Any love for the Fender Precision V?

[BillyBass]

I'm probably going to get another fiver in the coming month or two.  The Fender Precision 5 does seem to have a lot going for it.  They are relatively light, by fiver standards, the American Professional IIs seem to have lightweight tuners, the string spacing is, I think, 19mm (I won't go below 18mm) and I like FSO.

 

I've read that some people find the pup a bit muddy with the B string and there are those that believe Precisions should have 4 strings only and anything else is sacrilege.

 

I'd be keen to hear from owners, or previous owners of your experience with a Fender P fiver.  To quote Eric Idle...'What's it like?"

Edited May 11 by BillyBass

[BlueMoon]

I have an American Professional I where a previous owner changed out the Fender pickup with a Seymour Duncan version. It is a nice, tight player now. I like the string spacing. The B string is admittedly not the best - in comparison, for example, with a Lakland 5.

[BillyBass]

41 minutes ago, BlueMoon said:

I have an American Professional I where a previous owner changed out the Fender pickup with a Seymour Duncan version. It is a nice, tight player now. I like the string spacing. The B string is admittedly not the best - in comparison, for example, with a Lakland 5.

What size is your B string?  

[asingardenof]

48 minutes ago, BlueMoon said:

I like the string spacing.

Fun fact, the nut width on both the Precision and Jazz 5s is the same. I suspect they're actually the same necks with different labels.

[BlueMoon]

3 hours ago, BillyBass said:

What size is your B string?

.135 I believe.

[franzbassist]

I love them, but I ended up with a Sire P8 instead, which is superb for the price.  18nn bridge spacing too!

 

 

[BillyBass]

39 minutes ago, BlueMoon said:

.135 I believe.

Do you think the quality of the B string is down to the position of the pup, the gauge of your chosen string or a bit of both?

 

I've just replaced the 0.135 in my Charvel fiver with a tapered 0.145 and the difference is quite dramatic; it has given me the belief I can get a decent fiver with a 34" scale.

[BillyBass]

45 minutes ago, franzbassist said:

I love them, but I ended up with a Sire P8 instead, which is superb for the price.  18nn bridge spacing too!

 

 

How do you find the B string with the neck pup?  Do you need to dial in a bit of the bridge pup to add clarity, or perhaps fiddle around with the mid frequencies on the pre amp to improve it?

[franzbassist]

43 minutes ago, BillyBass said:

How do you find the B string with the neck pup?  Do you need to dial in a bit of the bridge pup to add clarity, or perhaps fiddle around with the mid frequencies on the pre amp to improve it?

No issues at all.  The low B is just fine and I keep everything pretty much flat. If anything it's the G string that is a little louder than the others.  Luckily I don't spend much time up there

[IanA]

I owned a black Pro I for a while, absolutely lovely bass with a fantastic B string and weighed 4kg.

The B string was great and the neck felt amazing.

I will end up with another one soon no doubt!

I think the string spacing was 18.3mm, it was certainly narrower than my 4 string but very comfortable and if anything slightly easier to play

[BlueMoon]

2 hours ago, BillyBass said:

Do you think the quality of the B string is down to the position of the pup, the gauge of your chosen string or a bit of both?

A bit of both………and personal preference is in there as well.

[IanA]

Just to help with your GAS😊

[Paul S]

Back when I had a need for a 5er and I played long scales I was pretty much a Precision or nothing sort of guy.  Trouble was that, off the peg, the Fenders were way too heavy.  I had a Maroooschick Jake 5 put together.  Weighed a ridiculous 8lbs and sounded fabulous - the best of the 5ers I went through looking for 5 string bass Nirvana.

 

[M@23]

3 hours ago, IanA said:

Just to help with your GAS😊

This used to be my bass before it was Ian’s. As he’s already said, it was fantastic. Seeing that picture fills me with regret at selling!

This was an Am Pro I. A few months ago I bought an Am Pro 2 to fill that gap and it fell well short. 
I love Fender and bought the Pro I blind, and it couldn’t have turned out any better.  But the II was terrible. I have no idea how it got past QC. 
So I would suggest, as with all mass produced basses, from all non-specialist retailers, try a few and buy the best. 
That black Pro I, I would put against any bass I’ve owned. The look, feel, sound, low B, top to bottom it was just class. 

[BillyBass]

1 hour ago, M@23 said:

This used to be my bass before it was Ian’s. As he’s already said, it was fantastic. Seeing that picture fills me with regret at selling!

This was an Am Pro I. A few months ago I bought an Am Pro 2 to fill that gap and it fell well short. 
I love Fender and bought the Pro I blind, and it couldn’t have turned out any better.  But the II was terrible. I have no idea how it got past QC. 
So I would suggest, as with all mass produced basses, from all non-specialist retailers, try a few and buy the best. 
That black Pro I, I would put against any bass I’ve owned. The look, feel, sound, low B, top to bottom it was just class. 

I'm sure that is good advice.  I have 10 basses, none of them cost over £1000.  So this will be my most expensive bass related purchase.  I believe making a good 5 string is much more difficult that making a good 4 string bass so I won't be buying anything before trying it out.  I have my eye on a second hand one and I've messaged the owner to arrange a try out.  So we'll see.