It is currently Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:44 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 20 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
Post subject: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 10:13 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:57 am
Posts: 9
Hello all P-Bass aficionados and bass "brothers". I’ll try to keep this short; and perhaps someone can advise me.

My first bass (16 years old) was a Sears Silvertone and I played the heck out of it for a few years…but I always wanted a Fender Precision. So I worked hard, saved my dough, and proudly walked into an H&H music store (Houston) and paid cash for a new Precision. It was beautiful; played great, and was my pride and joy. I was only 18 (or so) at the time. I babied this guitar the best I could, however, I tended to sweat a lot at gigs, and this had a bad affect on the paint being used back then. It became sticky and “smeared” at places, but that never kept me from enjoying it for decades.

Then one day, I discovered that the adjacent shower in my apartment had been leaking into the closet where I kept the bass. (This was around 1978 or so, having done a stint in the US Navy). The paint on the body was ruined, but the neck was still good. So I removed the neck; stripped the paint from the body, and varnished the natural wood, which didn’t look all that great, but better than it was. Then a few years passed and I had the body (only) painted white. It looked much better, but not original.

(Fast forward to present day). After finding a company that refinished guitar bodies back to original (6 or so years ago), I sent them the body only, and they did an outstanding job of reproducing the tri-color sunburst original color (with clear). I did not send the neck.

As I was putting it back together again, I noticed that the socket for the neck was about a quarter-inch wider than the base of the neck itself. I checked the body and it was indeed the original body I had sent. After checking the basses at Guitar Center, I realized that this quarter-inch piece should not have been on my bass. Why I missed this for so many years, I simply don’t know.

I am now 65 and I still have my original P-Bass, including all of the hardware, pots, and pick-ups. (At some point in time I fitted DiMarzio pickups, but they weren’t all that great).

I have been trying to get Fender to at least look at my bass because it should carry a warranty for factory defects. My receipt? Are you kidding me? I was 18 at the time and paperwork was not among my strongest attributes. I had moved dozens of times and had been flooded too. Somewhere along the way, I lost the receipt. And of course, the H&H in Houston went out of business….there is no way they would have kept a record of my purchase for 45 years anyway.

I am not looking to sell my bass as I still play it occasionally….I’ll never sell it!
But I would appreciate Fender at least making good on their warranty regardless of the age of my P-Bass. Heck, I would even pay them to make it right! But right now, this Precision Bass I proudly bought as a teenager and kept all of these years has a factory blem and is pretty much worthless….and it shouldn’t be. Originality means everything to me!!

I’m not a broker or dealer or a big collector that flips guitars…just a long-time bass-player individual. (I even bought an American-made Strat a few years ago just because I wanted one of those incredible iconic guitars). So I am a big Fender fan. (I bought a Japanese P-Bass for my young son, but he soon discovered that to play it required practice aka "work" and soon became disinterested. I also have an Ovation acoustic 6-string with gold keys and a teak face that I bought in the mid-seventies...a beauty!).

So if anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate it. I don’t trust anyone other than Fender with my bass. I sure wish they would at least consider making good on their product warranty and taking care of us "little" guys. With all due respect to Fender, it seems they will build any kind of guitar you want these days....but take care of a problem with an old P-bass? Not so much. I think Leo would have thought otherwise.

Thanks for your time and constructive comments.


Top
Profile
Fender Play Winter Sale 2020
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 2:19 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:48 am
Posts: 26416
Location: Tombstone Territory
New Fender products sold during this era carried a one-year, non-transferable warranty. Thus, you are SOL as far as receiving any satisfaction from FMIC. However, all is not lost. Find a qualified luthier in your area and have him/her do a complete assessment of the issue and provide an estimate of what it would take to return the instrument to factory-stock condition.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 2:53 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:57 am
Posts: 9
Okay, thanks Arjay.
Didn't know it was a one-year warranty only.
Sorry for the whining post.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Sat May 21, 2016 12:45 am
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star

Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:53 am
Posts: 4240
Would be interesting to see pics of your bass, the whole instrument of course, but especially the neck/body joint.
In case you need instructions: How to post pics - Nutter's quick start guide


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Sat May 21, 2016 12:53 am
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14047
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
1- download photo on Photobucket or other

On Photobucket librairy;

2- choose the photo you wan to post

3- clik on IMG ( copy )

4- Open Fender forum answer window and copy the IMG in the window

5- Test with preview button, you should see what all the forum member will see .


