Fender Precision/Jazz Bass Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1968)
1
/
of
15
Couldn't load pickup availability
Item #12717
Fender Precision/Jazz Bass Model Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1968), made in Fullerton, California, serial # 251786, sunburst finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black tolex hard shell case.
This well-worn 4-string is a real monster of a Fender bass of the Frankenstein variety with a fearsome sound to match. It appears to have been assembled many decades ago by someone as a serious player's ROCK bass, and boy has it been seriously played! Around here it instantly picked up the nickname "The BEAST" and has become a shop favorite we're actually kind of reluctant to let go!
The neck is an original Fender Jazz Bass part dated January 1968, with the binding and pearloid block inlay adopted in 1965-6. Most of the original finish is worn off the back which is almost completely down to the wood and sealer coat. It still carries the older "transition" logo decal on the headstock that would be superseded later in '68 and the original Fender-made chrome plated "egg" tuners typical of the period.
The body is a 1968-9 era Fender Precision Bass, which carries (what's left of) the transitional finish in use at Fender at the time, as CBS management initiated a move to polyester finishing in place of the old Nitrocellulose lacquer. It has a clear Poly undercoat, with a sunburst lacquer finish sprayed over that. In practice this finish did not wear as well as was likely hoped, witness the considerable flaking and chipping to this one! The serial number plate could be from either original "donor" bass as it dates to 1968 or early 1969.
The pickup rig is of course the defining modification, a layout similar to the set up virtuoso bassmeister Billy Sheehan used on his famous "The Wife" Precision bass. This is the original Precision pickup combined with an added Gibson humbucking unit in the neck position for the deepest of grooves. These are wired in series with a 3-way selector, allowing the monster low end of the Gibson pickup to be blended with the midrange growl of the P-bass unit for a range of tones. The mini-toggle mounted forward on the pickguard is a kill switch that could be removed or repurposed if desired. The crowning touch is an original Leo Quann Badass bridge, gold plated.
This unique FrankenFender came out of the wilds of eastern Pennsylvania where it appears to have player thousands of gigs over the past 50+ years. It plays and sounds fantastic as it is with a super aggressive tone in every sonic mode but could also serve as a template for future experiments if desired. This is not a subtle instrument; even dialed back it has a noticeable growl to the tone. This might just be the ultimate most badass Rock bass we have ever had!
Overall length is 45 in. (114.3 cm.), 13 in. (33 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 34 in. (864 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/2 in. (38 mm.).
This Fender is a real relic, not artificially sanded and hammered but honestly worn over decades. Obviously this bass has been VERY heavily played, and with good reason! It must be a veteran of thousands of gigs, there is heavy finish wear literally everywhere, especially the body edges and upper armwear spot. All the surviving finish remains original except at some point someone tried to touch up small spots along the edges with black applique; that was abandoned long ago but these dabs can still be seen under close examination. There are ancient marks from duct tape on the back of the body over the serial number plate.
The only actual repair is the back wall of the neck pocket has been reglued into place; the large rout for the neck pickup ran almost up to the pocket edge so the wood was left very thin there. This rout was done larger and deeper than it really needed to be; the humbucking pickup is adjustable for height but mounted on an added wooden base. There is a crack in the upper edge of the pickguard above the Gibson pickup as well; the huge hole through the 'guard was rather inexpertly cut! Apart from this and the holes for the switches the original pickguard survives intact with light typical shrinkage and no cracked or popped corners, and amazingly never cracked around the jack as many were. The plastic fingerrest/"Tug Bar" is missing.
The Precision pickup and wiring appear correct, with some alterations for the expanded scheme. There is a decent amount of wear to the plastic pickup covers. The EB pickup is the later '60s style adjustable for height with a chrome cover so appears to date from the same late-'60s period as the bass. The knobs, strap buttons and screws are original. The gold Badass bridge would have been added in the 1970s, it looks a bit incongruous but sort of caps the whole thing off, and definitely adds to the vibe.
The neck is in excellent playing condition, with virtually all of the finish on the back worn away giving that much coveted super played-in Fender feel. It was recently trued and refretted with mid-60s style wire and these frets show no subsequent wear. The bone nut appears to be an older replacement; the headstock decal has survived with some flaking to the gold in the "Fender" logo. There is a small patched screw hole on the headstock face under the E string from an added string tree now removed.
This is really a one-of-a-kind 1960s Fender bass, assembled, modified and then heavily played by some bassist with a clear vision of their 4-string dreams long ago. It offers a much wider range of natural sounds than a stock Precision and an is effortless player with the slimmer Jazz Bass neck. We usually string our older Fender basses with flatwound strings but this "Beast" really likes Rotosound roundwounds, putting forth a fantastic growl as a super "Rock" bass. Fender offered a "Billy Sheehan Signature" bass awhile back with this pickup combination; apart from that this configuration exists only as a player-modified piece. This is not a re-creation or an artificially aged "relic", but a true veteran of the rock wars from the late '60s until now. It includes the original black Tolex Fender HSC, externally worn with a hand-made leather handle and one broken latch but still functional with some random rubble from the previous owner included. Overall Very Good Condition.
