Hutton

[quote name='omikin' timestamp='1361800914' post='1991036'] Okay, so I took the neck off, adjusted the truss rod, put the neck back on, applying a bit of pressure to push it back into alignment. Result? Strings aligned, action nice and low. Plays just like my other P now. Panic over. [/quote] Take a bow my friend. It's nice to sort something yourself as it stands you in good stead to sort out future problems you may have. See how much you learn when you don't live in the perfect world of Musicman, Warwick, Warmoth etc.

I would have to see this neck before I would judge it to be seriuosly out of line. Also, as others have said a tiny amount of movement can cause a neck to slightly misalign. Who knows, it could have been the last person to try it out in the shop to bumped it. A wee tweak and it's sorted. It's just a step too far to start going on about Fender quality control.

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1361795069' post='1990852'] You can hardly blame Fender for making a P-bass with the truss rod adjustment the same as probably several million other Fender basses. No offence but if I was buying a new bass I would have taken note of how & where the truss rod adjustment is, after all it's a pretty basic & fundamental requirement. Almost all users at some stage will want to change strings at least & that in itself is quite likely to require a truss rod tweek. Not to mention setting the action to personal preference, the factory settings are an 'average' at best. The bridges are fitted to pre-machined 'CNC' holes, it's not likely the bridge is 'in the wrong place'. Most likely that somewhere along the line - shipping - storage - shop - storing/packing - delivery to customer - even customer handling - that the neck has been mis-aligned by 'a bump'. The fact that the neck has to be loosened to get to the adjustment also gives the opportunity to 'nudge' the neck location in the pocket before the neck plate screws are re-tightened, to improve the alignment. If you are not happy or confident to make adjustments yourself, then you'll have to find someone that will do that for you, not a Fender quality issue, it applies to any other bass you could buy. Just my 2p worth. Cheerz, John [/quote] Absolutely!

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1361791047' post='1990744'] Why spend money with a tech when it should be right. Plus if someone starts carrying out adjustments/alterations there is a good chance you will void your warranty. [/quote] Sorry, I just can't agree with this. I have bought perfectly playable instruments from shops. However, it takes a trip to the tech I use to get the instrument playing exactly the way I want it. I don't expect a shop to cater for all the adjustments that have to be made to suit my own playing style. All I expect is a shop to produce a bass in playable condition. If it's not in playable condition then I don't buy it. This opens a can of worms as to what is playable. However, I think some folk just expect far too much from a shop when it comes to set up. I have played (or tried to play) basses which belonged to friends of mine. There is no way I could live with their set up. If I had tried the same bass with same set up of the hook in a shop would it be fair to say that the bass in unplayable. I don't think so. It just didn't suit me. If a bass is so bad in a shop that there are obvious problems then I wouldn't touch it anyway but I do feel at times we expect too much from our retailers. Excuse me now whilst I go and put on my suit of armour.

If you're only talking about a millimetre I would take it to your tech and get it set up properly. It may not need the bridge moved at all. Do that before you do anything else. Every time a bass comes into my possession, irrespective of make, I take it to my local guy to get it set up the way I like it.

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1361621629' post='1988369'] Just to further muddy the waters... [/quote] Now you're just being silly. Please remember this is a serious thread.

[quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1361620458' post='1988348'] This has got me thinking.. my 'project bitsa bass is currently heading in the MM/P direction. Due to a wish to experiment with pickup distance from bridge, my next plan is a rectangular rout so I can put anything anywhere. I'll have a go with MM/P and MM/reverseP at some point. Don't anyone hold your breath - this project has been on the go for a couple of years already! [/quote] You could always reverse the whole guitar. The body could have the tuners in it and the headstock (now the body) could have the pickups in it. I've seen pictures of this before and I bet Leo Fender never thought about doing it - silly man!

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1361618095' post='1988288'] I have a solution brothers. Simply buy a left-handed Precision and flip it over and restring: [/quote] And there we have it. The solution is at last before us for all to see. Thanks ET you are a true scholar and gentleman.

[quote name='richardjmorgan' timestamp='1361614409' post='1988205'] No thanks. Pickups are the wrong way round, innit. [/quote] Now you're in the spirit of the thing.

[quote name='richardjmorgan' timestamp='1361612432' post='1988176'] Yeah, sorry about that. Hope the burning goes well. [/quote] I suppose I could always sell them. Does anyone want to buy three gorgeous looking, gorgeous sounding precisions?

No, I'm afraid my mind is made up. I just can't stand to touch a precision bass ever again!

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1361563837' post='1987765'] I think we should organise a bass-off some time. It will not mean anything at all, but it may be highly entertaining. FIGHT! [/quote] A bass-off is out of the question for me due to the fact that I intend to burn my precisions in a solemn ceremony. I'm afraid that they just have to go. The pickups being the way they have been for 60 odd years is just not good enough anymore.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1361559330' post='1987659'] But then doesn't it end up looking like this? [/quote] Most excellent. I want all my precision pups to be like this. Maybe now the p-bass will at last be worth playing. Thanks Matt you're a pal.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1361558045' post='1987621'] This is quite surreal for me, as it's usually me getting frothy mouthed at people slagging off Gibson basses. I'm not sure who's genuinely upset, who's taking the mick and basically why the world appears to have turned upside down [/quote] It's all done with mirrors Matt.

[quote name='rednose200' timestamp='1361549374' post='1987404'] Yep - far better reversed in my opinion. Using the pickup as a finger rest then means you dont foul the pickup with your fingers when digging in either. That said I'm not a 'P' bass fan. A bit limited soundwise if you ask me. [/quote] Yep. They are definitely limited soundwise. In fact, I'm going to fling out all the cds and dvds I have where the bass player is using a precision. That sound just doesn't cut it!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1361540767' post='1987204'] It's a well known fact that P-Bass players only use the E and A strings on the first 5 frets, so it doesn't really matter which way around the pickup for the D and G strings is. :-) [/quote] Yep. Another valid point. In fact, I sawed straight up the middle of my fretboards and removed the portion that has the D and G strings on it. Not only do I not need that bit it also takes away from the huge weight that is the Fender Precision Bass.

Yep. Leo Fender didn't know what he was doing. I'm away to throw my Precisions in the bucket. Goodness knows why anyone would want to play one.

[quote name='jazzyvee' timestamp='1361203775' post='1982689'] How long did have yours before it got replaced? I have had mine almost 10 years so unlikely they would replace it now for a newer model. Jazzyvee [/quote] Good point. As I recall mine was only about 6 months old when it started going tits up.