The Last Bass Outpost

Over the 40 years I've been working with Fender basses, I've had on the gig more than 30 of these instruments, mostly rosewood, but in the last five years my No. 1 call has been a maple board 1/59 gold guard, which is hands down, the best Fender P I have ever played. Extraordinary tone, huge punchy bottom-end, sweet mids, with plenty of growl and crispy highs that cut through just the way I like 'um. This bass is so percussive it's like a kick drum with notes.

George

So very nice and it appeals to me in several ways.

First, after playing rosewood boards much of my life, in the last five years I've become a huge fan of maple boards.

Second, gray bottom pickups. Aren't they lovely? So aggressive and with that fantastic mid-range the good Fender basses have in abundance. I'll bet your bass sounds great in the studio and has cut-through of the gods when playing live.

With the grays and the maple, be careful that bass doesn't bite you head off!!

George

I'm starting to feel very inadequate. 

George

uwe...for a Gibsonite, you've got a nice collection of other stuff.

At any rate, several comments:

(1) Is there a date penciled on the butt end of the neck? The body should also have a date, probably in the neck pocket. Looking at your group shot, with the bass in question some distance from the camera, it appears to me the straight-across cut of the tip end of the rosewood board above the nut indicates it was made after 1986.

(2) Original Fiesta Red finishes from American-made 1980s reissues are rare. From 1982-1984, Fender P-basses in Fiesta with rosewood boards (62 AVS reissues) are very rare.

(3) You may have already done this, but I've been very impressed with the necks coming out of MIM, so you may want to go out and put your hands on a few before making a final decision about using one as a replacement. I have a Classic 50s P and I love the cut and feel of the neck. It's my understanding that MIM necks begin life in the USA and are sent rough-cut to MIM for finishing.

George

I played the bass for about a month or so with the factory pickups and, although I liked them, I felt I could do better.

After another couple of months swaping out some Fender things I bought off ebay, a good friend I met on another forum offered to send me a set of black bottoms he had hanging around his house (he's a J guy) and I put them in and immediately it was, "Honey, I'm home." These old pickups sound terrific in this bass, a nice old school Fender tone just perfect for the blues and old soul music I like to play.

Of all the other pickups I tried, there was this set of gray bottoms from the mid-70s that were real close to the 61s.

Anyone with a Classic 50s MIM P wanting to try some other pickups should look into finding a set of 70s gray bottoms as an alternative to the factory-issued. These basses are very replacement friendly.

George

Thanks for the nice greeting and I'm looking forward to contributing here.

I've always been a Fender guy, caring little for other makers, although there are a lot of great ones out there.

Number of strings isn't nearly as important as tone.

I've owned 33 Fender basses over the years, mostly Precisions but a few Jazz. Got rid of them for one reason or another but it was generally because I got tired of them or needed the money.

I currently own three Fenders and generally work with one.

Number one call: 1959 P-bass, all original, maple board, burst, the best Fender bass I've ever had in my hands.

1952 P-bass, serial number 0064, Tadeo Gomez 1/28/52 neck date, body refin in 1964 to factory specs, fiber pickguard custom made by Clive Brown of the UK, the person many consider to be the world's best early Fender restoration artist and the guy who helped restore several early 50s planks in John Entwistle's collection, harness original, pickup original, phenolic saddles original, knobs original.

MIM Classic 50s P-bass in Fiesta. Equipped with 1961 black bottoms, Fullerton-era tuners, pre-CBS bridge, gold guard sandpapered to look old and worn, great neck on this bass and it sounds terrific. My backup at most high-profile gigs.

GK-400RB, Ampeg cabs, and Ampeg B-100R practice amp.

George

Joined last night, thanks to Dave W. Looking forward to chatting with everyone about Fender basses and glad to be here.

George