1971 Custom Made P Bass (56k beware)

[marantz2010]

So if you don't know who Roger Waters is... go listen to some Pink Floyd :P

For the past 25+ years he has been playing a black bass that somewhere I read was confirmed as a 1971. His used to be black with white pickguard and later upgraded to a black pickguard. It came with a all-maple neck. He also uses Rotosound Jazz Bass RS77 flatwound strings.

As of today I finished my project of building this bass.

Piece by piece I acquired the parts and yesterday I took it in to have the professional setup done as well as some fretwork. It plays like no other bass I have ever played... and I mean this in a good way. No buzzes, perfect tone, and best of all its the bass I want to keep for the rest of my life.

Parts are as follows:

Mexican body with stock electronics and pickups.
WD black pickguard (one layer of black, no white stripe on outside)
Fender vintage RI P bass knobs
Fender vintage RI bass bridge
Fender vintage RI neck plate with stamped serial number for 1971
All parts PMF neck (comes prefinished)
Schaller/Fender vintage RI tuners
Fender string tree/retainer
All parts pre-cut nut
Tender loving care for the rest of my lifetime

And as for the pictures of the whole process here it goes!!!

[Hutch]

Fender vintage RI neck plate with stamped serial number for 1971

??? Huh? You can buy parts with fake serial numbers?? Perhaps I misunderstood. Can you tell me more about how you acquired a official Fender part with a fake serial number stamped on it? Thanks, -h

[marantz2010]

??? Huh? You can buy parts with fake serial numbers?? Perhaps I misunderstood. Can you tell me more about how you acquired a official Fender part with a fake serial number stamped on it? Thanks, -h

Well it's a plate made by Fender (I think it sells on guitarcenter.com for about twenty bucks). I just knew someone who had the tools to carve a serial number into it to look like an original.

Today the plate looks like a 1971 plate, but honestly it isn't, it's just for show. I don't kid with people when showing my bass. I tell them that it is made from parts made between 2006 and now and to look like a 1971.

[Hutch]

Very convincing! Great job!

[toobalicious]

but your sig.....

1971 Black/Black Fender P Bass w/ Maple Neck
Rotosound Jazz Bass 77 Flatwound strings
Custom Made David Gilmour Strap

[marantz2010]

but your sig.....

Very true you caught me. I only did that because it's too hard to explain all the details about how I actually built it...

[Hutch]

...in fact, that neck plate... the more I look, the "fake" serial number that was "carved into it", well, that serial number stamp and font are factory perfect. Wow! Imagine the odds.

Dude, you even listed in your parts list:

"Fender vintage RI neck plate with stamped serial number for 1971"

Now which was it? Stamped or "carved by someone"?

and hey, I'm only bustin' your chops, dude - no biggy - I'm sure people do what you did all the time.

I wonder what happened to the real 301463? Excellent forgery! Congratulations. -h

[marantz2010]

...in fact, that neck plate... the more I look, the "fake" serial number that was "carved into it", well, that serial number stamp and font are factory perfect. Wow! Imagine the odds.

Dude, you even listed in your parts list: Now which was it? Stamped or "carved by someone"?

and hey, I'm only bustin' your chops, dude - no biggy - I'm sure people do what you did all the time.

I wonder what happened to the real 301463? Excellent forgery! Congratulations. -h

Okay well to me stamp, carve is the same thing to me. Somebody had the tools and talent to do it.

I just know that the day after my bass was done being worked on at the shop, the luthier called me and asked me for information about the plate because he had never seen one that looked so real before. He said that other ones had different fonts and looked fake.

In the meantime of building this new bass, I just got a mexican fretless jazz bass for my birthday and wow, I am set!!! Just need some Rotosound RS66 strings for that puppy.

[Fender32]

That's a really nice looking bass (one of my favourite colourschemes, too ).

I'm confused though! I thought that Roger Waters' main P Bass was a '59 with a single ply black guard instead of the old gold anodized one!? I could easily be wrong, though (I only read about it briefly on some fansite once). Maybe he's just had the headstock logo changed on a 70's P to a "spaghetti" logo, or maybe the bass in these pics ISN'T his main bass ....







Or, is it that he used to play a '71 P and has recently changed to the one in the pics above!?

Not trying to bust your bubble here, BTW. Just hoping to learn something .

[marantz2010]

That's a really nice looking bass (one of my favourite colourschemes, too ).

I'm confused though! I thought that Roger Waters' main P Bass was a '59 with a single ply black guard instead of the old gold anodized one!? I could easily be wrong, though (I only read about it briefly on some fansite once). Maybe he's just had the headstock logo changed on a 70's P to a "spaghetti" logo, or maybe the bass in these pics ISN'T his main bass ....

Not trying to bust your bubble here, BTW. Just hoping to learn something .

I looked around at all of his stuff and I quickly found that he has multiple black basses. I just choose the 1971 because I could clarify that year as being one of the ones he has. It's not exactly his one he uses in those pictures but sometimes I have read that he used a 1971 for all his touring from the 70's and 80's...

[Fender32]

I looked around at all of his stuff and I quickly found that he has multiple black basses. I just choose the 1971 because I could clarify that year as being one of the ones he has. It's not exactly his one he uses in those pictures but sometimes I have read that he used a 1971 for all his touring from the 70's and 80's...

That makes sense. I haven't got any of his stuff on video/DVD, but I do remember seeing things like "The Wall Live" (in Berlin) and I'm sure he was using a proper '70s P Bass then. I guess he had one on "Live at Pompei" as well, but I can't be sure.

Anyway, as I said, yours looks pretty damn fine to me!

[marantz2010]

I decided to record a little bit of me playing my bass yesterday and posted it up today.

Interestingly, I found somebody with a similar bass (black MIM body + black pickguard + all maple neck) anyways here she is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jkfh7CDiWE

[marantz2010]

An example of a 1970's bass used by Roger Waters on May 18, 1973:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMpGd...eature=related

He used this bass but it was before the pickguard was changed to a single ply black one. I looked closely and saw the 70's Fender logo on the headstock as well as a maple neck.

If you look closely at 2:52 in the song, Roger has a cigarette stuffed between the headstock and the E string :)

[Cygnus X1]

I have to get that video.
Incredibly spooky, but I'm sure the rest of it is the PF I know and love. Good stuff!
I just picked up a cheap Dean bass at a flea market, just to start on.
Very fun!
I started with some of the easier Rush tunes, (like Xanadu, Working Man), and just love it.
I'll be looking at either a Ric, or a P Bass in a few years.