NBD - Fender classic series Precision.

[Marc S]

I definitely didn't need another bass - let alone another P bass. But this came up for sale on here, and I decided to go for it.

 

These top-notch basses were made in Mexico, alongside the Roadworn series. I once owned a RW P-bass, and always wished it was this colour - fiesta red 😀 after owning a Squier CV in this colour, it became my favourite.

 

Anyhow, just playing it now - it's super build quality and feels and sounds lovely. The neck is a tad wider than I'm used to, but fairly shallow front-to-back and I'm finding it pretty comfy to play. 

 

I may swap the pickguard for a red-tort one - as that would be my fave colour combo.

Edited April 4, 2022 by Marc S

[Marc S]

Bought today from top BC member @40hz  😀 

[40hz]

Enjoy! It's a thunderous bass. Already experiencing some solid regret!

[Lozz196]

Nice, I had one of these years ago and the wide but shallow neck I found quite easy to adapt to. It also had a really nice snarl/bark to it.

[lee650]

I love those 50s style p basses, and will probably be the next one I get. These are fantastic quality,not sure how they compare to the newer Vintera versions (seafoam green though 😍)

[Marc S]

After playing this fab new bass pretty much most of yesterday afternoon (and much of the evening, to the dismay of Mrs S) I thought I'd add some thoughts on the bass here.
EDIT: I even picked this bass up this morning, before breakfast & heading out to work!  

The neck is indeed, a tad wider than I'd normally prefer. It's a shade wider and slightly deeper than my Squier early CV Precision (which I also love to bits). However, I have been getting used to this. I do sometimes wonder whether bigger necked basses might be a problem, if I ever suffer with arthritis. Of course, I hope I never suffer from this. I did used to get some aching in my left hand a while back. But this may have been down to my bad technique on an upright bass with a really chunky neck? Or perhaps it was due to bad posture / use of a computer mouse? Who knows, and hopefully that won't return.

On with the positive factors re this bass. It's absolutely amazing, in terms of build quality. Though the neck is chunky(ish) the finish feels absolutely silky smooth. Of course I love the colour and look of the bass. But the sound is something else. It's snappy and punchy, but also the lows are really deep and rich sounding. More so than any other Precision I've played or owned - and that has been quite a few!

Indeed, this one is better even than my old Roadworn Precision, which I always wished had been Fiesta Red and not sunburst (no problem with SB Precisions - I just wanted that one to be this colour lol). It's better than the nice Oly White US one I owned some years back, heck it's better than my old JV or the CV I still have (may sound controversial to some - but that's just how it seems to me). I am blown away at just how deep and rich those low notes are and how the mids and top end sounds are so full of "bite". I can't wait for Thursday nights' full band rehearsal

 

I'm just wondering whether it's the fact that the neck on this bass is a tad chunkier that is helping produce this lovely sound? I'm sure there will be BC'ers who agree, and those who disagree with this thought. I'm even thinking of doing a temporary neck-swap with my CV - Just to see what happens. Maybe it's the solid maple neck that's contributing to the sound? But again, I've owned maple necked & fretboard basses before, and haven't particularly noticed that much difference.

I've now ordered a red-Tort plate for it. I've grown used to the gold plate on this bass, but I just know I'm going to prefer a Tort one - not everyone's choice, but an absolute classic IMO 
Currently in work, and wishing the hours away until I can get home and pick up this bass the minute I get through the door  
 

Edited April 4, 2022 by Marc S

[Lozz196]

I found the same with the sound on my one, Mark, and when I sold an amp to @Cosmo Valdemar he brought his Classic 50s Precision with him and it was the same with his one too. I reckon you might be right, that extra amount of maple neck could well be a contributing factor.

[Cosmo Valdemar]

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

I found the same with the sound on my one, Mark, and when I sold an amp to @Cosmo Valdemar he brought his Classic 50s Precision with him and it was the same with his one too. I reckon you might be right, that extra amount of maple neck could well be a contributing factor.

Oh, that was a glorious bass! I was never too keen on the baby sick finish but that neck was something else! It had a really distinct stripe to it as well, you don't see that often. 

