RnRDave Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 Weighing up between these 2 meaty options. The deluxe is £100 cheaper but seems to have more options on board. Has anyone played both? Any major differences? Links for reference. https://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_deluxe_precision_bass_special.htm https://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_am_perf_p_bass_rw_3tsb.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 (edited) I've got a 2016 Deluxe Precision Special. As far as I can tell the main difference between the deluxe and the American Performer is in the electronics. The deluxe is active, with a 3 band EQ, it does have a switch to make it passive but (on the 2016 at least) there's no tone pot in passive mode. The other difference is the country of manufacture - the deluxe is near the top end of the Fender Mexican range (not counting signature models and special finishes like relics) whilst the American Performer is at the lower end of the US made range. In real terms I doubt there's much difference between the two in terms of quality of components and finish and they're so close together in terms of price that I suppose it comes down to whether you want the active electronics on the deluxe or not. For what it's worth I love my deluxe but the active Precision thing (especially with the added J) definitely isn't everyone's cup of tea. Edited January 22, 2020 by Cato 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 I played the Precision Deluxe and it was fantastic. It has a lovely Jazz neck, has a great sound and feel and it's put together really nicely. In the end, I ended up buying the Fender Elite Precision, which was the USA version of the Precision Deluxe, at the time The Elite is a very nice bass but it cost twice what I would have paid for the deluxe , and it's definitely not twice the bass. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlfer Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 The Performer will hold it's value better. It's likely the Deluxe will be a more playable & versatile bass, better specced. They also come up for sale occasionally, at between £500/£700 depending how ambitious the seller is. I've done over 400 gigs with a passive version of the Deluxe, it will go to the grave with me. The 2 Performers I tried when they first came out, had weak pickups. Really unimpressed with them TBH. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grenadillabama Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 My Precision Deluxe has a Jazz-width nut. (Mexican) Doesn't the American Performer have a regular Precision neck ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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