Custom Fender Precision 1956 Sunburst

Here is the listing from when I bought this one to complete a collection one year ago.  They said it better than I can.  Since then it has just been set up with new flat wound strings and lightly played.  It is a beauty.

Up for sale, a 1956 Fender Precision Bass in 99% original condition and in perfect working order. Rare in any condition, this is a well loved Precision Bass with a featherweight ash body, with the deep belly cut and forearm contours added to the body in late '54 and seen through the first months of 1957. Arguably less common than the butterscotch/black guard cosmetic combo, the two-tone sunburst and single ply white pickguard evoke Fender's legendary 50s look. Extremely resonant and soulful, there's a real versatility and expressive range to this bass that's not always credited to this model, and as any vintage instrument aficionado knows, certain instruments simply have that magic where the playwear, age, and original build quality of the instrument come together in a perfect way. This is truly one of those instruments.
Weighing 8lbs on the dot ("fully clothed" with the ashtray bridge/pickup covers), there's a dry acoustic snap and presence to the tone, and the growl of the nickel 45-105 roundwound strings can really be heard through the single coil pickup. Of course there's plenty of low end on tap as well, and the pickup balances articulation and fullness nicely. Roll off the tone control slightly and notes instantly get rounder and meatier, sitting perfectly in the mix and being both present and subdued. A quick restring with flatwounds would surely bring out a more traditional tic-tac thump as well. Professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, this Precision Bass is dialed in with ideal action that is low enough to fret comfortably in all registers, yet has just enough height to let the lowest notes resonate freely.
The neck has a very chunky V profile that rounds out to a C shape by roughly the 9th fret. It's a unique and extremely playable profile, with generous shoulders at the extremes of the profile and fretboard edges that are nicely rolled from years of honest use. The original frets are intact on the lacquered maple fretboard, and the frets have plenty of height and life left, with modest divots beneath the D and G strings from frets 1-4, with only very light flattening of the crowns until roughly the octave. The frets retain their full, original height and the bass had undoubtedly been strung with flatwounds for the majority of its life, given the gentle fretwear, yet notable wear through the finish on the maple between the first few frets. On the headstock, the original "Precision Bass" waterslide decal is intact and in remarkable shape, with plenty of silver left in the Fender font and almost no wear to the text. The stock string tree is intact, as well as the original tuning machines with clover buttons, reverse gears and flathead screws holding the tuner shafts. The stock tuners turn surprisingly smoothly and the clover buttons show only light patina.
All of the electronics work as they should, and the pickup has just been rewound. This rewind was done with the greatest care by our preferred pickup shop, "Sonny's Custom Shop." The original weight and number of windings was carefully cataloged, and original flatwork, magnets, twine around the windings, and original leads were retained. The pickup now reads a healthy 6.56k ohms, well within the range of an original, and sounds every bit as good! The original Stackpole pots are intact, along with the "chewing gum" tone cap. The pencil dates on the body and neck both read 11-56, dating the instrument to the very end of 1956, and making this one of the very last Precision Basses with the original body and pickup design before the notable changes made in '57!
Cosmetically, the original two-tone nitro lacquer sunburst finish is intact with zero touchup or overspray. There's virtually no fading to the burst, and with the original one-ply pickguard removed, there's no discernible difference in the exposed burst and that which has been protected by the pickguard for the past nearly 60 years! There's plenty of wear through the finish along the edges of the body, and this wear is most prominent near the rear strap button, although most edges show honest wear that any modern Custom Shop Fender relic would love to have!  Both chrome "ashtray" covers are original, along with the control plate and knurled metal knobs. Even all of the screws are stock, aside from the two anchoring the bridge cover. The painted maple finger rest is intact, anchored by its original screw and showing limited wear (aside from the typical circle that the finger rest creates when it has been spun against the white pickguard). The stock ferrules on the string through body, and the original chrome neck plate are also present.
There is also significant finish checking on the back of the bass, and the checking is more subtle on the face, with the exception of the area around the control plate. On the neck, there's wear down to the bare maple on the entire treble edge of the profile, on the bass side from frets 1-4, and central to the V in the first position as well. Just like the body, there's plenty of small nicks and marks of wear, but nothing that affects playability or compromises structural integrity. A previous owner experimented with strap button placement on the bass side body horn, and two small holes have been cleanly filled and lightly touched up with nitro. One hole is in the black of the sunburst and "on top" of the bass (if you're holding it in playing position), and the other tiny hole is a couple inches to the right of the neck plate.
This is a rare chance to own a thoroughly played, well loved and very original 1956 Precision Bass, perfect for the serious player and discerning collector.

Product Specs

Condition:Very Good Make:Fender Model:Precision Finish:Sunburst Categories:4-String Year:1956 Made In:United States