1977 Fender Precsion on Ebay

[vates]

Maybe an offtopic here but the question gives me no rest for quite some time:

When did they actually move the thumbrest from treble to bass side?

This product page tells that 70s Fender used it on the bass side:
http://basspartsresource.com/bpickguard_pre70.htm

 But I've seen a lot of 70s P-s with it on the treble side.

[Dave W]

I believe the rest was moved to the bass side about 1975.

[vates]

Thank you! That explains much.

And what about the mentioned pickguards? Will they fit... say... a 1973 Precision (omitting the thumbrest issue)?

[ilan]

Actually it was moved in 1974.

[Denis]

Thank you! That explains much.

And what about the mentioned pickguards? Will they fit... say... a 1973 Precision (omitting the thumbrest issue)?

I put a '78 pg on my '74 and the screw mounting holes fit perfectly! The only holes off were the two for the pickup cover, but that's a non-issue to me, really.

Actually it was moved in 1974.

That's what helped me determine my '73 was really a '74.

[Dave W]

Thanks, ilan.

Serge, the pickguards you linked to should fit any Precision made in the 70s. In practice, I've found that when you fit the guard over the pickup, the holes don't always line up exactly, and even if they do, you sometimes have to trim around the neck pocket to get that to fit right. This is just because of manufacturing variances back in the days before CNC machining.

[vates]

Dave, Denis, Ilan - thank you