Vintage Fenders

[rwillett]

Thats a great video

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, Owen said:

No wonder my bass looks trashed.

 

That's great! 

 

Caught my daughter playing with my vintage bass yesterday. Was quite proud.

[Beedster]

1 hour ago, Owen said:

No wonder my bass looks trashed.

 

Nice but......

 

..... you were allowing your kid to play slap......?

[Skin Lewis]

I gig my '73 Precision all the time: B neck, 8lbs 3oz, all original with excellent original case. Paid £3300 at the beginning of the year. Worth every penny.

 

 

 

 

[Reggaebass]

5 minutes ago, Skin Lewis said:

I gig my '73 Precision all the time: B neck, 8lbs 3oz, all original with excellent original case. Paid £3300 at the beginning of the year. Worth every penny.

 

 

 

 

That’s a beauty skin 👌

[Lozz196]

Most definitely 

[jimmyb625]

On 04/10/2024 at 09:15, Owen said:

No wonder my bass looks trashed.

That's pretty much how I look when I'm playing.

[Beedster]

On 02/10/2024 at 17:58, OliverBlackman said:

It’s a surprise to me the P bass prices have caught up as there was previously a discount compared to Jazz bass equivalents.....

 

Agreed, it's almost like it's going the other way now, this seems a very low price given the age and condition

 

 

[Beedster]

Just wondering whether there's any cut-off in the value/desirability of 70's Fenders. Probably projecting here, but it seems to me that the early 70's with the 60's-style tort guards can sell for (disproportionally?) higher prices than even the earliest basses with the black guards, which given there might be less than a few months between manufacture date of the instruments - and even taking into account lower prices for later instruments - suggests there might be a preference for the former?  

[rwillett]

3 hours ago, jimmyb625 said:

That's pretty much how I look when I'm playing.

Still better then me 😩

[OliverBlackman]

18 minutes ago, Beedster said:

Just wondering whether there's any cut-off in the value/desirability of 70's Fenders. Probably projecting here, but it seems to me that the early 70's with the 60's-style tort guards can sell for (disproportionally?) higher prices than even the earliest basses with the black guards, which given there might be less than a few months between manufacture date of the instruments - and even taking into account lower prices for later instruments - suggests there might be a preference for the former?  

I wouldn’t go for a P bass 76 plus because they changed the neck shape and those I’ve tried have been very heavy. The jazz bass 76-78 is also heavy but has the classic MM sound.

 

I do prefer the look of the tort to black.

[Burns-bass]

Not technically a Fender product but this example of vintage madness made me smile.

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/late-60-s-marshall-1969-4x12-pa-column-cabinets/1487540479

 

In the end, in terms of period originality, what you have is some wood bashed together in the Marshall workshop and, err, not that much else.

[OliverBlackman]

2 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

Not technically a Fender product but this example of vintage madness made me smile.

 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/late-60-s-marshall-1969-4x12-pa-column-cabinets/1487540479

 

In the end, in terms of period originality, what you have is some wood bashed together in the Marshall workshop and, err, not that much else.

I’ve not tried one but guess it’s like the Ampeg B15. Are they that functional? They complete the image though anlong side an old Fender bass and as a wannabee collector of sorts, that’s enough for me to want one.

[Burns-bass]

21 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

I’ve not tried one but guess it’s like the Ampeg B15. Are they that functional? They complete the image though anlong side an old Fender bass and as a wannabee collector of sorts, that’s enough for me to want one.

 

I imagine they sound like underpowered PA cabs that weigh about 50kg each.

 

My point was that there's very little here that can be dated to the 60s, apart from a couple of speakers and some wood. There's also nothing here that you couldn't recreate better today at a fraction of the price, yet the guy wants £7,000 for them. It's utterly bizarre.

[Misdee]

On 06/10/2024 at 09:18, Beedster said:

Just wondering whether there's any cut-off in the value/desirability of 70's Fenders. Probably projecting here, but it seems to me that the early 70's with the 60's-style tort guards can sell for (disproportionally?) higher prices than even the earliest basses with the black guards, which given there might be less than a few months between manufacture date of the instruments - and even taking into account lower prices for later instruments - suggests there might be a preference for the former?  

