MIJ 70s RI Precision

[Matt R.]

Not bad

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1970-MIJ-Made-I ... 500wt_1275

[fivebass52]

The starting price is just about what they go for, right?

[Jeroen]

That's what I thought at first, but then I went for a little search on eBay and found these two (righthanded, used, both in Japan):
Used, BIN $858
Used, BIN $949

Suddenly that price doesn't look half bad in comparison. But then again, everyone is asking outrageous prices for MIJ Fenders it seems, because everyone seems to think they will once be just as sought-after as the early JV's and SQ's. And if they keep that up long enough, eventually they just might

[fivebass52]

Thanks Jeroen. With that in mind, I would imagine this could top out at a grand... I'm going to put it in my "watch" list.

[Addison]

If these didn't have basswood bodies I'd probably own one already.

[Matt R.]

I remember seeing one of these on ebay with the body being described as alder. But who knows?

[Addison]

Ah you know what? You're right.

I'm thinking of the PB57/LH... I wanted one of those because they have maple boards, but For some reason they make the '57 reissues with basswood bodies and they make the 70's reissues with alder and rosewood boards.

[pjmuck]

It's my understanding the sunburst and natural finish MIJs are alder, while the painted bodies are basswood.

[cangaroo]

AFAIK the 70 japan p version is Alder, the LEFTY 62 and the KEFTY 57 is basswood, while the righties 62 and 57 are Alder.

[Addison]

It's my understanding the sunburst and natural finish MIJs are alder, while the painted bodies are basswood.

If you check out the site, it says basswood...

http://fenderjapan.co.jp/pb57lh.html

The '62 is also basswood...

http://fenderjapan.co.jp/pb62lh.html

This '70 says alder and it only comes in solid colors...

http://fenderjapan.co.jp/pb70lh.html

Although, the pictures of the pb57 confuse me even more... the full bass shot of the '57 sunburst definitely looks like basswood to me, while the zoomed in photos look like alder.

So... who knows.

I'd definitely assume that I would get basswood if I ordered one, so I'm not going to take the chance.

[Jeroen]

I own a sunburst PB57/LH and I can confirm the body is basswood.
Very light in weight, sounds a bit dry and lacks a bit of punch and clarity.
There is a righthanded version called the PB57-US which does have an alder body. Historically inaccurate, but I'm sure it will be closer to the original in terms of sound than the regular basswood version.