LeftyBassist.com

Ok.... lots of talk here and on talkbass about this bass and I didn't want to post this when it first went up on the bay.... but decided to go for it just in case someone here is bidding. I know a lot more about this bass than the seller is stating. If your bidding, be cautious!! Also.. it's not a true 72 P bass and lots of discrepancies. Yes, I went to the original sellers house and hands on with it. He sold it to the guy in San Jose after me walking and that seller is the guy on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 492wt_1139

The same seller also has a 80's MIJ Jazz bass with lots of MOJO. I also saw it.... Basically I walked on both basses but again, if your looking for an all original bass, it's just my word but there are a lot of discrepancies and 1 being non-original finish.......

Thanks for the heads up. I saw this bass as well, but something was telling me that something's not right. Stating something is 100% original or in mint condition when it clearly isn't is usually a turnoff for me. The pickups are the most obvious replacement, as they should be grey bobbins for that time period as well as the refinish you mentioned. (normally wouldn't be painted inside the neck cavity, where other dates/markings were placed during this time period. Pickguard is cracked, no mention of it.

Hey gravesbass, I think in fairness to all interested (including the seller) if you're going to say what you've said, please go ahead and tell us everything you know about the bass, don't be so vague- I know I won't get the chance to inspect it in hand and I'd really like to know, so I'd appreciate any firsthand info...

So.... here's the scoop and discrepancies I am seeing. I am only doing this because there is a lot undisclosed and if it was "the one", I would own it right now.
1. The neck rules. It's a 1.50 Jazz neck with a P model # at the heel. The neck alone is almost worth the most of the entire bass. Frets were in very good shape and appeared original as so was the neck.. Outstanding for that old and heavily figured birdseye maple.
2. The neck has drawn in dots on the right side like a righty owned it. This is non-disclosed... Bad Seller!
3. Fender Tuners seemed correct for the year. Had that hard turning cranky feel (needs a shot of graphite)..... I know these basses pretty well.
4. Serial number on the plate led the seller and buyer to believe its a 72/73..... Incorrect. It is a 75 from the serial number on the heel of the neck dating. The seller and buyer did not pull the neck. NEVER go by a plate that can be removed.
5. The finish is a refinish. I knew this from the first close inspection with the neck on the bass. Fender "always" taped the pocket prior to finishing for name stamp and writings and the picture on ebay shows solid color there.
6. The body.. I have no idea what wood it was but definitely an overall light body and bass. It had no feel of a 70's bass and I had 2 that were heavy near 10LBs. This might have been 8-8.5LBish.. maybe.
7. The bridge plate, saddles and height adjustment screws were all correct for the era and year.
8. The nut looked correct but unsure.
9. Pickup is a SD Quarter Pounder, not Fender and yes, the original has the stamp and grey blast bottom. Also the foam was aftermarket.
10. Pots could be correct but not 100%. I did see the 137 beginning code but the cap was definitely non original aftermarket orange drop or some other brand.
11. Thumb rest might have been original... too quick to tell but wasn't browning yet like the older 70's did......
12. Ashtrays.. Unsure, could not remove them when I was there. I did not see the foam mute strip they did back then in the bridge tray looking down
and last.. Pickguard.... could have been original, hard to tell with the short time I was there. The mounting screws could have been original and showed a little rust.

That's about it..... Could be a custom order P bass with a J neck (supposedly)... Who knows, I smelt frankenbass when I was there so I walked. Just an FYI: The original seller wanted $600, then raised it to $700 on craigslist then told me he had a buyer on his way for $800 and wanted $800 when I was already on my way there. I was already up in that area and went an extra 20 min to get to him quickly. If it was feeling all original, I would have walked with it money of no money. Paypal is your friend.

Good luck to whom ever gets it and hopefully they know what they are getting. There was a good thread on talkbass I was monitoring and adding comments to but it was closed by the mods because he didn't have a sale price on it. He was fishing for the net worth and already had it on ebay........ It will come back to him eventually as smart people know..... If it is all original except for the pickups and finish, it might be worth some duckets for a player but not a collector. Refinish is a deal breaker!

+ 1 Gravebass!

FYI - The seller has not tried to sell it locally through Craigslist before listing on E-bay. I would have seen it. Doesn't want anyone to check it in person?

