Fender Custom shop Lotto telecaster bass

[Iome]

Anybody seen this beauties? http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-Custom-Shop-LOTTO-Telecaster-Bass-N-O-S--581326-i1443114.gc . I wonder how it sounds with those buckers...they shure are far from each other. Anyway, 6000$ are way out of my budget.

[Chris P.]

Looks like Fender's answer to the Lakland Decade and I love it!!

[Blazer]

Love the way it looks.

[Iome]

I wonder wats inside the P.U's, (or in the old ones too) could it be P's under chrome cover with those splitted poles? Anybody??

[eb2]

What is inside the old ones is not a P pup at all, but it is built like a conventional guitar humbucker.  Two coils run in series with polarity reversed from each other.  Each coil has two adjustable pole piece screws and two (hidden) pole piece slugs.  I never liked the sound of them, personally.  I know that tonality is subjective, but it was certainly the majority opinion for many years at least.  I would guess that the newer one is at least constructed the same way as it would be cheaper to copy the old molds and tooling than to modify every P coil to fit inside one of those covers.  But maybe not.

I like the color and neck combo as it looks like oddball early 70s Jaguars and Jazzmasters you see on occasion, with the LPB and black blocks.  The body features don't do much.  I think in 6 months to a year, I will be looking forward to seeing one of the necks pop up on ebay for some custom creation.

[Dave W]

Fine for what it is, but how is this a Telecaster Bass?    The originals had slab bodies, dot necks, 2-saddle bridges strung through the body and one single coil (first edition) or one CuNiFe humbucker (second edition). This one has a contour body, block inlays, a Badass II and two unknown pickups that look like the second edition humbuckers but aren't.

I guess the Tele headstock shape trumps being different in just about every other way. 

FWIW, here's an inner view of the original humbucker.



The polepieces are threaded CuNiFe magnets, which apparently haven't been made for years. I suspect the new ones have unmagnetized polepieces with an Alnico magnet on the bottom, like the reissue Fender Wide Range humbuckers used on the Tele Deluxe (guitar) reissue.

[Saf]

I have one of those old pups lying around here. It was installed in one of my musicmaster basses when I got it. Pulled it out of that bass whitin weeks, it's not my type of sound.

[Chris P.]

I have one too. And I believe some people on the BGF want one, Saf.

[Saf]

I don't think so, doug. Is up in the market for over some weeks now. Got not much serious reactions. highest bid is 25 euro. That seems a bit low to me. For that money I better keep it myself. But I don't know what's a good and fair price for it?

[godofthunder]

For a Fender I like that bass.................................alot ( what does Lotto mean ? lotto cash ?)  But I don't like it 6K worth 

[Blazer]

I have been going "it looks familiar for some reason" for a while now and now I know what it reminds me of.

[eb2]

The Fender T-40!!!!

[Dave W]

Think of all the T-40s you could buy for $6K!

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

For a Fender I like that bass.................................alot ( what does Lotto mean ? lotto cash ?)  But I don't like it 6K worth 

You gotta win the Lotto to be able to afford it. haha

[JimmyBond8]

Think of all the T-40s you could buy for $6K!

Lol, for true. For that matter, you could get maybe 2 Lakland Decades for that price as well (Or at least 2-3 Skylines).

I do like the look though, I'm always a fan of something different looking. I'd give it a play. I mean, I'd take it if they were just going to give me one or something like that. But I can't imagine myself getting in the $6k bass market anytime soon.