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Sat May 21, 2016 7:46 am
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:57 am
Posts: 9
Okay, will post a photo soon...thanks for interest.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 12:01 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:57 am
Posts: 9
Here is a link to PhotoBucket slideshow:
http://s322.photobucket.com/user/pmcloa ... s%20Issues

Hopefully, a close-up photo:
Image

I am probably making a mountain out of a molehill, but you can see a bit of extra material where the neck fits into the socket, and, its not a straight cut. A worker just getting in a hurry?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 12:07 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14047
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
How it look the other side ?

Look to me a easy neck aligment, it is hapend often on Fender guitar and bass. Put neck parallel to the body and tightened the four screw


Don't live the neck with truss rod tight with no strings


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 12:15 pm
Offline
Roadie
Roadie
User avatar

Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2011 2:59 pm
Posts: 237
Location: Bolton, England
A nice story with plenty of history & a nice bass hope it's an easy fix for you :) .

_________________
2014 American Standard Precision Bass
Fender Rumble 200 Bass Combo
Fender 1.0mm USA Nylon Pick


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 1:13 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:57 am
Posts: 9
No, the neck fits snugly into the body slot as it should; alignment is by
the 4 screws through plate which are dead on. Only this extra material
appears on the right side of neck. Some worker just got in a hurry and
"quality control" missed it....just as I did. Oh well.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 1:22 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14047
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
mcload wrote:
No, the neck fits snugly into the body slot as it should; alignment is by
the 4 screws through plate which are dead on.
Not exactly like this, you can move the neck with screw in

Only this extra material
appears on the right side of neck. Some worker just got in a hurry and
"quality control" missed it....just as I did. Oh well.


We need some better pictures from under the neck pocket and the neck pocket itself


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 1:25 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14047
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
stratele52 wrote:
mcload wrote:
No, the neck fits snugly into the body slot as it should; alignment is by
the 4 screws through plate which are dead on.
Not exactly like this, you can move the neck with screw in

Only this extra material
appears on the right side of neck. Some worker just got in a hurry and
"quality control" missed it....just as I did. Oh well.




We need some better pictures from the neck pocket.

Do you mean neck pocket is larger where there are some black touch up and the neck is perfectly parallel to the body ?


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 1:38 pm
Offline
Rock Icon
Rock Icon
User avatar

Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
Posts: 14047
Location: Province de Québec, Canada
What is the size of the neck pocket Inside the body and outside where is the black paint ?

It should be bigger where is the black paint.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Mon May 23, 2016 2:02 pm
Offline
Hobbyist
Hobbyist

Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2007 3:57 am
Posts: 9
Image

Note that the excess material (wood) was not trimmed parallel to the left side of socket.


Top
Profile
Post subject: Re: Problem With My Vintage Precision Bass
Posted: Thu May 26, 2016 11:07 pm
Offline
Rock Star
Rock Star
User avatar

Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
Posts: 6355
Location: Albemarle, NC
Gaps between the sides of the neck and the neck pocket like what you describe were fairly commonplace after the early automation machines went into use at Fullerton during the CBS era. While shockingly expensive this early automation was far less precise than the CNC machines of today and gaps as you describe were the result. So it is not a defect, it is just the way many of them came out in the CBS days and part of the reason Pre-CBS instruments are so highly sought after. There would be no need for warranty work because it isn't broken and it is what it is. If it was under warranty the refinish and disassembly voided the warranty anyway. I'd just play it and enjoy it.


Top
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 20 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 7 hours

Fender Play Winter Sale 2020

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to: