Fender Telecaster Bass


The Fender Telecaster Bass is an electric bass introduced in 1968 by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. 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 was discontinued in 2014. In 2023, the instrument was reintroduced as part of Fender's Vintera II lineup.
Released as a rebranding of the original version of the 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.

History and details

Early version (1968–1971)

The Telecaster Bass was introduced in May 1968 being essentially a straight reissue of the original 1951 Precision Bass design, 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 most commonly 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 Telecaster Bass logo. 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 later "Crafted in Japan" model. For example, the early 1990s version uses the larger, more historically accurate string ferrules that were used in the 1950s.

Second version (1971–1979)

In 1971, the Tele Bass was modified in some aspects. A new neck plate with Micro Tilt system for a more precise neck adjustment. 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 all the 1970s. The decal logo had changed from silver to gold, with black outlining. It was the final version of the Telecaster Bass, and was discontinued in September 1979.

Reissues

Fender

In 2011, Fender reintroduced the model as a part of their Modern Player series, featuring two Modern Player Wide Range Humbucking pickups, three-ply parchment or single-ply black pickguard, three knurled "chrome-dome" control knobs, vintage-style bridge with four brass saddles, open-gear tuners and nickel/chrome hardware. Available in 2-Color Sunburst and Butterscotch Blonde. This model also featured a contoured body with belly and arm cuts, and was based on the '71-'79 Tele Bass.
A new version of the instrument was introduced as a part of the limited Parallel Universe series in 2018. This version was modeled after the '68-'71 Tele Bass, but featured a P/J pickup configuration. This model was only available in Blonde.
As a part of the Vintera II series, released in late 2023, the '71-'79 version of the bass was given a straight reissue. The reissue was available in 2 colors, Surf Green or Vintage White.

Squier

Classic Vibe Series

is a subsidiary of Fender and features less expensive versions of Fender instruments. As part of their 'Classic Vibe' series, Squier has issued a 1950s Precision Bass model in the style of the original Fender 1951 Precision Bass. It comes in three finishes: A Butterscotch Blonde with a black pickguard, a Lake Placid Blue metallic with a white pickguard, & a White Blonde with a white pickguard. All have maple fretboards as well as contoured edges & front & back comfort contours, making them similar to the 54-57 Precision Bass design. The pickup on these models is a single-coil similar to that at the bridge position on a Telecaster guitar.
In August 2025, as part of a new group of models added to the series, Squier introduced a 1970s Telecaster Bass based on the second version of the original Fender model. The bass includes a 20-fret maple neck and is available in two colors: Mocha and Vintage White. Unlike the original model, this bass features an Alnico humbucker in place of the original CuNiFe pickup, and has a contoured body.

Special Models

The Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass TB was released in April 2007. It is based on the second version of the Telecaster Bass, featuring a similar Telecaster Bass headstock, pickguard and humbucking pickup.
Modeled after the Telecaster guitar, the Squier Vintage Modified Telecaster and Telecaster Special basses feature a Telecaster guitar-shaped basswood body, Telecaster-style control plate and a 32"-scale maple neck/fretboard with 20 frets. The Vintage Modified Telecaster Bass sports a Duncan Designed PB-102 SCPB single-coil pickup and three-way switching among special tone circuits, which feature a modern bass sound, softer "double bass" sound and authentic tic-tac "baritone" sound. The Telecaster Bass Special has a large chrome-covered Fender-designed Wide Range humbucking neck pickup paired with a Duncan Designed JB-102B single-coil Jazz Bass bridge pickup and three-way blade switching. Other features include black "barrel" switch tip, knurled chrome control knobs, vintage style bridge with four chrome saddles, vintage-style tuners and strap buttons and a single-ply white or black pickguard. Available in Black and White Blonde finishes. Introduced in August 2012.

Notable users