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Post subject: 1972 Precision colors
Posted: Sat Oct 30, 2010 3:38 pm
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Hi there, I've had a 1972 Precision since new and it is a deep yellow color. Does anyone know of a resource where I could identifer the name of the color? It's a USA made instrument that I bought in England in 1972 and it is the only one I've ever seen in this color.


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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 10:28 am
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Could it be an Olympic White faded to yellow, maybe? Haven't ever heard about something-yellow colors in 1972. Give an eye to this page i've found on the web. Maybe it can help.
http://home.provide.net/~cfh/fenderc.html


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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 12:28 pm
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That's an interesting article but doesn't help my search. My p-bass was a deep yellow when I bought it new so it was never a yellowed olympic white which is what a number of people have suggested through the years. I would also highly doubt that an olympic white could "fade" to this level of yellow. FYI, aprat from a samll ding that the case lid within the first week of purchase, and some usual hair line cacks in the paint, this bass is in imaculate condition. I would doubt there are many 72's as clean as this one. Is it possible. Is there somewhere here where I could post a photo?


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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2010 8:55 pm
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If you post a couple of pictures, this might help us a lot.

John


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Post subject: Re: 1972 Precision colors
Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 6:52 pm
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bandgman wrote:
Hi there, I've had a 1972 Precision since new and it is a deep yellow color. Does anyone know of a resource where I could identifer the name of the color? It's a USA made instrument that I bought in England in 1972 and it is the only one I've ever seen in this color.


Here is the 1972/1973 Fender color chart from my website, see if maybe it is blonde. Remember it would have yellowed some.

Image


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Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2010 10:00 am
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If your bass is deep yellow and you cannot see the grain of the wood, it was Olympic white, originally.

The clear coat of lacquer over the finish yellows with age and it makes the bass appear yellow.

Most vintage dealers recognize this phenomenon and they can correctly identify the color in spite of it being yellowed.

Brother Dave's color chart should give you a clue as to which color your bass was originally.

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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 2:02 pm
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BC is correct. Conversely if you do see hints of the grain of the wood, then it is probably ash with a blond finish. Most of the yellowing is caused by exposure to light, therefore you will usually more closely see the original color of the body by looking at the painted body surface areas under the pickguard where hardly any light ever went.

The Olympic white bodies would likely be alder, unless it was a custom order for an ash body with an Olympic White finish. While you will run across custom ordered ash bodies with an opaque finish it is less common once you get to the 70's. Also the Olympic White will be a thicker finish with the plastic primer coat under it than the Blonde which didn't have the undercoat. Hence the "THICK SKIN" designation on the 72/73 color chart which Fender used to promote the opaque finishes on these instruments. I've heard of the thick primer coat (Fullerplast) used on opaque finishes being called a "sarcophagus" because it seals the wood permanently and nothing can ever get in or out. Therefore the body will sound the same today as the day it was made.

The yellowing of Olympic White, and to a lesser extent the yellowing of the Fender Blonde finish, was so pleasing that it led Fender and other guitar makers to offer new colors to approximate this yellowing such as Vintage White which has a hint of yellow and Vintage Cream which is much more yellow. Of course on the 51 Reissue Precision Fender went even further with a new color called Butterscotch Blonde which was just lightly less yellow than a school bus.

My 54 P-Bass clone is finished in Vintage Cream and it is a very pretty color that is really more pleasing to me. It is close to the color of fresh churned butter. In my opinion this would have been a better color choice for the 51 Reissue P-Bass.

I hope the 60th Anniversary P-Bass coming out soon will be more like Vintage Cream than Butterscotch Blonde.


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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 11:33 am
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Does it look like this? (My '75 Oly White)

Image

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My p-bass was a deep yellow when I bought it new so it was never a yellowed olympic white which is what a number of people have suggested through the years. I would also highly doubt that an olympic white could "fade" to this level of yellow.


My P was a light-bright yellow when new .... turned into what you see above.

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Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 11:37 am
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Not a great photo but you can see the change.

Image

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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2010 8:50 am
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Wow, that was cool to see without the pickguard. Quite a change.

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Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 4:42 am
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dcavin wrote:
Wow, that was cool to see without the pickguard. Quite a change.


Yes it is amazing what light will do the paint isn't it?


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