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Post subject: '62 P bass original colors
Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:07 pm
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I have a 1962 Precision that I want to put back to original color but cant seem to find much about them. When I bought it used, it was a kindof medium to dark blue like the Sapphire blue but is this one of the colors they came with in 1962?

This one has been dropped and the neck has been glued on and there is a chip glued back in the body next to the neck mount. This doesn't concern me too much I just want to make it look original again. Also how would I know which wood was used for the body?

I love this bass and have played it for many years & now I want to put it as close to original as I can without spending a mint on it.

Thanks, Randal-Nashville,TN


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Post subject: No dark blue wasn't stock custom color
Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2009 6:10 pm
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See the vintage guitar info website. It covers all of the custom colors and no, dark blue wasn't one of them! Have Mark Jenny do a proper refin though it sounds like you need some repair work too. The standard body wood was alder, blonde basses have ash bodies.


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Post subject: Fender's Secret Formula
Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 6:22 pm
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Ok so it is really no secret. Fender and Gibson got their colors, custom ones too, from cars. Same paint as on the cars too but almost always in nitro. Maybe your local auto body shop can mix up something to match? Since you are asking about custom colors, there is a real fun read about custom colors, how they were derived and how to duplicate them HERE http://www.provide.net/~cfh/fenderc.html

Whoever wrote this genuinely loved the study of custom colors and I consider it must reading.


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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 4:31 pm
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+1

In case anyone hasn't noticed, brotherdave is wise.

Thanks for the links, the one referenced above is good reading as advertised.

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Might not be getting any better, just less crappy!


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:25 am
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Yes, Thank you so much for the link and other info. Most interesting reading. I was not aware that these old basses command such HIGH resale prices until a friend showed me some items on ebay. Man was I out of touch with reality-again! Nothing like old friends to jerk us kicking and screaming (figuratively) back into reality-you have to love them!

Anyway, I now have a new appreciation for my old bass guitar and want more than ever to get it back to the was it was or close to it. I have always thought that the neck was glued on but now I am not so sure. I will take the neck plate off and see what happens. According to the serial # it was made in '60 but I was told by the person I bought it from (many, many years ago) that it was a '62. The paint it came to me with was a blue like was on the old DeSoto automobiles.

Later,
Randal


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Post subject: Think it over first
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:35 am
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If all that is wrong is the finish is a little worn, you might want to leave the finish alone. If it plays well and sounds good it really doesn't matter that the finish is a little worn. Fender charges extra to make a finish look worn, so you are ahead of the game there! Also any refinishing work can lower the collector value. If the instrument has been refinished before it probably wouldn't hurt the value to refinish it again.


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:07 am
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My bass has been refinished several times in its life. I have matched its color to other instruments I owned or other musicians had at the time. Now it's time to put it back to the way it was. I would like to know what wood was used for the body, its place of origin, and perhaps how old it was when it was shaped but am not sure how to gather that info-if anybody has any thoughts I would love to hear them.

Thanks,
Randal 8)


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2009 1:25 pm
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As Bassjuke already pointed out, if the original color was blue of any sort it is alder. All of them were alder except the blond ones which were ash after mid 1956. Prior to mid '56 they were all ash no matter what color they were. So if it is a '62 and if it was any color EXCEPT blond it is alder.

You say it is a 1962, but are you sure? Another thing I've noticed about your post, but failed to mention, is that you said the neck was glued on and you aren't sure that you can get it off. You can not refinish it properly without getting the neck off the body.

The link to Mark Jenny's website that Bassjuke mentioned is:

http://www.mjtagedfinishes.com/

If a real '62 it was not originally a dark blue. They had a lighter blue called SONIC BLUE back then. If it was ever sanded down, you may never know the original color.

If you can get the neck off an read the neck date on the neck heel you can easily decode that to date it down to the month the neck was made. The neck code will read something like 5 MON YR X. That decodes as 5= Precision, Mon = Month made, YR=year made minus the 19 at the beginning of the year and the X= neck profile. This will tell you when the neck was made. It is not unusual to see a neck made in 61 on a 62 serial.

As for where, all Fender guitars and basses were made in Fullerton, CA from 1946 until late 1984. The earliest guitars were made in back of Leo Fender's FENDER RADIO SERVICE storefront shop at 107 S. Harbor Boulevard in downtown Fullerton.

Image


Then production was moved to 500 South Raymond Avenue in Fullerton which is near the intersection of S Raymond Ave and E Valencia Dr right next to the train tracks and is precisely where your bass was made if it is for sure a 1962.

Image

One of the tenants now at this address is JIMMY'S BAR AND GRILL, which occupies 500-A South Raymond Avenue.

The wood for bodies and necks was obtained in blocks or "blanks" cut to Leo Fender's specs from independent contracting sources and arrived in rectangles. They would sort through the body blanks and pull out the better pieces for the translucent finishes like sunburst and set them aside and the rest were destined for opaque colors. The stock was rotated, but it is impossible to say how long your body blank sat in the woodpile. As for where your wood actually came from, it came from the low bidder, whoever that happened to be when he placed the order. Leo Fender was very cost conscious on raw materials.


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 1:12 am
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The color of your '60 Bass sure sounds like lake placid blue metallic


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