Who's Who Posted July 23, 2012 Posted July 23, 2012 (edited) For sale is my stunning Fender 51 Reissue Precision Bass in gorgeous 2-tone sunburst finish (Crafted in Japan) The bass is immaculate in A1, perfect condition and I cannot find a mark on her. It's a really cool looking retro bass and has tons of vibe with it's slab body, single coil pickup and Tele style headstock. I picked her up earlier in the year in a trade from a fellow Baschatter, and made several improvements once I got her. I replaced the pickup with a Bare Knuckle 52 Stagger P as I found the original a little too 'Honky'. I also replaced the bridge with a new Fender High Mass Vintage bridge, like the ones found on the new American Standard series. These bridges are a drop in 3-bolt replacement and allow you to either string through-body or top load through the bridge. They also improve the sustain and allow greater adjustments. I also added the Fender pickup and bridge chrome covers and a single hole thumbrest to complete the look. All the work was carried out by Martin Clarke's guitars, along with a full set-up, fret dress and new set of D'Adarrio round wound strings, so she plays as good as she looks. I do still have both the original pickup and bridge which will be included in the sale, and the bass will come supplied in a quality padded gig bag (Warwick Rock Bag). According to the Fender site this bass was manufactured in 2007-2008 (Crafted in Japan S + 6 digit serial number). I'm after [u][b]£500[/b][/u] for the bass collected from North London, which I think is a fair price considering the guitar's condition and the extra parts I've added. I'm also happy to post the guitar via courier at the buyers expense. Edited September 6, 2012 by Who's Who
Rick's Fine '52 Posted July 23, 2012 Posted July 23, 2012 Bump for a lovely looking P bass. Good luck with the sale.
Who's Who Posted July 24, 2012 Author Posted July 24, 2012 Ok I've just put a deposit on something I really can't afford, so I need to get this shifted. I've knocked it down to £500.
Who's Who Posted July 24, 2012 Author Posted July 24, 2012 I'd take £450 with the original pickup and bridge installed as I could probably sell the others ones on. But for the extra £50 it's a pretty good price, and you could flog on what you don't wanna keep. Cheers
cocco Posted July 24, 2012 Posted July 24, 2012 Believe me you defiantly want the mods. These things have a growl all of their own but the original pickup and crappy bridge let them down a bit.
Who's Who Posted July 24, 2012 Author Posted July 24, 2012 I agree Cocco. The new bridge and pickup really do take it to the next level. I think it's a great bass for £500
Hank Posted July 24, 2012 Posted July 24, 2012 This used to be mine too. Why does no one want to keep this bass :-) Kinda been hoping i'd get the chance to buy it back one day as I miss it but I don't like bridge and pick up covers generally and without them now i'd either have screws or holes :-( Have a bump anyway
simon1964 Posted July 24, 2012 Posted July 24, 2012 I actually found the pickup cover a surprisingly comfortable place to rest my thumb. I do miss mine - this looks a cracker with the upgrades. Have a bump!
Who's Who Posted July 25, 2012 Author Posted July 25, 2012 I agree. I found the pickup cover ideal to use as a thumbrest. Plus they look so cool on the bass. I think this bass really looks the part, but GAS is GAS
Who's Who Posted July 25, 2012 Author Posted July 25, 2012 [quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1343212318' post='1747021'] Lovely. I'd love another one of these. [/quote] I'm sure the postage to Scotland would be pretty reasonable
Delberthot Posted July 25, 2012 Posted July 25, 2012 Yeah there's just the small problem that I need to sell my Rickenbacker first
mckendrick Posted July 25, 2012 Posted July 25, 2012 [quote name='cocco' timestamp='1343160557' post='1746443'] Believe me you defiantly want the mods. These things have a growl all of their own but the original pickup and crappy bridge let them down a bit. [/quote] Well.... without trying to hijack the thread.... If I wanted a bass that didn't sound like a thin 'ol '50's P Bass.... I wouldn't buy a thin sounding '50's P Bass in the first place. Conversely, if I wanted a bass that sounded like a 50's P Bass, I'd wouln't buy one that'd been modded not to sound like one. These aren't upgrades, they're modifications. Carry on.
Ou7shined Posted July 25, 2012 Posted July 25, 2012 [quote name='Hank' timestamp='1343163300' post='1746528'] [b]This used to be mine too[/b]. Why does no one want to keep this bass :-) Kinda been hoping i'd get the chance to buy it back one day as I miss it but I don't like bridge and pick up covers generally and without them now i'd either have screws or holes :-( Have a bump anyway [/quote] And it was mine before that. Hmmm I don't know where this "thin sounding" rep has come from. I tested a bunch of pups when I had this bass. It came to me from the original owner (who bought it from Japan) with a Seymour Duncan SCPB-1 in it but then I was lucky enough to find an original Fender one which wiped the floor with every trype of SD I tried in it after that (this was before these were "fashionable" basses and spares were rare - even Bare Knuckle didn't have an equivalent then ). The original Fender one stayed true to the original old school sound, in the end though I went for a Lollar pup which sounds kind of like the Fender one but hotter (besides it cost me a lot more). I removed the Lollar before selling (it's in my Shuker 51 now) and put the Fender one back in. I guess it's down to taste but for me a single coil 51 should sound old school and not modern. Maybe a thumpy woody tone isn't your thing but I'm at a loss as to how "old school" has now become "thin sounding" when it so isn't... it just isn't flat and modern sounding. Anyway I can attest to this being a very good example. I had no issues at all with it... even with the original bridge. Btw as is mentioned earlier the cavities are sheilded... the work was carried out by myself, so is of the highest quality and all cavities are earthed. Here's a pic of how the shielding looked when it was mine (belt and braces one might say)... Ironically, I bought ashtrays for it when it was mine but I chickened out from drilling into it and potentially spoiling a pristine body for future owners so I held them on with double-sided tape. I shouldn't have bothered eh.
