❌SOLD❌ Fender 1965 Precision Bass Sunburst

The 3-tone Sunburst Fender 1965 Precision bass with Rosewood fingerboard, is in very good, original condition including both bridge and pickup covers and original case. Pairing an Alder body with a Maple neck and Indian Rosewood fingerboard, this classic bass carries all its original components (except strings).   The original, black rectangular Fender hard shell case is included, and contains the bridge and pickup covers.

This Fender 1965 Precision is something of a transitional model, as it has an Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia sissoo) fingerboard. From the time that Fender launched their first ‘Slab’ Rosewood fingerboard models in 1959 until partway through 1965, Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia nigra), sometimes called ‘Jacaranda’ was used. This bass dates to halfway through the year and Fender had begun the process of shifting to Indian Rosewood. By October, Brazilian had been completely discontinued. There isn’t much of a tonal or visual difference when using the bass, but there certainly can be when crossing borders with a Brazilian fingerboard. There’s no issue with Indian Rosewood.

The neck plate carries an ‘L-Series’ serial number – these were the last ‘Pre-CBS’ models. The sale of Fender to CBS took effect on January 5, 1965, so while this bass was actually built during CBS ownership, some of its parts predate that.

The neck date on this Fender 1965 Precision Bass is 5JUN65, and the potentiometer codes date to 1965. The tuners and other components are original. The finish is in good clean condition though there is a bit of abrasion on the back at the outside edge of the lower cutaway – this is visible in the rear photo. Otherwise there is very light finish wear. Fret wear is very light; while presently strung with round-wounds, this bass looks like it was normally strung with flats.

Leo Fender’s P-Bass has been an extremely successful design and possibly the single most-recorded instrument, appearing on countless tunes and performances. It is very reliable, durable and versatile and is at home in almost any genre. This example is a very good example of mid-1960s production.