1974 Fender Precision Bass - Pawn Shop Treasure

[Sam_from_Texas]

Hey guys. It's been a while. Yesterday I found this sweet bass hanging up in a local Waco, TX pawn shop. All the guy could tell me was it was a U.S. made Fender. I offered him $400 not knowing anything else about it other than it worked and it looked cool. He countered at $425, and we struck a deal. I went to the ATM with my girl, got some cash, paid the man, picked up the bass, and off to dinner.

So I'm sitting there all dinner wondering how old it is, if I made the right choice, whether I got screwed, etc. We get home and the first thing I do is take it apart to look at the neck stamp. No date stamp, but the words "R. Bush" were stamped in red. I got kind of bummed that there wasn't a date stamp, but then I looked online. Apparently "R. Bush" was used on the 1974 production models at times in lieu of a date stamp. Got to say, that really put a grin on my face.











So go ahead and take a look. It's got Lace Sensor pickups, the pickup cover and bridge cover have been removed, it's a little rusty on some places, the tone pot scratches on the low end when turning, checking is all over, some finish scrapes, the case is a beat up no-name Korean wood case, and the truss rod could use a quick turn, BUT if it really is a '74 I may have made a heck of a deal. If it's not, it's still pretty cool looking and plays well. Anyway, take a look at the pictures and tell me what you think. I'm trying to decide if I want to try to make a profit on it in Austin, Dallas or Houston (when I go home for Christmas), OR if I should keep it, buy a bass amp, and get back to slapping like I did way back when.

[Randy Bass]

That's pretty sweet. If you bought it with the idea of getting back into bass, hang onto it. Having said that, if you can take it into a shop and get confirmation of its' age, see if you can get a decent offer well north of a grand. You might pick up a different P-Bass for four or five hundred and put a bunch of cash in your pocket.

[indianDYsummer]

Agreed, that's a sweet deal on a cool bass! I would look on ebay for a period-correct bridge cover. I dunno how much that would set you back, but it may end up adding more than that to the appraisal value.

[Randy Bass]

I might actually know of a source for a vintage P-Bass Bridge Cover. PM me if you want the info.

[baytamusic]

I'd find some period correct pickups. Very cool bass btw. If you plan to sell it, I'd get it as close to original as possible first. Tough call whether or not to keep or sell. It's definitely worth much more than you paid. I guess it depends if you'd rather have money or a great bass.

[baytamusic]

btw this place has a bridge cover for a 70s pbase:

http://www.loudmusicseattle.com/Parts.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Sam_from_Texas]

Thanks for all the info guys. I'll definitely look into getting it period correct whether I decide to keep it or sell it. Glad to know that I got a good deal on it. I did put an ad on Austin and Dallas craigslist as well as sent a quick email to a vintage guitar store in Austin to see if anyone is interested in it, and what they'd offer. Although, I'm probably not going to sell it soon unless some insane offer comes at me.

If I did decide to sell it, it would probably be to use the $ to buy a newer P or J Bass and a decent amp. Guitar will always be my main instrument, but it'd be nice to get back into playing bass on the side. Of course, if I could find the right amp for a good price, I'd love to keep this bass for a while and fix it up. It is an awesome bass, but since it is so cool, I might be worried to play it haha.

We'll see how things turn out, and in the mean time I'll be trying to get it up to original specs. I'll keep the forum updated on how things go.

[indianDYsummer]

Very cool, that was definitely a good find. I'm pretty jealous. I think we all live to find a deal like this out there. Good luck getting it to vintage specs! I think regardless of how much $ you put into it, conservatively speaking you will have paid about half price!

[Sam_from_Texas]

Just a quick update..

The store I e-mailed was Austin Vintage Guitars. I got an e-mail back from them saying that the finish looked a little rough (which is definitely true haha), so they would probably sell it for $13-1400 in their store as is. That was pretty cool to hear. If I could make a grand off it I'd sell it in a heartbeat. Now, as I'm not a retail establishment I wouldn't expect to be able to sell it for that much, but it put some jump in my stride to hear.

I've been scouring the web for different parts to make it all original. Hopefully I'll be buying a bridge cover, an original pickup, and (maybe) a pickup cover before too long. That is, unless someone throws a bunch of cash at me for it. Ha

[Borderline Productions]

Sounds like you are going to turn it over, but if you wanted to keep it, you might want to replace the pots or at least have them cleaned if they are giving static.

I would base you decision on how well the bass plays. I find the P-neck to be too much like a baseball bat. If you like the neck, keep the bass as it will probably be better than newer ones. If you like the J-neck better, then sell the P-bass you found.

[bclaire]

If your intent is to turn it over, I think trying to find correct pickup etc., is a waste of time and you probably won't recoup the money. Anyone who wants an original doesn't want to see solder joints changed so going that route would be pointless.

If you keep the bass, go ahead and find the parts- although I'd be willing to bet that there are much better sounding pickups than original Fenders from 1974.

Check the neck- I wouldn't be surprised if you find a hump where the neck joins the body....

[Sam_from_Texas]

If I did decide to keep it, what kind of modifications should I do / not do to make it a better player. I just don't want to do something that could potentially lessen the value if I sold it later on.

I was thinking about getting a nicer pickup, and getting a bridge cover. I'd also like to give it a nice setup as well as look into the scratchy pot. Would it be worth trying to clean the tone pot before replacing it, just to have that original part still on there.

Is there any modification that I should absolutely stay away from?

[baytamusic]

If I did decide to keep it, what kind of modifications should I do / not do to make it a better player. I just don't want to do something that could potentially lessen the value if I sold it later on.

I was thinking about getting a nicer pickup, and getting a bridge cover. I'd also like to give it a nice setup as well as look into the scratchy pot. Would it be worth trying to clean the tone pot before replacing it, just to have that original part still on there.

Is there any modification that I should absolutely stay away from?

If you are just going to keep it and play it I'd skip the bridge cover. That thing will drive you nuts and I guarantee you'll have it off there and in a drawer at your house in about ten minutes.

[bclaire]

Yeah, there's a reason you don't see them on any of the basses... always in the way and you have to remove it every time you change strings.

If it was me, I'd get a nice set of pick-ups, maybe Lindy Fralins or Seymour Duncan's Vintage Hot P-Bass pickups. Update the wiring if it's been messed with...

[indianDYsummer]

If I did decide to keep it, what kind of modifications should I do / not do to make it a better player. I just don't want to do something that could potentially lessen the value if I sold it later on.

I was thinking about getting a nicer pickup, and getting a bridge cover. I'd also like to give it a nice setup as well as look into the scratchy pot. Would it be worth trying to clean the tone pot before replacing it, just to have that original part still on there.

Is there any modification that I should absolutely stay away from?

If you are just going to keep it and play it I'd skip the bridge cover. That thing will drive you nuts and I guarantee you'll have it off there and in a drawer at your house in about ten minutes.

I agree with this. I think bridge covers are stupid, but if a guitar holes there for one, then it should be sold with a bridge cover on it. For me, buying a used guitar with random ass holes everywhere is a dealbreaker, haha. I know that's a bit of an embellishmentIf I were playing it, on the other hand, I would just leave the cover off though.

Definitely go to radio shack and get some electronics spray cleaner. Spray it around the pot shaft while turning the pot back and forth. It's sort of hard to know if you're getting it down the the shaft but i always just get it nice and wet to get the job done. (Randy, no need to comment )

Anyways, when I bought my '82 Gibson Sonex the pots were super duper scratchy. Like, no taper, essentially on-off knobs with scratchy madness inbetween. Got some radioshack cleaner. BOOM pots are fixed. They're quiet now and the taper is back!