Vintage 1975 LEFTY Fender Precision Bass / Original

Vintage 1975 LEFT-HANDED Fender Precision $2495.00 / $100.00 US shipping

For sale is my vintage Fender bass in excellent condition. Black body, white pick guard with maple neck. I bought this Precision from the original owner in 1979 when I was in high school. All parts are original and I’d consider the condition to be near mint. After a short feeble attempt at learning to play, I gave it up and this instrument has spent nearly all of the last 30+ years in the closet.

I just took it to a guitar store that deals in vintage instruments for new strings and setup. The tech reported everything looks original and working properly. I don’t have an amp anymore, so I’m relying on his report.

Black finish is kind of rare for this era and shows off like it’s new. Very little play wear to the body and neck.

I’m not comfortable removing the neck, so I haven’t. As far as dating the instrument, I’m pretty sure it’s a 1975. Serial number on large F neckplate. Thumbrest is in correct position, and decal is appropriate. It’s possible that it’s a ’76 based on one serial number guide I read, but based on Reverb’s dating guide, this is a 1975 Fender.

https://reverb.com/news/how-to-date-a-fender#Fseries1965-1976

The serial number is 650000 which fits the range for 1975 Fender Precisions in Reverb’s guide: 580000 to 690000.   The even numbered “650000” serial number is pretty cool, too.   I have no idea if that is significant.

The body is in excellent condition without any wear through. There’s a small scratch on the top front near the top strap button, and a white scuff on the bottom edge. The chrome covers are missing. Small hairlines at the screw holes for the bridge cover. Slight hazing to the gloss black finish above the thumb rest and around the rear strap button along with some minor scuffs. There’s some rust on the rear strap button and screw. I have not tried to polish anything out. I’m erring on the side of nitpicking and opting to leave everything as it is. I’m not an expert and will leave it to you it you want to take it to absolutely perfect.

Original pickups, pots and wiring. One of the pickups isn’t sitting level. Seems like an easy fix, but I don’t want to mess with anything. Dunno why the tech didn’t correct that, or if it was deliberate.

The white pick guard show some very slight yellowing but is still very clean and bright with no breaks or splits. I has a band of black running around the edge (two white layers sandwiching a black layer). Some of the screws show wear.

Condition of the maple neck is exceptional - straight and flat with little to no wear. It has black painted dots. Skunkstripe runs up the back. Headstock has Fender decal without the model name. This is an unusual feature, but I understand it’s consistent with ’75 lefty P Basses. There is a very small round dimple below the A string near the base of the neck. This could be from the manufacturing process, a finish defect, or perhaps a fill but looks to be original to the guitar.

The case is original and in good shape. There is staining on on the right side of the red inner lining. The reinforced edge stitching is starting to lift on the bottom exterior right corner. On the front there are two round stickers original to when I purchased the bass and date from the mid seventies: one is a Paul McCartney Venus and Mars album sicker, the other a Cobra Whirlwind Music cable sticker. I love these stickers and never took them off. Venus and Mars seemed like the perfect sticker for this bass. An album made by the most famous lefty bass player in the world and was released in May 1975 - the year this instrument was made.