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Post subject: Squier "By Fender" Mystery bass
Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 10:24 am
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I recently bought a used Squier P-bass (TWO P-style pickups!) with an odd serial number: E912879.

Why is this odd? Because this serial number identifies the bass as being a late 80's Japanese Squier, yet right next to the serial number is very clearly stamped "Made In Korea".

There is no date stamp to be found anywhere - neck, pots, cavity, nothing. But there IS a very large "4" painted with a small brush in bright red in the neck pocket.

Other than that, it's a cream colored bass, white guard, Vol/Tone (no separate volume controls for a two pickup bass?), rosewood board, and everything looks stock. It's a little beaten up, but she sounds FANTASTIC, and I have no intention of selling her... just looking for a little definitive information if you know where to look. Thanks. :)

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Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 4:43 pm
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Post a picture of the bass and we will help you out. I forget which serial number scheme was used by what country so if you have a picture of the logo and serial number we maybe can help. Fender has had Squires made in Japan, India, indonesia, Korea and China so there are a lot of variations.

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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 9:43 am
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FINALLY figured out how to do this. So, here they are, pics of the whole bass, the body, and the headstock. Again, the serial number doesn't match the country of origin as far as I can tell. My guess is that it's an '89, but I'd really like confirmation. It's a VERY cool bass for $80 (plus about $150 spent returning it to playing shape).

Also would like to know if this is indeed a collector's item in any way, and if setting it up to "split the pickups" like a Jazz (currently they're both full on all the time) would detract from its value...


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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 3:21 pm
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fretlessman71 wrote:
Also would like to know if this is indeed a collector's item in any way, and if setting it up to "split the pickups" like a Jazz (currently they're both full on all the time) would detract from its value...


I doubt it will ever have any serious collector value but there are a lot of Squier enthusiasts out there and if you find the right buyer, who knows?

You might try asking for help at this forum:

http://www.21frets.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?b-ES/

It's mostly for Japanese Fenders and Squiers from the '80s but there's a lot of "E Series" talk and I bet someone there will have some info for you.

As far as installing a pickup selector -

If you're worried about future value, the obvious choice is to do nothing.

You could install a push-pull pot in place of either your volume or tone pot. This will let you avoid drilling a hole in the pickguard for a mini-toggle switch and let you retain the stock appearance. Or just drill a hole, install the switch of your choice and be done with it. After all, it's a Squier and will never command big money like vintage Fender basses.

Good luck!


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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 8:48 am
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Thanks, George. I made my way to the forum you suggested and posted, and am waiting a reply. Sounds like there's so little consistency in the SN of overseas Squiers that there may be no way to know for sure. Kinda cool owning a bass that no one really knows when - or HOW - it got here. 8)

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Posted: Fri May 29, 2009 12:10 pm
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Squier serials vary from plant to plant even within the same country of origin. In the late 80's and early 90's both Samick and Young Chang were producing guitars for Squier. That is an 1989 serial built at the Young Chang, Seoul, South Korea plant. (They also make some of the finest pianos in the world at this same facility.) See following regarding Squier S & E Korean serials.

The S and E serial number prefix Korean Squiers are from the late 1980s/early 1990s. S = Samick, E = Young Chang, E letter serial numbers were used on Young Chang's Fenix brand guitars also. The first number following the serial number prefix is the year in both cases.

For example:

"S9" = made by Samick in 1989.
"E0" = made by Young Chang in 1990.
"E1" = made by Young Chang in 1991.


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