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Post subject: 1979 fretless precision question.
Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 5:53 am
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Location: Blackpool, England.
Hi, I normally play a pevey cirrus bass but talking to one of my dads friends the other night he said he had a bass I could have from a few years ago when he was playing with a band.
It has been used quite heavly there are a few scratches and what not but I didn't really expect any different.

I was just looking for a bit of infomation about the bass really if anyone has any experiance with the bass.
Any info is much apreciated, thanks.


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Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 8:45 am
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I guess that the 1979 P-Bass you're talking about has the factory fretless unlined maple fingerboard and the natural ash body with a 3-ply black (or white) pickguard offered at the time. Any pictures?


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Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 9:32 pm
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Let's make it clear that it's unlikely that anyone here has any experience with "the bass," as you put it. But many of us may have experience with similar vintage fretless Fender P-basses.

My point is not to be literal about your question, but to point out that no two basses from this period are identical. The late 70s (and many would argue that anything from about '65 - '81 or thereabouts) produced a large amount of basses and there was a great deal of variability in the quality of these products.

I happen to own a late '75 or pre-July '76 (give or take, based on serial # variability) fretless P-bass with a varnished maple board an a "walnut" finish.

It's heavier than a Volvo, but it has some nice tone and feels great in the hands. It's also very tight in its construction. Just note that Fenders of this era varied substantially in construction quality, so one may be great and another not so much.

So, onto your points:

Wear doesn't matter unless it has made the bass unplayable. Further, not all fretless P-basses from that era have maple boards (maple is always varnished because maple has a penchant for becoming an ugly grey as it oxidizes).

Many fretless P-basses from that era have rosewood boards. Maple give the fretless sound some bite and high end, but the varnish is not my favorite thing.

In any case, if this bass is available to you, by all means consider it. Fretless is where the true voice of bass is at. But treat it with respect, you know?


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Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 6:30 am
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I have a late '74/early '75 fretless P that I bought brand new in January of '75. It's the greatest bass I've ever owned (and I've owned several). It's heavy as a truck but the tone that comes from this fine instrument is beyond compare. I've heard tell of many from this era that were real stinkers. Mine is a work of art. I'll never part with her.


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Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2010 11:42 am
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Sting used a fretless maple-neck P-Bass on the early Police albums.

If you listen "Roxanne", you'll recognize that tasty fretless popping thump which is characteristic of Gordon Sumner's unique playing style.

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Post subject: Vintage
Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 8:07 am
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I am surprised that nobody mentioned that a 1979 Fender is now falling in the vintage/collectable arena.

The bass is worth a fair amount of money, $800.00 and up. The guy probably doesn't realize what he is giving away. You could show some class and offer him money for the bass.

No matter what happens keep the bass forever.


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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 6:52 pm
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Check out Fender Japan's PB70-84US/FL, which is an exact replica of the fretless maple-neck P. This bass is available in the classic natural, sunburst, black and antigua sunburst finishes, which were offered by CBS in the 1970s.

Have you always wondered an American Vintage '75 P-Bass Fretless with the fretless maple neck or a Vintage Hot-Rod variant with an extra Jazz pickup in the bridge and a 3-knob layout w/ a top-mount jack? Perhaps you prefer having a Mexican Classic Series version, which is more affordable for your budget? Let your creative imagination decide!

These basses are not mine.

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Posted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 9:07 am
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70s and 80s Fenders are not bad quality, for the most part.
They were done with a different design objective from the older basses.
They were just made with heavy bodies ( they didn't pay attention to weight then) and thick finishes (done to protect the bass )and like any instument the tone will vary with the peices of wood used.

There are some great basses and guitars from this era. Don't use a broad brush to paint them all as sub-standard. That is a mistake.

These basses are coming into their own and they are the basses that will tend to appreciate the most in the near future IMHO.

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Post subject: Re: 1979 fretless precision question.
Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2013 12:21 am
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I recieved this Fender Precision bass in 1983 for my 15th Birthday. It was my older brothers bass. But he had started a family and needed money for the obvious. So my parents bought the bass and gave it to me as a birthday gift. My older brother was happy because we shared allof our musical equipment ( as we still do today). So the bass stayed a part of the family. I have no idea what year it is. I know that it already had some modifications. As it had 2 passive P-style pickups. It was this awful colored brown. The pick guard was chrome over brass and all scratched up and it already had a BadAss Bridge II installed. The maple neck also had some wear and tear do to the round wound strings at the time. I joined the USAF in Jan 1986 and this bass has been around the world with me. When I was stationed in Cheyenne Wyoming in I988, I took the bass to a Luthier named Monty(cannot remember his last name). He took my bass and stripped it down to the bare wood. Stained it (I got to wet sand it) and laquered it up. The natural wood grains came popping out like some high end furniture. I took the pick guard to an auto body re-chroming shop in Fort Collins CO. They fixed to mirror perfection. (Sorry for blinding people in the audience). We put EMG select passive P-style pickups. It also has a switch to go from bridge pick up to neck pick up. But the BadAss Bridge was to high for the fretless. A few years ago I replaced it with a better more stock style Bridge. and shimmeyed the neck some. Now it plays like a dream and yes it weighs a ton. So I got a good wide padded strap for it. I also put Elixer Polyweb strings on it and this baby sings. Has the round wound tone without digging into the maple fretboard. I left the USAF in 1992. Monty finished up the bass just before I got out. He basically gave me the bass for all the beautiful work he done on it as a parting gift. I still get sentimental about to this day. I still gig. I was fortunate enough to be in high school in Oxon Hill Md with 2 other talented friends on the low end. We all played bass in the school Top 40 band over the course of 3 years. The first bass player is Mr. Anthony Wellington of the Victor Wooten camp and still a great friend. The other bass player was Me'Shell Ndegeocello who I practically grew up with. I own a recording studio and production facility now and I am currently producing Shelby J(bald headed beauty) who has been with Prince since 2007. I love my musical family and this bass has been on this journey with me.

Darron "Tripp" Thomas
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