Fender Custom Shop ‘Empire’ Precision - Roasted body, neck and fingerboard £2995 Gloucestershire

[MungoBass]

I’m selling my 2022 Empire ‘58 Journeyman Precision, finished in Aged White Blonde with a roasted Alder body and one piece roasted Maple neck and fingerboard. The description found on Empire Music’s site is as follows;

 

“The Fender Custom Shop Empire 58 Precision Bass was designed in-house by our resident bassist and Director of Sales, Anthony Pecora. Based off of his very own 58 Custom Shop P with a few nods to the 60’s models, this bass takes the best from both eras into a player-centric package.

We’ve worked closely with Custom Shop Masterbuilder Vincent Van Trigt to develop our exclusive Empire 58 Precision Pickup that can only be found in these basses. This pickup offers all of the responsiveness needed to fit any playing style and any genre while never losing the characteristic P-Bass growl and punch. Features like roasted one-piece quartersawn maple necks, roasted bodies, and a 60’s Oval C Profile provide a unique and comfortable playing experience centered around a vintage Fender tone and aesthetic. These basses are ONLY available through Empire Music!”

 

I have been lucky enough to have owned many Custom Shop basses and this is my second favourite of all time (the favourite being the exact same model but in pearl black and a new old stock finish, which suits my bass ocd better and is a keeper!). I wanted a Custom Shop bass that was different from the usual stock but could no way even consider a Masterbuilt one. These Empire exclusives fitted the brief perfectly with a hand-wound pickup designed in connection with a Masterbuilder, a roasted body and a quartersawn roasted neck with a very comfortable 9.5 inch fingerboard radius and tall narrow frets. I understand from Anthony at Empire that they only ordered about 50 of these in each of the NOS, Journeyman and Relic finishes. 
 

Being a Journeyman finish it has plenty of checking to the nitro with a selection of nicks and dings but no severe rash of any kind. The neck has lost a bit of its sheen so is not quite as glossy as a new old stock variant and there are just a few bare patches on the fingerboard for an aged look. The tuners and other metal parts are of course aged accordingly.

 

The action is nice and easy, even with some oldish roundwound strings on it. 

 

It comes complete with the G&G tweed case, paperwork, tag, wallet, strap and picks plus key for the case. The case is in excellent condition but has one slightly temperamental latch which does close and lock, with a bit of patience!

 

I’m only selling it because I only ever play the NOS version.

 

Postage can be arranged but I would obviously prefer collection so you can play it! Needless to say, coffee and biscuits supplied if you visit!