Pics '72 P Bass

[MickM]

Hi folks, my first post in the bass forum due mainly 'cause I'm not a bass player. However I always liked the P bass and recently took advantage of an opportunity to swap one of my mandolins for the one in these pics. Guess I gotta' find a little bass rig now

Bridge is not original, a badass I think. Also the original white pickguard is included but is in 2 pcs. I like the tortoise better anyway. Should be here Wednesday. I'm excited to play it!

[Gunny]

that's not a Badass bridge. Looks like a nice 70's instrument to me though. I assume this was sanded down and refinished with the clear coat.

[MickM]

Why are you assuming that it's a refin?

[Bluesbob]

It looks like the back of the neck and the fret-board are quite a bit lighter than the face of the headstock. Which is good, no matter how you'd want to go. I'd use a tinted lacquer on the fretboard, trying to match the headstock, and Tru-oil on the back of the neck. Or leave it as is, although I personally wouldn't have bare wood on the fret-board, due to how it would dis-color the wood. JMHO and YMMV.
I'd love to have a maple/natural, but I opted for a CAR body w/maple on my latest P-build, just because my wife liked it better. I'd go with a parchment pickguard first, with the tortoise running a close second.
Nice that it has the original tuners. The bridge also looks like an original, definitely not a BadAss, maybe it's a Hipshot vintage? The pickup is awesome.
A little TLC and it'll be cherry. Congratulations!

[MickM]

A few more pics. In the larger back photo thr finish looks like it has much fine line horizontal checking. Could be wrong.

[refin]

Sweet lookin' bass.

[Bluesbob]

The close-ups of the back of the neck look right, I'm just puzzled as to why the fretboard looks so much lighter than the headstock. I guess it doesn't really matter - as refin says - "sweet".

[MickM]

Thanks for the opinions guys. Should be here Wed. Haven't seen/played the bass but am familiar with the guy I'm swapping with and don't expect any big surprises. I'll be back after it gets here.

[Tim Armstrong]

Nice!

I vaguely recall that Fender used nitro on the front of the headstock for a while after they switched to poly on the necks (something about the decal maybe?), that might explain the difference...

Tim

[MickM]

Thanks Tim, I love that bass in your avatar. Is that the same one that was in the pics of the last get together you guys had? I'd like to make the next one seeing as you all are only a state away.

[Tim Armstrong]

Originally Posted by MickM

Thanks Tim, I love that bass in your avatar. Is that the same one that was in the pics of the last get together you guys had? I'd like to make the next one seeing as you all are only a state away.

Yep, that's Hoss, my mutant Telecaster bass. Really a great bass, but definitely heavy, we had 5 gigs this weekend and it almost crippled me!

Tim

[dan1952]

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

Nice!

I vaguely recall that Fender used nitro on the front of the headstock for a while after they switched to poly on the necks (something about the decal maybe?), that might explain the difference...

Tim

Tim, you are correct,sir!
I had a '73 that looked just like that one, and the finish on the body even became the color of this '72 with time.

[Bluesbob]

Originally Posted by dans music

Tim, you are correct,sir!
I had a '73 that looked just like that one, and the finish on the body even became the color of this '72 with time.

But I'd still go with the parchment pickguard.

[MickM]

Got here today and I'm happy with it. Volume pot has some issues but overall it's what I expected. It's set up and plays very nice but could only play it at low vol thru my classic 30.

Finish is cool and is slightly darker than the pics show. Also no finish missing on fretboard like it appears in the pics. Although its a solid guitar, the entire bass needs a good cleaning starting with the greenish black accumulation on the sides of the frets, tuners, everything. Looks like it was rode hard and put away wet most of its life. Gotta' keep my eye out for a little amp now!

[fidopunk]

Why could you only play at low volume through your Classic 30? I use mine for a bass amp around the house at moderate to even loud volumes. It handles it just fine. Recently, I even used it to record a clean, thumpy passage that my bass stack couldn't quite attain.

[Bluesbob]

Originally Posted by MickM

no finish missing on fretboard like it appears in the pics. Although its a solid guitar, the entire bass needs a good cleaning starting with the greenish black accumulation on the sides of the frets, tuners, everything. Looks like it was rode hard and put away wet most of its life. Gotta' keep my eye out for a little amp now!

Glad you're happy and the neck is good. That's a really nice bass.
Besides the parchment pg I'd also get some new knobs.
I think I should have gone with a natural body on my P(arts)-bass.

[MickM]

Originally Posted by fidopunk

Why could you only play at low volume through your Classic 30? I use mine for a bass amp around the house at moderate to even loud volumes. It handles it just fine. Recently, I even used it to record a clean, thumpy passage that my bass stack couldn't quite attain.

I'll try it. I suppose I can always back off if things start to rattle. Just didn't think it was made to handle that low frequency growl.

Thanks for the suggestions Bob. I have some other knobs but I like the looks of the tortoise guard for now.

[MickM]

Hey guys, thanks for all of the opinions/advice and info RE: this bass. Got another question. As I stated, it is nicely naturally reliced but is dirty too. Any thoughts on giving it a good going over with a good cleaner/scratch remover? Maybe stripping the hardware and doing it right?(no buffer, just hand rubbing) Gonna' have to pull the PG to fix the volume pot anyway and I have a sneaking suspicion that the pick up isn't original.

What say Ye?

[Bluesbob]

I have used both Fender (Meguiar's) Swirl and Haze Remover and Planet Waves Restore Deep Cleaning Cream Polish. Of the two, I think the Fender product is gentler and is the one I would recommend. The Planet Waves contains petroleum distillates and reads "Harmful or fatal if swallowed".
I had excellent results using the Fender product on my '71 Jazz bass. I removed the pickguard, but not the metal control plate. The swirl and haze remover has no effect on metal, at least as far as I could tell.
I finish up with Martin's guitar polish, which I think is also "gentler" than some of the other guitar products I have used, especially suited to nitro, but good with any finish, once it's clean. I also like the way the Martin polish dries, nice and hard, as well as shiny.
I guess the tortoise guard looks nice too. It's just that both my J-basses have tortoise guards so I wanted something different on my P-bass. I thought that a '72 P-bass was only available with the tortoise anyway.
Then again, I wasn't aware of the light-colored fingerboard/dark headstock thing either, so what do I know!