P-Bass Pawn Shop Find

[JGbassman]

Very interesting. Where is this from?

Honestly I don't remember where I got this article from. I've been trying to find the source but I haven't had any luck. I want to say I got it out of either an official website or an emag a while back. I snap shot the article, and cropped it to fit, I sure with I wouldn't have now.

I've read pretty much this same article in two separate places, or two different sources saying pretty much the same thing. With the neck having a standard nut instead of metric, they really sways my thinking. I'm going to try and do some more research into this, do some comparison shots with known American parts from that same era, and see what I come up with.

Honestly, I could care less where these parts came from, all I know is the neck is amazing, and the bass is lightweight and one of the loudest (resonating) basses I've ever played. It's twice as loud as my American Fenders. (2011, 2009, 2014) the neck is well dressed and fretwork is well done, nicer than a lot of Mim basses I've seen, and I think they do a pretty good job on them usually. They would be a cross between the Japanese and American basses I have. If I could find a source for these, they would be the last neck I would use on four string basses. It's the best of both worlds regarding jazz and precision necks. It sure feels right in my hands. As its a well worn 22year old bass, the neck has a real road worn feel to it as well. I will take some dial calipers to it once my schedule calms down, and really get a good set of specs for it. I'll also strip the body down and get some pics for reference as well.

Like I said, I really don't care where the parts were made, I just think due to the limited research I've done, the testimony is aligned with what I'm holding in my hands. The tuners, bridge, and electronics were definitely at a lower quality than the neck and body, and the one ply pickguard puts it right with every article I've read on these as well. I've heard the story about the factory fire, but I've never found any hard evidence regarding that, but then I really haven't looked that hard into it either.

 

[Tulsa Teddy]

On the subject of the bass itself, does it have the thinner (Front-to-back) neck profile (the opposite of a baseball bat) that a lot of MIM's P's had/have. My '96 MIM P has the flatter neck profile and I just love it! It's not graphite reinforced and the fretwork isn't quite as polished, but I still prefer it to a lot of MIA necks I've played just for the really comfortable profile.

The neck is somewhere between a J neck and a typical MIM P neck in thickness. About half the Ps I've tried feel clumsy and bulky, which is why I usually go the a J.

 

[Tulsa Teddy]

Honestly, I could care less where these parts came from, all I know is the neck is amazing, and the bass is lightweight and one of the loudest (resonating) basses I've ever played.......They would be a cross between the Japanese and American basses I have. If I could find a source for these, they would be the last neck I would use on four string basses. It's the best of both worlds regarding jazz and precision necks. It sure feels right in my hands. As its a well worn 22year old bass, the neck has a real road worn feel to it as well.

This ^^^^

 

[Tulsa Teddy]

I just think due to the limited research I've done, the testimony is aligned with what I'm holding in my hands. The tuners, bridge, and electronics were definitely at a lower quality than the neck and body, and the one ply pickguard puts it right with every article I've read on these as well. I've heard the story about the factory fire, but I've never found any hard evidence regarding that, but then I really haven't looked that hard into it either.

And this as well ^^^^

Same line of thinking. I'm sitting here thinking JGbassman, Justice, and I are all similarly pleased with our Black Label basses.

 

[Tulsa Teddy]

Interesting thread at the link below starting about 5 posts down. Very interesting if Keith Brawley truly is/was a VP at Fender.

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[JGbassman]

Interesting thread at the link below starting about 5 posts down. Very interesting if Keith Brawley truly is/was a VP at Fender.

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That is an interesting read as well. It falls in line with about everything I've researched.

I found an article today that stated the early Mexican lines were actually all American bodies and necks, as there were no cnc machines in the Mexican assembly plant at first. So all of the bodies/necks were cut in America, sorted for quality (best quality went to the custom shop, then the American lines, and the rest was sent to Mexico for the standard and black label instruments being built. The reasoning behind this was cnc machines and their setup/training was very expensive, and until the plant was making money, it was financially frugal to cnc the bodies and necks, then ship them down to Mexico for assembly.

If that is the case, then this falls in line with all of the stories of American bodies and necks. I would be curious to find out if standard mim's from that era had standard truss rod nut as well. If that's the case, then the story of the American parts being used across the board would make fore sense. If the don't, and have metric nuts, then I'd say they had the parts built in Mexico, and just moved the us parts in for the black labels.

I'm a firm believer that most stories are based on some sort of truths, and this makes sense.

I will continue to do research and post it here. I'd love to get an absolute on this case eventually, and put to bed all of the rumors.

 

[Novarocker]

Th

That is an interesting read as well. It falls in line with about everything I've researched.

