Collectible Guitar MarApr 2017 | Page 46

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PAWN SHOP PRIZE : FENDER 78 VINTAGE AMERICAN P BASS � Roger Zimish
You know when you hear a classic rock song and it transports you back in your mind to that year in your life ? Oh , the memories of days gone by . Did you ever notice that guitars can do the same thing ? That ’ s what happened when I started looking at this 1978 Fender Precision Bass . Who can forget Bill Wyman ’ s bass line in the Rolling Stones song “ Miss
You ,” or the power of “ Who Are You ” from The Who on the radio , and those movie sound track albums from “ Saturday Night Fever ” and “ Grease ”. 1978 was also the year that a band out of LA released their debut album with that unknown guitar player , Eddie Van Halen . Yes , the memories of my high school years brought back by a Fender P Bass .
The Fender Precision Bass was first introduced in 1951 three years before its little brother , the Stratocaster , debuted in 1954 . The P Bass went through a few changes and improvements in its early years and is still in production today . Bass players like Sting , Iron Maiden ’ s Steve Harris , Roger Walters from Pink Floyd , Tommy Shannon with Steve Ray Vaughn ’ s band , and session great Carol Kaye all gig with the Precision Bass . This P Bass is from the CBS era of Fender guitars with a serial number starting with “ S8 ” this tells me it was made between Dec . 1977 and Dec 1978 at the Fullerton Plant in California . The maple neck is surprisingly clean for a bass of this age , which tells me it has had some fret work done on it ; a pretty good job too , the frets are clean and smooth . The body is showing its age however , with the “ Jet Black ” paint and lacquer finish cracking and flaking over parts of the body revealing the natural wood underneath . The bass is missing a few things . The original single coil split pickup is there , but the metal cover that went over it is gone . Most players that I know take them off anyway . The thumb rest that goes above the low E string is missing as well , which is not that big of a deal . Playability wise this bass has some serious MOJO . It ’ s tone and feel just grooves , and there is no mistaking that P Bass sound and feel . The only drawback is the overall weight of the bass , a little over eleven pounds . This P Bass would make a great studio bass , but I would not want to play it live all night for my backs sake .
Reverb . com is estimating the price range from $ 1,500 to $ 2,000 depending on condition for a mid-70 ’ s Fender P Bass . Pawn shop prices will vary . They will most likely try to make a loan on or buy a bass like this for as little cash as possible , so be prepared to negotiate in a friendly manner to get a deal on your own Pawn Shop Prize .
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