Haven't got it anymore 🥺

[FinnDave]

I used to have one of these, but couldn't adapt to the wider neck - I'm more a Jazz Bass player despite repeated efforts to give them up! My main bass is a ten year old Classic 60s Jazz, also MiM, which I have owned from new. A recently purchased Vintera 60s Jazz felt exactly the same but had to be returned to Fender as it had a truss rod problem. I am expecting the replacement any day now...

[Aidan63]

Is the neck one piece or separate fretboard on top of maple neck ? The 90s Japanese P I had was one piece and that was great.

 

[Marc S]

48 minutes ago, Aidan63 said:

Is the neck one piece or separate fretboard on top of maple neck ? The 90s Japanese P I had was one piece and that was great.

 

I'll double check when I get home @Aidan63 - but I think it's a single piece. (In fact, I'm pretty sure it is).
Perhaps that's part of the reason for its' superb sound? In all honesty, I was never quite convinced that a few mm wider neck would make a difference - but of course, I'm happy to be proven wrong.
perhaps it's a combination of slightly wider and slightly deeper neck, and the fact that it's a single piece of wood? Who knows?

I will (in a couple of weeks) try to temporarily swap necks - as I'm interested in seeing what happens.

 

In all honesty, I don't "need" to keep my Squier CV Precision (I've got too many basses, and too many of them are basically Precisions)..... but I am so tempted to do so as the CV looks almost as cool as this one  

[theyellowcar]

That’s lovely. I think there’s something to be said about the chunkier necks being more resonant. I found the same with my new Mike Dirnt P which I believe is a similar profile

front to back but skinnier at the nut. 

[bassbiscuits]

I agree - chunkier necks impact on the sound. It’s extra wood so it’s not surprising.
I had a 1995 USA Fender P with a right big thick neck but the sound was massive compared to other Ps I’ve owned before or since. Sadly it was pretty heavy too and I sold it, but the sound was knockout. 

[Marc S]

I was never quite sure whether a chunkier neck would add anything - but in the absence of any other "evidence" I'm thinking there must be something in it.

@bassbiscuitsI once owned a 1970's Fender P. It too sounded great - but the neck was even chunkier on that. It was deeper front-to-back as well as wide.
That also weighed a tonne. If the young me felt that - I probably wouldn't be able to even pick it up now lol  

[Marc S]

Further to discussions about neck width & chunkiness, which really is a discussion about mass and sustain (I think).
Here's an interesting video about the "mass" of a guitar body and sustain - apologies if you noted that I posted a link to this before
But I think it's a really interesting experiment, and an entertaining video if nothing else

Of course, it's a guitar not a bass, and this concentrates on the body and not the neck - but I think such factors as weight of wood, mass etc are all linked - unless I'm missing something?
Anyhow - enjoy... but DON'T try this on your vintage Fender!  

 

 

[bassbiscuits]

7 hours ago, Marc S said:

I was never quite sure whether a chunkier neck would add anything - but in the absence of any other "evidence" I'm thinking there must be something in it.

@bassbiscuitsI once owned a 1970's Fender P. It too sounded great - but the neck was even chunkier on that. It was deeper front-to-back as well as wide.
That also weighed a tonne. If the young me felt that - I probably wouldn't be able to even pick it up now lol  

It's impossible to rule out all the other variables of course - the pickups in particular in my P bass, plus a good match between body and neck wood etc - tho it was monstrously loud even unplugged.

Edited April 5, 2022 by bassbiscuits

[Marc S]

So, my tort plate just arrived - and I had to fit it immediately! 😀 😃 

 

I grew to like the anodised gold plate, but Tort is still my preference, especially on Fiesta Red

 

Perfect fit (well, one screw is just a tad out). Got it from "Musiclily" on eBay, about £11. Not bad value imo

 

I think the bass sounds even better now 😉 

[FinnDave]

I can hear the improvement when I look at the picture. I didn't keep my classic 50s Precision long enough to change the 'plate - I couldn't get on with the wide neck.

[Marc S]

Actually, I was being a bit dozy.... (no surprise there). But after fitting the plate & removing the protective film, I later discovered that it had a 2nd layer of protective film on it! 

 

And now it looks brighter and even nicer 😀 😀 

[Mickyk]

?What Pups are in the Bass Marc,it's a real looker i must admit.

