| Telecaster Bass | |
|---|---|
Fender Precision Bass 1956 reissue |
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| Manufacturer | Fender Squier (Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass TB) |
| Period | 1968 — 1979 2007 — present (as Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass TB) |
| Woods | |
| Fretboard | Maple, 9.5” Radius (241 mm) (Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass TB) |
| Colors available | |
| (500) 3-Color Sunburst, (Polyurethane Finish) (Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass TB) | |
The Fender Telecaster Bass (also referred as the Tele Bass) is an electric bass introduced in 1968 by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, famous for producing the classic basses as the Precision and Jazz, and electric guitars as the Stratocaster and the Telecaster. With few physical changes through the 1970s, it was discontinued in 1979 and reissued in 2007 by Fender's subsidiary Squier as the Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass TB, which is still produced by the company.
Released as a reissue of the original version of Fender Precision Bass, it was named as "Telecaster" after the Telecaster guitar model. The Telecaster Bass differs in shape from the original Telecaster guitar in that the latter is a single cutaway guitar and the bass is double cutaway, a feature which makes it resemble the Squier 51.
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The Telecaster Bass was introduced in May 1968[1] being essentially a straight reissue of the original 1951 Precision Bass design (which was in fact influenced by the Telecaster guitar), with a large pickguard, small Telecaster-shaped headstock, single pickup, and separate chrome control plate. Early versions had a two piece maple-capped neck with no "skunk stripe" on the back of the neck and some also had the rare paddle style tuners that were only otherwise seen on the Jazz Bass. The pickguard on the 1960s Telecaster Bass was slightly more slender and employed more mounting screws than the originals of the 1950s. There were also three different headstock decals in the early version. The earliest had a regular silver Telecaster guitar logo with the word "bass" added underneath. Only prototypes are known to have this decal. The earliest prototypes were partially constructed from leftover 1952 Precision Bass parts. The second decal was the larger Black (gold outlined) Telecaster Bass logo (bass being in the same style of script as Fender). The third and most commonly used decal had the silver Fender script with the words Telecaster Bass written in a sans-serif type font underneath.
In the early 1990s, Fender Japan reissued the '51 Precision Bass, which is in essence, a reissue of the first-version Telecaster Bass. The earliest "Made in Japan" versions vary slightly from the current "Crafted in Japan" model. For example, the early 1990s version uses the larger, more historically accurate string ferrules that were used in the 50s.
In 1971,[2] the Tele Bass was modified in some aspects. The old-style pickguard was redesigned to eliminate the control plate, and the single-coil pickup was replaced with a larger, more powerful, humbucking unit. The Telecaster Bass was produced alongside the contemporary Precision Bass through the 1970s. The decal logo had changed from silver to gold, with black outlining.
It was the final version of the Telecaster Bass, which was discontinued in September 1979.[1]
The Fender Telecaster Bass was re-released in April 2007[3] by the Fender's subsidiary Squier, as Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass TB, which is based on the second version of the Telecaster Bass, featuring a similar Telecaster Bass headstock, pickguard and humbucking pickup.[4] Squier have now issued a '50s Precision Bass model in the style of the original Fender 1951 Precision Bass in their excellent 'Classic Vibe' series. They come in two finishes. A Butterscotch Blonde with Black scratchplate & a Lake Placid Blue metallic with a White scratchplate. Both have Maple fingerboards. They have contoured edges & front & back comfort contours too, making them more like a reissue of the 54-57 Precision bass. The pickup on these models is a single-coil similar to that at the bridge position on a Telecaster guitar.
Gerry Macavoy