LeftyBassist.com

If you haven't see it yet... U$1800 @ GC: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Fender ... -Guitar.gc

red with maple neck, pu & bridge cover... Looks pretty yummy!

This one's at the GC near me so I'll try to swing by today or tomorrow and take more photos/give a full report.

This bass is discussed on another thread, if the SN is S8 looks to be late 70's however the pots could be dated 80. In any case looks to be a good bass and I suspect it's late 70's and a very good looking bass.

http://leftybassist.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6511

Fender made a boatload of lefty necks and bodies in '77-'78 that were used in builds all the way into the early 80's... quite common to see a '78 serial number on an '80-81 bass.

Pot dating is always the most accurate method, as long as the electronics are still original.

I am having serious P bass maple neck GAS, so I decided to have this one sent to me to check it out! No risk to me since it's via Guitar Center. Price feels a little high but I just want to hold this one and see what the color is all about. I'll let you know what I uncover!

Sorry, I should have mentioned that I did get a chance to try this one out. It's a bit more scuffed up than the pictures show, but I do dig the color. Fretboard/neck felt flatter to me than I'm accustomed to on these late 70's P basses. (Reminded me more of a Stingray profile). Good for slapping. At any rate, it wasn't bad but it didn't blow me away. But different strokes for different folks.

Hope it works out for you.

Thanks for the info - sorry to hear it's pretty scuffed up, it's hard to tell that kind of thing in the pictures and they don't often do a great job explaining those details when you call Guitar Center. It's really no risk for me to have it sent over. I'll get to take a look in person and if I don't like it, the return should hit my credit card before the bill is due. They return the entire amount, including shipping, so no risk and I get to hold a vintage lefty P bass, not just look at pictures, which for us is often unexpected and hard to do without some financial commitment (e.g., return shipping). I'll let you know once I get it in hand.

Update: I negotiated with GC for a few hundred bucks off (because it was not accurately described to me, even when I specifically asked about the condition of the neck/frets), kept the bass, and gave it the love it needed. I put a new nut on (original looks like it was sent through a meat grinder) and had my repair guy do a ton of needed work to smooth out the G side of the neck/frets. The neck edge was a real mess almost the whole length of the neck - I wish I took more 'before' photos - I only snapped one. It was almost like someone rubbed the side of the neck against ragged rocks. Really torn up. When I got the bass back the neck work was so great I literally asked if he put a new neck on!!! I didn't expect it to come out so great. Also gave it a proper set up; bridge saddles were crazy not right. I played it last night. Ash body with maple neck gives it a really nice growl. And it's a B width neck, so a bit narrower then my other P basses. I really love the color combination and it's not black/neutral/sunburst, so it's fun to have something different. Oh, forgot to mention that as you know the serial number dates it to 78; the pots are 1980. So there you have it.

Awesome all around.

I wonder what the story is with that neck. Maybe the previous owner wore a lot of really cheap jewelry on that hand?

I was just about to ask about it.
Glad it worked out! It is a really nice bass!

I was thinking the same thing... maybe jewelry? We couldn't figure out how it could get so damaged from normal use. It was all chipped and you can feel it when playing. And it was all up and down the neck!

It was almost like someone rubbed the side of the neck against ragged rocks. Really torn up.

Thats common for older Fenders. Thin finish and rings on fingers can cause that as well as sweating..... I call it mojo.

Nice P Bass and color. If the pots are dated 80, then its probably a 80. Never go by the decal as noted they were recycled for a few years.

My P bass has an almost identical thing going on the G side of the maple neck in several spots. I always wonder how that happened? Mine needs the same treatment to the neck and fret edges.

I got more info from my guitar tech. He did confirm that this kind of wear is common on older Fender basses (as gravesbass said), so it could very well have just happened with use and age. (Although I like the idea of someone playing it with all these large rings on!) He said that many techs would do an entire neck refin (minus the headstock face) because the damage ran the entire length of the neck. However, he likes to preserve as much of the original mojo as possible, so he took the time to roll the edges before spotting in the finish only where it was needed along the edge. And it's that kind of attitude that makes me love his work - I didn't even know to ask and he respects as much of the original mojo as possible!

you got a good luthier there, rdavidson....

I've seen that type of wear a bunch on older PBasses like that (have owned a boatload). Seems normal on an edge like that, especially for a bass that's been played a lot. I wouldn't change a thing. Glad this bass worked out for you!

The wear was so bad it was practically cutting my hand as I moved up and down the neck. It definitely needed to be smoothed out to play it!

Quite understandable!