Refinished?You tell me!

[millsbass5]

I'm kinda maybe sorta thinkin' of pullin' the trigger on this fine piece of history. Just one question...... The finish. I've just never seen an early/mid-50's 'burst like this bass has. Quite the conundrum,I must say. Kinda reminds me of Fenders' Sienna Burst from the 80's(?).
No disrespect to all others on here,but Johnk_10,if you're on here,I'd appreciate your opinion. I tend to pay pretty darn close attention to cats that tend to "know their stuff." Although,I'd really like for everyone to chime in with an opinion.


1953 Fender Precision Bass Guitar, Jazz, 8.5 lbs! - eBay (item 180640952674 end time Mar-24-11 19:37:37 PDT)

 

[godofthunder59]

I'm kinda maybe sorta thinkin' of pullin' the trigger on this fine piece of history. Just one question...... The finish. I've just never seen an early/mid-50's 'burst like this bass has. Quite the conundrum,I must say. Kinda reminds me of Fenders' Sienna Burst from the 80's(?).
No disrespect to all others on here,but Johnk_10,if you're on here,I'd appreciate your opinion. I tend to pay pretty darn close attention to cats that tend to "know their stuff." Although,I'd really like for everyone to chime in with an opinion.


1953 Fender Precision Bass Guitar, Jazz, 8.5 lbs! - eBay (item 180640952674 end time Mar-24-11 19:37:37 PDT)

I collect mostly Gibsons but after 30 plus years my gut tells me refin.

 

[5string5fingers]

Refinish

 

[EagleMoon]

Almost looks like a natural finish that's really discolored with age, though I agree that one pic of the back makes it look like a burst of some kind.

 

[Bongolation]

Refinish, no -- zero -- question about it, and not a particularly good one...though it may be a very old refinish.

 

[smcd]

I like how the guy waits until the end of his description to go into a BIG thing about the finish. It's a refin, and the seller knows it.

 

[fleabee]

Refin, even the neck pocket screams it

 

[Bongolation]

As the seller if he can produce a single reference to an early slab SCPB with a factory sunburst.

 

[sanchorb]

Lend me some of those 8500 dollars...I just need 1500 for a Steinberger ZT3 guitar, LOL...at least I know that the TG on the bottom of the neck are the initials of Tadeo Gómez, a Fender worker whose initials grace many basses from the era, and who worked on Fender until 1957, year when he went away to work at Disneyland. Check out this link:

Link Removed

Wish you luck in the possible purchase!!

 

[johnk_10]

definitely a refin. they never offered that color in '53.

 

[bassfunk329]

But I thought fender offered custom colors in the day. Like if you went to the factory and did a custom order. So it may be a non refinish.

 

[SamanthaCay]

Whats up with the mis-matched pots and the orange drop?
that doesn't look right to me
and to ad to what has already been said it is a refinish.
Also what the hell is a black light test?
Just ask him if there is paint in the nail holes? and see what he says.

 

[SamanthaCay]

But I thought fender offered custom colors in the day. Like if you went to the factory and did a custom order. So it may be a non refinish.

Not that early they didn't

 

[One Drop]

Refin.

 

[Lazerrus]

I'm going with non-refinish. It may not have been offered but it doesn't mean that it was not made. The clear under the control plate looks good. Electronic cavity etc.

 

[mike marciano]

IMO..........
and I have a large Fender vintage collection
Black Light only shows if an area was retouched or resprayed
because of the change in Flouressence of the different aged paints. As paint ages it gives off less and less refract.
If a refinish was done a long time ago
Black light can tell you nothing except that the paint is old
and uniform ( it is NOT carbon dating)
IMO this bass was refinned a LONG TIME AGO.

 

[felig]

Yes, I agree with Mike 100% about it being a refinish & his points about what a black light will reveal.

 

[Spellcrafter]

"The bass is about 90% original parts wise and has an interesting possibly original finish on the body."

Seller knows it's a refin and is covering his arse

 

[TomB]

As the seller if he can produce a single reference to an early slab SCPB with a factory sunburst.

Tobacco sunbursts were around as early as at least '54, don't know about sooner. They looked NOTHING like this finish, of course. I'd be more concerned about the "belly cut" he mentions; I'm not sure (without checking) but I don't think those showed up until '54 with the "new" body style that included a taper on the upper bout.

I think the question you need to ask is if this thing is worth the asking price to you if it's a refin or modified body? Unfortunately, I've NO idea about the answer.

 

[johnk_10]

IMO, it's an obvious refin. if you look at the edges of the body, you can see that they are rounded over. from '51-'54, the slab bodied p basses had an almost sharp edge and the sides were pretty flat.

here's a pic to show what i mean:

Link Removed