Should I break it up?

[Pete the feet]

My brother has asked me to sell his 69/70 Precision. It has been stripped of its sunburst back in the 70's and played very hard. It looks like stinky poo, but is still a beautiful thing. I used it for a couple of years as pro in the late 70's and he did the same in the 80's. He "gave" it to me recently, reckons it just a bit of wood etc., etc. Should I sell it complete, break it up (necks are selling/being listed for silly money) or hang on to it, look at it from time to time or what?  

 

[Burns-bass]

Shame he’s lost his emotional connection to it, but it’s a slab of wood with some value!

 

I used to part out Fender basses in the early 2000s and they almost always sold for more than the whole.

 

So on a purely financial basis, splitting it might be best. As a player I’d keep it together!

 

 

[Velarian]

[PaulThePlug]

27 minutes ago, Pete the feet said:

 69/70 Precision. It has been stripped of its sunburst back in the 70's and played very hard. It looks like stinky poo, but is still a beautiful thing.

Love Natural... Pics Please and Keep It.

[Downunderwonder]

Your brother is very generous.

A, Possibly far more generous than he knows?

Or B, Generous and so wealthy that he doesn't mind giving away multi thousand pound basses?

Or perhaps C, generous and didn't consider the possibility of you selling it even though he has no further use for it himself.

 

You should probably get clear on all that before flogging it off.

 

[Pete the feet]

17 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

Shame he’s lost his emotional connection to it, but it’s a slab of wood with some value!

 

I used to part out Fender basses in the early 2000s and they almost always sold for more than the whole.

 

So on a purely financial basis, splitting it might be best. As a player I’d keep it together!

 

 

I'm 70 next year, if I snuff it, the removal men might chuck it i the bin.

I haven't gigged for maybe 30 years and doubt I will again. 

I have had it my house for probably 20+ years, keeping it safe

But, every time I open the case...  

 

[Pete the feet]

12 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

Your brother is very generous.

A, Possibly far more generous than he knows?

Or B, Generous and so wealthy that he doesn't mind giving away multi thousand pound basses?

Or perhaps C, generous and didn't consider the possibility of you selling it even though he has no further use for it himself.

 

You should probably get clear on all that before flogging it off.

 

 

Just now, Pete the feet said:

I'm 70 next year, if I snuff it, the removal men might chuck it i the bin.

I haven't gigged for maybe 30 years and doubt I will again. 

I have had it my house for probably 20+ years, keeping it safe

But, every time I open the case...  

 

 

[Pete the feet]

14 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

Love Natural... Pics Please and Keep It.

Will take some photos, but they do show how rough it looks, but how nice it is. Or at least that's my opinion.

[PaulThePlug]

you tease... where is the full frontal body shot... i dont get off that much on heads n neck ends!

[Pete the feet]

19 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

Your brother is very generous.

A, Possibly far more generous than he knows?

Or B, Generous and so wealthy that he doesn't mind giving away multi thousand pound basses?

Or perhaps C, generous and didn't consider the possibility of you selling it even though he has no further use for it himself.

 

You should probably get clear on all that before flogging it off.

 

He saw something on telly where a knackered old Precision was valued at £6k or something.

It was all (mostly) original, but well played by a local "celeb".

I did point out that it was probably over priced and made a good bit of TV

He's not rich, but has his own place and doesn't want for much.

 

  

[Pete the feet]

4 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

you tease... where is the full frontal body shot... i dont get off that much on heads n neck ends!

That's all I have right now, those pictures were to try and get a real date for the beast!

Will try to take some tomorrow

[Pete the feet]

9 minutes ago, Pete the feet said:

That's all I have right now, those pictures were to try and get a real date for the beast!

Will try to take some tomorrow

 

[mr4stringz]

Stripped or not I've seen far worse (as the actress said to the bishop etc etc).

 

Whether you keep it or sell, keep it as a whole instrument either way. Because it already is one. Just my twopenneth…

[PaulThePlug]

Very Nice... Right up my street!

Loving the mini control plate

@Velarian!?!..

After 50 odd years, I think it deserves to stay together...

Edited November 5, 2022 by PaulThePlug

[tauzero]

I am not, by any means, a Fender enthusiast. However, this seems to me like an instrument rather than a collection of parts and it would be a shame to split it up. I hope it finishes up with someone who will just clean it up, get rid of the gaffa tape (and do anything that needs to be done in order to do so) and play it like it is. The body is nice, an early one before Fender started just routing out a channel to the pickup and relying on the pickguard to cover it all up.

