Sweet looking Used USA Fender P with Maple Board at GC

[NoXX]

New arrival, looking pretty sweet:

http://used.guitarcenter.com/images/pro ... 830_lg.jpg

Please can someone buy it so that I stop drooling and trying to sell children etc...

[cangaroo]

NoXX, IMO you can save the money.

Despite the baseball bat maple neck those early 80s P Basses have nothing special if compared to today P Basses. I owned an 83 P very similar to the one in the ad, just with black body. Tonally speaking it was nothing special, the neck was good but it sounded dull, no personality at all.

[Addison]

I don't think that's a real Fender bass anyway.

What's up with that 3 screw bridge and the weird screw hole pattern on the pickguard?

I guess the neck might be real, but even that "Precision Bass" logo placement seems a little wonky.

I'd stay away.

[NoXX]

Thanks folks. I agree it does look a little odd on closer inspection, and it looks so clean (pick guard, finish etc)that I guess it's not that old...but in that case the logo's on the headstock don't match up with anything current on the Fender site that I can see. I think I may have had my guitar goggles on when I was looking at it

[Frenchy-Lefty]

The last maple neck USA Fender Precisions were made in 1983/84 If recall (sigh!). I have seen a few of those and indeed this one does not looks legit.

[funky42]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcFCs4NJLRs DID A QUICK SEARCH GUYS AND SEEMS TO BE LEGIT,I THOUGHT THE SAME THING ABOUT THE PICKGUARD SCREW,THE LOOKED SCREWY!!! BUT ALL SEEMS RIGHT !!!!

[Addison]

Wacky!

Nice find.

Looks like it's long gone anyway... oh well.

[funky42]

YEP!! SHES GONE,I WAS GONNA TAKE A RIDE DOWN SUNDAY TO CHECK HER OUT AS ITS ONLY ABOUT A HOUR AWAY,FIGURED MY MOM MIGHT LIKE IT FOR MOTHERS DAY!!!!LOL

[Marc40a]

That neck would be a C nut width (1 3/4") and a 12" radius, the flattest fingerboard Fender has ever offered on a 4 string.

[LHBASSIST]

I've been repairing Fender basses for over 40 years. The bass in the picture looks absolutely correct for that period. I had a black/maple righty 83, took it in on trade, circa 1994. Single layer pickguard, wide nut, flat profile neck, and white pickup covers. This is also the period for those weird Jazz basses with the one piece white pickguard- control assemblies, no metal control plate. The p-bass I had felt great, and sounded really good, too. The two- pickup P-bass Elites from that era are among the best sounding basses Fender ever sold.

[Agent00Soul]

The two- pickup P-bass Elites from that era are among the best sounding basses Fender ever sold.

I guess Fender did a sizable run of lefty Elites - black finish with maple fingerboard - because as a budding 14 year old bassist, I got to try two of them in two different shops. I lusted after it at the time, but have no idea what I would think of it now. Where are all those basses?? I want to hear one again.

They must sound good if their owners are hiding them!

[danomite64]

That bass is totally legit; those of you who think it's fake are wrong. I had two of them back in the '80's (that's one in my avatar), and like cangaroo said, they're quite uninspiring tonally. To make matters worse (for me at least), the necks are extremely uncomfortable. I'd take a '70's CBS Precision over an '83 every time.

[pjmuck]

The two- pickup P-bass Elites from that era are among the best sounding basses Fender ever sold.

I guess Fender did a sizable run of lefty Elites - black finish with maple fingerboard - because as a budding 14 year old bassist, I got to try two of them in two different shops. I lusted after it at the time, but have no idea what I would think of it now. Where are all those basses?? I want to hear one again.

They must sound good if their owners are hiding them!

I'm coming out of woodwork to say I own a lefty '83 P bass Elite. I don't know about how sizeable the lefty run was at the time, as I've only encountered 2 other lefty Elites in my lifetime. They are, IMO, one of the best basses Fender ever made. An early active bass setup/experiment and some knobs and switches that still confuse me. Nearly every component on them is proprietary and high quality, from the unique thumb screw micro adjustable bridge to the light weight tuners, concealed split coil PUPs, preamp system, etc. And I happen to love the flat C profile neck. Excellent for slapping.

[Pbass58]

I have an '83 and that's pretty much what they look like, odd screw, one ply pickguard and all. It's not my favorite instrument. Mine cost $625 back around '06, I've seen them offered for much more since. I don't think I'd give more than $625 to be honest.