Vintage Fender Basses

[PFDarkside]

I've read more than I can explain about vintage Strats, Teles and Les Pauls, but I know next to nothing about basses. I've been playing my bass a whole lot lately and eventually I'd like to either buy or build a nice Fender Bass. It seems like Jazzmasters and Jaguars, a 60's bass isn't completely unreachable, but how do CBS and later era basses compare? What are some key features, how have pickups evolved, etc.

My only experience was a 70's P-Bass that was well worn, but had a great setup and played and sounded awesome. Much better than my MIM Jazz V.

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: Vintage Fender Basses

I've got a fender highway 1 p bass (from like 2004 before the most recent changes) and I love that thing. I'm going to eventually be adding a few things to make it a little more like a 61. tortoise shell pickguard, pickup cover/handrest, bridge cover, etc. It's an awesome bass on didn't set me back too far either

 

[beandip]

Re: Vintage Fender Basses

I've read more than I can explain about vintage Strats, Teles and Les Pauls, but I know next to nothing about basses. I've been playing my bass a whole lot lately and eventually I'd like to either buy or build a nice Fender Bass. It seems like Jazzmasters and Jaguars, a 60's bass isn't completely unreachable, but how do CBS and later era basses compare? What are some key features, how have pickups evolved, etc.

My only experience was a 70's P-Bass that was well worn, but had a great setup and played and sounded awesome. Much better than my MIM Jazz V.

I haven't been able to find the resource on the net, but if you go to your local *big name* bookstore, you'll find Fender: The Precision Bass. It's a great read, full of so much tech info it'll blow your mind, and it even covers it's cousin, the Jazz bass.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Vintage Fender Basses

like alot of fender stuff i think up thru the late 60's its hard to go wrong, even the first cbs years didnt really bring too many changes. once you get into the 70's you need to be a little more careful but other than typically being heavy there isnt anything wrong with 70's fender basses if you find a good one.

 

[J Moose]

Re: Vintage Fender Basses

What specifically do you want to know? In the '70s the weights went through the roof... some of those basses are unbelievably heavy, but overall I think that in the CBS years, they didn't see as many changes as the strat did.

Generally I think the pickups are hit & miss... many of them will probably need a refret and slapping a Leo Quan badass bridge on there will make a sizeable difference in tone & tuning stability.

You can't really compare a MIM to a '70s era bass... its like a tomato vs. a homogenized tomato. One of my buds has a pair of '70s basses... J and a P, and they've both had substantial work done to be players. Refrets, new pickups etc.

He's got other basses too... MIJ fretless, USA jazz 5, etc. but the '70s see a lot of work. Somewhere I've got pictures of 'em and his rig from a session...

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Vintage Fender Basses

Just wondering if the three bolt should be avoided, what a "reasonable" price is, and how they compare in general to current production, etc. I guess I don't have a problem with swapping bridges, and any old guitar may need fret work.

 

[ex-250]

Re: Vintage Fender Basses

if you go to your local *big name* bookstore, you'll find Fender: The Precision Bass. It's a great read, full of so much tech info it'll blow your mind

thats awesome, ill have to take a look next time im in one. i do love me some p-basses

 

[millsart]

Re: Vintage Fender Basses

I'd say just go with a new (or used, around $500ish) MIJ Fender Jaguar Bass. Seriously some of the best made, best playing, and best looking basses on the market.

You'll get that vintage appeal of a Jaguar style body, a rather versatile pickup section with both passive and active circuits plus parallel or series switchs and what I think is the best feeling neck on any bass I've ever played, and its got those 70's style big block inlays as well.

I checked out about 30 different basses in a huge range of vintage and prices and the Jaguar or a StingRay were by far the two standouts in terms of tonal range and overall playability

I've got a buddy with an older 70's Pbass thats pretty nice though, nicely beat up and it sounds really thick, but the neck just doesn't work for my wimply guitar playing hands and it really only does one sound.

The Jag is the perfect blend of everything thats cool about an old instrument in terms of style and everything thats cool about a modern insturment in terms of electronics and the neck

 

[J Moose]

Re: Vintage Fender Basses

Just wondering if the three bolt should be avoided, what a "reasonable" price is, and how they compare in general to current production, etc. I guess I don't have a problem with swapping bridges, and any old guitar may need fret work.

Like anything else, you really need to play & put your hands on it yourself. I personally wouldn't buy any instrument, let alone a 70s without playing it. Like anything else, you can find a great one or a total dog. I've seen 70s basses with 4-bolt plates... pretty common... more then the 3-bolt I would say but I'm really no expert on the matter. There IS a vintage bass column in premier guitar... maybe look that up.