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Fender Reissue 51 Precision


spongebob
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I'm downsizing my basses to a more useable and diverse set-up, for a whole number of reasons!

Yesterday, I was checking out recent Dinosaur Jr footage, with Lou Barlow now playing what I think is a '51 P-bass.

It's hard to make out the tone on record and on the footage, so I was wondering what peoples' opinions are on these. You can pick them up for under £550, so they are relatively low-priced, and MIM?

How do they compare to a regular Precision - sound-wise, weight, and neck size?

I suppose I'd like a tone that works all-round on different styles - is the single pup a disadvantage to power and tone?

Lou's an ex-Ric man (until it was stolen a couple of years back), so he's got taste as well as style in my book!

I'm a real newbie to Fenders, so please forgive me....and don't worry about telling me the obvious!! :)

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I had one of these recently (MIJ though, deffo better than the MIM ones), sold it to another BassChatter a month ago.

Absolutely lovely bass, gorgeous to look at, excellent tone, but not particularly flexible. It's been described elsewhere as "a tone only earthworms could love" which is a bit harsh, but funny anyway.

Didn't feel hugely like a standard P. The slab body feels quite different and hangs differently from the strap too. Also, it's VERY unwise to use the pickup as a thumb-rest; it's nowhere near as solid as the subsequent split jobbies.

I'd happily have another as one-of-several-basses-I-own but I would never have one as an only bass.

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They are awesome... actually MIJ not MIM though. They sound nice and growly & are good fun. Unless you are majorly punching above your weight so to speak the lack of cut away isn't an issue. In fact from 54 the cut away kicked in so if you are look for a 54 (which I believe the blue flower and pink paisley are copies of). Try a 51 one though, great fun

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Is it a discontinued model?

I've seen some for sale new, but both the Fender UK and US sites fail to mention it anywhere!

Can anyone confirm this?

Also, what can anybody tell me about Lou Barlow's? Modified? Please help - pic link below!

[url="http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=5568156&albumID=2310772&imageID=50299186"]http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?...mageID=50299186[/url]

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It is still a current model, they are very well made, and they are ALL Japanese. They've never made them at Ensenada.
Mine (which was Mickey's^^^^) is my main bass, and even though I am also a bit of a salad dodger, I find the lack of contours completely irrelevant.
Great basses. Even better for a stark punky tone than a regular '57 style P-bass.

Edit: "Also, what can anybody tell me about Lou Barlow's? Modified? Please help - pic link below!"

That's a Mike Dirnt Signature Precision, which is a MIM.

Edited by Telebass
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[quote name='spongebob' post='532428' date='Jul 4 2009, 01:44 PM']Is it a discontinued model?

I've seen some for sale new, but both the Fender UK and US sites fail to mention it anywhere!

Can anyone confirm this?[/quote]
Is this not it?

[url="http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0271902550"]http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0271902550[/url]

[quote name='spongebob' post='532428' date='Jul 4 2009, 01:44 PM']Also, what can anybody tell me about Lou Barlow's? Modified? Please help - pic link below!

[url="http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=5568156&albumID=2310772&imageID=50299186"]http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?...mageID=50299186[/url][/quote]
That looks like a Mike Dirnt signature model since it has the split Precision pickups and Badass II bridge.

[url="http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0138400306"]http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0138400306[/url]

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Thanks for clearing that one up!

The Mike Dirnt bass has according to the Fender site - a thick neck. I prefer a thinner style - is the original '51 more normal precision thick or jazz thin?

BTW - I thought Lou's bass was the same one as in this clip. It's obviously a different colour.....is this a 51? I'm probably wrong again......!

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KznecxqnnWM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KznecxqnnWM[/url]

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[quote]BTW - I thought Lou's bass was the same one as in this clip. It's obviously a different colour.....is this a 51? I'm probably wrong again......!

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KznecxqnnWM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KznecxqnnWM[/url][/quote]
In the Late Show clip it looks like a MIJ 2TS 51 reissue - check this link on Japanese Fenders from Guitar Emporium, its the second bass down the page [url="http://www.guitaremporium.co.uk/index.php?f=data_fender_japan_new_guitars&a=2"]http://www.guitaremporium.co.uk/index.php?...guitars&a=2[/url]

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The earthworm tone is regarding the humbucker on the Early 70s Telecaster bass.

The '51 is a growly beast. If it wasn't for hum of the single coil pickup and the amps at the time not being able to handle the pickup, we probably wouldn't have the standard split P pickup that we have today.

The lack of contouring is an issue - the reason that I also cannot play Rickenbackers. The whole reason why I went with the later '54 contoured body which the Sting bass has. Its identical in every other way.

I've had a mustard yellow one and the sunburst one. I was really lucky and managed to find myself a brand new sunburst in Japan and had it shipped here for £340 including taxes etc. I nearly had the body down to Martin Sims to contour it and repaint it but in the end decided to sell mine and go with the Warmoth.

Personally, they are the ultimate bass for me - simple, look good and sound unbelievable.

They are very well made and the shiny maple fretboard looks so cool as well.

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It is a great bass to play. I own the Sting 54 reissue bass, and there is not a lot of difference between the two. I preferred the sunburst finish to the yellow one, which is supposed to look like an aged original butterscotch version. I think Fender missed the boat on that one. Mine has the contoured cutouts whereas the 51 does not. The only thing I do not like, as one poster stated, was the ugly Sting thing on the 12th fret.

It appears at this time Fender has dropped the 51 (but not the 54 Sting reissue) from their production models, but can still be bought since there are still a lot of new ones in stock. It did not sell well here in the U.S., and after Fender raised their prices 30%, it probably was the deathknell of the bass. :)

The bass has all the great features of the original 51 including the barking single coil sound, amoeba pickguard, cool headstock, body through strings, and lends itself well to playing roots music such as rockabilly, blues, and early country as well as folk music. It's a great converstion starter as well.
The reissue allows us to play a bass that most of us will never be able to buy as an original. :rolleyes:

That being said, there are reasons why the bass was redesigned in 1957. It has all the quirks of the original including the single coil 60 cycle humm which occurs when the hands are taken off of the strings. Also, there is the infamous dead spot on the 5th or 6th fret on the G string. The orginal bridge makes precise intonation virtually impossible.

If you do get one, a set of Thomastic-Infeld Nickel flats sound very cool on this bass. You can also get the period correct ashtray pick up and bridge covers for it as well. If the quirks of the bass won't bother you, I think you would enjoy the bass.

Kindest regards,
FG

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Played one of these in a local music shop last week for 20 minutes or so, just to get used to the ins and outs of it really.

My initial impressions were that it was a very comfortable instrument to play. I preferred to anchor my thumb over the end of the neck to get a boomy sound, which perfectly complimented the flatwound strings. It was a used bass, and the previous owner had had the stock pickup replaced with a Bareknuckle version, which meant that the output was slightly higher than normal, but tone-wise, it was pure classic Precision.

As has been said above, I don't think I'd buy one to use exclusively, but it would certainly be a good addition to any player's arsenal, if only for looks alone!

Danny

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I've got an MIJ 51 RI. It's gradually taking over from my standard P. The yellow colour isn't as bad as it looks in pictures and the hum is easily got rid of by shielding the control cavity. Nice growl, plenty of attack, even does a passable imitation of a Cream/Free EB3 sound if you push it hard (which is odd, as it's single coil).

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In the early 90's, Fender Japan made the 51 Precision in Sunburst and a very pale lemon yellow. My dream is to own the pale lemon yellow one but they are so so rare. In fact, I have never seen one in the flesh, only in pictures. Much nicer than the butterscotch colour. Here is a picture on it,

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