So 70's Fender are desirable now?!

[Vinnie Boombatz]

I've owned quite a number of '70s Fender basses over the years and still own a few. This subject has been chewed over endlessly here on TB. The fact is that Fender made a blue million instruments during the '70s guitar boom, and the CBS management wasn't brilliant about quality control, so quality was uneven. Like several manufacturers in the '70s, Fender cut some corners. Many of the instruments were terribly heavy, which actually was considered a selling point then, as I recall. There are some dogs and some great basses. My main gigging bass in recent years is a modified '78 P that's an absolute tone monster, though neck heavy. It's ridiculous to tar all '70s Fenders with the same brush.

Nobody is saying they're all dogs, and that wasn't even what I was trying to convey in my starting of the thread. As I clearly stated, I used to own a very nice 70's P. Was just commenting on how they've skyrocketed in price recently for no real reason other than they're getting older, which doesn't mean they're necessarily any better all of a sudden. Sure, there are great ones from every era, but the 70s' wasn't Fenders best decade that's for sure.

Just to prove my point, here's the 70's P. I used to own up until about a year and a half ago. Pais $250 for it about 5-6 years ago and traded it for a $2,000 acoustic. It was really nice, but no way I'd pay for it today what these are fetching when I can get an awesome used 2008+ American Standard for a fraction of the price thats just as good or better.

 

[Pet Sounds]

OP, I just saw your post saying you *aren't* saying all '70s Fenders are junk. I appreciate that.
You are correct that it was considered a dark time in Fender's history and now the instruments are fetching high sums. I guess we can chalk that up to "vintage mojo."

 

[Pet Sounds]

I must have been typing at the same time you were. Sorry.

 

[Flabass]

My ‘72 is an incredible bass. Funky as all hell! And under 9 lbs.
View attachment 2836519

That looks like the '72 jazz that I bought new back then except for the road wear. Sold it because I acquired a Gibson Les Paul Recording bass. I still regret it to this day.

 

[Vinnie Boombatz]

My ‘72 is an incredible bass. Funky as all hell! And under 9 lbs.
View attachment 2836519

What's up with the bridge on that thing? Doesn't look right.

 

[leegreenman]

My friend has an early 70s PBass which is so heavy, it's almost unbelievable.
I guess they're hit or miss, like most things in life,.

 

[Pet Sounds]

As a young guy in the '70s, I vividly remember how heavy guitars and basses were all the rage, at least in certain rock circles, as they were supposed to improve tone and sustain. What were we thinking?

 

[Fender_Bender]

It was inevitable. The 60’s basses are out of too many peoples price ranges and the 80’s basses will be the next craze. The only 70’s Fender I can remember playing was a jazz in downtown Vancouver almost 20 years ago that didn’t thrill me. It must’ve weighed 14 pounds.

 

[JSandbloom]

My theory is, if the bass is beat to hell. It’s probably a good player. A 40 year old bass in mint condition. Probably not a good player.

 

[Pet Sounds]

This thread got me thinking, and I have owned or still own a total of 10 '70s Fender basses, and probably five or six Fender guitars. Even among these guitars that I liked well enough to buy, I'd have to say that only about half of them really rang the bell with me. Weight generally was the factor I disliked the most.

 

[tubedude]

No.

 

[Spidey2112]

Fender didn't screw with the core basses (P, and Jazz) as much as they did with the guitars. 60's basses have gone thru the roof pricewise, so the market has shifted to the more affordable. Give it a couple years, and 80's Fender built parts basses will become the hot thing.

I thought I was a 'hot thing' in the '80s, but not so much now...

 

[Bass Viking]

I think only the very strong specimens survive over the years.

My '74 Fender Jazz Bass that I found in a pawnshop back in '08, is really bruised and scared.

It has a really weathered finish and has probably seen years of constant gigging.

This bass plays amazing and sounds really good.

I think the old 70's basses that have really been played consistently over the years and are still around, are still being gigged for a good reason.

Aren`t the tone turds that sat under a bed and didn`t get played just as likely to be around?

 

[REV]

Of the thousands of instruments that Fender made each month during the 70's some were going to be dogs and some were going to be keepers. Fender's QC is set up to pass instruments that meet their spec and that is all. The keepers, for the most part will look like they have been played. Of course everybody's idea of a dog vs a keeper is different.

 

[Davbassdude]

I have a 74/75 Maple finish/Maple neck Jazz Bass that has never disappointed. It is heavy as expected, but is also a workhorse that produces a consistent sound. My brother has a 72 or 73 Black Jazz bass he bought used with an added Fender Humbucker pickup and plays like butter (that's the bass that made me LOVE Jazz basses). As I've said before: I still grieve the loss of my early 70's P-Bass with rosewood fretboard and 1.5 inch nut width that was ripped off around 1990.

 

[oren]

I love my 78 P bass that I bought new that year. It weighs a ton and it’s all beat up, but it plays and sounds great.

But I don’t think I’d go out of my way to pay top dollar for another 70’s Fender when the current and recent ones are generally pretty darn good.

 

[Dluxe]

I bought a Sunburst '76 Precision Bass from Music Go Round six months ago for $999. I think that you can still get good deals on these. The only mod was a brass nut.

 

[ClassicJazz]

What's up with the bridge on that thing? Doesn't look right.

It’s the stock bridge. Everything on that bass is original except the frets.

 

[mikeswals]

Just to prove my point, here's the 70's P. I used to own up until about a year and a half ago. Pais $250 for it about 5-6 years ago and traded it for a $2,000 acoustic. It was really nice, but no way I'd pay for it today what these are fetching when I can get an awesome used 2008+ American Standard for a fraction of the price.

Im not quite sure what you're conveying. So far you put a blanket statement on all 70's, but if you spent time with a few then you'd see a clear difference in lightweight
alder early 70's and heavy ash later 70's you find plenty of 8.0-ish lbs alder body 70-73 's...lots of them! Some even less than 8.

Also $250 bucks was an awesome giveaway price you stole yours at...250 was not typical at all! Thats unusual. Here on the west coast "several years ago" mid 70's P were easily selling for 1500 range all day long. The have only crept up a few hundred over these few years. That increase is nothing compared to the 60's rate of stuff creeping up. Your price gap was the execption, and not the norm.

 

[Vinnie Boombatz]

My theory is, if the bass is beat to hell. It’s probably a good player. A 40 year old bass in mint condition. Probably not a good player.

See my pic above of my closet classic '76. Played perfectly and sounded great. Dude played in a band in the 80's then put it away. Also saw an old guy walk into Wildwood Guitars one day with a 60's Telecaster he had kept under the bed all these years. Original owner, hang tags and original strings and case and guess what? That guitar sounded AMAZING!