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Post subject: Fender P Bass Special
Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 3:33 pm
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I have 1982 p Bass special i cant find any information on it through fender
Does anybody know what it might be worth ???. Made in USA.
thanks.


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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:30 pm
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Congratulations. I think that is one of the walnut Specials. These are rarer than some of today's Custom Shop basses and only 200 or perhaps fewer of them EVER were shipped. The number that exists now is way smaller of course.

There are TWO versions of these. The first batch of 50 were finished completely in clear nitro cellulose lacquer. They look lighter in color than you'd EVER expect a walnut bass to look. You can count on the fingers of ONE HAND how many of that first lot are known to still exist in the collector world.

For the following three production runs of 50 per run, a tinted spray was applied except for the center of the front of the body in a sunburst-like treatment and then the entire body was finished in clear nitro. This tinting is very subtle but has led to some peeling and flaking of the tinted finish area. The ones without the tint are very, very scarce and of course the most desirable and valuable. I've seen exactly ONE in person but know of precisely two others that still exist in the world since I was asked to look at photos of them for validation for another appraiser.

If it is one of the walnut 1982 Specials then the serial will start with "GO." That is an O like in "orange" and not a zero. These are active EQ 9 volt tone MONSTERS. Not too heavy in weight at just under 9 pounds, but thick in tone. They have three gold plated knobs for volume, bass and treble plus lots of the same gold plated Schaller hardware as the ELITE models and at the time were just one step below the ELITE models in price. Way more ELITE models are known to still exist. Back then the P-Bass Special was actually SPECIAL. It should also have a single split coil P-bass pickup and a black battery cover on the back held in place by two gold screws.

There is a WIDE range of value on these due to the first lot being so scarce. I can not quote value without personally appraising it, but this model was a REALLY nice "last hoorah" Fullerton bass that could appraise up to 15,000 dollars US if a first lot Special because they are just so scarce. A totally hacked up one that is not from the first lot would be worth about $900 if it is playable or repairable. Nice instrument and if it is playable and unmodified you should definitely IMMEDIATELY get it appraised by a knowledgeable expert and INSURED for true value.

AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS. You are one lucky ducky.


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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 10:41 am
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Thanks Dave,
I'll try to post some pictures as soon as possible, as soon as i figure how to post them. It has a name engraved on the bottom of the battery cover. It has all gold hardware.
Thanks again


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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 1:25 am
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I'm not surprised about the engraving. I expect lots of these went to artists and insiders. It is also said that Fender lost money on every one of these that were shipped because they cost more to produce than the dealer cost price. Again...you are a lucky ducky.


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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 9:37 am
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There were plenty of '82 Precision Specials that were not walnut.
Fender made them in Candy Apple Red, Lake Placid Blue and White with gold plated hardware, and active P-bass pickup with white pickup covers and a white pickguards. The P-bass Specials made in colors were available with rosewood or maple fingerboards.

I own a LPB Precision Special from '82. It has a rosewood fingerboard with a skunk stripe on the neck!
They have a switch that allows you to run the bass in passive mode, but the passive mode is quieter than a standard Precision bass. The active mode is great!

It is the first active Fender bass AFAIK.

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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 6:54 pm
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Mine is white, that has faded to yollowish color and the clear is cracking.
Any thoughts on having it redone.
thanks !!
bigjon


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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 12:32 am
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Refinish if it really would make you happier and you have no plans to sell. If you are playing it out of course you want a good looking bass. Keep in mind that refinishing negatively effects collector value. However this has less impact on a 1982 bass than on a 1962 bass.

If you do decide on the refinish route, then you can click the link in my signature below and you can find many top refinishing shops on the MAJOR REPAIR & REFINISHING page. Maybe one will be close to you. If it was me, I'd go with nitrocellulose lacquer in the original color or one of the colors previously mentioned as originally specified.

You can usually save $100 to $150 by stripping it yourself. Stripping is fairly labor intensive so many shops charge extra for stripping.

