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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 11:40 am
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Not the same - my Tele was a production bass waiting in the music store just for me! :mrgreen:

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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 2:01 pm
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Times have changed.

Today's production Tele bass that you come across was probably made in Mexico or Asia.
They don't have the same finish but on those late 60's Telecaster basses the white was just Olympic white, they were not done in the blonde see through finish that showed the grain of the body.

I found mine in 1981 in a store just like you described. It was used and 300 bucks.

They knew that they had made a mistake right after I bought it, because that was low for even back then. The good old days!LOL No internet to spoil my fun.

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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 3:29 pm
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Sorry, wrong again... mine was a brand spankin new virgin in 1968 when I bought it! 8) :mrgreen:

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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:09 pm
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Pretty sure the 68 Tele Bass I had was a true Fender Blonde color and you could see the grain through it. Always wanted that particular one back. I have no interest in the 2nd generation version at all. None. The only bad thing about the first generation Tele Bass was that the pickguard gave off some corrosive gas that rusted the screws. Eventually many of these pickguards shrank, cracked or crumbled. It is common to see repro guards on the 68/69's.

The 3-bolt neck, the pickguard change and the Seth Lover humbucker are reasons I've got no interest whatsoever in a 2nd Generation Tele Bass. Now, the rosewood fingerboard option I would love on a Fender Telecaster Bass so long as that was all that was changed. (Check my profile photo and you'll see I'm definitely up for that!)

The first generation single coil Telecaster was the baddest bass I ever owned. I think in some ways it was better than a first generation P-Bass. For example I think the hardware was better...especially the bridge saddles. The thing was indestructible and had a tone you just couldn't get from any other Fender bass at the time. There's a reason Dusty Hill and so many others stick to playing single coil first generation P-Basses over entire careers. Tone.

Any Japanese versions of the 51-56 P-Bass pale in comparison to the first generation Fender Telecaster Bass. It seems to me that the Japanese ones are cosmetic approximations made by looking more at photos than the original instrument or by adapting what it was to what they wanted it to be and therefore they are not actually "reissues."

When developing the Tele Bass model Fender actually put the Telecaster prototype together with first generation P-Bass parts stored at Fullerton and went on from there to change very little that was not a functional improvement.

The Japanese necks are pretty good but once you get to the body they simply are not correct because they didn't have original the parts to go by as Fender CBS did. Nice try Fender Japan, and it as close as you can get on a budget, but they are just not correct.

The first generation Telecaster was not called a "Reissue" at the time because the catchphrase wasn't in vogue and they wanted to market it as a completely new model, but it was probably closer to a first generation P-Bass than anything Fender has ever made and the parts were interchangeable with a real 51 P-Bass, with a few minor hardware improvements of course such as steel bridge saddles and the different colored ribbon on the pickup. I never really liked the oval/paddle tuners much but honestly they held tuning just as good as any other so they worked fine but looked inferior to the machines on a Jazz or P-Bass of the day but that was just a cosmetic thing.

Yeah I'd buy one or more if an American Standard version or MIM Standard Tele Bass version was offered. If I was rich I'd buy a custom shop first gen model as they are pretty much reissues of the first generation P-Bass too. Very nice job custom shop people!

There is nothing like a real Fender first gen single coil P-Bass, except a first gen Telecaster Bass. The Fender Japan Reissues, as good as they are, just are not the same. Actually the Squier Classic Vibe 50's bass to me sounds closer to a first gen Tele Bass than any of the Fender Japan reissues. Nice job Squier on that one for sure. I even respect Squier's decision to go with a different bridge design because it is actually an improvement. Many first gen players changed the bridge anyway. On the Squier they pre-changed it for you! I like their Lake Placid Blue too.


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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 10:53 pm
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The 68 Tele bass pick guard is smaller than a first gen P bass. I like it better. I think it looks better . I bought my 68 Tele bass on ebay in 2005 for 770 bucks ! It had the blue flower finish stripped off and it had a badass bridge on it and the pick up was dead. Not a problem. I ended up selling it but of course I shouldn't have. Someone kick me. :D


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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 3:51 pm
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I have a 1969 or 1970 standard finishTele bass and its not see through blond. Neither is any white Tele from the same time period. I think that CBS got tired of doing blond finishes and standardized on white.

