The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Fender Basses => Topic started by: Denis on May 17, 2009, 02:43:27 PM
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I've been looking around for Fender P-bass to go along with the Dano and T-bird but didn't want one of the more commonly seen ones. Friday I saw an interesting looking P-bass on eBay and sent a photo of it to a friend who told me it's what was often referred to as a "Cowpoke" bass. It's sunburst and looks like it's been around the block a couple of times but it's definitely high on the unusual-looking P-bass category. I understand they were made only for a few years in the early '90s.
What do you guys think of them?
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The Cowpoke is a Fender P-Bass Special made in Mexico in the mid 90s, downsized body, '51 style pickguard, P/J with a preamp. They sold for about 450-500 new, a few years back they were going used in the 300 range, don't know about now. They seemed to change hands a lot.
A friend of mine gigged regularly with one for a couple of years in the late 90s, always sounded good to me and she seemed to like it. But when she got married, her husband gave her a new Stingray and Ampeg stack for a wedding present. After that she used her new gear.
The Precision Special name has been used and reused over the years.
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Thanks for the info, Dave. This one's coming to me for about $300 so that's probably fair. Do they have J-bass necks on them?
I'm curious to see how I like it.
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Yes, the necks had a typical J type profile.
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I've read a number of discussions about them - the impression I gathered is that they're a well-made bass and they definitely have a fan club.
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Cool, sounds like there's hope yet!
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Lovely looking basses, great sound too, I'd be very happy to land one. 8)
One of the best things to come out of the Mexico factory, if not the best, for sure.
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Sounds like as uncommon as they are they seem to have a pretty good reputation. When it shows up, I'll post pics!
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Did the "Cowpoke" name get coined in the old Pit and by whom?
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I'd be interested in learning how far back the term goes.
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It was coined on the original Pit about 2002-2003 by Dave Fitch. Jack W. (bovinehost) had bought one, Dave was not familiar with the '51 style guard and thought it looked something like a vest a cowboy would wear. The name stuck.
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There's a bit of trivia I didn't know...
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It's much nicer than the pics the guy posted indicated. It's freakin' sweet!
(http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l111/bigtreebluesea/DSC05027b.jpg)
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You got a real nice one. IIRC the sunbursts were less common than the blond and black.
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oooooOOOOOOOooooooo...that's very nice!!!!
I agree, the 'burst ones don't turn up often. That's a NICE find!
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Thanks!
I have to admit I shocked when I pulled it out of the box and the bag in which he shipped it. Even this pic doesn't do the bass justice. The wood grain is really beautiful. From the numbers it appears to be a '95 or '96 and seems to have been pretty well taken care of. So, the bursts are less common than the other versions? This pleases me!
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very nice,but is it me or does the headstock look small.
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Yeah, it's definitely a smaller headstock than those on other P-basses. I was sneaking around on that "other" bass forum and saw some pics of various Cowpokes and they all have this same headstock (although some are painted). Someone made the comment that they have necks and headstocks closer in design to those of '51 reissues than of usual P-basses, although I'm certain no authority on that stuff. It's almost like a larger Tele headstock than a bass headstock.
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I always thought it was patterned more after the original (Telecaster style) pre-'57 P headstock than the later P headstock. After all, it has the '51-style pickguard. A nice tribute to the earlier style without being exact, like a reissue.
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Tonight I'm going to run it up to the shop for a setup and probably new strings. The guy from whom I bought it owned it for a couple of years, never played it and it wouldn't surprise me if it hasn't been set up since it was new. The E definitely makes the E sound but sounds terrible.
Now I need a spotted cow guitar strap...
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Picked up the Cowpoke from the shop last night and what a difference! Everything was out of whack but due to some in-store strife the guitar tech set it up super cheaply. ;D
I'm surprised how different this thing is from the two other basses I have. The neck seems wider than the T-birds, but also seems shorter because of the smaller body on these. It's harder to play farther down the scale than on either the T-bird on the Dano, in spite of the fact that there's a generous cutaway. Since I don't have nearly the experience switching back and forth between basses that you guys have, getting used to it will take a little time.
She sounds FANTASTIC though!
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Good. I'm glad it was a simple setup and not a serious issue.
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Thanks, Dave. Nothing serious fortunately, just typical bridge and truss rod adjustments, tuning, etc. I don't know how old the strings were but they didn't need to be replaced. I think she's going to turn out to be a nice bass.