I think the all gold hardware with the Candy Apple Red looks amazing on these as below:
Image


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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 8:18 am
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Don't refinish any Fender if you care about its value. A refin always drastically cuts the value of your instrument.

A few cracks and battle scars look cool on Fender instruments. They show wear better than any other brand.

On the '82 Precision Special- the part that I had the hardest time finding was the brass/ gold plated finger rest.
I actually ran across one in a music store that had a bag of hardware from a another P bass Special and the sold me the finger rest.

That and the strap buttons were the only original parts missing from mine.

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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:46 am
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We are talking about two kinds of value here.

I know I wouldn’t want to play a bass that looks like this in public.

Image

I think that if you are not comfortable with how the bass looks but love the way it sounds, how it plays and if are going to keep it indefinitely then refinishing is way less of a dollar value hit on an 82 than a 62 and is perfectly OK.

You haven't lost anything until you sell it! So if you plan to keep it your loss is zero.

So, if you are going to keep it, play it and use it and you are happier because it looks sharp then you'll enjoy it more. That is the true "VALUE" of a bass to me! You have to ask yourself, does it make you happy?

If all you care about is squeezing every dollar possible out of it, then don't refinish and put the bass with the ugly finish up for sale or under the bed until the economy improves and get another one to use that looks, sounds and plays good.

People have been refinishing Fenders almost since they came out. If all you care about is dollar value then by all means don't refinish. A bass with a badly cracked up finish is not a collector class instrument anyway but is a studio player at best unless of course it has a very low serial.

A 1982 Special with a severely cracked up finish but otherwise OK might bring $1100 to $1300 and that frankly is pushing it. A refinished sharp looking 82 Special would probably bring $850 to $1050. So you are looking at about 25% decrease in dollar value. But again, you haven't lost anything until you sell it.


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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:30 am
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How do you post pictures on this site.???????
a little help please.
thanks


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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:22 am
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BrotherDave, you know how I feel about buying then worried about value :lol: Even with my MIA's I was ok with just changing the strings, but the ones I plan on keeping forever, who cares about value. You play it, it's yours. If you're worried about value, plastic seal it in the case, open it in 30 years. I agree with you BrotherDave, value is 0 when you keep it for yourself...but that's just my opinion, not intended to offend anyone with opposing opinions :D

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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:14 pm
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higginsj wrote:
How do you post pictures on this site.???????
a little help please.
thanks


After uploading your photo to a third party free image hosting service like PHOTOBUCKET.COM, here is what I do.

1. Start a post.

2. Wherever in the post you want the photo to appear CLICK on the brown "IMG" toolbar button just under the SUBJECT line. (This opens a "Tag" that looks like this: "[img]" telling the browser to fetch & display the photo stored offsite within the tag.)

3. COPY the DIRECT LINK to your photo on the third party host which will start "http://www.whatever..." (To copy, left click and drag on the link to highlight the entire link and then right click on it and select copy, OR you can hit CONTROL and "C" simultaneously without right clicking at all. Both methods work on a PC. Also in most browsers you can just RIGHT click on the link and select COPY SHORTCUT.)

4. Paste the now copied link immediately past the "IMG" opening tag in the post. To paste it right click and select PASTE, or on PC's you can hit CONTROL and "V" simultaneously. Either method works on PC's.

5. Once your link is pasted LEFT LICK on the brown "IMG" button on the toolbar once again. (This closes the tag and will look like: "[/img]" in the message.) You can then resume typing, or PREVIEW it to make sure it looks OK and then SUBMIT it if you are done typing and everything looks OK.


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 12:45 pm
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Thanks Everybody for their help!!!!!!


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 1:08 pm
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Here are some pics.
ImageImage

Thanks everybody for all your help !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.


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Post subject:
Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2009 9:23 pm
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I took the pictures in the sun. The yellow realy isn't as brite as it looks.
The serial # G 021312.


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