1985 Fender Performer Bass Candy Green on eBay

[ilan]

In Bremen, Germany.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/115450721131

EUR 1,790 ($1,867)

[amptech]

I always thought these were so ugly they were cool
So I was delighted when I had one in for service a cople of years ago. The neck is just silly pencil thin!

[morrow]

They are so ugly they are cool . I’m ok with a two octave neck although I tend to sit in the money section .
Price seems slightly high , but they’re not common and it’s unlikely we’ll be looking at a reissue anytime soon .

[Dave W]

String spacing is too tight for a long scale bass, at least for my hands.

I remember these going for $800-1000 about 20 years ago, so the price probably isn't excessive.

[Alanko]

Pleasantly surprising to see a rarer bass like that without a bananas price tag. I can imagine a less clean example sitting on Reverb for $3000 + because of the scarcity factor.

There is definitely a vibe of 'what the future used to look like' about those basses. Fender making a bold but slightly gauche stab at designing a bass fit for the '80s.

[gearHed289]

Yeah, cool retro-future vibe. Nice color too. Looks like an Alembic-size neck.

[Dave W]

Yeah, cool retro-future vibe. Nice color too. Looks like an Alembic-size neck.

I've seen one but don't remember playing it. IIRC the neck was thin front to back and had a 1 1/2" nut. Designed by John Page, according to people at the old FDP.

[Dave W]

[Pilgrim]

I like it, including the color.  Sounds like it would be a nice neck to play. But that video clip sounds awful, at least on my laptop.

Evidently the sound of the 80's is rampant pick noise with a bit of pick-on-roundwound abrasive sliding added.

[amptech]

I like it, including the color.  Sounds like it would be a nice neck to play. But that video clip sounds awful, at least on my laptop.

Evidently the sound of the 80's is rampant pick noise with a bit of pick-on-roundwound abrasive sliding added.

I did make a recording for reference of the one I had in. But it sounded thin on any amp.

[ilan]

I did make a recording for reference of the one I had in. But it sounded thin on any amp.

Given the dimensions of the neck, not a surprise.

Looks like it has some neck dive in the demo.

[Alanko]

I like it, including the color.  Sounds like it would be a nice neck to play. But that video clip sounds awful, at least on my laptop.

Evidently the sound of the 80's is rampant pick noise with a bit of pick-on-roundwound abrasive sliding added.

The bass of the '80s was a left hand on a DX7, Oberheim 8-voice poly synth etc. Bass guitars either became a thinner, brittle and percussive beast or that ultra syrupy fretless Pino tone. It is like they were hiked up and EQ'd out of the bass range and replaced by thick synth pads.