"The" Bass

A note here that Kim Deal's Doolittle bass is probably made in Japan and based in part on Pino Palladino's bass, which was an original '62 P bass in Fiesta Red with a tortoise shell pick guard. I've seen some indication that all late 80s '62 reissue P basses were made in Japan. The Japanese instruments of this era are well regarded as quality playing instruments. I can't be for sure, but I'd bet that hers is a 1987 Fender '62 Reissue made in Japan in Fiesta Red with dark fingerboard. It probably came with a white pick-guard that she seems to have subsequently replaced with a silver one. It also probably came with a little black finger rest, that she's since removed. (see video for Here Comes Your Man for likely original configuration...photo below). Doolittle began recording on October 31, 1988...so it is possible that it is a 1988 model, but it seems that 1988 and 1989 models might not exist...1987s seem more common. I suppose it could have been a 1986 too. I'm shooting at 1987 though.


This article is a great resource.

"Accordingly, Fender Japan was established in March 1982 and began building quality Fender instruments while U.S production was reorganized. One of the earliest results was the Vintage Reissue series, a high-quality new family that featured two well-built and largely historically accurate Precision Bass models, the ’57 Precision Bass and the ’62 Precision Bass. These Japanese-built Vintage Series instruments were soon introduced into the European market under the Squier name.


The short-lived Elite Precision Bass appeared in 1983 in several configurations with special electronics and hardware, but the concept lasted barely a year.
[...]
The first sign of recovery for Fender itself, on the other hand, came in 1984, when CBS decided to sell off all its non-broadcast-related holdings. Fender was on the block, and Schultz, backed by a group of investors he enlisted, bought the company he’d presided over since 1981 in a sale that was completed in March 1985, ending 20 years of CBS rule.

Owning very little in the way of resources—only the name, distribution and some leftover inventory and machinery (no U.S. factory)—Schultz set about rebuilding and revitalizing Fender. While Fender Japan now became the world’s main producer of Fender instruments, Schultz and his staff established headquarters for the newly renamed Fender Musical Instruments Corporation in Brea, Calif., and acquired a 14,000-square-foot factory in Corona, Calif., in October 1985.

It is at this point that the modern-era history of the Precision Bass truly begins.

With that new mid-’80s beginning under Bill Schultz, Fender started by concentrating on quality rather than quantity, beginning with a small number of vintage reissue instruments and redesigned back-to-basics modern guitars and basses dubbed American Standard models. Production began in Corona in 1987 of the first new U.S.-built models, the American Standard Precision and the Precision Bass Plus; the latter of which featured a 22-fret neck (up from the traditional 20), Lace Sensor active pickups with series/parallel switching and an elongated upper horn for improved balance (this last imparted a noticeably odd look to the instrument, but nonetheless remained in place until the model was discontinued in 1993).

Also in 1987, the Fender Custom Shop was established, with one of its very first creations (work order No. 0003) being a 1962 “Mary Kay”-style Precision Bass with an ash body and gold hardware; the instrument was logged in on May 15 of that year and logged out just under a month later, on June 22. From that point onward, the Custom Shop would repeatedly elevate the Precision Bass from workhorse to work of art."

These instruments, especially in this color, seem relatively rare, and can cost up to $5,000...but deals are to be found. I'm kicking myself a bit because an 87 was on Craig's List recently, though in Candy Apple Red, for $450. Candy Apple Red seems much more common.

Here's some gold...a 1987 MIJ Fender catalog. There's a picture of a '62 reissue in Candy Apple Red with light fingerboard.

And finally...in the "no harm no foul" catagory...I could just make my own using this paint for $19 and these pickups for $90. I have a Lotus P style bass with a dark finger board...