73 P

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She's here:

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As you can see it's yellowed a lot, more in some places and less in others. UV light and cigarette smoke, I suspect. On the back of the bass you can see the section that rested against the player's body is lighter than the section that was exposed to the elements. You can see the true olympic white in the worn spots. There's also some brown markings (presumably dye from a leather strap) on the upper horn.

The action is very low; just a little bit of buzz but a bit more clacky than I'd like.

8.4 lbs.

[Matt R.]

So sexadocious. Olympic White is the shit. Congrats!

[gravesbass]

BEAUTIFUL!!!

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Taking her apart...

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Ah, the mysteries of Fender production circa 1970s.

- no date stamp on neck. But there is a "special" stamp, and this is an "A" neck for sure. Seller says he custom ordered it. Based on what I've read, most 70s necks have stamps but not all.
- pickups are grey bottom with a 6-digit code that ends in "72." Based on what I've read, this is a bit unusual, as many claim that Fender switched from a 4-digit format to a 6-digit format in 1974.
- the pots are most-definately not original. Well, I hope not, because the code indicates they're CTS pots made in 1983.

The seller told me the pots were original, so I'm trying to decide how I want to remediate this.

Any ideas? How much do replacement pots diminish the value of an early 70s Fender that's otherwise all-original?

[superheavydeathmetal]

Wow! Those are some serious tan lines!

The fading is so uniform, I thought it was the actual finish.

That is a cool looking bass, man! Great snag!

[paulo]

Wow that is a sweet bass! Love the color!

[LefThanDed]

So sexadocious. Olympic White is the shit. Congrats!

That faux formica table background is the schizzle!

[Matt R.]

[gravesbass]

Special stamp could be lefty or special order. I have heard mixed feedback on this. My 73 P bass has this "Special' stamp as well but mine's a B maple neck.

Pot dates to 83'... Not that big of a deal but I would def mention to the seller for a few bucks back but honestly.. Thats a badass bass Geoff and the finish is faded awesome. Oly white faded is my fav.... Great catch.

[Smo]

Wow! Nice! Congrats! Love the colour!

[AzWhoFan]

Tremendous! nice catch

[pjmuck]

I've got P envy! Awesome score.

[pjmuck]

Ah, the mysteries of Fender production circa 1970s.

- no date stamp on neck. But there is a "special" stamp, and this is an "A" neck for sure. Seller says he custom ordered it. Based on what I've read, most 70s necks have stamps but not all.

My '73 P has a B neck and is stamped, "Jan. 5th, 1973", "Special", and "D. Torres". HOWEVER, the headstock has no patent numbers listed under the Fender logo. So there's all sorts of weird anomalies out there when it comes to lefties.

BTW, about 95% of all vintage lefty Fenders I've seen have been signed by either D. Torres or T. Chambers (or in the case of your bass, both). I wonder if these two are still alive? Would be great to interview them for some possible insight to Fender's operations and left handed treatment back then. I wonder if they were Fender's on site, "lefty specialists"?

Update: I'll have to check the stamping on mine again, as there was a common J. Torres employee at Fender at the time. Maybe I misread the J as a D in his name?

[gravesbass]

Ah, the mysteries of Fender production circa 1970s.

- no date stamp on neck. But there is a "special" stamp, and this is an "A" neck for sure. Seller says he custom ordered it. Based on what I've read, most 70s necks have stamps but not all.

My '73 P has a B neck and is stamped, "Jan. 5th, 1973", "Special", and "D. Torres". HOWEVER, the headstock has no patent numbers listed under the Fender logo. So there's all sorts of weird anomalies out there when it comes to lefties.

Interesting. Thanks for the post PJ. I also have a 1973 P bass maple "B" neck that has the Fender logo without patent number. Its a little chunkier than my 78 P but love the neck. Very glad to hear there is another without patent number. I think they hand cut the decal and cut off the patent numbers. Rare catch or stupid move.. ha!

[andrew]

Ah, the mysteries of Fender production circa 1970s.

- no date stamp on neck. But there is a "special" stamp, and this is an "A" neck for sure. Seller says he custom ordered it. Based on what I've read, most 70s necks have stamps but not all.

My '73 P has a B neck and is stamped, "Jan. 5th, 1973", "Special", and "D. Torres". HOWEVER, the headstock has no patent numbers listed under the Fender logo. So there's all sorts of weird anomalies out there when it comes to lefties.

I have two 1973 P basses, both date stamped and both stamped Torres. Both B necks. Seems like Fender did a good batch of lefty B neck P basses in '73.