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Post subject: Is this a 1961 P Bass
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 6:23 am
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Hi guys,

My first post here, I hope you can help me out.

I've been offered a P Bass to buy and I'm having trouble with working out if it's genuine or not.

Apparently it's a 1961 P Bass. Originally it was white but was stripped and varnished soon after purchase.

Here are some pics

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I checked from other posts on here and the pat. numbers all add up to 1961/62 I think. Correct me if I'm wrong though, but isn't that owner's manual from 1975?

What do you guys think?

Any suggestions/ help would be great, I'd really appreciate it!


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Post subject: Re: Is this a 1961 P Bass
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 7:57 am
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Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:31 am
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Location: Province de Québec, Canada
serial number ;

90,000s up to L10,000s 1963

Here;
www.fender.com/support/articles/u-s-ins ... ct-dating/


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Post subject: Re: Is this a 1961 P Bass
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 8:35 am
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Thanks for the reply.

Yeah I saw that article and the pat numbers on the headstock match up with that date. So I'm now working on it being a 1963 model.

I know that short of removing parts to find other serial numbers it may be hard to be certain of a bass' integrity but does it look right to you? I'm leaning towards it being legit but have seen some guys on here can tell if the tuning pegs or bridge are the wrong era and if I'm honest I don't have enough knowledge to be sure.

Also, that owner's manual, should I be concerned about that as I am pretty certain it's from the 70s?

They want quite a bit for it so I want to be certain I know what I'm getting!

Thanks


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Post subject: Re: Is this a 1961 P Bass
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 9:45 am
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Whatever it is, that bass is dreamily beautiful.

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Post subject: Re: Is this a 1961 P Bass
Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 3:45 am
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Why does it have 3 pots? As far as I knew, tone and volume were the normal controls for a bass of this era.

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Post subject: Re: Is this a 1961 P Bass
Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 12:50 pm
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messing with that bass and putting an extra pot in it is too bad. That should make it worth alot less money because of that and if it has had the paint stripped add a ton more off. Add cash off for every thing changed or hacked. Of course you already know all of that- just sayin'. Right?


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Post subject: Re: Is this a 1961 P Bass
Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2013 10:42 pm
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The extra pot is useful if you decide putting an active 2-band EQ with controls for master volume, bass and treble or installing an extra Jazz Bass pickup in the bridge with a master volume and separate tone controls for each pickup.


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Post subject: Re: Is this a 1961 P Bass
Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:56 pm
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Why do they mess with the originality with these unique instruments? Such a shame..

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Post subject: Re: Is this a 1961 P Bass
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:59 am
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Most likely is that they did it a long time ago before Fenders became so expensive - before the collector boom--

If you play a Fender bass long enough and constantly it's going to need stuff like pots etc-- the basses were designed to be a working players instrument that could be repaired easily and be user friendly.


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Post subject: Re: Is this a 1961 P Bass
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 6:29 pm
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While a pity it was modified, it still is a great player I'm sure. This is not a 1961 P-Bass. The serial is for sure a 1963/64 model year instrument made between July 1 1963 and June 30, 1964. Pots and other dating would verify that.

Since it is modified so much it is not a collectible class instrument, but as a Pre-CBS player class instrument it is still quite valuable. Not sure if this is the first Fender to buy, but it looks legitimate in spite of the mods. It is worth quite a bit if it is in fact genuine with all the original parts present along with the additional ones.


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