Fender Custom Shop Unveils Limited Edition Phil Lynott Precision Bass

Fender Custom Shop Phil Lynott Signature Bass

The late Thin Lizzy bassist Phil Lynott is being honored with a new limited edition signature bass from the Fender Custom Shop. Crafted by Master Builder John Cruz, the bass “painstakingly” recreates Lynott’s original bass in precise detail.

“To craft this instrument, Cruz began with a two-piece select ash body, added a lacquer finish to let the body breathe with more tonal resonance—and, of course, the custom pickguard and a hand-wound ’78 P Bass split-coil pickup,” Fender writes. “The stable, rift-sawn maple neck has a lacquered headstock face. Along with an oil finish, giving it a fast feel that perfectly matched Lynott’s fleet-fingered style. The 7.25”-radius round-lam rosewood fingerboard hosts 20 jumbo frets, while the body sports a Badass II high-mass bridge for extra sustain and punchy tone.”

The bass is finished off with Dunlop strap locks, ’70s-style tuners, a bone nut, and a round string tree. Fender includes a custom Anvil case, leather strap, and studded wristband, a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses like those worn by Lynott, and a Certificate of Authenticity.

The Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition Phil Lynott Precision Bass is limited to 60 pieces. It is available for preorder at $12,500 and is expected to ship in September.

Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition Phil Lynott Precision Bass Specs:

Scale:34″
Body:2-piece Select Ash
Finish:Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Neck:Rift Sawn Maple
Neck Shape:1975 “U”
Fingerboard:Rosewood
Inlays:White Dot
Fingerboard Radius:7.25″
Frets:20 Jumbo
String Nut:Bone
Headstock:Large ’70s Style
Neck Plate:4-Bolt Engraved
Pickup:Custom Shop Hand-Wound ’78 Single-Coil Precision Bass
Controls:Master Volume, Master Tone
Bridge:Bad Ass II
Tuners:Vintage Style
Pickguard:Custom Mirrored
Knobs:Knurled Chrome
Accessories:Anvil Case, Custom Made Leather Strap and Studded Wristband, Mirrored Aviator Sunglasses and Certificate of Authenticity

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Leave a Reply to S kinsella Cancel reply

  1. Eric Swanson

    IMHO….Phil Lynott was a genius & great performer . I’d venture a guess that he would have been honored for Fender to build his signature Precision .
    On the other hand , the lunatics at Fender must have stumbled upon & ingested mass quantities of the leftover “brown acid” from Woodstock prior to setting the price for this bass ! /;-{>

    • Steven M. Allen

      I couldn’t agree more. I was a huge fan of Phil’s, but for that much $$$ I could get 2 Muckelroy custom made basses with money left over.

    • John Sabetta

      TOO FUNNY

    • John Sabetta

      Crazy way out there price

    • S kinsella

      Unfortunately it looks nothing like Phil’s bass. The only resemblance is the black body and mirrored pickgaurd. Neck 8s the wrong colour, input Jack in the wrong place and pickups are wrong also. Whoever researched it didn’t do a good job of it.

  2. Cliff Stankiewicz

    $2500, I’m all over this…but $12,500, it better have Phil’s sweat stains dripping down the face of it…That’s way too much denero

  3. Richard Kopczyk

    I’m sorry but how in the hell does this bass justify a $12500 price tag..!!!
    Yes it’s a “painstaking” re creation, but I’ve seen more painstaking re creations like jacos relic-ed bass of doom custom shop in the early 15 to 20 years ago, Granted that it would have a big price tag 20 years on but I think I would pay that sort of cash for that bass or a fender one off custom shop in a rare colour etc. You could just buy a black fender p )or a squire come to that…cos I gig with squiers these days as they’re just a good as fenders now & lighter woods for my old neck & back) & purchase a mirror scratchplate to put on for same effect & hardly any tone differencentre, or get some 19 70s replica pickups to put in also come to that then buy a new car with what’s left!!!
    I just dont see where that figure comes from unless it’s a type O? ? & the $10000 is a mistake.
    And don’t start me on the current American professional series, just how much more can they improve the p bass from the deluxe series basses of the early 2000s…that seems also to be just a con to justify higher price tags!!
    PLEASE FENDER..DON’T GET LIKE GIBSON, LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES.
    NUFF SAID! !
    Richbass, Highway tracks. UK

  4. Charles E Cruey

    Sounds like Fender is following Gibson’s roadmap to obscurity!!!

  5. S kinsella

    The only thing the Phil Lynott copy and Phil’s bass have in common are the body colour and the pick gaurd. Everything else is wrong. Whoever researched it at Fender needs new spectacles.

  6. George Salinas

    I have a 60 year anniversary Fender precision bass. Great sound and tone. Same features, can’t go wrong with that.

  7. Joe

    And for $12,500 they throw in a pair of cheap sunglasses… X 60 gullible rich kids. Nice work if you can get it.

  8. Trey Smith

    Is it april 1st again already…clearly a joke or typo. This is more than twice what anything else in the custom shop is right now, and seriously, it’s a P-bass! Great bass but it is kind of a one note bass. I have one, love it, meat and potatoes, but it isn’t the only tool in the shed. Now that Orange Dingwall Lee Sklar bass…yum!

    https://www.themusiczoo.com/products/dingwall-lee-sklar-signature-bass-candy-tangerine-1

  9. Rob Birsinger

    It was beautiful until I read the price? Ridiculous even though it comes w Aviator glasses!!

  10. Simkn

    You out there? yes, way out there on price.

  11. Jared Beekman

    rofl, I could grab up a $500, add $500 in upgrades, and come out with a better instrument.

  12. ron bZoom

    Money a little tight this week and can’t manage the $12,500 price tag on Fender’s hilariously over priced Phil Lynott tribute bass? Here’s two alternatives: 1. Look up Phil’s gear and find out what the man himself dug and played. Get all the specs. Got to Warmoth and pick all the components needed to make your dream Lynott tribute bass. Then take to a pro to put that puppy together and tweak to your specks. I doubt you’ll go over $2,000 for a likely killer bass. Or 2. Get a used MIM Fender and upgrade the electronics (as in the one passive pickup), hardware, and pickgaurd. You can likely do it yourself for well under $1,000. Possibly little more than $500 if you’re a savvy gear hound and don’t mind used. That is unless you’ve got $12,500 burning a hole in your pocket. Sheesh Fender!

  13. Steve

    You can get a Lizzy bass from Bass Collection for about 500. Of course it’s made in Korea I think but some good pros having been using their basses. Check out Cameron Dawson.

    • ron bZoom

      Oh yeah, you can totally Thin Lizzy a bass for $500 or less. You could score a Korean, MIM, Indonesian, etc. P-bass be it new or used, do a few upgrades (again, new or used) and you could at least get in the neighborhood of something Lynott himself would have played and dug. The guy was a kick-butt, meat and potatoes, rocking bass player. Somehow I can’t see him playing some $12,500 axe that probably belongs in a glass case or something.