Fender 5 String Precision

[mic mac moe]

Praise the Lord




[url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=THITANX322E"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=THITANX322E[/url]

[mr_russ]

indeed- I'd heard reports that the B wasn't all that good- that sounded great

[The Burpster]

[quote name='mr_russ' post='184518' date='Apr 24 2008, 02:13 PM']indeed- I'd heard reports that the B wasn't all that good- that sounded great[/quote]

I wonder from whom you've heard that, and if they've actually played one?

As much as I try to avoid getting sucked into the 'Fender worship' vat of despair...

I cannot see Fender releasing a lemon!

Nice bit of playing BTW....

[Soulfinger]

I got to play one at my shop - it really sounded exactly like the one in the vid (even with me at the wheel ).

The funny thing is - I still don´t think the B string sounds all that hot. Plus to me the sound lacked the typical throaty, gritty, growly P-Bass vibe I´m used to from my 4-strings. Maybe it´s the wider neck, I dunno. Some might actually prefer the sound.

Still, it´s a great bass, and I loved workmanship, fit and finish (oly white, yeah!) - it was absolutely flawless. The glossy headstock and satin finished neck are a nice touch, as is the tort plate. And it was really light and comfortable. Fender seem to really have their act together these days.

[mr_russ]

[quote name='The Burpster' post='184534' date='Apr 24 2008, 02:36 PM']I wonder from whom you've heard that, and if they've actually played one?

As much as I try to avoid getting sucked into the 'Fender worship' vat of despair...

I cannot see Fender releasing a lemon!

Nice bit of playing BTW....[/quote]


Fender, Lemons? maybe not but my old usa jazz deluxe 5 had a less than satisfactory low B- although it was an excellent bass.

[Sean]

Roll on the 5-string Lakland Bob Glaub.

[Kev]

b seems to sound lovely, but the bridge is interesting, with those possibly troublesome grooves...

[Duarte]

Reallylike the look and sound. I'm a fan of precision basses, but kinda looks strange seeing a fiver don't ya reckon?

[budget bassist]

if the necks anywhere near as wide as it is on the squier P 5 string it's like an absolute spade.

[RichBowman]

I thought the 'B' sounded a little bit odd. Not necessarily weak but certainly had an altogether different tone to it than the other strings.

Rich

[mr_russ]

[quote name='BassManKev' post='186363' date='Apr 27 2008, 11:08 AM']b seems to sound lovely, but the bridge is interesting, with those possibly troublesome grooves...[/quote]

The grooves are present on all usa series basses afaik and have been for a while, it's handy if you want to adjust the string spacing slightly

[mr_russ]

[quote name='Sean' post='186340' date='Apr 27 2008, 10:33 AM']Roll on the 5-string Lakland Bob Glaub.[/quote]

Preach on!

[Telebass]

I've played and set up one for a customer. I WILL be getting one at some point in the future!

[Kev]

[quote name='RichBowman' post='187172' date='Apr 28 2008, 01:15 PM']I thought the 'B' sounded a little bit odd. Not necessarily weak but certainly had an altogether different tone to it than the other strings.

Rich[/quote]

+1

on second listen, there is sumit weird about it, cetainly isnt the same tone as the other strings

Edited May 9, 2008 by BassManKev

[mic mac moe]

I have a 2007 MIA S1 Precision (4 string) and the low E sounds a little different to the others.It has those taperwound strings,with the exposed core bit running over the bridge.Only the E is like this,but on the 5 er its the B and the E.Why dont they make the full set the same,like Rotosounds PSD piano string design?

[chris_b]

This looks good and I'd be interested to try one, but.... "None of them says Fender"!?!?! What kind of brainwashing crap is that! That kind of smug attitude would probably make me stay with Lakland.
And Fender can and do make lemons. Look at my sig. I brought one!

[ped]

[quote name='BassManKev' post='195364' date='May 9 2008, 12:25 PM']+1

on second listen, there is sumit weird about it, cetainly isnt the same tone as the other strings[/quote]

Probably more to do with the sound mushing via youtube/the blokes camera etc etc.

[Soulfinger]

[quote name='ped' post='195377' date='May 9 2008, 01:51 PM']Probably more to do with the sound mushing via youtube/the blokes camera etc etc.[/quote]
Not in my experience. I just listened to the video again, through quality headphones - as I said before, I´ve played one of these and it sounded exactly the same, including the slightly odd, undefined (IMHO) character of the B-string.

[Muppet]

I think using the video to determine the quality of the B string is a little difficult. even with the best headphones or speakers in the world you're still at the mercy of the limitations of the original recording device and then the compression used on YouTube.

I can't argue with using your own ears, when playing one in person,mind!

I'm in the market for one of these but would definitely want to play and hear it through an amp of my choice.

[XB26354]

There is a Candy Cola one at the Gallery - B sounds crap even with newish strings.
As for Fender not making a lemon, almost every Fender 5 I have played has got a dull, undefined B string (and I've owned a couple - Deluxe 5 Jazz and Custom Classic 5). I have played plenty of 4-string Fenders too, new and old, that sounded crap and looked shoddily built. I'd say about 20% of them were great, no more. With Sadowsky's I'd say 75%. The quality of manufacture, fit and finish is just so much better (owned 3 Sadowskys too!).

That bass on YouTube has a totally tapered B and E yet the B still sounds markedly different to the other strings.

If I was looking for a Fender style 5 around that kind of price bracket I would look at a Lakland Joe Osborn or save a little more and get a Sadowsky Metro (The PJ hybrid is heavenly). If you must have a Fender logo on the headstock then go for it. Other companies have long known Fenders have great fundamental design but they also have serious weaknesses and have exploited them. If Fenders were what they should be after 60 years of R&D these "clones" wouldn't be in business!

[mr_russ]

I must give another thumbs up to Lakland, although the Roscoe beck 5 is by far the best fender 5 I've played- It's currently squaring off against my lakland DJ5 and there may be casualties- I'll probably only keep one or t'other.

A lakland 5 string precision of some description would fly off the shelves, why on earth does it still not exist?

[JPJ]

Hmm. I own two 'Fender' fives.

The first is my DLX Jazz 5 '96 with the single pole pickups. She is extremely set-up sensitive, the 'B' string height from the pole piece is absolutely critical for an even 'B' sound. The reality is however, that unless your using really top end amps and cabs, the majority of the 'B' string sound will be lost beneath the mid hump in most off the shelf cabs.

My other 'Fender' 5 isn't actually a Fender. Its a precision shaped body with a mighty mite neck and a pair of Bart J's and a Bart P. The Bart P gives a really fat even 'B' response, so much so that you can really use the additional string rather than just dropping in tasty bombs. Again though, the string height over the pickup is critical to obtaining a good 'B' sound.