mahtar Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 (edited) TLDR: In search of my main recording bass. Dove into five Precisions and made some measurements, charts below. Hey everyone, So, a mate of mine suggested (probably as a tease, knowing him) that I throw my recent obsession onto basschat. Been neck-deep (pun intended) in specs of different P-Basses, and thought, why not. Might be fun to see what others think. I’ve embarked on a quest to find a new bass that I can call my main, especially for recording. I want to downsize, so I’m being quite picky, particularly about the feel. I turned to the specs and made some measurements, focusing mainly on the neck to understand why some of them just click while others are meh. I’ve recently had the chance to compare five models: MIM Deluxe Active Special, MIM Classic 50s, Player, American Performer, and Professional II. What really struck me was discovering that the Player and the Performer have very similar neck specs on paper. However, when I got my hands on the Performer, it surprisingly felt more akin to the Pro II neck. I'm wondering about the consistency between the US models (Performer, Pro II, Ultra even). I know for a fact the neck lottery is a standard "feature" on Gibson guitars... Speaking of the Pro II, it’s a fantastic piece of craftsmanship overall, but the neck is quite chunky. It made me question whether all Pro IIs are like this or if it's a lottery as well. Anyone else have thoughts or experiences with the Pro II specifically? The Deluxe Active Special has a Jazz neck. It’s pretty comfortable, and I tend to prefer slimmer, narrower necks. However, the rolled edges on the Pro II are something else; I wish that Jazz neck was finished like that. Attached some graphs for y'all, hopefully useful for a few of you. Shoot if you have some insights! Edited October 28, 2023 by mahtar 12 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theyellowcar Posted October 27, 2023 Share Posted October 27, 2023 Respect the work. Interesting to see how different the profile of the American necks are compared to the Mexicans. It’s like the Americans have a beer belly 😂 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahtar Posted October 28, 2023 Author Share Posted October 28, 2023 Thanks, and true, those US profiles are a bit too deep for my taste. Before I looked at Pro II properly, I thought it would be an iteration of the good ol’ Standard line, but they seem to be more inspired by vintage specs. Tall frets, chunky neck, truss rod access at the heel… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 7 hours ago, theyellowcar said: Respect the work. Interesting to see how different the profile of the American necks are compared to the Mexicans. It’s like the Americans have a beer belly 😂 Hey, Slayer told you this....it really should be no surprise "There only one place to go...." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 Very thorough @mahtar, and very well presented- thanks for posting this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 Very good - nice work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 You'd also ideally need to use a profile gauge to show the shape of the profile, which makes a considerable difference in the feeling between necks that are the same width and depth. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quatschmacher Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 Got Jon Shuker to measure one of my Am Pro IIs when I was putting a build order together and it was 19mm but am not sure if that was at the nut or at the 1st fret now. It was 26mm at the 12th. Haven’t measured the other. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahtar Posted October 29, 2023 Author Share Posted October 29, 2023 11 hours ago, tauzero said: You'd also ideally need to use a profile gauge to show the shape of the profile, which makes a considerable difference in the feeling between necks that are the same width and depth. I agree. I was actually looking to get one of these profile gauges a while ago... Not all Modern Cs are created equal, that's for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahtar Posted October 29, 2023 Author Share Posted October 29, 2023 11 hours ago, Quatschmacher said: Got Jon Shuker to measure one of my Am Pro IIs when I was putting a build order together and it was 19mm but am not sure if that was at the nut or at the 1st fret now. It was 26mm at the 12th. Haven’t measured the other. Thanks, 19mm sounds promising. 26mm is a bit too chunky for me, I will probably look at few other Pro II's and check around that 12th fret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted October 29, 2023 Share Posted October 29, 2023 Nice work, this should be pinned somehow for future reference 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quatschmacher Posted October 29, 2023 Share Posted October 29, 2023 4 hours ago, mahtar said: Thanks, 19mm sounds promising. 26mm is a bit too chunky for me, I will probably look at few other Pro II's and check around that 12th fret. My Shuker is 21.5mm at the 1st fret and my other (and now only) Am Pro II feels thinner. One day I’ll buy some callipers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevham Posted November 6, 2023 Share Posted November 6, 2023 (edited) Interesting. I now have three 2021 P basses - a Player, a Player Plus and an American pro 2. All three have different necks. The Pro 2 is noticeably chunkier. Haven't decided what I like best TBH. Edited November 6, 2023 by kevham 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulstar89 Posted November 6, 2023 Share Posted November 6, 2023 Thanks for the comparison. Like others have stated I find it interesting how deep the American pro II necks are. My favourite necks are the late 70’s. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulstar89 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 On 29/10/2023 at 07:21, Reggaebass said: Nice work, this should be pinned somehow for future reference I agree. I was just looking at a MIJ J precision bass. It has a 42mm nut with a soft V profile. It is described as 70's vintage but the depth is 20.60mm. Not deep enough for me. Shame as i found a good deal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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