Fender 96 P bass, real or fake?

[Epanak]

Hi! I could get a nice p bass, but I can‘t pick it up personally, soooo ... perhaps you can help checking it remotely. 
 

It is said to be a 96 fender p bass. It looks right to me, but I really don‘t know about the neck. It seems to me as if it was some kind of layer on top when I thought it’s supposed be just one piece. Please check the other pics too, I’m really no expert. Thanks!

 

[warwickhunt]

Looks fine to me, neck and fingerboard are as you'd expect.  Check the serial number against the Fender database.

[AndyTravis]

Yeah, legit that 👍🏼

[Reggaebass]

Looks spot on to me , the logo is right, the threaded bridge is right , the knobs are flat tops, nice bass that 🙂, 

[wateroftyne]

Looks good other than the maple cap isn't something I'd expect to see..?

[AndyTravis]

1 minute ago, wateroftyne said:

Looks good other than the maple cap isn't something I'd expect to see..?

Not unheard of though, and lacquer etc seems undisturbed

[wateroftyne]

Just now, AndyTravis said:

Not unheard of though, and lacquer etc seems undisturbed

Ah, fairy nuff. In that case, it definitely looks legit.

[Reggaebass]

It was a few years ago now but I’m sure the fretboard on my one looked like that , this is similar on my 2008 one 

[AndyTravis]

9 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

Ah, fairy nuff. In that case, it definitely looks legit.

No skunk stripe (just seen the rear of the neck) so it’s right. The Roger Waters sig is the same

[OliverBlackman]

I don’t think the neck and finger boards have been one piece since the early 50s.

[wateroftyne]

2 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said:

I don’t think the neck and finger boards have been one piece since the early 50s.

They usually are...?

[AndyTravis]

4 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

They usually are...?

I think some are and some aren’t. Easy to see why people struggle to identify fakes.

[grenadillabama]

I have a '97 and it is a separate maple fingerboard . Also mine has  the graphite stiffening rods each side of the truss rod . The neck will stay straight. My case is identical . Can't you play it first ? My '97 has a white pearl pickguard added . 

[wateroftyne]

Maple caps must be a relatively new thing... maybe on graphite reinforced necks?

[AndyTravis]

3 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

Maple caps must be a relatively new thing... maybe on graphite reinforced necks?

The 66 slabs were known for it

[wateroftyne]

10 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

The 66 slabs were known for it

The 66 slabs were known for a lot of quirky things, but they’re a drop in the ocean....

[Reggaebass]

I’ve been reading vintage bass world lately and according to that , from 1970 until 1983 fender used one piece maple necks, the info only goes up to 83 

[wateroftyne]

Just now, Reggaebass said:

I’ve been reading vintage bass world lately and according to that , from 1970 until 1983 fender used one piece maple necks, the info only goes up to 83 

If you custom-ordered a maple neck in the late 60s during the rosewood-only era it would have a maple cap. It was never a standard thing (until fairly recently, from the looks of it).

[warwickhunt]

Would 1 piece maple necks (without a maple fingerboard layered over) not have a skunk stripe though?  

[Reggaebass]

2 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

If you custom-ordered a maple neck in the late 60s during the rosewood-only era it would have a maple cap. It was never a standard thing (until fairly recently, from the looks of it).

Thanks,👍 I miss read it as it was all one piece 

[Reggaebass]

Here’s what I read 🙂