You can always tell a good guitar because it has been played a lot. I guess not all good guitars have lots of wear, but all guitars with this much wear are always killer players. This vintage Fender Precision Bass has ALL of the mojo. At least there isn't any more of it around here-this bass has soaked it up. Produced at the original Fender factory in Fullerton California, U.S.A. in 1972, this bass has endured years of gigs, studios and presidencies. The potentiometers, tone cap and output jack were replaced in 1984 or so-other than that, it is all original.
The body has nice contours and as soon as you pick it up you recognize that it is a lightweight and comfortable piece. There is tons of checking and wear in the original sunburst finish. It offers zero apologies. The pickguard is nice and flat with no breaks or cracks. It looks great. The neck slot has a fender factory employee's inspection stamp; "Chambers" is a familiar sight to vintage Fender enthusiasts. Underneath the original pickups is another interesting stamp-this one in green ink. The word "SPECIAL" appears-denoting a specific custom order-which would have to be the original large '66' style frets and high-contrast rosewood fingerboard. There is also additional employee final assembly fine-fitment shaping in the neck slot. This was sometimes done to provide a cleaner fitment to pickgurads, control clearance, or to just get the neck to lay down a bit more evenly over the finish. It is pretty light but easily visible with the neck off-see photos. The neck joint is a solid fitment.
The neck itself is straight and very smooth. It has a nice soft feel to it and has the quintessential "broken-in" vibe. The neck profile is a vintage C-shape. The neck measures 1.62" wide at the nut and the neck depth measures .882" deep at the 1st fret and 1.007" at the 12th fret-nice and beefy like you would expect. The backside of the neck has a Fender employee inspection stamp too: "X. Armenta". The tuners all function and the bass stays in tune perfectly. The headstock and logo look awesome-patina city! The old-style logo, rosewood fingerboard, tortoise shell pickguard and 3-color sunburst are the same appointments a 1966 Precision model would have-so this one looks even older than it is...Ok by me. The fingerboard is nice and clean and has a soft feel. The high contrast grain is really striking-see photos. The frets are factory wide units and original. The action is set low for an easy playing experience. It plays like butter up and down the fingerboard. The string height is currently .010" at the 1st fret and .080" at the 12th fret. The action can be raised or lowered with the adjustable bridge saddles if you prefer that-it plays great right where it is at.
The pickups have an excellent signal and measure 10.29 ohms. The bass sounds large and in charge, with a distinctive low end rumble that you would expect from a precision bass. The low end is really thick and the compression is perfect. As previously mentioned, the controls were replaced in about 1984 or so. They function smoothly and quietly. The bridge is in good shape and adjusts well.
The bass is a lot of fun to play and has a great balance. It only weighs 8.67 lbs. so it is very lightweight for a bass guitar. Comes with original hard case. The case has the original owner's initials on the outside and it is in average condition. Also smells like a vintage instrument...not smoky or offensive but a bit like old books aka biblichor. Its great.
