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Post subject: Fender Performer Development - Protos
Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 10:16 am
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Trying to collect relevant information regarding the appearance of the Fender Performer has really been most enjoyable. Paul Gagon has been able to furnish a few more pictures of a bass in transition.

The first bass, of course, was the attempt to create the Elite Jazz. This was designed by John Page, hands on, with others as mentioned in the Elite Jazz thread. Paul says John should get honorable mention in any bass book for innovations that came from this bass design process. Of course Paul was involved in the design of the electronics.

The first picture is of the bass that started it all, the Fender Elite Jazz Prototype.
Image

The Elite Jazz had active electronics, pickup selector switch, tone assign switch, humbucking pickups, and a reduced jazz bass headstock. It had a thunderbolt string tree proposed that was never completed and the micro tune Schaller bridge. When it was determined by marketing not to produce this bass, due to the time invested in design, it was determined to produce it as a stand alone instrument, The Performer.

The next bass is one that looks nearly identical except for the very sexy finish and maple board. I would like to find this one. The only change to my eye is the stamped bridge. The controls appear to be the same. Impossible to say if the pups have changed to single coil at this point or not.
Image

The third bass is just evolving a bit further. The tone assignment switch has been removed. Paul thinks it still had the preamp in it, however.
Image

This last one is pretty far off the beaten path. It was built with a Piezo pickup furnished by Josip Marnic of Shadow Electronics.
Image

Quite the odd duck, hey?

Paul left Fender in 1983, so there are still a couple years of development to discover, but the white one was was getting close. The preamp was pulled and the headstock changed after that, and maybe the pickups if not done already.

Hopefully I will be able complete this picture. I really appreciate the help I have received from John Page and Paul Gagon. It's been most enjoyable.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Performer Development - Protos
Posted: Fri May 02, 2014 8:00 pm
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Nice and interesting documentation, thanks for posting the pics!

Those maple board Performer prototypes are very rare - I won't be surprised if a maple neck Performer guitar ever existed. :D


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Post subject: Re: Fender Performer Development - Protos
Posted: Sat May 03, 2014 9:40 am
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I was just thinking that if Fender had introduced the Performer in '82 or '83 with normal Fender scroll headstock it would have been popular. By '86 everybody who wanted a pointy guitar already had one. Prefer that solid maple neck over rosewood fretboard too. Just another example of CBS getting everything wrong.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Performer Development - Protos
Posted: Sun May 04, 2014 3:20 am
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Thanks for the information and the pictures, Steve.

Great you came in contact with Paul Gagon as well.

Regards,
Ton


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Post subject: Re: Fender Performer Development - Protos
Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 7:13 am
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I don't consider a Performer bass to be a "pointy guitar".
The Performer was its own thing with a very thin neck and very long fret board.
I think it was the first 24 fret Fender Bass and I wonder how much of its production was affected by the sale Of Fender in 1985?

I have only seen one in person so they were not widely distributed in this country (USA).

I think, had they been produced and marketed a bit more aggressively, that Fender would've found a new niche instrument that would've developed its own fan base.

i always thought that the bass was targeted for the Japanese market.

I wonder how many are in Japan?

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Post subject: Re: Fender Performer Development - Protos
Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 10:29 am
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The common thought is 100-300 were manufactured in Japan. A buddy of mine and I have nearly 15 between us, so I am thinking many more were produced than thought, but no idea how many.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Performer Development - Protos
Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 2:27 pm
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No disrespect meant with the pointy guitar comment--I've loved my Performer since the day I bought it new in'86. I totally agree that the Performer wasn't a big seller because it was poorly marketed (CBS had one foot out the door when they should have been marketing). Every bass player whose tried my Performer has loved it-- I'm not a great bass player but if I gotta play a standard wide neck P or J I kinda suck. And wearing a P or J for a few hours would give me a slouch like an old man (stead of my middle age slouch). But you gotta admit that headstock is pointy.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Performer Development - Protos
Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 5:39 am
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I have seen that few hundred produced number or also 600 produced and 400 destroyed. I am skeptical, but I guess we have to go with that. I suspect Fender would have ordered 5000 certainly no less than 2000, but that's just my guess. The Japan angle is interesting, contacting Fujji Gen Yakki in Japan might be the only way to get any hard production facts as CBS either gave new owner group no records or they were destroyed. But you probably need a Japanese speaker to research that as I don't even know if Fujji Gen Yakki is a person or a factory. Even if a few thousand Performers were manufactured I doubt more than a few hundred survive, at least in any kind of original condition. Steve, the luthier at Willie's American Guitars ( website something like coolestguitarshopintheworld) said he's worked on a few with warped necks and has swapped out pickups on a few.


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Post subject: Re: Fender Performer Development - Protos
Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 9:08 am
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Quote:
Steve, the luthier at Willie's American Guitars ( website something like coolestguitarshopintheworld) said he's worked on a few with warped necks and has swapped out pickups on a few.


Thanks for that info. So far I have had no problem with warped necks or failed pups, but I am building a supply of replacement parts as I see them pop up, and I am always watching for a parts bass.

I wouldn't mind finding a damaged or warped neck that is still playable. I have always wanted to pull the frets out and see how that narrow neck takes to being played fretless, but I don't have the stones to do it to a good one.

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Post subject: Re: Fender Performer Development - Protos
Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 11:06 am
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There wasn't a problem with pups as I understood him some guys especially metal heads prefer aftermarket pups and making frankenguitars. I think you're smart to invest in collecting Performers, for many years they weren't given much love and respect, but just like pre-CBS non-strat or tele fender guitars weren't loved or respected for years, look how desirable they are today. Performers are the next generation of classic collectible Fenders.


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