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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 8:23 pm
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I believe these 72s were the same color originally. That's what I like about this pic. One lived in a case, the other lived the tough life in seedy bars and smoke filled rooms. How's that for imagination? I am sure it has not been refinished, so that's my story. I can see grain through the white/blonde one.

Image

The aged Tele now lives in NJ and is used for soundtracks for commercial productions. I don't think it's movies, I think it is advertising. The owner has also used it on two original works, which he has not shared with me yet. He just had it authenticated and appraised at $2300. I sold it for $1800, which I believe is a good number in the current market. (I think he contacted me to rub it in....lol)

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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:18 am
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I have what I believe to be is a 1977 tele-bass with a single humbucker. It needs a replacement nut but I am not sure which one to buy. I looked at this one online - do you guys think this is the right one?

http://www.fender.com/store/string-guides-nuts/precision-bass-genuine-bone-string-nut-pre-slotted/


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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:53 pm
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Don't buy a nut and stick it in there. If you do happen to DO NOT use anything but elmers white glue to glue it in with AND only use a couple small drops. That way when you take it to the guitar repair guy to have him put a nut on it he'll be able to get the nut out without tearing up anything. It's not a good idea to just buy any old nut and slap it in there. A nut is guitar specific and has to be fashioned by someone who knows how to properly make and install a nut. Ask anybody.


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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Thu May 29, 2014 3:15 pm
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Yes i would buy one that was made in the usa only.But if they do they should do the soft v neck or some of the thicker neck profiles.I do not mind a 9.5 radius fingerboard if the neck is bigger.But a 7.5 neck radius is to round for me.I recently found a fender bullet bass in a pawn shop and fell in love with the neck.Did not buy because they changed the original pickups so i will wait to find another.But the neck was Thick and the radius seemed flat.Not the sexiest bass guitar but that neck was awesome.


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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Fri May 30, 2014 6:57 am
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dumbinic wrote:
I have what I believe to be is a 1977 tele-bass with a single humbucker. It needs a replacement nut but I am not sure which one to buy. I looked at this one online - do you guys think this is the right one?

http://www.fender.com/store/string-guides-nuts/precision-bass-genuine-bone-string-nut-pre-slotted/


You should take your bass to a shop and have a nut cut for the bass.
Fender sells nut blanks, if you want to try this yourself. Just beware that if you are not handy with tools or don't have the right files and skill to make a nut, it is worth it to have one made by a professional repair person.

Fender nut blanks have the correct 7.25 inch radius to fit the nut slots on vintage basses.

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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 6:41 pm
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BCbassman wrote:
dumbinic wrote:
I have what I believe to be is a 1977 tele-bass with a single humbucker. It needs a replacement nut but I am not sure which one to buy. I looked at this one online - do you guys think this is the right one?

http://www.fender.com/store/string-guides-nuts/precision-bass-genuine-bone-string-nut-pre-slotted/


You should take your bass to a shop and have a nut cut for the bass.
Fender sells nut blanks, if you want to try this yourself. Just beware that if you are not handy with tools or don't have the right files and skill to make a nut, it is worth it to have one made by a professional repair person.

Fender nut blanks have the correct 7.25 inch radius to fit the nut slots on vintage basses.


You also need to watch for necks that have been planed. I friend of mine had a 64-66 ish J-bass that had the neck planed so many times the radius was practically flat and the truss rod was visible thru the fret board at a couple of points along the neck because it was getting so thin. However due to proper setup it still played like buttah and was used on many a recording.

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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 5:17 am
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The fact that you have to go to the Custom Shop to get a US made Single Coil P is ridiculous. None of the lower end models have correct specs. That being said. I've no interest in a Reissue of a Reissue. Give me an American Vintage 51 Precision and I'll be happy.

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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 8:31 am
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All of the American vintage reissue basses of the Tele bass type are pretty big bucks. Really only in the Custom shop realm.

If we make enough noise of this forum maybe Fender will ad a first gen Telecaster Bass to the USA stable!

My first gen Telecaster bass roars! I'll have to post a picture here.

I need to go over how to upload pictures from my phone.

Anybody good at that?

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Post subject: Re: Tele Bass
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 6:52 pm
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I had one made for me - was finished a few months ago. Tele headstock, Tele body, and Fender N3 Noiseless pickups. Jazzbass setup - 2 volumes and 1 tone. Just wish I could have gotten a black Tele style bridge. Might still look for one - used an expensive Shaller bridge for it but can always upgrade the P Bass with that bridge.


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