LeftyBassist.com

Hello all,

I recently landed an older Fender 1978 Precision Bass. After checking all the codes and neck stamp, it appears to be a 78/79. The neck is dated 3rd week of '79. The pots and Fender Decal/Pickguard Decal are dated '78. The P pickup ends with 79. The sticker in the pickup area stamped Feb 5, 1979. Bridge ashtray has proper mute tape on it in great shape. 10.5lbs on the dot with ashtrays... Not bad weight.

I know Fender recycled a lot of parts during this era. The bass is 100% original to my knowledge (excluding the strap pins, has shallers on it). 2 owners and owner I got it from was a collector. Its in EXCELLENT condition. The pickup sounds like my old '78 P pup but it s got the overwound tone of the '78.

A few questions:
Is there any tonal wind difference from a 78 to 79 P Bass Pickup?
The date stamp on the neck.... Normally its 01 (Precision) 03 (My case, Maple fingerboard) but mine says 0102 (02 normally is Jazz Bass code).
Could this be a strange stamp because the bass seems like its got a thinner neck? Its 1.60, not 1.625 (std P) or 1.50 (std J). Its on the thinner side.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

I'm definitely not a guru, but it looks like that measurement is close enough to 1.625 to call it that. A variance that small could just be a matter of sanding a little more off the neck.

And, I can't remember where I read this... I'll try to find it if I can... but I think that the 0102 necks with the star or dot in the middle of the code were warranty replacement necks. The original neck on that guy might have been bad and it may have been replaced.

It's good to know what the actual weight is... when I was talking to them about that bass after it was first listed, they first told me it weighed 5-6 lbs. I said that was impossible... so they got back to me and said 8 lbs. I was a little gun shy at that point, so I stayed away.

Sounds like they were selling their son's collection and knew nothing about instruments... I got the feeling that he passed away or something...?

Anyway, glad it's a cool bass... I'll see what I can find about that code and let you know.

Isn't that just a B neck width? Typical P width being 1.75" (C neck), typical jazz being 1.5" (A neck). My '73 has a B neck and it's very comfy.

Hey Andrew.... It might be a std "B" width but I had another 78 P almost identical to this. This neck is thinner but VERY comfortable. Something about the snap of these older necks. I like!!!

Still curious about the codes Addison mentioned as the replacement neck. I wonder if this has a replacement. Either way, It has zero neck issues.

I'd say that's a fake, not a Fender. Worthless. It'll help you get rid of it. $100.

I agree with Addison. It's a B neck that got shaved just a bit too much.

One buddy just got in touch and told me he thinks your neck was stamped with a smaller stamp that was more commonly used on guitar necks... he said the 02 was also used as a code for "maple" and you see it more on guitars... and that the divider mark in the middle of the neck identifier and the date code was more commonly found on the smaller guitar neck stamps used.

So, your neck code breaks down as:

01 - Precision Neck
02 - Maple
03 - 3rd Week
9 - 1979
1 - Monday (is that a 1? It's hard to read)

He did point out that it's not common to see a guitar neck stamp on a bass neck, but that it's nothing totally out of the ordinary... the guy probably just grabbed a stamp off a guitar bench and stamped all the necks that were made that day. The 70's were like that... very inconsistent.

So, if he's right (I believe he is), then I must have been misinformed previously... I swear I read it somewhere, but we all know how that goes.

If my other buddy pulls through with something different, I'll let you know.

Yup, your correct on the dating. I have been looking up all over the web myself. The guys in the factory did all kinds of strange things in those days (including inconsistent routers). All in all, I am just gonna play it. I cant leave a bass sitting in a case for "collecting" reasons. Might just pull the pickguard and get one from WDMusic so I don't scratch up the original. It's in fantastic condition for 33 years old. As Carlos (Lefty007) confirmed as well, the necks can be shaped/shaved smaller some times.

Thanks for your time in this, Addison....... Cheers!!



** Few pics added without the ashtrays and thumbrest **.

Yes, the chrome looks brand new. Not a rust spec.... amazing coming from Florida.

Didn't see the first two pictures until today... that bass looks brand new! Nice score... and hope it sounds as good as it looks!

Nice! and in much better condition than the last one you bought from this guy in SF

Frenchy... Condition... It's like night and day although I really liked that beat up one from the SF guy. It had LOTS of Mojo! I cant stop playing this one tho and I don't even like 4 bangers.