If ever there was a bass built for to with the Pacific North Highway in mind then it has to be this very early, 1968 Fender Precision Bass in stunning Lake Placid Blue…

Standardised in 1960, Fender’s range of custom colour options were based on the Du Pont colour charts. Lake Placid Blue was a Lucite acrylic shade unlike shades such as Sonic Blue that were Duco Nitrocellulose.

This bass certainly has the look. The Lake placid Blue finish has survived well and the clear-coat has yellowed to make it look like a faded teal green or even ocean torquise but can be seen clearly where the clear coat has worn through, giving you that cheeky glimpse of the original shade. The wear also gives the finish a wonderful movement and can in certain lights be confused for Ocean Turquoise. Amazingly, the body shows few signs of use with only the odd dink here and there.

The neck is noteworthy. During this late 60’s, the maple cap neck was a custom order from Fender, rosewood being the standard from the late 50s. Just like the Stratocaster, to see this on a Precision bass is extra rare. The neck itself is in great shape. The back is worn comfortably, the lacquer that is left having darkened like the clear coat on the body The fretboard too shows signs of wear to the lacquer but is brilliant with plenty of fret left.

The hardware is in good shape and shows no real signs of wear.

The original ‘mother of toilet seat’ back pickguard is in great shape as are the electrics that seems to have bee left well alone. Interestingly as with many fender instruments from this period, both pots are dated week 42 of 1966. It seems that they bought a lot of components in 1966 that were still yet to be used up entirely by the end of the decade.

The bass comes with its correct Black Tolex hardshell case

This bass has a great tone unplugged. Classic P-bass tone which translates to the amplified sound. Both controls work well and the neck feels very comfortable.

A great looking bass, rare maple cap neck and a tone thats the bedrock of popular music, grab this before it gets away.