View full details
This well-worn 4-string is a real monster of a Fender bass of the Frankenstein variety with a fearsome sound to match. It appears to have been assembled many decades ago by someone as a serious player's ROCK bass, and boy has it been seriously played! Around here it instantly picked up the nickname "The BEAST" and has become a shop favorite we're actually kind of reluctant to let go!
The neck is an original Fender Jazz Bass part dated January 1968, with the binding and pearloid block inlay adopted in 1965-6. Most of the original finish is worn off the back which is almost completely down to the wood and sealer coat. It still carries the older "transition" logo decal on the headstock that would be superseded later in '68 and the original Fender-made chrome plated "egg" tuners typical of the period.
The body is a 1968-9 era Fender Precision Bass, which carries (what's left of) the transitional finish in use at Fender at the time, as CBS management initiated a move to polyester finishing in place of the old Nitrocellulose lacquer. It has a clear Poly undercoat, with a sunburst lacquer finish sprayed over that. In practice this finish did not wear as well as was likely hoped, witness the considerable flaking and chipping to this one! The serial number plate could be from either original "donor" bass as it dates to 1968 or early 1969.
The pickup rig is of course the defining modification, a layout similar to the set up virtuoso bassmeister Billy Sheehan used on his famous "The Wife" Precision bass. This is the original Precision pickup combined with an added Gibson humbucking unit in the neck position for the deepest of grooves. These are wired in series with a 3-way selector, allowing the monster low end of the Gibson pickup to be blended with the midrange growl of the P-bass unit for a range of tones. The mini-toggle mounted forward on the pickguard is a kill switch that could be removed or repurposed if desired. The crowning touch is an original Leo Quann Badass bridge, gold plated.
This unique FrankenFender came out of the wilds of eastern Pennsylvania where it appears to have player thousands of gigs over the past 50+ years. It plays and sounds fantastic as it is with a super aggressive tone in every sonic mode but could also serve as a template for future experiments if desired. This is not a subtle instrument; even dialed back it has a noticeable growl to the tone. This might just be the ultimate most badass Rock bass we have ever had!
Overall length is 45 in. (114.3 cm.), 13 in. (33 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 34 in. (864 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/2 in. (38 mm.).
This Fender is a real relic, not artificially sanded and hammered but honestly worn over decades. Obviously this bass has been VERY heavily played, and with good reason! It must be a veteran of thousands of gigs, there is heavy finish wear literally everywhere, especially the body edges and upper armwear spot. All the surviving finish remains original except at some point someone tried to touch up small spots along the edges with black applique; that was abandoned long ago but these dabs can still be seen under close examination. There are ancient marks from duct tape on the back of the body over the serial number plate.
The only actual repair is the back wall of the neck pocket has been reglued into place; the large rout for the neck pickup ran almost up to the pocket edge so the wood was left very thin there. This rout was done larger and deeper than it really needed to be; the humbucking pickup is adjustable for height but mounted on an added wooden base. There is a crack in the upper edge of the pickguard above the Gibson pickup as well; the huge hole through the 'guard was rather inexpertly cut! Apart from this and the holes for the switches the original pickguard survives intact with light typical shrinkage and no cracked or popped corners, and amazingly never cracked around the jack as many were. The plastic fingerrest/"Tug Bar" is missing.
The Precision pickup and wiring appear correct, with some alterations for the expanded scheme. There is a decent amount of wear to the plastic pickup covers. The EB pickup is the later '60s style adjustable for height with a chrome cover so appears to date from the same late-'60s period as the bass. The knobs, strap buttons and screws are original. The gold Badass bridge would have been added in the 1970s, it looks a bit incongruous but sort of caps the whole thing off, and definitely adds to the vibe.
The neck is in excellent playing condition, with virtually all of the finish on the back worn away giving that much coveted super played-in Fender feel. It was recently trued and refretted with mid-60s style wire and these frets show no subsequent wear. The bone nut appears to be an older replacement; the headstock decal has survived with some flaking to the gold in the "Fender" logo. There is a small patched screw hole on the headstock face under the E string from an added string tree now removed.
This is really a one-of-a-kind 1960s Fender bass, assembled, modified and then heavily played by some bassist with a clear vision of their 4-string dreams long ago. It offers a much wider range of natural sounds than a stock Precision and an is effortless player with the slimmer Jazz Bass neck. We usually string our older Fender basses with flatwound strings but this "Beast" really likes Rotosound roundwounds, putting forth a fantastic growl as a super "Rock" bass. Fender offered a "Billy Sheehan Signature" bass awhile back with this pickup combination; apart from that this configuration exists only as a player-modified piece. This is not a re-creation or an artificially aged "relic", but a true veteran of the rock wars from the late '60s until now. It includes the original black Tolex Fender HSC, externally worn with a hand-made leather handle and one broken latch but still functional with some random rubble from the previous owner included. Overall Very Good Condition.
