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Vintage Old Fender - I don't get it.

#526
FFTT said:
I'll raise you a Bugatti Veyron, while my 8 passenger helicopter is in the shop. :)
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Pagani Zonda and the garage for my Zonda...

sovereign-yacht-3-650x351.jpg


While my private 747 is being painted and refitted.

:)
 
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#527
JIO said:
Man, those early fingerboards were thin! No question that this contributes to the way they sound. (more maple with almost a veneer of rosewood)
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There are two kinds of Fender fingerboards, slab and veneer. You were looking at the latter I think. MIJ Fender tend to be slab fingerboards these days. I believe they were also all slab until mid-1962.
 
#528
(inspired by above image posted by mongo2, a sidetrack of a sidetrack) If both were bass players, I think James Bond would play a Status bass, but John Steed would play a black early 60's Burns Bison!

okcrum said:
There are two kinds of Fender fingerboards, slab and veneer. You were looking at the latter I think. MIJ Fender tend to be slab fingerboards these days.
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oh - I knew that, just remarking on these necks and that one in particular -
 
#530
Zanderwestcoast said:
Just curious....in your experience with your 61. What have you found gets you the best results as far as amp/speakers? I have found the vintage instruments tend to shine through classic amps like b15's or hand wired tube heads....any thoughts? I just bought a 65 Jazz and want to find something that will work very well with it.
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I play mostly through an eden world traveler 300 with a GK 410 or an Avatar 212. That 61 sounds fantastic through almost any amp, but sounds far better in amps of 300+ watts, usually with a tube preamp.
 
#531
I don't believe "old" to be better than new as rule. Let every instrument stand on it's own merits. Some say the old ones sound better... to those that believe, they do.

To the OP - I think the vintage factor has to do with buying some history. New Fenders are better build, have better hardware and electronics and sound just great, but they are new... You don't need to get it, only the person that values the vintage instrument and is willing to pay a premium needs to get it and they do not need to convince anybody of the validity of their choice. To each, his own!
 
#534
I once briefly played Victor Bailey's 60's era (don't know the year) jazz bass, which was incredibly nice sounding and playing, but have also played "vintage" P and J basses that sounded like shite, so it's all down to the individual instrument. I equate it to owning a classic 57' chevy, what do you really have: a gas-guzzling, air-polluting behemouth with crappy brakes and suspension, and no air bags. But they look really COOL! David Gilmour owns a strat with serial #0001, worth a fortune, but it doesn't sound half as good as his famous "Black Strat", cobbled together from parts and heavily modified. Go figure.
 
#535
JIO said:
Man, those early fingerboards were thin! No question that this contributes to the way they sound. (more maple with almost a veneer of rosewood)
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They got thinner towards 64. My P bass neck is stamped May 1963 and the veneer board is still rather thick, but I've seen photos of a lot of 64 necks with really thin veneer, like half as thick as the veneer that was being used in late 62 and early 63. Has anyone else noticed that the veneers started to get a lot thinner?
 
#536
DavidBassista said:
They got thinner towards 64. My P bass neck is stamped May 1963 and the veneer board is still rather thick, but I've seen photos of a lot of 64 necks with really thin veneer, like half as thick as the veneer that was being used in late 62 and early 63. Has anyone else noticed that the veneers started to get a lot thinner?
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Are you sure you guys aren't looking at fretboards that have been planed down (and re-fretted) after developing ski jumps? That's pretty common after 50+ years. All the original early-mid '60s curved boards I've seen (that haven't been planed/re-fretted) have all been a pretty consistent and standard thickness.
 
#537
DavidBassista said:
They got thinner towards 64. My P bass neck is stamped May 1963 and the veneer board is still rather thick, but I've seen photos of a lot of 64 necks with really thin veneer, like half as thick as the veneer that was being used in late 62 and early 63. Has anyone else noticed that the veneers started to get a lot thinner?
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my '66 board is thin, a healthy 1/16"

IMG_7017_zpse908600d.jpg
 

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