I would say 1973 going into 1974 was a watershed year for Fender basses, the last year that they were stylistically  mostly similar to the heyday of the earlier basses. 

 

Fender revamped and "modernised" the production in 1974, and things went downhill from there. From the livery of the instruments they were turning out (black plastic pickguards ect) to poor fit and finish, pickups wound with whatever old wire that could be sourced cheaper, wood so heavy that the basses were practically useless, production quality nosedived. 

[Misdee]

21 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

I’ve not tried one but guess it’s like the Ampeg B15. Are they that functional? They complete the image though anlong side an old Fender bass and as a wannabee collector of sorts, that’s enough for me to want one.

Is there even much of a market for vintage PA gear?

 

Unlike guitar and bass amps, general consensus of opinion would be that modern PA equipment sounds much better and is much more practical to use.

 

To be fair to the seller, he appears to have been open and transparent about the amount of renovation to these cabinets, and you can't blame him for testing the waters regarding potential buyers.  I'd be surprised if someone bought them at that price, though. 

[Beedster]

2 hours ago, Misdee said:

I'd be surprised if someone bought them at that price, though. 

 

Or at any price, the comparison with a B-15 above is interesting because there probably isn't one in real terms; B-15 is small enough to sit in a studio and make your bass sound glorious. I guess those 4 x 12  speakers could sit in a rehearsal room but whether the sound they produce would be appreciated by the punters is probably debatable, certainly given the price compared to smaller, lighter and higher quality gear. Yes, they could also sit in a man shed or similar where they might be a talking point. But at £7k I think I'd prefer the people I invite over to my man-shed to talk about a nice late-60's Precision 👍

[rwillett]

2 minutes ago, Beedster said:

 

Or at any price, the comparison with a B-15 above is interesting because there probably isn't one in real terms; B-15 is small enough to sit in a studio and make your bass sound glorious. I guess those 4 x 12  speakers could sit in a rehearsal room but whether the sound they produce would be appreciated by the punters is probably debatable, certainly given the price compared to smaller, lighter and higher quality gear. Yes, they could also sit in a man shed or similar where they might be a talking point. But at £7k I think I'd prefer the people I invite over to my man-shed to talk about a nice late-60's Precision 👍

I look forward to my invitation to your man-shed. I'll bring tea and biscuits

[peteb]

5 minutes ago, rwillett said:

I look forward to my invitation to your man-shed. I'll bring tea and biscuits

 

You will be pretty much passing my gaff on the way down. I will bring some Pastéis de Natas! 

 

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, peteb said:

 

You will be pretty much passing my gaff on the way down. I will bring some Pastéis de Natas! 

 

The king of cakes!

[Reggaebass]

1 hour ago, peteb said:

 

You will be pretty much passing my gaff on the way down. I will bring some Pastéis de Natas! 

 

Might as well pick me up too if we’re talking cakes and biscuits 😁

[rwillett]

@Reggaebass are you sarf east London? I recall Walworth Road and you for some reason.

 

I'll book a minibus...

[Reggaebass]

Just now, rwillett said:

@Reggaebass are you sarf east London? I recall Walworth Road and you for some reason.

 

I'll book a minibus...

East London Hackney and sometimes Essex 

[peteb]

5 minutes ago, rwillett said:

@Reggaebass are you sarf east London? I recall Walworth Road and you for some reason.

 

I'll book a minibus...

 

Walworth Road - I used to rehearse in a studio down there (forty years ago)! 

 

[OliverBlackman]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

 

Or at any price, the comparison with a B-15 above is interesting because there probably isn't one in real terms; B-15 is small enough to sit in a studio and make your bass sound glorious. I guess those 4 x 12  speakers could sit in a rehearsal room but whether the sound they produce would be appreciated by the punters is probably debatable, certainly given the price compared to smaller, lighter and higher quality gear. Yes, they could also sit in a man shed or similar where they might be a talking point. But at £7k I think I'd prefer the people I invite over to my man-shed to talk about a nice late-60's Precision 👍

The comparison was that modern amps/ speakers are probably better yet older gear is still collectible. Because a lot of parts are required to be replaced (tubes/ speakers) I can only guess it is for image qualities.

 

If anyone has a B15 and wants to enlighten me, I’ll likely have to fly from my current area.