Old School: 1968 Fender Precision Bass

There’s really nothing quite like the Fender Precision Bass. Introduced by Leo Fender in 1951, the P-Bass has had an immense impact on music ever since.

Sebastian Casís, a bassist living in Santa Fe, Argentina, shares his 1968 Precision, causing all of us here to feel pretty jealous.

How long have you owned it?

Since 1990.

How did you come across it?

A bass player from a local band brought it from France. After he died in a car crash, the bass was sold to a friend of mine. A few months later, he sold the bass to me for $1,000. It was in near-mint conditions.

All of the scratches you see now in the photos are the result of hundreds of shows and trips I did across many countries. I love those battle scars. I’m proud of them.

Stock or customized? Give us all the specs!

This bass was all original when I got it. I just put a Hipshot D-Tunner on E string and a push/pull volume pot. In the “pull position,” the circuit bypasses both pots (volume and tone), and the sound goes directly from the pickup right into the jack for maximum output and full tone range. No signal loss between connections.

Any special characteristics?

Of course, what makes this animal so beautiful is its deep, fat, punchy tone. No other bass can match that tone.

What’s your favorite story about the gear?

A few years after I bought the bass, the owner of a recording studio from my city (Santa Fe, Argentina) found the original bridge and pickup metal covers for me. He told me the previous (and late) owner of the bass left those items inside a plastic bag during a session and were forgotten in a corner inside the studios. Call it fate.

Any special history or story behind this instrument?

A long time ago, during one of his first online live clinics, Billy Sheehan told me, “Don’t ever sell that bass!!!” He also told me some stories about his P-bass “The Wife,” which I understand is also from 1968.

Do you use it on gigs?

No more gigs for this old friend. Only for recording sessions.

What else do you want to share about your gear?

My main bass now for live shows is a 1986 Music Man StingRay with a transparent pickguard and a rare butterscotch finish that somehow cracked from the inside out to the surface. So It looks pretty odd and original. Of course, it has a killer sound.

I used to use a lot of pedals and effects, but now it’s just my bass, a DBX 160A compressor, and a GK 800RB amp.

I send my signal to the PA board via SansAmp Bass Driver DI.

Any other vintage gear?

In addition to the ’86 MusicMan StingRay (mentioned above), I have two early 80’s Aria Pro II basses from my “metal years.” These are the same as the bass Cliff Burton played. (I don’t know if those qualify as “vintage”).

I also have some more “newer” electrics and acoustics.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I picked up the bass when I was 10 years old in 1980 after I saw Gene Simmons with KISS on TV. Over the years, I did a lot of session work and live gigs with many bands and different styles of music (originals and covers).

Now I play and sing in MO’BLUES, which is the only blues/rock band from Argentina touring and playing in festivals all over the US, Canada, and many other countries. Our lyrics are in Spanish, English… and “Spanglish”! Lots of fun.

I’m on Twitter and Facebook. You can check out more about me on my website, and watch videos of MO’BLUES on our Youtube channel.