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Post subject: 65 CAR P Bass with gold hardware
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 11:52 am
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Hi all - I'm new to this forum (but not to Fender guitars - by many, many years)

I have an original 65 CAR P bass with all factory gold hardware, ........ except the two control knobs. These are standard chrome (& clearly have been on the guitar for a very long time, if not from new) Pots are dated as original & the wiring is also original, as is the rest of the bass. Every other metal part of the guitar is clearly gold plated, including the end of the truss rod.

I've been told that these knobs are very likely to be original?

The bass generally has clearly been well used, & also the thumb rest has at some time been taken off the pick guard & moved to a position directly on the body just above the top edge of the pick guard. This has left not only 2 screw holes in the body, but also an indentation outline in the finish of a clearly original thumb rest.

Despite the issues I considered that the guitar was rare enough to justify buying.

What are the thoughts of folks here?


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Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 6:58 pm
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Welcome to the forum!

If they really mixed chrome and gold hardware, then that is very un-Fenderish. I don't think they'd go to the trouble to gold plate the truss rod screw and not plate the control knobs. But stranger things have happened. Gold hardware on 65's are very rare and if the truss rod wasn't gold I'd say someone was converting it and lacked gold knobs.


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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:49 am
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Thanks for the welcome & response.

I tend to agree with what you say, especially about mixing the metals! But equally, ........ why remove the gold knobs (assuming that they were fitted at the factory) it's not as though they wear out, & if you were faking a guitar, I don't think you would fit chrome knobs when gold ones are easily available & could be convincingly aged? Plus I don't think you would use an original body etc with such an obvious issue as the relocated thumb rest marks? The clear remains of gold plating on the truss rod end is a real driver as to the provenance of the bass.

It's a mystery! The advice as to originality came from a long established major vintage guitar dealer in the UK who I know well (NB - he did not supply the guitar!)

For some years now I've also owned a 65 CAR Jazz Bass with all factory gold hardware, but of course the knobs on this guitar are the standard plastic type!

Any other thoughts folks?


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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 12:41 pm
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Maulden7 wrote:
Thanks for the welcome & response.

I tend to agree with what you say, especially about mixing the metals! But equally, ........ why remove the gold knobs (assuming that they were fitted at the factory) it's not as though they wear out, & if you were faking a guitar, I don't think you would fit chrome knobs when gold ones are easily available & could be convincingly aged? Plus I don't think you would use an original body etc with such an obvious issue as the relocated thumb rest marks? The clear remains of gold plating on the truss rod end is a real driver as to the provenance of the bass.

It's a mystery! The advice as to originality came from a long established major vintage guitar dealer in the UK who I know well (NB - he did not supply the guitar!)

For some years now I've also owned a 65 CAR Jazz Bass with all factory gold hardware, but of course the knobs on this guitar are the standard plastic type!

Any other thoughts folks?


My theory is that the original gold knobs got swapped out onto another bass someone was converting to gold hardware. Too bad they don't produce "Unsolved Mysteries" anymore. 8)


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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 6:51 am
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I can venture a guess as to what happened to your original gold knobs.
The plating flaked off due to corrosion. Gold plating is very thin and back in the 70's, gold P-bass knobs were not easy to come by so they just installed standard chrome knobs.

The knobs are one item that you can't easily take off and use the bass. Well you can, but most players want knobs of some kind on the bass.

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Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 2:00 pm
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I was hoping to see some pics! :D


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