LeftyBassist.com

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... 8245876654
Beautiful Natural finish on an incredible dark grainey Ash Body, nice full sized maple neck, black pickgard housing its original pickup & pots, still retaining its thumbrest & its pickup & bridge covers, one of the final & highest serial #’s on the back plate we have ever seen, in 1976 they started to put serial #’s on the front of its headstock, other than some slight coil cord impressions in the finish on the back, she’s exceptionally clean & all original, this is a very rare & clean factory Lefty !!!, she comes in a really clean black/orange lined hard case.

I know this is a "70's Fender and all, but is a '76 Fender worth $2995? I know it's all about what the market will bear, but would appreciate the thoughts of our resident Fender "experts" on whether the wood, build quality, neck shape, and electronics of this year stands the test of time, because I was under the impression that basses built from about '72-to-'76 were considered the low point in CBS's ownership. My first Bass was a '74 P-Bass, and I never felt it liked it; mostly because of the neck dive, and non-descript sound of the pickups. Changed the pickups out at one point, and that didn't seem to make much difference to my ear...

Now I have to be honest, my '74 was my first bass; I had no clue how to play a bass, much less know how to EQ it; I couldn't afford a decent bass amp - my first combo amp was a TKO 150 - so I had no real clue as to whether I had a good Fender or not... and looking back on that time, if I had that bass now, I'd most likely be able to make it sound just fine... But I don't feel that it would realistically measure up to the '78-to-'80 (based on all of your thoughts on the pot/body/neck dates I submitted last year...) P-Bass, with a slim Maple neck, that I now currently own, and love playing; based on sound/tone, and balance.d

So please weigh-in; I'm really curious on all of your thoughts on the '70's era CBS Fender P's... thanks!

I own (or have owned) several 70's era Fenders in my lifetime. IMO, the decade can be pretty spotty and inconsistent, as the QC was questionable, but that's not to say you can't find exceptional instruments during the era. The biggest issues I've encountered in the inconsistent QC control are misaligned bridges, resulting in strings nearly hanging off the edge of the fretboard, nuts with improperly string spaced grooves, gaps in the neck pocket, and sloppy pickup routing. The earlier the decade the better, IMO. My '72 J that I've owned since I was 18 is the best J I've ever played. Sometimes I won't play it for months, then pick it up again and I have to ask myself, "Why do I bother playing anything else?" I found a twin brother '72 J for it several years ago, but it's just not as good. I also own a '73 maple neck P, a '75 Telebass, and a '77 Telebass. The '73 P and '75 Tele are great, easily two of my favorite basses, while the '77 you could drive a mack truck through the neck pocket gap. Bottom line: the decade can be very hit and miss.

Later into the decade Fender started producing instruments with northern ash and excessively thick skin coat finishes, the results can be heavy (sometimes 10+lbs) with a noticeable tonal difference between the maple necked vs rosewood fretboards. '78 lefty Ps are the most prevalent you tend to see, most being natural finish ash bodied Ps with maple necks. It's probably THE most common vintage lefty Fender bass you can find. The mid to late 70's maple necked Ps around this time are great for that classic driving fat, classic punk/new wave era sound (using a pick) you hear like The Clash, The Jam, etc.

At any rate, this one appears to be in great shape and the QC looks solid, though I find the discoloration of the neck finish at the 17th fret and up a bit odd. It's as if they lacquered the neck and stopped at the 17th fret. As for price, I'd say it's on the high side, but the market has dictated that, "Older is better" with Fender, and it may not be long before we start seeing 80's instruments go up in value too based purely on the passing of time.

A very personal choice. Personally, I wouldn't spend that much unless it was under 9 lbs and had an "A" neck.

But from a market perspective, It's worth what people are paying, of course. Problem is, we don't know what the market says. Reverb doesn't show actual sales prices, and while Ebay shows completed sales, its such a ghost town now you may not find any comps.

I agree I would think that price would be fair for a 73 or 74, funny how one year can make a difference. I would think you could ONLY as that price if it were mint. I would have concern about the resale value of this bass, if you purchased it and did not like it you may have a challenge selling without taking a loss.

pjmuck, appreciate all of your info and experience, and glad to hear it's more of an EQ issue, rather than overall materials used.. my '78 doesn't appear to have a massive amount of paint/finish on it, but it does weigh-in somewhere between 10-11 lbs. And, I suspect the pickups are aftermarket Dimarzios after comparing them to online pictures. Combined with the flats I installed, it has a nice P-bass thunk to it, and works well in my Blues and Rock bands...

Beautiful and classic bass. I don't get too excited about black finish lefties, but that is the quintessential punk era bass right there.

One other thing I forgot to mention: the B necks on those 70's era P basses (7-1/2" radius) are the holy grail of bass necks, IMO. I've been searching for a rosewood equivalent forever and thought about having one custom built.

Fivebass, very nice Black tuxedo P Bass. Seems that I have a very similar S8 transition Version as Jazz Bass
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9582
Your pics showing me again that all is original on my transition bass!