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Post subject: 83 P bass
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 7:46 pm
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Just been playing my 83 and wondering if anyone else has one. Mine has a real deep sound. There are some differences for 83 that I'm noticing. Little stuff like a 15 hole p guard. I think this is after CBS. I haven't looked in the book yet. Anyway do you have an 83 or there about?
I'd like to get an idea of the value-- It's all original has some buckle rash but that's about it- oh a small chip of paint missing on the horn by the strap button
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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:22 am
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That would be from the last year of CBS/Fullerton production. They are going for about $1,100 to $1,200 around here stock with original case. The Fullerton Reissue models like the '57 RI made the same year are bringing over twice that much. To me that makes the 83 P-Bass a bargain.


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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:57 pm
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They really stretched the corner cutting out a little NO? 1 ply p/gaurd,plastic strat style nobs on the jazzbass models and not to mention rotten pick-ups(no dis intended)these are easily modded but CBS sucked every last piece of wood,everysingle screw and used every piece of hardware in the warehouse the last year they owned the CO..
Which is why Fender Japan made most of the basses for Fender USA,they were better quality and cheaper,glad they sold the co.before it shriveled up and was farted into a blackhole.

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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:20 pm
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That pguard and the matching pupcovers are soooooo '80's. So so def.


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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 12:05 am
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That statement is VERY not true,Those covers and pickgaurd combo are not 80's,they stopped including the covers with the bass much earlier than 83,Also the pickgaurd looks period correct which can be told by it not having multiple ply's and a beveled edge that shows the multi layers off like on earlier models and then re-introduced a few yrs later but the covers never made a return,the holes in the pickgaurd were placed just right to accept the covers.
All one has to do is start a tiny hole in the spot of the pickgaurds empty hole found on either side of the pickups and perfect placement is there,I have seen some horrible outcomes from "armchair luthiers" and once a cucumber becomes a pickle it cant ever go back to being a cucumber,SO DONT INSTALL A COVER WITHOUT TEMPLET,you cant refill the holes in the body(and it sometimes doesnt work the 2nd time either,you can find a templet,easy to locate on the net.
Good luck :mrgreen:

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BOOMSHANKA: "May the seed of your loin be fruitfull in the belly of your woman"
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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 12:26 am
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lawsuitbass wrote:
They really stretched the corner cutting out a little NO? 1 ply p/gaurd,plastic strat style nobs on the jazzbass models and not to mention rotten pick-ups(no dis intended)these are easily modded but CBS sucked every last piece of wood,everysingle screw and used every piece of hardware in the warehouse the last year they owned the CO..
Which is why Fender Japan made most of the basses for Fender USA,they were better quality and cheaper,glad they sold the co.before it shriveled up and was farted into a blackhole.


The specs were the specs. I bought into the "using up all the parts" myth until corrected by someone working at Fullerton in the final years and was there on the last day. He had quite a different opinion and says the specs were more carefully watched and final inspection was if anything tougher on the line workers. He insisted they were not substandard in any regard and if anything better. This is especially true on the Fullerton Reissues. If it had a one ply guard, that was specified for that model, not just because they had them already.


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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 11:15 am
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If so why did the last few yrs of the Fender standard model Jazzbass come with a ONE piece pickgaurd minus the chrome control cover ? why were there the round push on "strat style" nobs used insted of the original 2 big 1 small jazzbass style nobs ?Also WHAT model p-bass comes stock with a 1 ply pickgaurd besides a Affinity Squier?everything I mentioned is from the "History of the Fender bass book"its not an opinion I formed(though i can sometimes re-write history for my own personal gain) :wink:
I never second guess your opinion but this time I stand firm,its in black and white and I have worked on more than my share of them and the last few yrs before the takeover I noticed those basses had some odd findings,which is also from the book which may or may not be correct but I have worked on some of these and....?
Does that guy you know admit to Fender putting made in USA decals on the basses made in japan ? it was done to pinpoint all efforts into the new Fullerton Vintage re-issue models designed to Salvage whats left of the Fender name,the had a building and a Name,no machines and a bunch of hobnob parts and wood that were sent to japan to put together while all hands on deck went into the new CO.
I am glad it did,I was disappointed in some of the stuff from that time and the "Fullerton"coveted re-issues stopped a co. from folding,even now they are almost as valuable as the bass it resembles.
BroDave I believe non of what I hear and half of what I see,I am not easily fooled(though I could be a fool at times the clowns can vouch) :D and its not just one book phrase or a he said she said conversation,I take all the info and make an educated guess,could I be wrong ? Def YES,You wrong ? possibly,both of us wrong ? Prob Not,BUT POSSIBLE,maybe a little of both for each of us.
Its sometimes brings out some passion with our craft to bang heads and pursuit the truth of the questions asked.
CAN WE AGREE TO DIS-AGREE? :mrgreen:

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Neil quoted from the "Young Ones" MTV Sketch series.