[nilorius]

Not a bad look for a really hard road worn bass. Keep it.

[Velarian]

I agree with the other comments. Keep it in one piece and clean it up. It would be a shame to break it up. Is it still in a playable condition? 
 

It does appear to have a couple of issues though, like the missing 20th fret, not that would matter to most people from a playing perspective. Is the gaffer tape there because the pickup cover mounting lug is damaged or is it just a missing screw? The biggest question is what is the truss rod like, is it still functional? If not, then that would be an issue whether it was parted out or not. 

[uk_lefty]

8 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Your brother is very generous.

A, Possibly far more generous than he knows?

Or B, Generous and so wealthy that he doesn't mind giving away multi thousand pound basses?

Or perhaps C, generous and didn't consider the possibility of you selling it even though he has no further use for it himself.

 

You should probably get clear on all that before flogging it off.

 

I'm the youngest of three brothers so I propose there could be an option D... He's done something you haven't yet found out about that will cost you more than the bass' worth. And it's not long til you find out. That's if he's the younger of you two.

 

 

Joking. Am sure he's just not that bothered about it. 

 

Perhaps take it to Bass Direct or the Bass Gallery and get it valued and share the proceeds between you?

Edited November 5, 2022 by uk_lefty

[Downunderwonder]

42 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

share the proceeds between you?

Best suggestion yet.

 

My 2c is in line with previous posters that it's a vintage instrument and deserves conservation as a player, the duct tape needs to go and the truss rod needs to work.

 

I guess there are no worthy bassers in the descendants? Tick the fix up boxes and it will realise a more handy sum.

[SteveXFR]

I love the look of it. If I had the spare cash I'd buy it exactly as it is.

I like that you can see the age and see its worked hard and most importantly, it's real wear and age rather than a new one attacked with sandpaper. 

[Reggaebass]

If it was mine I’d like to find out what’s original like the pickup dates, the pot dates, the tuners, bridge etc, and more importantly if the truss rod works ok as the nut looks quite far in , a buyer will ask all these questions, looks like it dates to 69, very cool bass and a lovely patina 👌

Edited November 5, 2022 by Reggaebass
Edit, I’d leave it complete

[lowdown]

If I was after an older P-Bass, I would probably go for something like this (As long as the Truss rod is okay).

After purchase I would just sort out the pups and try and source an aged or repro/relic scratch plate like in this link.

Aged Brown Tortoiseshell 1960's Precision Bass 22 Pickguard Fender P Bass (vintageguitarparts.co.uk)

 

But I'm not after an older P-Bass. So good luck, I'm sure there is a few quid to be made, either way

 

[MrSpace]

A Fender without a pickguard. Gorgeous ❤. Of course you should do as you wish, but in my opinion breaking it up would be a sad thing indeed. 

Edited November 5, 2022 by MrSpace
Forgot the capital letter on fender 😏

[Velarian]

27 minutes ago, lowdown said:

If I was after an older P-Bass, I would probably go for something like this (As long as the Truss rod is okay).

After purchase I would just sort out the pups and try and source an aged or repro/relic scratch plate like in this link.

Aged Brown Tortoiseshell 1960's Precision Bass 22 Pickguard Fender P Bass (vintageguitarparts.co.uk)

 

But I'm not after an older P-Bass. So good luck, I'm sure there is a few quid to be made, either way

 

That, and a refinish like this beauty would be nice. Probably not worth the cost but it would be amazing!

 

 

[Pete the feet]

10 hours ago, Velarian said:

I agree with the other comments. Keep it in one piece and clean it up. It would be a shame to break it up. Is it still in a playable condition? 
 

It does appear to have a couple of issues though, like the missing 20th fret, not that would matter to most people from a playing perspective. Is the gaffer tape there because the pickup cover mounting lug is damaged or is it just a missing screw? The biggest question is what is the truss rod like, is it still functional? If not, then that would be an issue whether it was parted out or not. 

In my opinion it plays beautifully - however i am slightly biased! I used it throughout my "pro" days (75/76), before it was stripped. I think the gaffa is there as it's missing the screw, but I'm reluctant to pull it off in case something more goes wrong. Don't know what happened to that fret. And yesterday, while I took those photos, the case decided to fall apart again, luckily I have some black Gorilla tape somewhere. I reckon the truss rod is holding it together OK at the moment, though it does seem to be inside the neck a little bit.