Fender 50th Anniversary Precision Bass Deluxe, "Coming Out of the Closet," 1995 - Blueburst

Sometimes, the story of an instrument is much better than a run-of-the-mill description, so in this instance, we'll let this P-Bass Deluxe tell its tale...As I watched the gentleman walk towards my booth at the Sarasota Guitar Show, I noticed one thing quickly: he was carrying a '90s blue badge bass case that, while dusty was in near-mint condition. That led me to the assumption (or hope) that whatever was inside the case should be in the same condition. As the man approached my booth, I asked if I could take a peek at the bass and he laid it up on the table. I opened the case and folks, my earlier assumption was quickly rewarded.Laying before me was this P-Bass Deluxe and it looked like it hadn't been touched in forever. The plastic was still on the pickguard and rear battery cover, the case candy bag had not been opened, the controls overlay was still under the knobs and the original strap was neatly coiled beside the headstock. It was at that moment that I decided no force on earth was going to prevent me from taking this bass home.I asked the man how long he had owned the bass and here was his "I've never heard that one before" answer. He had owned the bass for only a couple of weeks. He went on to tell me that he bought houses that were in foreclosure, fixed and cleaned them up and then put them up for sale. He said that had just bought a house the week prior and when he went in to check out the inside, he had found this bass sitting quietly in the master bedroom closet. Nothing else- just this case sitting there. For decades. He had read that there was a guitar show going on that weekend and brought the bass to see what it was worth. After hearing that, it was carved in stone that I would be sliding this bass under my table and going home with me later that day.I got her back to the shop, wiped her down and plugged her in. I got nothing. No thunderous tones of bass boom, no cutting clicks coming off my fingers, no nothing and then it hit me: what kind of shape would a 30-year-old battery be in? Duh. So I removed the battery cover and sure enough, the original battery was completely roached and sadly, it took the battery terminal with it. This broke my heart, but knowing what had to be done, I gently replaced the battery terminal with a new one and now this bass sounds like a freight train of bass clef devastation.Both the bass and case have been detailed and the bass given a fresh set of 45-105 strings. I made my tech really bear down on the adjustments and the action is now nice and low on a smooth, straight neck. If you are a fan of these incredible basses and have been looking for "the one," then you might as well get the nicest and most complete example on the planet. As a bonus, this one is a 50th Anniversary model, making it the only one currently available on the market.This bass is one of those wonderful unicorns that rarely comes but a few times in life. While we can't keep them all, it was nice to be a temporary steward of this fine piece of Fender machinery. Please take a look at the photos, let us know if you have any questions and as always, we thank you for stopping by!