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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 11:55 am
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I can tell you about mine. The fit and line-up of everything on it is very good. And being as it is the last year of CBS-- to me that makes it a collector. To me that is. I will enjoy saying "hey check this out--the last year CBS P bass."
The string spacing and neck width is wider than all my other P's but not much. Not something that bothers me. The 15 hole guard is good because of the extra strength around the input. If you step on your cord and it pulls against that area of the pick guard- there is added strength from the extra screw(s). Nice. The finish on it is nice. It's not real heavy like alot of basses from that era ( Very glad of that).
I kind of like the white on white with the pickup covers and pickguard. It has the newer lighter style tuners like we see have been around a long while now.
The sound is deep and rich, not muddy. The G string is loud. If you have that (I think) you have a good one. Maybe that's thought by me because I have the 45 G string. The fretted D note on the A string rings a long time. I've played some basses from the 77 to the 83 and this one is a bit better in that it has the sustain I like and it's lighter than most. It has to be Ash , Alder or Poplar. Not sure.
All in all I can believe the value that BroDave placed on it. 1000 to 1200. That sounds right to me. A big plus is that that value goes up as time goes by. It's a keeper. I have 3 solid "keeper" basses from the good ole days.- the 83 P the 72 J and the 74 P. The thing now is for me to get the hair to take them out to a gig and spank them. I know, I know...............just do it. Okay okay..........

Oh I forgot to mention the truss adjust at the headstock and the micro tilt . To be honest I've had the micro tilt on basses and I've never messed with it ever.


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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 9:13 am
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I have and will try to never bash anothers vintage bass,and I was meerly pointing out the corner cuts that happened in the last 1 1/2 yrs that nearly bankrupted Fender,a 1 ply pickgaurd has no effect on the quality of the build,the one piece pickgaurd/control cover again no effect on quality ETC...
The were just a bunch of little things that Fender did to cut costs caused by lack of sales that was caused by poor instruments,again not opinion and looking at all the arrows I need'nt be a marksman to see the cause and effects that became the almost undoing of one of our OLDEST and MOST RESPECTED names in the music industry and in my opinion THE best by my standards and needs.
I am all for a good debate and never intend on bashing someones personal bass,I would be pissed a bit myself,I am not someone who just plays a bass,there is a connection to MY basses that began when I selected them to play,I'm not someone who just see's it as a prop or a "cool" whatever.
Its something my teacher told me when I asked about how to know what bass to buy, and why this and what about that ETC...he told me"When you play it you will know its the right bass for you" and he was dead on accurate,anytime I bought a bass for reasons non other for "just to have it" I never kept it long,it did'nt have any connection for me,the basses I have now I am positive that they will only be sold only in emergency and never to fund another bass.
So again I did'nt want to offend anyone on their bass,I would'nt like it if someone told me year or model was a hunka junk soley on something they read or overheard someone say or for the one single bass he played and now thinks they all suck.
I try to always stay factual when answering a question and keep my opinion to my exp. with the given topic,if I dont know I wont make it up just to sound correct or act like a Guru,and to keep to what I know and not to what I may have heard.
Thanks people :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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Neil quoted from the "Young Ones" MTV Sketch series.


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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 7:51 pm
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Fender has always been changing specs around for different year models and they still are. Lots of players had been trying different knobs on Jazz basses so they did it too. (Once I put Gibson amp knobs on mine.) That doesn't make it a cheaper instrument to make just because different knobs or a newly designed pickguard were specified for that year's model. They went to the integral guard/control arrangement on the Telecaster Bass previously also...oh, and on the P-Bass in 1957. So that wasn't exactly an innovation but the pickguard had to be redesigned and that took time and money too. Some of the CBS era instruments were awesome looking and playing instruments. 71/72 Jazzes and P-Basses were really NICE.


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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:12 pm
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I know about the Fender things. I read the book. I am not offended at all. I like my bass. I deal with each bass one at a time. I have over the last 10 or so years weeded out basses to get to where I have some nice ones now. I quit buying them . Now I just trade. That's not going to last forever but I really don't need any more basses. BUT there is an Elite dark green 1983 P bass looking good for a cheap price that I would like to check out.

To be honest I'm beyond worrying what anyone thinks of my basses. You could tell me my Roadworn P bass is the biggest piece of junk you ever smelled and it really honestly would not bother me. I just don't care. HA!!!


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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:38 pm
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I used to own an '83 Precision back in the late 80's. It was a great bass with its single ply pickguard and the upgraded Fender tuners. My bass had a very flamed maple neck and I ended up selling it to one of my bass students at the time.

The body dimensions of this year Precision were dead on the same as the Vintage reissue 57-62 basses. As I remember correctly, the neck was very wide and thin front to back.

IMO there was nothing wrong with the pickups on this bass and there is nothing wrong with the pickups on my 83 Jazz Bass.

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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 2:40 am
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lawsuitbass wrote:
... once a cucumber becomes a pickle it cant ever go back to being a cucumber,SO DONT INSTALL A COVER WITHOUT TEMPLET,you cant refill the holes in the body(and it sometimes doesnt work the 2nd time either,you can find a templet,easy to locate on the net.
Good luck :mrgreen:

Love the pickle cucumber thing.

Where on the net is that template? I've looked and looked. Thanks in advance!


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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 5:47 am
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USA? Japan? Serial #?

That pickguard seems to have strange extra holes! IMHO

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Post subject: Re: 83 P bass
Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 6:05 am
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I have a 1983 Precision ! It is 3 tone sunburst, with maple fretboard, and black pickguard! It has an EMG pickup installed, replacing the original. Everything about mine is perfect! It is completely a high quality instrument in every single way. The "Vintage Guitar 2011 Price Guide" states these basses to be valued around $750 - $900-ish. People are trying to sell them on eBay for around $1200 - $1500. I've not noticed one selling that high....yet. If you could grab one up for $750, I say do it! It's only a matter or time before these will become old enough to start climbing up in price :D PS, mine has great fit and finish, everything is lined up right and tight, and the body contours are very round, and well pronounced ;) It plays as it should and sounds....well.... like a P-Bass!


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