Bigwan Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 (edited) Just wondering what folks would suggest as a good reproduction of a 60's p bass? Really looking for a 60's version of the Fender Roadworn 50's P bass. Doesn't necessarily need to be reliced, but would like something with rolled fingerboard edges, etc so it FEELS like it's been played since the 60's. The 3 that come to my mind are Bravewood, Moollon (maybe) and Maruszczyk. Just wondering what everyone else would suggest? Edited September 21, 2017 by Bigwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 What sort of budget. Fender 62 reissue from 1982 (the Fullerton ones) are good. Having owned a good few 60's Precisions, I can tell you the Fender Japan 62 reissue is pretty much identical. The thing to look for would be the slab fingerboard above anything else IMHO. I acknowledge the whole nitro thing but I am not convinced of that so much. That's from experience of both (and side by side comparison) rather than some 'finger in the air' assessment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 Budget-wise under £2k. Obviously the further under that the better! The Japan reissue sounds VERY interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 Get a good used Fender American Standard Precision that feels right and plays well, then if you need to upgrade the sound you can just drop in any number of great sounding pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 [quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1505990094' post='3375659'] Budget-wise under £2k. Obviously the further under that the better! The Japan reissue sounds VERY interesting... [/quote] Fender Japan are (were) the Cinderella Fender business. Consistently excellent build quality and very much cheaper than the US version. I have had a 60's reissue but favour the B profile of the 70's. In your position I would look at a Fender Japan PB62US (you want the US one for its alder body and US hardware) and consider a pickup swap (there are plenty of good options) and, if you want the full experience, a set of reverse tuners. I reckon around £650 would get you all that lot. This option I can personally recommend. The only other thing (if you want to get really authentic) would be the scratchplate. None of these 'modern' versions have scratchplates which match the old tort. I think there are folk around who do that but the factory ones rarely look convincing IMO. If you don't want sunburst then you could also contact Mark at Limelight (google classic and cool guitars) who puts together excellent basses at a very reasonable price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 (edited) [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1505990587' post='3375665'] Get a good used Fender American Standard Precision that feels right and plays well, then if you need to upgrade the sound you can just drop in any number of great sounding pickups. [/quote] I already have a USA P Bass. It doesn't feel ANYTHING like a 60's P bass unfortunately. Sounds good, just like a P bass, but again not in the same league as a good 60's P. [quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1505990743' post='3375666'] If you don't want sunburst then you could also contact Mark at Limelight (google classic and cool guitars) who puts together excellent basses at a very reasonable price. [/quote] Limelight were my first thought actually but Mark uses off the shelf necks (well fettled obviously!) of the same dimensions as current production Fender basses. Not the same beast at all. Edited September 21, 2017 by Bigwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 D'oh. Forgot the other obvious. With your budget you could get a very nice JV Squier. Again, I have had one of those and they are similarly excellent. Not sure I'd put it above the Japanese Fender 62 (there will be those who disagree vehemently - probably people selling them) but well within your budget and is likely to appreciate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 (edited) [quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1505991319' post='3375675'] D'oh. Forgot the other obvious. With your budget you could get a very nice JV Squier. Again, I have had one of those and they are similarly excellent. Not sure I'd put it above the Japanese Fender 62 (there will be those who disagree vehemently - probably people selling them) but well within your budget and is likely to appreciate. [/quote] I did have an excellent SQ Squier from a similar era and it was outstanding when compared to my US P bass. A JV is a possibility. Edited September 21, 2017 by Bigwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 I would really look at the PB62US first. With some slight modification (as mentioned) you would have what you want and some decent change. Even has the right decal on the headstock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/e/select.php?cd=08-325079704 That's £395. About £500 imported I would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 [quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1505993621' post='3375708'] [url="http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/e/select.php?cd=08-325079704"]http://www.ishibashi...cd=08-325079704[/url] That's £395. About £500 imported I would think. [/quote] That's REALLY nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumnote Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 I agree with Steve. I have a 62 re issue which I imported from Japan a few years ago, fitted it with a lollar pick up and its really nice. Has the wide 44mm neck and plays well. I have an L series precision bought in the 60s, [not all original unfortunately] and I can tell them apart but theres not much in it. I