Hey man, it was on craigslist SF from a Martinez, CA seller 2 days prior to this San Jose ebay lister but was only up on craigs for 7 hours max until he pulled it. This seller from San Jose snagged it and the 80's J bass on the bay immediately after I was there. I saw that one too but was all engraved and hippied out. I saw the craigs listing 90 min after it was posted and was already on my way that direction for a dinner.... of course I had to make my way over there. If the seller in San Jose is not disclosing everything, that's messed up. I know he bought to resell, but a lot of talk on talkbass about this bass before the thread was pulled because of the rules of no price listing..... He just wanted info. Again, it's not a 72' bass.

Whoops, one more thing to note is the string alignment was not very straight. Look at his newer shots on the ebay link. You will see what I mean. Not too uncommon for this era of basses but there was such a gap in the neck pocket that you could almost stick a quarter in it. I don't even think loosening the neck and moving it a little would fix the problem. It also had the common overcut heel. I think most of the builders and assemblers in the early 70's were stoned....

This is why I love this site! Thanks!

Damn, Jim... you are an absolute madman, but I love you for it.

This picture alone TOTALLY turned me off in the first place.



I don't care how old your bass is... I wouldn't pay $100 for it with a neck pocket that looks like the Grand Canyon.

That's the problem with vintage instruments... they're not ALL good. In fact, many of them are absolute crap and HORRIBLE players.

But just because all the dates match and the thing might be all original, people will still pay top dollar for them.

It boggles the mind.

Just protecting the community here. FYI: The ebay seller probably paid 650-700 for it... 800 MAX but I doubt it since he bought both basses and stands. The CL seller really needed the money. That neck is a 9/10 condition except for those dots and the headstock finish getting a hair bubbly and when I stated a quarter earlier, I meant a quarter on the side of the E string. I think I just saw a gap in the pic Addison just posted. It's a poly finish on the headstock but damn, that was one of the nicest necks I ever saw. I wish I could have only he neck for my 2009 American Standard. I prefer maple over rosewood any day. Why Fender doesn't make maple in lefty boggles me. Lame!

I hope nobody here is the high bidder or I would retract.. "SERIOUSLY". There are better 70's basses out there.

Have a good holiday weekend guys..... As Willie says... "On The Road Again!

Here is the gap I was talking about.....

Wow. Thanks, Jim. I want that neck, tho!

Thanks for the details, gravebass. Just a couple of things worth mentioning:

"4. Serial number on the plate led the seller and buyer to believe its a 72/73..... Incorrect. It is a 75 from the serial number on the heel of the neck dating. The seller and buyer did not pull the neck. NEVER go by a plate that can be removed."

I thought it was later as well, but that period of heel code dating can be very difficult to decipher, and when it comes to lefties AND a birdseye, who knows. I'm guessing the second set of numbers "06" designates birdseye???, and the second to last number "5" is the year. ('75), but I've seen so many inconsistencies over the years it's hard to confirm.

"6. The body.. I have no idea what wood it was but definitely an overall light body and bass. It had no feel of a 70's bass and I had 2 that were heavy near 10LBs. This might have been 8-8.5LBish.. maybe."

Body weights can be all over the map with the 70's Fender stuff, with the latter part of the decade usually exhibiting the heaviest instruments, since they were northern ash. My '73 P is 8.5lbs.

"10. Pots could be correct but not 100%. I did see the 137 beginning code but the cap was definitely non original aftermarket orange drop or some other brand."

i don't see 137 at all, I see "RM7". Click on the pot picture in the auction and it blows it up bigger to show this. At any rate, not CTS originals.

As for the finish/wood, according to "The Fender Bass Book", candy apple red was a standard color offered but Fender was using ash wood at the time for all their solid color painted as well as natural finished ones.

It's not. The original pickguards have a screw somewhere in the middle, between the pickup and neck pocket.

Jazz basses have this. P basses do not.

My '73 P is also a featherweight, also 8 and change pounds.

Peter, got any pics of your '73 P?

If it were a '72, you'd be right, but by '75, that screw was definitely there. The change coincides with the moving of the thumbrest, which is in the older position on the bass in question. It could be original; I guess that'd make it an early '75 bass.

It's over $1,700! That sucks, someone is going to get ripped off!

I've got a few but I'll post some better closeups when I get a chance. Warning! It ain't pretty. The previous owner really beat the hell out of it and stripped the sunburst finish down to the wood. It looks like the knucklehead didn't even take the pickguard off when he did it, as there's still a sunburst outline under the pickguard and the refinish lacquer is on the pickguard too! Despite all of this, though, I have to admit I like that it's got some serious mojo. Still, I think the guy threw it in the ocean and it was found washed up ashore somewhere. I have to bring it back in to my tech, as I had Lindy Fralin rewind the PUP last year and now the upper G/D coil is very weak again.