[Marc S]

1 hour ago, Mickyk said:

?What Pups are in the Bass Marc,it's a real looker i must admit.

 

Hi @Mickyk I'm not sure. I should perhaps have taken a closer look, when I took the pickguard off.

 

Whatever they are, they sound amazing. Perhaps this MIM range use US pickups? Maybe - but I think this is the best sounding Precision I have owned, or even played.

[40hz]

1 hour ago, Marc S said:

 

Hi @Mickyk I'm not sure. I should perhaps have taken a closer look, when I took the pickguard off.

 

Whatever they are, they sound amazing. Perhaps this MIM range use US pickups? Maybe - but I think this is the best sounding Precision I have owned, or even played.

They're USA standard pickups (from the era).

[shoulderpet]

On 03/04/2022 at 13:30, Marc S said:

I definitely didn't need another bass - let alone another P bass. But this came up for sale on here, and I decided to go for it.

 

These top-notch basses were made in Mexico, alongside the Roadworn series. I once owned a RW P-bass, and always wished it was this colour - fiesta red 😀 after owning a Squier CV in this colour, it became my favourite.

 

Anyhow, just playing it now - it's super build quality and feels and sounds lovely. The neck is a tad wider than I'm used to, but fairly shallow front-to-back and I'm finding it pretty comfy to play. 

 

I may swap the pickguard for a red-tort one - as that would be my fave colour combo.

I have one of these in honey blonde and with a slightly different neck(mine is a vintage tint yellow-ish kind of tint and yours looks more like a roasted maple) and they are great basses. 

 

I actually nearly took it back, I brought it used from a local shop and didn't spot in the shop that there was a crack in the finish running along the bass side horn.

 

Anyway I went to the shop to take it back and change it for something else and after playing a bunch of other Mim p basses and jazz basses I realised that this bass was in a completely different league to them,I returned home with the bass I had intended to return

 

Btw those anodised pickguards look great but they are lethal, I took the pickguard off mine to change the pickup and sliced my thumb open...ouch!

Edited April 10, 2022 by shoulderpet

[Marc S]

@shoulderpetyes, these are definitely a step up. I once had a really nice US p bass in oly white, which I sometimes miss (all too predictably of course) and this Precision compares very favourably with that. In fact, it sounds better, especially the lower notes. But also, this one looks even nicer, in Fiesta Red.

 

I must say, I like the look of your model too - it suits the anodised gold plate best imo 

[Marc S]

I just noticed that my original post in this thread was exactly a year ago today - and funnily enough, I've a few "experiments" to report on.

Since buying this bass, and absolutely loving it - I have tried a couple of different necks on it. I recently bought a Fender US Jazz neck (from this very forum), and had a Fender MIJ neck (which I'd intended to put on another body.... and will try, at some point). The Jazz neck being typical Jazz width, and the MIJ neck being slightly narrower (42mm) and slightly more shallow, front-to-back.

I like the original neck on this bass - it feels nice & smooth. But I was looking for something a bit slimmer. The same, original pickups were used throughout, as were the strings (TI Flats) - so the neck was the only factor to change. Sadly, I'm not "tech savvy" enough to do a decent recording, for proper comparison - but I did try each neck configuration through the same couple of amps, and my headphones. So it's my ageing ears that we must trust for these comparisons!  

I had wondered about different wood types, and talk of Maple v Rosewood boards - the MIJ neck, having a RW board, and the original P neck and US Jazz neck being Maple. The sound was definitely "snappier" on both maple boards, and slightly "softer" with the MIJ Rosewood-boarded neck. The added width of both the original, and the MIJ necks definitely helped pronounce the low-end notes a bit more. The original P neck definitely producing more sustain than both other necks - but perhaps that's partly down to a slightly better fit in the neck pocket? The original neck being just a tad more snug....

Of course some of this may also be down to better matching of wood types at the factory? You would assume that with this Classic series, the selection process at the factory being more rigorous for the more expensive models. I did some recording as part of a new project last night - at a music school studio, and really liked the sound from this bass. The engineer also commented on how much he liked what he heard. What I can say for definite, is that one year on.... I'm still really loving this bass. I really regret selling my Squier Classic Vibe P bass - but don't regret buying this one.