also like the necks on the classic 50s mex reissue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 [quote name='bumnote' timestamp='1505997878' post='3375746'] I agree with Steve. I have a 62 re issue which I imported from Japan a few years ago, fitted it with a lollar pick up and its really nice. Has the wide 44mm neck and plays well. I have an L series precision bought in the 60s, [not all original unfortunately] and I can tell them apart but theres not much in it. I also like the necks on the classic 50s mex reissue. [/quote] I also like the necks on the classic 50s Mexican P. Played a new one last year and was very, very impressed with it. Having owned a Roadworn Jazz I can only imagine how nice the 50s Roadworn P is (never had hands on one)... Problem is I'm much more a rosewood fan than maple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KK Jale Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 If you're looking at a MIJ Fender from Ishibashi or similar, take a look at the upmarket PB62 DMC/VSP, which came in nitro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilco Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 (edited) [quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1505987314' post='3375629'] Just wondering what folks would suggest as a good reproduction of a 60's p bass? Really looking for a 60's version of the Fender Roadworn 50's P bass. Doesn't necessarily need to be reliced, but would like something with rolled fingerboard edges, etc so it FEELS like it's been played since the 60's. The 3 that come to my mind are Bravewood, Moollon (maybe) and Maruszczyk. Just wondering what everyone else would suggest? [/quote] With your available budget, I'd be getting on to Maruszczyk to get your own spec built. Edited September 21, 2017 by Wilco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 (edited) [quote name='Wilco' timestamp='1505999591' post='3375765'] With your available budget, I'd be getting on to Maruszczyk to get your own spec built. [/quote] That may be where I'll end up as I like a lot of what Adrian is about. A lot of folks would say "it's not a Fender" but I really don't care what the headstock says, or if it doesn't use the same bridge or tuners. If it feels like a 60's P and sounds like a 60's P, it's perfect for me! And I could get it in the colour I want... I'd also considered AV Basses, but that's right at the top of my budget range. Drawn to them as Keith Duffy is a fan of them, and there's a man who knows a good bass... Edited September 21, 2017 by Bigwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 What, the barman ex of Coronation Street? :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted September 21, 2017 Author Share Posted September 21, 2017 [quote name='Steve Browning' timestamp='1506000145' post='3375775'] What, the barman ex of Coronation Street? :-) [/quote] No, but he does actually play bass for said barman's real life "band"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 I am a big fan of Bravewood's work. Not the cheapest option necessarily, but virtually indistinguishable from the real thing, apart from the fact that IMHO they are generally much better instruments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJE Posted September 21, 2017 Share Posted September 21, 2017 I would be looking at Olinto by Labella, definitely consider Moollon, everyone raves about them and a lot of guys with the real deal 60s precisions. One of the nicest basses I have played in a long time was a Fender 63 precision reissue, stunning bass. Also for 2k you could look at secondhand Fender CS basses. I am no Fender fan, but every CS bass I have played and guitar for that matter, has been amazing, best necks I have played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 Rather nice Limelight just turned in the For sale. It says P neck but I am not sure what this means. I would contact Mark and ask. Fender themselves say this:: [color=#000000] The modern Fender American Standard Precision Bass is a guitar with a B neck with a Modern C neck shape, with B referring to nut width, and Modern C referring to the curve shape of the back of the neck.[/color][color=#000000] Nut widths either either A, B, C or D.[/color][color=#000000] A – 1 1/2-inch B – 1 5/8-inch C – 1 3/4-inch D – 1 7/8-inch[/color][color=#000000] …and these were the original letter designations for Fender necks well before the whole neck-shape-by-letter thing came into being.[/color][color=#000000] Fender neck shapes can be C, U, or V, and these letters literally refer to how the back of the neck is not only shaped but also [i]how it looks[/i]. This means a C does have a shape similar to that of a letter C, a V actually looks like a letter V on the back, and so on.[/color][color=#000000] U – Early 1950s or 1970s shape Soft V – Early 1950s Hard V or just V – Mid-1950s shape C – Late-50s oval shape Modern C – Modern flat oval shape[/color] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 For my money, I'd go for Maruszczyk (for general greatness) or Limelight (which I'd buy again if I could specify a weight). The P neck on my old Limelight Jazz felt wonderfully worn-in, with rolled edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 There`s an MIJ 62 Reissue up or grabs on here at present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 There is but it doen't say whether it's the US version or not. The non-US has a basswood body. Nothing wrong in that but it's not the right spec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lojo Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 I've got a Japanese PB62RI which is wonderful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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