wateroftyne Posted July 21, 2019 Posted July 21, 2019 (edited) Hey gang Following a recent fling with a '63 Precision, which made me realise the early 60's neck profile isn't for me, I'm back in the bosom of the lovely fat early 70s P neck. I picked this up a few days ago - it's a '72, with a neck stamp dated the month & year of my birth. It's light (about 8.5lbs) and resonant, original black, with a maple neck. They're just teaser pics at the moment as it needs a little bit of love, but I'll post the full story soon. In the meantime, I can barely stop playing it... Edited July 23, 2019 by wateroftyne 14 Quote
4000 Posted July 21, 2019 Posted July 21, 2019 Pretty much everything I’ve ever played from ‘72 has been great ( my 2 Rics are both ‘72s). Must have been something in the water. Quote
franzbassist Posted July 21, 2019 Posted July 21, 2019 Very nice, but remember the 5 refers to the neck type (i.e. a P bass), not the day of the month. 1 Quote
wateroftyne Posted July 21, 2019 Author Posted July 21, 2019 20 minutes ago, franzbassist said: Very nice, but remember the 5 refers to the neck type (i.e. a P bass), not the day of the month. Oh aye.. I knew that, but completely forgot in my enthusiasm. I stand corrected. Quote
Deedee Posted July 21, 2019 Posted July 21, 2019 Very nice 😍. What's the nut width on this one? I ask as at some point I'd like to get hold of a YOB '73 precision and I too love chunky necks (Steve Harris Blue Sparkle P kind of chunky). The problem is I don't have a clue about the neck options that were available in '73. Quote
BreadBin Posted July 21, 2019 Posted July 21, 2019 As a fully paid-up member of the '72 fat neck crew I approve of this 👍 1 Quote
franzbassist Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 9 hours ago, Deedee said: Very nice 😍. What's the nut width on this one? I ask as at some point I'd like to get hold of a YOB '73 precision and I too love chunky necks (Steve Harris Blue Sparkle P kind of chunky). The problem is I don't have a clue about the neck options that were available in '73. The "B" in the neck stamp refers to the neck width, which is 1 5/8″ Quote
Soledad Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 Very nice indeed👍 I'm a Precision fan and have owned a few from a '64 to my present '97 (all USA) but never a maple neck - do they sound at all different? And the various neck sections tend to have that dead resonance somewhere between Bflat and D on the G, some hardly noticeable but others a bit pronounced. Does the stiffer maple overcome that at all? Quote
wateroftyne Posted July 22, 2019 Author Posted July 22, 2019 19 minutes ago, Mickeyboro said: Welcome back to the fold, Michael...😇 Thank you. To be honest, I was never away. It slots nicely between my '71 and '73. 😄 Quote
Deedee Posted July 22, 2019 Posted July 22, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, franzbassist said: The "B" in the neck stamp refers to the neck width, which is 1 5/8″ Aha, thanks for that. I'd got it into my head that the ‘B’ just referred to the profile of the neck and not necessarily the nut width. It is in fact the other way around 🙄 Edited July 22, 2019 by Deedee Doh! Quote
wateroftyne Posted July 23, 2019 Author Posted July 23, 2019 On 22/07/2019 at 06:45, Soledad said: Very nice indeed👍 I'm a Precision fan and have owned a few from a '64 to my present '97 (all USA) but never a maple neck - do they sound at all different? And the various neck sections tend to have that dead resonance somewhere between Bflat and D on the G, some hardly noticeable but others a bit pronounced. Does the stiffer maple overcome that at all? There doesn't seem to be a pronounced dead spot on this, but none of my rosewood P's seem to suffer from it either. 1 Quote
Misdee Posted July 23, 2019 Posted July 23, 2019 Absolutely love late 60s/early 70s P Basses myself, and prefer them to earlier more vintage models I have played. This looks like a lovely example. Cant wait to hear and see more of this one. Great purchase, I like your taste! Quote
micguy Posted July 23, 2019 Posted July 23, 2019 On 21/07/2019 at 14:30, wateroftyne said: Oh aye.. I knew that, but completely forgot in my enthusiasm. I stand corrected. As you've been given freedom from thinking it's a few day off from your birth, I suggest you now assume it was born the same exact day you were. In the evening, or course, as if it was born during your morning, the folks in California at the factory wouldn't have been at work yet 1 Quote
Soledad Posted July 24, 2019 Posted July 24, 2019 On 21/07/2019 at 19:44, 4000 said: Pretty much everything I’ve ever played from ‘72 has been great ( my 2 Rics are both ‘72s). Remember when I was a kid, the pre-CBS ones were sought after and the CBS/TV logo were somewhat looked down upon, but looking back I reckon a lot of that was anti-corporate hype. I had a '67 Jazz transition for ages and it was really good, Nice to see it with original s'plate (OK, pickguard if you must but Fender called them scratchplates back then) - so many this period have had tort plates put on to make them look 'vintage'... tort only belonged on sunburst and when I see one on a fiesta red (or whatever solid colour) it's just plain wrong. Anyway, very nice original P 👍 Quote
wateroftyne Posted July 24, 2019 Author Posted July 24, 2019 Yeah, I completely agree that there was something in the water at Fender late 60's / early 70s. Every one I've had (and this is my.. err.. 7th, I think?) has been a beauty. Nice weight, resonant, with 'that' neck profile, of course they sound great (IMO)... and they look fab. Once I've got a couple of tweaks done, I'll post more pics and give the full lowdown. Quote
wateroftyne Posted August 24, 2019 Author Posted August 24, 2019 Right.. here's more pics & the lowdown. It's had one previous owner, who bought it new in San Bernardino, CA in 1972. He's played it ever since. and did the usual tinkering 1980s (Dimarzio pickups, Badass, replacement pickguard). Dave Wilson has restored to its former glory, with a couple of bits from Limelight, and it's a beaut. Light (7.5lbs-ish) and incredibly resonant. It lives again, and it's going to get gigged to hell. Happy days. 10 Quote
wateroftyne Posted August 25, 2019 Author Posted August 25, 2019 4 hours ago, DarkHeart said: It`s a black and white P....... Jeff, you’re either a serial bore, or obsessed. Let it go. Quote
stewblack Posted August 25, 2019 Posted August 25, 2019 Beautiful. And I speak as a dedicated rosewood board kind of guy. I'm slowly replacing everything I own with P Basses. When it's right it's right. Quote
PatrickJ Posted August 25, 2019 Posted August 25, 2019 Dumb question for this thread I know but having never played a vintage Preceision can you enlighten me on the differences between the 60s and 70s neck profiles? My only 'Fender' P is a MiM PJ that has a jazz neck. Quote
wateroftyne Posted August 25, 2019 Author Posted August 25, 2019 IME, 60s necks are wide, but shallow front-to-back. Later 60s and 70s B necks are narrower (not J narrow tho) but deeper front-to-back. All are perfectly playable by anyone with normal hands 🙂 1 Quote
wateroftyne Posted August 27, 2019 Author Posted August 27, 2019 It got its first run out a couple of days ago on a dep gig, and it sounds lovely. Here's a snippety snippet. 3 Quote
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