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Testing my Fender knowledge on Craigslist...

3toes

3toes

Aug 30, 2006
2,398
942
Denver, Colorado
www.facebook.com
#1
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

This guy claims to have a 1970 P-bass, [del]all original except for the pickups.[/del] Some idiot threw in some EMGs...

First of all, the wood looks like Alder to me, not much of a pronounced grain to it. Didn't Fender reserve natural finishes for basses made of Ash? Also, red-tort was only included on sunburst finishes, wasn't it?

I'm assuming the serial # is period correct, or he wouldn't have posted a picture of it. I don't have my handy reference guide to look it up here at work.

Any able to confirm/deny/add to anything I've noticed?

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#8
If he bought it new, then he should still have the original pickup and know when the paint was stripped. If he doesn't know when it was stripped, he's lying about being the original owner, so who know what else? Maye the body is not even Fender?
There's no way thats the original finish.
 
#9
capnjim said:
If he bought it new, then he should still have the original pickup and know when the paint was stripped. If he doesn't know when it was stripped, he's lying about being the original owner, so who know what else? Maye the body is not even Fender?
There's no way thats the original finish.
Click to expand...

The upper strap button appears to be in the correct location so initially the body appears correct however I would ask to see the neck pocket.
 
#11
In general, an altered & refinished guitar will always sell at less than the original. There are "price books" that pawn shop owners get, etc. One place to start is looking is something like the "Blue Book of Guitar Values" or quality Fender history texts. They are out there and some are even scanned for download.
There are SO many parts guitars out there that even serial numbers don't mean all that much. You have to have the thing in your hands and examine it. Pictures occasionally don't tell the whole story. Ethical folks will describe the bad /w the good and not avoid any issues. occasionally guys end up actually buying a neck and neck-plate....the rest is parts and collected items. The previous comments are on the money (IMO); the thing needs to be apart so you can see the neck pocket, neck stamps, etc.
 
#12
capnjim said:
If he bought it new, then he should still have the original pickup and know when the paint was stripped. If he doesn't know when it was stripped, he's lying about being the original owner, so who know what else? Maye the body is not even Fender?
There's no way thats the original finish.
Click to expand...

If you read the add, he never claims to have bought it new. If he bought it in 1973, it would have been 3 years old. Someone could have stripped it. As for the pu's, he might or might not have them. People pay good money for original pups. He also never claims its the original finish, he just states that it has an natural finish. Most likely, as others has pointed out, it was a 3-tone sunburst that was stripped.
 
#13
Your right birdman, it was a couple of years old when he got it. I suppose its possible someone stripped the finish off a 3 year old bass.
Still, its not the awesome deal he thinks it is. They have been selling for less than that on TB.
 
#14
that bass looks to correct, genuine and authentic to me.
with the exception of the replaced EMG pickup, it appears that someone just wiped the body off with acetone to remove the original sunburst, which would emulsify the burst, but leave the fullerplast sealer intact. it was a common thing to do in the early 70's.

the only thing real that i'd be concerned about (besides the asking price) is if anyone did any routing to fit the 9V pickup. a 9V will fit in a stock p bass, but alot of people routed them for one under the guard anyway.

if you were to restore it, to find a set of 1970 pots, cap and jack, and a 1970 pickup could get expensive, (as well as restoring its finish) so, IMO, the $2K price is very much on the high side.

if you bought it as a player, and leave it as is, it may be worth $2K to you (not to me), but if you wanted to restore it, you'd end up having ALOT more into that it would be worth.
 
#15
hey john, any idea when exactly the nail hole moved from below the neck plate to closer to the bass horn? there was a 65 that someone was asking about a while back that someone thought was a 70's body because of a wavy edge near the router hump. i attributed it to over sanding because the nail hole was still under the neck plate so i thought it was still a 60's body.
 
#17
A couple of things to add....

1. A good way to get an idea of vintage values is the Vintage Guitar Price Guide, put out by Vintage Guitar Magazine every year. They give a range of values you can expect dealers to charge at the local shop. Obviously, prices vary by condition and market (LA and NYC are more expensive than, say Boise). Plus, vintage dealer prices are generally higher than private sale. For a 1970 Precision in sunburst, the current VG Price Guide give a range of $2600-3400.

2. Dealers as a rule discount prices by about 50% for a refin - no matter how cool (or uncool). That takes the range down to $1300-1700. Further discounts occur for non-original parts and routing/damage/modifications. Some people discount by the amount of money it would take to replace the original part. I've seen early 70s grey bottom pickups for about $200-400. Go with $200 (nice round number, and pretty reasonable) and the range is now down to $1100-1500.

3. You can get one of the best refinishers in the US to shoot a body for about $400-500. Less if the refinisher is not as well known. I can personally recommend RS Guitar Works, they've done two guitars for me and they are just amazing.

4. I think the case is not original. I don't think I've ever seen plush purple lining on anything but aftermarket cases. The case should be orange fur inside, I think. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong on this one....

5. Johnk_10 is absolutely correct - you want to see under the guard to make sure there's been no routing for the battery. I have seen crafty people manage to fit them into the control cavity without modification but it's pretty rare. In addition, I'd also ask to see a pic of the bridge. When people dropped in EMG's, they often changed out the bridge for a Badass. Yes, it does have what looks to be a Fender cover (can't tell if it's original issue or later), but that doesn't mean the bridge is correct. Also, be aware that the first Badasses weren't always drop-in -- some had to be routed into the body to drop them down enough to get the action acceptable.

On the downside, this bass is way too expensive. On the upside, I would think that anybody looking to spend $2000 on a bass would do enough homework to know that the price is too high - and in a month or two of no bites, the seller might come down to something more reasonable.
 
#19
narud said:
hey john, any idea when exactly the nail hole moved from below the neck plate to closer to the bass horn? there was a 65 that someone was asking about a while back that someone thought was a 70's body because of a wavy edge near the router hump. i attributed it to over sanding because the nail hole was still under the neck plate so i thought it was still a 60's body.
Click to expand...

i don't recall when it was relocated, but all the '65/'66's that i've seen were close to the centerline and not the horn.

here's a pic of StuartV's '66 p bass body (that i sealed with fullerplast), before i shot it with nitro it that clearly shows the nail hole locations:

SuartV-fullerplast-back.jpg
 
#20
Looks like nobody wanted to give him $2k.... it's [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], for $1500 this time. He does mention the finish being changed ("assume at one point it was Sunburst , but that was before I bought it"). Also says it has "Ridiculously rare & late issue "A width" (thin like a Jazz Bass", for whatever that's worth...
 

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