ve never been happier with any instrument I’ve owned - many of which were definite “compromise” basses that never quite scratched the same itch.

Could I have purchased a higher-spec FSO with better build quality for the money spent? Absolutely. But it completely depends what you value. This bass is older than me and existed at a time during which many of my favourite records were recorded and released - frankly a much more interesting and exciting time in popular music. To me, it represents a certain era and certain music; as well as all the gigging time it’s clearly done over the years. It’s undoubtedly a romanticised view, but it’s an important factor in my appreciation of the bass, and something that just can never be there in a new equivalent. Most of us value things about our instruments that don’t really have any bearing on how well they play, whether we care to admit it or not.

Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say is that to me it was absolutely worth every penny spent. It inspires me to want to pick it up and play it at every chance I get, and has completely killed any lingering GAS. As long you try it first, it plays well and gives you that kind of appreciation in my opinion it’s worth it, regardless of what anyone says. To many those rather nebulous qualities add value that just doesn’t exist in brand new instruments.
 
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#136
Who would've ever thought it would come to these remarkable 70's prices? I used to think people "settled" for a 70's Fender because they wanted an old Fender, but couldn't afford the 60's-50's stuff. Now I'm not so sure....multi-thousand dollar guitars are still spendy even in today's economy.

Perspective; Back in 2002 I was watching two simultaneously running seven day ebay auctions. Both were for sunburst '66 P basses, both in very nice condition and both all original. Having been away from the vintage market for a couple decades, I was surprised to see the bidding go up to $1550 for one of them, and $1800 for the other. I thought..."who in their right mind would pay that much for a CBS era Fender?" Boy, was I outta touch! Contrasting those 2002 "crazy" selling prices for the 66's with todays selling prices for 70's Fender P basses, I'm starting to wonder if everybody knows something I don't...is there a giant meteor headed our way or...? ;)
 
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#137
Iridescentone said:
Who would've ever thought it would come to these remarkable 70's prices? I used to think people "settled" for a 70's Fender because they wanted an old Fender, but couldn't afford the 60's-50's stuff. Now I'm not so sure....multi-thousand dollar guitars are still spendy even in today's economy.

Perspective; Back in 2002 I was watching two simultaneously running seven day ebay auctions. Both were for sunburst '66 P basses, both in very nice condition and both all original. Having been away from the vintage market for a couple decades, I was surprised to see the bidding go up to $1550 for one of them, and $1800 for the other. I thought..."who in their right mind would pay that much for a CBS era Fender?" Boy, was I outta touch! Contrasting those 2002 "crazy" selling prices for the 66's with todays selling prices for 70's Fender P basses, I'm starting to wonder if everybody knows something I don't...is there a giant meteor headed our way or...? ;)
Click to expand...

It gives me a whole new perspective on my '72 P which I sold for a loss (I kind of had to. I couldn't take it with me, where I was going).
 
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#138
Iridescentone said:
Who would've ever thought it would come to these remarkable 70's prices? I used to think people "settled" for a 70's Fender because they wanted an old Fender, but couldn't afford the 60's-50's stuff. Now I'm not so sure....multi-thousand dollar guitars are still spendy even in today's economy.

Perspective; Back in 2002 I was watching two simultaneously running seven day ebay auctions. Both were for sunburst '66 P basses, both in very nice condition and both all original. Having been away from the vintage market for a couple decades, I was surprised to see the bidding go up to $1550 for one of them, and $1800 for the other. I thought..."who in their right mind would pay that much for a CBS era Fender?" Boy, was I outta touch! Contrasting those 2002 "crazy" selling prices for the 66's with todays selling prices for 70's Fender P basses, I'm starting to wonder if everybody knows something I don't...is there a giant meteor headed our way or...? ;)
Click to expand...
I know it’s crazy,holding original Fender’s Like Better than gold !
 
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#139
Mosthigh said:
How do the late 90's Fender AVRI basses stack up, quality-wise?
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They’re Really good;
slender C profile with an ambered gloss nitro lacquer finish and slab rosewood fretboard.
The traditional 1 1/2" nut width.
so the neck is great for small hands (not thick like baseball Bats)
but not so period accurate.
Finish is Nice nitro but Thick:
urethane base coat under lacquers.
Electronic’s is period correct original pre CBS fully clothed wires fiber bobbins.
pickups Lacks mids and highs, compared to the original in my opinion.
it’s a little on the dull side(Alnico ll).
Better to change the pickups to Fender pure vintage’62 (alnico ll) or Fender CS ‘60’s Jazz (alnico V) if you wanna keep the pickups to fender.

(2012-2015)
1964 Jazz Bass and the new (2022)
1966 AVRI Jazz bass pickups
Sound like period correct vintage pickups.
I guess They had time to work on the Correct voiced pups since 1982 when they first designed and made AVRI in Fullerton 1982.

7 1/4” radius Slab Rosewood fingerboard.
it’s actually great bass I would suggest changing the pickups to sound like the real vintage Jazz Bass.
 
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#140
IMG_20220124_074036.jpg
Stefan Cartmale said:
Lately I've been seeing a lot of ads up for Fender p-basses circa 1970-79 at values between $3500-$7000. I suppose you could get a good one but are people over valuing these things? They obviously have the right to ask what they want to but I have trouble believing the basses are worth the price I ask out of curiosity as I've never played anything older than an '86 and to me it wasn't any different than my 2015. Does anyone have experience with 70's vintage P's? Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
I purchased a 1973 Fender Precision Bass for $ 233. This was in 1973. It's the best bass I ever owned.. As you can imagine over the years I've played and owned a wide variety.
I got lucky because at 20 years old, I really didn't know anything about basses. I still own it, still play it and still enjoy it so much that I've never felt the need to own another one.
 
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