Changes to the Telecaster bass line over the years Possibly, Fender saw there was an interest in the older, simpler style that was becoming more popular in the blues-rock revival. The musical climate at the time seemed to be moving towards more powerful and advanced bass designs.

Why Fender would come out with this bass in 1968 is anyone’s guess. These rare basses featured a clear pickguard rather than the standard white one as well. These were the red paisley and blue flower finishes introduced in the late ’60s that reflected the fashion trends of the time. One of the more unusual paint schemes Fender has issued was put on some Telecaster bass models. The large pickguard shape was also the same, except that now it was white instead of the original black color. The Telecaster bass featured the slab body, mid-placed single-coil pickup, maple neck with the smaller headstock, and string-through-body design just like the old ’51 P-Bass. The “reissue” Telecaster bass was modeled on the design of the original ’51 Precision. Interestingly, as Fender notes themselves, the reason that the Telecaster bass looks so different from what we know of as modern Precision basses is that the P bass itself had been redesigned drastically since it was first introduced. With long lines of reissue instruments in the Fender catalog and a commitment to reissues as a “thing” in their philosophy, the Telecaster bass will always be the first of its kind. A pioneering instrument for FenderĪs Fender’s first actual reissue guitar, of any kind, the Telecaster bass will always represent something very special in Fender’s history. Somewhat of an oddity in the long line of Fender Basses, the Telecaster bass was a reissue of the Precision Bass that debuted in 1951, which itself borrowed some key design aspects from the Telecaster guitar. The Fender Telecaster bass guitar was introduced in 1968, and as its name suggests, it resembles the famous Telecaster guitar that became an iconic instrument across many genres of music.

Fender 51 precision bass reissue