Possibly dodged a bullet! Need Fender P bass experts (1983 owners, we need you!)

[rojo412]

I bought this bass off of a guy on Craigslist, a 1983 US Fender P bass:

When I got it home, I did the full examination and discovered that it wasn't what it was cracked up to be. The body was pristine, which should have been my first clue.
Anyway, the neck was legit, but the body had NO markings in the neck pocket:

The screws were flawless, not a sign of rust at all. And as you can see, the neck pocket has no stains where the neck did (and it has a mark where a micro-tilt was once used, though no micro tilt is in the body):

The electronics looked newish as well:

So at very least, this is a parts bass.
The guy was cool and he gave me my money back. He got the bass from Sam Ash, so they are the ones who sold him a fraudulent bass and he'll be taking it back.

Because he was cool, I offered to help him with evidence. So if you can provide clues as to what the body might be, I'd love to help him get his money back.

I could find these clues to the proof it's not right:
Mismatched stains on neck/body
No neck tilt
Body parts look too new for 83
Electronics look very recent
5 screw bridge versus the 3 screw they used on most 1983s

My biggest question is, what body uses the same routing, 3tsb with the red missing from under the PG, and has no neck stamps at all?
Any help, MUCH appreciated.

 

[A-Step-Towards]

Yeah the 5 screw bridge is the most obvious thing that its not a '83 body-of course a '83 could be drilled for one but that would be unlikely. The guard would have been white for '83 to.

I bet thats some variation of a '62 RI body. From what company? thats a big guess, I dont think anyone coudl accurately say but it maybe CIJ or MIJ Fender, they usually have some ink stamp in the pocket but not all and the burst and routing would be correct. Does it have a router hump?

 

[Flaked Beans]

This 1994 japanese 62 reissue body looks exactly like yours.

Vintage 62 RI Fender Precision Bass Body Hardware 1962 P Bass 3TS Sunburst | eBay

 

[rojo412]

Router hump?

 

[Flaked Beans]

Yeah the 5 screw bridge is the most obvious thing that its not a '83 body-of course a '83 could be drilled for one but that would be unlikely. The guard would have been white for '83 to.

I bet thats some variation of a '62 RI body. From what company? thats a big guess, I dont think anyone coudl accurately say but it maybe CIJ or MIJ Fender, they usually have some ink stamp in the pocket but not all and the burst and routing would be correct. Does it have a router hump?

Exactly! and an '83 would have white pickup covers.

 

[TMARK]

I would have kept it if it sounded good, and it wasn't too much money.

 

[rojo412]

It sounded pretty good, played great, and was light as hell (8lbs, 12oz). I paid a fair price for an authentic 83, but not quite for an MIJ 62 RI and definitely not a mix of parts.

 

[lowphatbass]

The neck pocket on the bass you returned looks pretty fishy, almost like it was routed a second time to fit that neck.

 

[rojo412]

I had thought about that, but there is still overspray and stuff that would disappear with a router job.

One thought that crossed my mind, I made a mistake and this was an 83 made 62 reissue from the US, which would be worth a shipload of money!
But the 62 reish has a heel adjust truss, this has a headstock adjuster. And if this is an 83 body, it was hermetically sealed from oxygen for the past 32 years.

There don't seem to be any bodies that have the same routing pattern and color scheme as the 62 reish above. The 83s have a rout for pickup wires on top, not a hole that carries them through the body. Allparts bodies have a full rout as well and 2tsb. Warmoth, maybe, but a huge WARMOTH stamp at the bass, burned into the wood.

 

[Lownote38]

Fender never routed P-Bass pickup holes like that. Looks like a Warmoth. They route to the exact shape of the pickup, and Fender doesn't.

 

[TMARK]

Also, did Fender ever use the three-bolt for P basses?

 

[Lownote38]

This 1994 japanese 62 reissue body looks exactly like yours.

Vintage 62 RI Fender Precision Bass Body Hardware 1962 P Bass 3TS Sunburst | eBay

The pickup route is wrong.

 

[Lownote38]

Also, did Fender ever use the three-bolt for P basses?

Nope.

 

[TMARK]

Jazz neck maybe?

 

[Lownote38]

The pickguard definitely isn't right either. I've never seen one with a black back if it was made by Fender.

 

[Gorn]

My birth year bass, or not. If it is, it's aged a lot better than I have.

 

[Bill Whitehurst]

Apparently, it's not a bad bass at all.
The issue seems to be what you paid for it.
If it were mine, I think i'd be happy with the bass,
but want some money back.

 

[Robert B]

So 80's Fenders are collectible now? Yeesh!!

 

[Double E]

Fender never routed P-Bass pickup holes like that. Looks like a Warmoth. They route to the exact shape of the pickup, and Fender doesn't.

Not a Warmoth either...they only do the exact pickup route thing on the '72 model which has a different, much larger cavity route. I also think their burst is the same around the perimeter of the body, even under the guard.

 

[superheavyfunk]

So 80's Fenders are collectible now? Yeesh!!

Yep. We are getting old.