Fender Precision Bass Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1964)

Fender  Precision Bass Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar  (1964)
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Item # 11425
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Fender Precision Bass Model Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1964), made in Fullerton, California, serial # L43098, sunburst lacquer finish, alder body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, period black tolex hard shell case.

This 1964 Precision bass is about as real as relics get, the product not of artificial ageing but a LOT of gigging over nearly six decades. Beneath the wear this is a truly lovely pre-CBS Precision, with the look, feel, and sound that defines the classic '60s Fender bass. The features particular to this period include a thin rosewood fingerboard with clay dot inlay, "Transition" silver Fender logo decal, "L" serial number plate, tortoiseshell pattern thick nitrocellulose pickguard and Kluson bass tuners. The neck and body are finished with the thin Pre-CBS style lacquer in a blended sunburst finish just a bit mellower than the "target" bursts of 1965 and after.

The bass was assembled in fall 1964, just months before the CBS takeover. The neck heel is stamped 5 AUG64C, the pos are coded to the 26th week of that year. The chrome pickup cover is a re-issue but all other parts remain original. It has obviously seen a lot of use over 55+ years but remains more original and better preserved than many Fender basses from this period that have often been stripped, modified or heavily rebuilt. It has the classic Precision sound with a bright midrange growl that warms up nicely when the tone knob is rolled off a bit. At 8xx Lbs. this is fairly light for a Precision Bass, with a superbly resonant sound even unplugged.

This is simply a great player's example of the world's premier electric bass, still ruler of the roost 55+ years on and ready for the next half-century of low end action. This era Precision Bass is an absolute classic, played by the majority of the great electric bassists of the 1960s and heard on literally thousands of recordings since then. This bass is a true relic, worn by decades of use, not with hammers and sandpaper. It remains a wonderful instrument for any style of music, an absolute joy to play and a prime example of the final; glory days of the Fullerton California Fender factory.
 
Overall length is 45 3/4 in. (116.2 cm.), 13 in. (33 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 34 in. (864 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).

This bass is fairly well-worn overall but remains in excellent playing condition with the original finish and hardware, except for the one chrome cover. The all-original finish has heavy typical play wear with numerous large and small dings, scrapes, chips and deeper wear spots into the wood on the body edges, with some odd wear spots to the upper face and a bit of ancient touch-up to the armwear area, now partially worn through again. There is a large swath of belt buckle rash on the back.

The back of the neck is nicely worn down with the classic "old Fender" feel, with some lacquer remaining but much of it worn through. The only oddity is someone removed most of the finish from the underside of the neck heel by sanding, either for "better contact" with the body or to angle the neck slightly back without adding a shim. In either case this is not a functional issue, but is just visible over the body joint.

The original 3-color sunburst is still relatively bright, mostly not too faded despite probably having been played in the smoky bars of decades past. The parts have some wear and corrosion (especially the tuners) but everything works as intended. This bass has been played a lot; as they used to say "someone fed their family with this one". The original thin frets show some wear but are still fully playable; we would assume the bass has likely had flatwound strings on for most of its life as it does now. The neck is excellent, the truss rod works fine and has never been over-cranked, "bassically" This Fender took a lickin' and kept on tickin". It resides in a slightly later 1966 era black fender case. Worn but functional. Overall Very Good + Condition.