A Near Fine Late '62 Precision Bass

This 13-inch-wide early sixties Fender Bass weighs just 8.70 lbs. and has a nut width of just under 1 3/4 inches and a full bass scale length of 34 inches. Solid alder body contoured on back and lower bass bout, one-piece maple neck, and veneer rosewood fretboard with 20 frets and clay dot position markers. Headstock decal with Fender "spaghetti" logo in silver with black trim, "Precision Bass" in black below it, and four patent numbers below that. Single circular string tree. Fender cloverleaf tuners. Four-bolt neck plate with serial number ("91191") between the top two screws. One split black eight-polepiece pickup with a great, fat output of 11.03k. Four-layer (tortoiseshell over white/black/white) plastic pickguard with thirteen screws. With the original finger rest on the treble side of the pickguard and the metal shield under the pickguard. Two controls (one volume, one tone) on the lower treble bout. Chrome knobs with knurled sides and flat tops. Combined four-saddle bridge/tailpiece. Complete with both the original bridge and pickup covers. The neck is stamped "5 DEC 62C," the pickup cavity is marked in pencil "12/62," and the pots are stamped "304 6237" (Stackpole September 1962). There are a few small marks on the back of the guitar and two small holes where, most likely, the original owner "permanently" attached the plastic body-guard to his guitar (why on earth did he have to do that -- didn't he realize forty-four years ago that these would become collectible?). Other than that, there is a small area of wear on the bass edge, a small amount of pick wear by the chrome hand rest, and a few other insignificant surface marks on the edges. The original frets have plenty of playing time left in them, the action is low, and the neck is really straight. This is a totally original "just post slab-board" P-Bass and offers that wonderful and very distinctive "full rich bass volume" of the early sixties. Had it not been for the two extra holes on the back, we would have given this fine forty-four-year-old bass a solid 9.00 (near fine), but we will be conservative and say that the condition is excellent plus (8.75). Housed in the original Fender tan hardshell case with brown leather ends and reddish orange plush lining (9.00).

The Precision Bass, with its revolutionary new shape, was launched in 1951, and originally had a slab body. It was not until 1954, with the introduction of the Stratocaster, that Fender contoured the body. All early Precision Basses had one-piece maple necks, but in 1959, a slab-board rosewood fretboard was introduced, and then finally in 1962 the "veneer" rosewood fretboard was introduced.

Until the Precision, the bass was an upright acoustic instrument that was difficult to hear and cumbersome to transport. Leo Fender's invention allowed musicians to hold their instrument like a guitar, opening the bass world to curious guitar players, and allowing bass players a level of freedom they had not yet encountered. Due to the bass's solid body construction, it could be amplified to any level, giving it new found aural presence. In its first fifteen years of development, the Precision Bass changed as much as the music it influenced and the musicians it inspired, having been played by everyone from The Shadows to Led Zeppelin.