Dear fellow Fender lovers and experts,

I am trying to date a vintage bass case that has been in the family for as long as I can remember, and I am 56 years old. I currently use the case to store my custom Fender Jazz bass, (one of a few that I have and play). I suspect that it is a Fender case, but there is one thing that is throwing me off. Here is the story....

First and foremost, it is a blonde (or maybe white) Tolex case with dark brown trim and white tubing which I have managed to place around the very early 60's. The center latch is placed left of the tan leather handle which further dates the case to early 60's, as prior to that, the center latch was located in the center of the handle area. It has a very plush, orange interior and identical to a Fender interior and also still has the small, 3 prong leather piece to open the storage compartment. Evidently, it is well made, being quite heavy, sturdy and other than a few scuffs and scratches, it is 100% operational. It has all four feet remaining on the bottom where the 4 hinges are located, yet missing one of four feet on the side of the case. There was a manufactures label on the left, bottom side at one time, but it is long gone...with only holes remaining where it was once mounted. There is not even an indication of light fading around where it would have been mounted, so I reckon that this label either broke or fell off soon after the case was originally purchased.

By all accounts, I should be describing an early Fender Tan Tolex case, circa 1960-'61 or '62. From 5' away it looks identical to one. But here is the big problem that I encounter....the Tolex covering is not your standard issue....it is lined! Instead of having the normal texture that is associated which all Tolex products I am aware of, this covering is made up of lines that run lengthwise left to right and totally cover the tolex part, top to bottom. It feels "rubbery" but like tolex, it does have a cloth reinforced backing to it. In all the research I have done, I have not seen anything similar to it. The texture looks closer to tweed than tolex, though not woven like tweed.

Is this some other material that Fender might have used briefly for covering?

I have thought about a possible re-covering of the case that might have taken place at one time, though that seems like a waste of money. Besides, this looks more original than recovered....I thought I had pics but must have lost them. If needed I can supply more.

Please help if possible....

thanks!

like this?

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Only year I can find for them is 1963. Maybe that was the only year they were made?

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Yes, except mine is a lot rougher looking. The handle and brown sides are lighter, I guess due to age, but yes...that is what I would picture it as maybe a few years old...I will try and post a pic soon.

Does that one have lines instead of the standard tolex texture?

I managed to find one on eBay, and it's a 63. The one in the pic is a 63, all of the other ones I found with backstories are 63s. I think the description that went with this pic said 63 was the only year for this. You may have a very rare piece.

I don't know about the lines though. I could try to examine the picture. It isn't my case. I just looked online for cases like this and this was the closest thing to your description.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

How in the heck do you attach a pic, I have several now....

upload to an image hosting site. (imgur.com is my favorite, you can upload more than one at a time easier) and use the bbcode to post it directly here or post the album in a link

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

lets see if this works....

Wow! you can even see the lines! Thanks for the tip!

Any time. That is a really strange case. I'd actually contact one of the older members about this. Retroverbial, Rebelsoul, and guitslinger all know their stuff really well.

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

another....

Maybe someone put that over the tolex??

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Boy, if they did they did a great job of it....it looks factory

Looks almost corduroy

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1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic