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So 70's Fender are desirable now?!
- Thread starter Vinnie Boombatz
- Start date
All 3 are ash, that one has A great beefy neck pretty much identical to my other one but the other has the j pickup which I personally prefer but nearly indentical necks
One of the many things I like about the 70's Fenders is the variety of necks. I have one '78 with a monster fat, baseball bat neck but the rest are pretty slim. My favorite '70's (non-A) necks are mostly from the same neck-finisher.
Around 20 years ago I bought my first Precision - a '76. I tried a few in the shop but this one not only caught my eye, it played great.
Everything original except it had a BAII bridge. I don't know what the body wood is swamp ash?), but it's so light the bass has neck dive.
Other than replacing the bridge with a 70's era Fender Brass Works bent plate and finally finding the best sounding pickup for it
('62 Fender CS) I've left it alone because it is as awesome as a P should be. In spite of the crooked neck pocket (and gap) it sustains forever. The neck has remained laser straight.
Clearly with some rough sanding visible on the body during the finishing as well, it falls somewhere in the not quite perfect mid-70's category cosmetically.
I do love the color it has become too.
I'll never sell it.
Everything original except it had a BAII bridge. I don't know what the body wood is swamp ash?), but it's so light the bass has neck dive.
Other than replacing the bridge with a 70's era Fender Brass Works bent plate and finally finding the best sounding pickup for it
('62 Fender CS) I've left it alone because it is as awesome as a P should be. In spite of the crooked neck pocket (and gap) it sustains forever. The neck has remained laser straight.
Clearly with some rough sanding visible on the body during the finishing as well, it falls somewhere in the not quite perfect mid-70's category cosmetically.
I do love the color it has become too.
I'll never sell it.
a) neck pockets don’t fit on 70s fenders
b) it doesn’t matter
the neck and body wood either sound good screwed together, or they don’t
you’re not buying furniture...
That's why I bought - the bass! All those points merely illustrate the things the 70's instruments were notorious for, to one level or another.
My point is I wound up with a killer bass in spite of them, even though I tried adding cushions. Just seemed a little lumpy.....
As soon as I played it there was no doubt it was coming home.
My point is I wound up with a killer bass in spite of them, even though I tried adding cushions. Just seemed a little lumpy.....
As soon as I played it there was no doubt it was coming home.
I bought my 2nd Fender (first was a Telecaster with the old pickup)...a brand new Precision with a maple neck, sunburst with a black pickgaurd in the '70s from Douglas Music across from Bogan HS on 79th st. Don't know the year but it had the long PRECISION BASS graphics. Traded it for that cream colored '69 in the avatar. It's Frankenstein, Geezer's and a mahogany body...that thing is 11lbs. If it had the long graphics I want it. My favorite Fender headstock graphics. I'll pull up some of my '70s Jazz pics too...which was lost to some of my old bad habits.
My 75 P Bass is worn to hell. But it's been modified with a Jazz pickup, so once you do that, the rest of the guitar starts wearing!
I'm leery of unworn guitars. I'm afraid they weren't played because they didn't sound/play good.
As a lefty, I rarely see a guitar first hand to play. Most of mine are purchased unplayed.
Unless you travel or live in a superb area for lots of instrument turnover, that's the only option.
At least today you have 7 day returns and all (ie Reverb, eBay, etc)
When I see a worn body, but with decent frets, I'm more inclined to go "That guitar was loved and played a lot" and think it's the better buy.
I don't care about a guitar looking pristine. Road warrior looks is fine by me. I have pristine guitars and take care of mine well but that's not why I buy a guitar or bass. It's all about the playability and sound and not a small part of modern extras such as "keeps its tune" (ie super strats)
I'm leery of unworn guitars. I'm afraid they weren't played because they didn't sound/play good.
As a lefty, I rarely see a guitar first hand to play. Most of mine are purchased unplayed.
Unless you travel or live in a superb area for lots of instrument turnover, that's the only option.
At least today you have 7 day returns and all (ie Reverb, eBay, etc)
When I see a worn body, but with decent frets, I'm more inclined to go "That guitar was loved and played a lot" and think it's the better buy.
I don't care about a guitar looking pristine. Road warrior looks is fine by me. I have pristine guitars and take care of mine well but that's not why I buy a guitar or bass. It's all about the playability and sound and not a small part of modern extras such as "keeps its tune" (ie super strats)
I won’t take a penny less than $225 . It looks beautiful, all natural finish, maple neck (shim no extra charge), pearl block inlays. Fender called the reissue a ‘75 but I bought mine used in ‘74. I’m not a Fender expert but a web site called the serial number a ‘72. All original except one of the pickups died and I sent them both to Lindy to be rewound. I still have the bridge and pickup covers, and thumb rest. It sounds great now, plays “ok”, but since I switched to basses with Buzz Feiten tuning, I can’t play it any more. I drove myself nuts setting it up, never sounds in tune. I even had a famous luthier friend of mine set it up. NG. Not to change the subject, but all basses without BF tuning sound out to me now. I don’t blame my J bass alone for that. I couldnt bring myself to mod it to BF with no other mods. Also, mine is not worn at all, but it was my only bass for decades, from ‘74 till ‘98. I finally shelved it in ‘07.I'll give you$250 for it.
That's a beauty but......the what-kind-of-tuning now? Not sure I'd want some work done on my bass that has the word/name "buzz". Ha!
It's a Michael Tobias thing. I didn't notice any difference on the import MTD bass I had but that could just be my ear.
You would notice it if you played a triad or chord up high over an open string. Over the years I believe your ears get accustomed to the standard neck bass playing slightly out of tune, like hearing beats (warbling) in stretched out intervals and chords. Once your ears adjust to hearing a bass in tune, you can’t go back. I couldn’t, anyway.
It substitutes a zero fret for the nut and compensates for the stretch of the string when you press it down. You can tune your bass with any standard tuner but you need a special Buzz Feiten compatible tuner to set it up.
True, all MTD basses come with it, but Buzz Feiten is a separate company. Any guitar or bass can easily be retrofitted with it.
Ah, like the Sadowskys or Laklands (one of them, I think) come "plek'd" but any bass can be done.
Generally speaking, yes... but the nitty gritty of it reveals there was 101 Dalmatians.