Who's Who Posted July 25, 2012 Author Posted July 25, 2012 (edited) [quote name='mckendrick' timestamp='1343226790' post='1747363'] Well.... without trying to hijack the thread.... If I wanted a bass that didn't sound like a thin 'ol '50's P Bass.... I wouldn't buy a thin sounding '50's P Bass in the first place. Conversely, if I wanted a bass that sounded like a 50's P Bass, I'd wouln't buy one that'd been modded not to sound like one. These aren't upgrades, they're modifications. Carry on. [/quote] Whoa there cowboy! I take it you don't wanna buy it then I'm not too sure where this thin rep has sprung from either, I certainly never mentioned it. I just found the original pickup a little too 'middy' if that makes sense, so I tried a new pickup, and would you believe it, I quite liked it. And with regards to the bridge, who wouldn't want more adjustability and sustain? And what can I say, I've always been a sucker for ashtray covers And just to be clear, for a mere £500 you'll also get the original Fender two saddle bridge and pickup too. Happy Days Edited July 25, 2012 by Who's Who
Who's Who Posted July 25, 2012 Author Posted July 25, 2012 Oh and forgot to say Ou7shined. Cheers for mentioning the shielding work you did. As they say, every little helps!
Ou7shined Posted July 25, 2012 Posted July 25, 2012 [quote name='Who's Who' timestamp='1343240422' post='1747658'] ...I'm not too sure where this thin rep has sprung from either, I certainly never mentioned it. I just found the original pickup a little too 'middy' if that makes sense.... [/quote] Yep makes perfect sense. That's what I liked about it. In fact as if to make things worse, when I had it I used to use TI flats on it to bring out even more mids than the pup could. I'm a sucker for that old school P tone. [quote name='Who's Who' timestamp='1343241155' post='1747674'] Oh and forgot to say Ou7shined. Cheers for mentioning the shielding work you did. As they say, every little helps! [/quote] No probs. (I've just realised that you'd not actually mentioned it already, I was thinking about when I'd seen it in previous FS threads I'd seen earlier when I was double checking that it was in fact my old bass)
cloudburst Posted July 25, 2012 Posted July 25, 2012 Good luck with the sale mate. Just last weekend I sold by 51-RI to a fellow BC'er who appreciated the SCPB-3 pickup and Deluxe 4 saddle bridge as upgrades (and the originals were also included). He wanted the traditional P-bass sound, but on playing mine, immediately said "that's a really beefy tone; I'm sold". Tip to anyone thinking of interfering in a sale by injecting their own subjective opinion...if you've nothing good to say, say nothing. CB
Who's Who Posted July 25, 2012 Author Posted July 25, 2012 [quote name='cloudburst' timestamp='1343247233' post='1747813'] Good luck with the sale mate. Just last weekend I sold by 51-RI to a fellow BC'er who appreciated the SCPB-3 pickup and Deluxe 4 saddle bridge as upgrades (and the originals were also included). He wanted the traditional P-bass sound, but on playing mine, immediately said "that's a really beefy tone; I'm sold". Tip to anyone thinking of interfering in a sale by injecting their own subjective opinion...if you've nothing good to say, say nothing. CB [/quote] Cheers CB, my thoughts exactly. But back to the organ grinder (trying to flog this bad boy) For the purists among us [u][b]£450[/b][/u] with the original bridge and pickup fitted. Or [u][b]£500[/b][/u] with the Bare Knuckle pickup and HMV bridge fitted, and the originals thrown in. Either way it's a beauty
mckendrick Posted July 26, 2012 Posted July 26, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Who's Who' timestamp='1343240422' post='1747658'] Whoa there cowboy! I take it you don't wanna buy it then...? [/quote] Were it not for already having (one of?) the first in the country. Indeed, the very one that was used for - and photographed in - the Guitar Magazine review. Unmodded. Cowboy. And it's fabulous. Bridge, pickup, everything. And what a neck! What I prefer about yours tho', is that gorgeous 2-tone finish... and a nice grain. Beautiful. If only I could afford another! Good luck with the sale. . Edited July 26, 2012 by mckendrick
Donnyboy Posted July 26, 2012 Posted July 26, 2012 I do believe I have one of the last available ( when new). There's just something " right" about them, bump.
Who's Who Posted July 27, 2012 Author Posted July 27, 2012 [quote name='mckendrick' timestamp='1343263234' post='1748116'] Were it not for already having (one of?) the first in the country. Indeed, the very one that was used for - and photographed in - the Guitar Magazine review. Unmodded. Cowboy. And it's fabulous. Bridge, pickup, everything. And what a neck! What I prefer about yours tho', is that gorgeous 2-tone finish... and a nice grain. Beautiful. If only I could afford another! Good luck with the sale. . [/quote] Cheers for that mate. She is one gorgeous "slab" of wood
Ou7shined Posted July 27, 2012 Posted July 27, 2012 [quote name='mckendrick' timestamp='1343263234' post='1748116']... What I prefer about yours tho', is that gorgeous 2-tone finish... and a nice grain. Beautiful. If only I could afford another! ... [/quote] Two tone FTW.
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