I found an article today that stated the early Mexican lines were actually all American bodies and necks, as there were no cnc machines in the Mexican assembly plant at first. So all of the bodies/necks were cut in America, sorted for quality (best quality went to the custom shop, then the American lines, and the rest was sent to Mexico for the standard and black label instruments being built. The reasoning behind this was cnc machines and their setup/training was very expensive, and until the plant was making money, it was financially frugal to cnc the bodies and necks, then ship them down to Mexico for assembly.

If that is the case, then this falls in line with all of the stories of American bodies and necks. I would be curious to find out if standard mim's from that era had standard truss rod nut as well. If that's the case, then the story of the American parts being used across the board would make fore sense. If the don't, and have metric nuts, then I'd say they had the parts built in Mexico, and just moved the us parts in for the black labels.

I'm a firm believer that most stories are based on some sort of truths, and this makes sense.

I will continue to do research and post it here. I'd love to get an absolute on this case eventually, and put to bed all of the rumors.

Thanks for the great read! I'd love to see what you find out.

 

[Justice]

Interesting thread at the link below starting about 5 posts down. Very interesting if Keith Brawley truly is/was a VP at Fender.

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He was a VP at Fender. He currently works for Taylor Guitars.

And dammit, I have read that thread 100 times and missed where Keith said they were necks and bodies from the Corona factory. So I shall stand corrected.

Also note that he says nothing about a fire or anything like that, just that the bodies and necks were made in the Corona factory. I think we have all learned something today

 

[JGbassman]

Yes it's nice getting some solid information about this from a higher up at fender.

This is just another thing I enjoy about Talkbass, we can discuss, mull over ideas, and make forward movement in getting to the bottom of a topic without getting people's feathers ruffled, and in the end we all come out of this gleaning some great information.

I applaud everyone involved in this thread, and I thank you for helping us to get to the bottom of this.

 

[Thummel]

Sweet score Tulsa! Plus in my humble opinion the 62 reissue pickup is one of the best sounding pups in existence. Play it in good health bro.

 

[Eilif]

Interesting thread at the link below starting about 5 posts down. Very interesting if Keith Brawley truly is/was a VP at Fender.

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Very cool. Looks like I may be wrong about the origin of the bodies.

A few quotes from Keith, from the forum linked above...

All of the MIM Fender Squier series I have seen were nothing less than a MIM Fender Standard with downgraded hardware...same neck...same body....

... the MIM product utilizes necks and bodies made in our Corona, CA factory, which keeps the machinery humming and the factory efficient...keeping prices for USA-made product down. Not to mention the great synergy in working with a world-class, Fender-owned and operated factory that's a truck ride away instead of a contracted factory (also great but an ocean away).

Apparently all the MIM bodies and necks (at least from 2000 and back when the post was made) were cut in the USA? Also the "Squire series" is no different, just has lesser hardware?

That is an interesting read as well. It falls in line with about everything I've researched.

I found an article today that stated the early Mexican lines were actually all American bodies and necks, as there were no cnc machines in the Mexican assembly plant at first. So all of the bodies/necks were cut in America, sorted for quality (best quality went to the custom shop, then the American lines, and the rest was sent to Mexico for the standard and black label instruments being built. The reasoning behind this was cnc machines and their setup/training was very expensive, and until the plant was making money, it was financially frugal to cnc the bodies and necks, then ship them down to Mexico for assembly.

If that is the case, then this falls in line with all of the stories of American bodies and necks. I would be curious to find out if standard mim's from that era had standard truss rod nut as well. If that's the case, then the story of the American parts being used across the board would make fore sense. If the don't, and have metric nuts, then I'd say they had the parts built in Mexico, and just moved the us parts in for the black labels.

Can you share the article with us? I'd love to read it.

I seem to be the doubter here, but I'd have to suggest also that this might not be true....

So all of the bodies/necks were cut in America, sorted for quality (best quality went to the custom shop, then the American lines, and the rest was sent to Mexico for the standard and black label instruments being built.

The American and MIM series tended to use different woods (alder for american, poplar for mexican, etc), different neck profiles, etc. Likely the reason your bass feels so resonant and light is because it is made of poplar. My MIM P feels the same. Poplar gets a bad rap because it isn't pretty, but it's a fine, light-weight wood for bodies that does't sound worse than alder.

All this to say that just because they came from the same factory machinery shouldn't indicate that the bodies and necks for USA and MIM basses were the same specs or made identically and then sorted by quality. If the VP is telling the truth, then truss rods, nuts, etc would not be a reliable indication of origin.