Fender '51 P-Bass Reissue

A brand new 2008 Japanese Fender '51 P Bass. It's a miracle of simplicity. Big piece of wood with a longer and thinner bit of wood attached. A few shards of metal and one pickup. Voila! The electric bass is invented. Features? I listed them- slabs of wood that electronically reproduce bass frequencies. It couldn't be simpler. You want features? Get a modern bass that has active pickups, graphite construction and a clock radio.

OK, here's the deal: I like it, but I've found that there's a bit of distortion when I'm really digging in. Not the bad kind really, but not what I want. It's a little distracting. I don't mind some growl out of an amp that's slightly overdriven, but I don't expect it out of a bass. A pickup swap? I'd rather not. Otherwise, a full bodied thump and even throughout the neck.
A few people have said they get a Rick sound out of it... I play Ricks and I don't hear it myself. I've always found a Rick has far more definition. When the treble is really wound up on a Rick you get 'clank'; on this you get more treble.

Construction was solid and no problems. A fine compromise between reissue (e.g. the barrel saddles) and functional. A setup and we're ready to go.

It's early yet, but it certainly appears to have been built like a tank. That's what I expect out a prehistoric beast like this.

It's funny how everyone loves to proclaim their superior assessments of gear by virtue of the fact they have more experience and better equipment than the reader. Me? Yeah, I gig a lot. Recorded? Yep. Played with anybody famous? Not really. Do I have the best of everything? Nope. Been playing a lot of years and I tend to be 'retro' in my tastes.
I'm a Rick player but I always wanted a Fender '51 bass. It is what it represents: the simplest design ever, and one that works. It's a quality instrument that performs the task for which it was designed. Other than the complaint about sound I think it's value for your retro dollar.

One thing to keep in mind with this reissue is that its similarity with vintage Fenders ends with its appearance. Fender has "updated" everything from neck dimensions to electronics. Fender kept the neck radius at 7.25" but whittled down the width and thickness from the original "baseball bat" 50's necks to something resembling a Stingray bass. I personally prefer the fat, bulky vintage neck profile but Fender obviously thought most would want a faster, modernized feel.

The most significant difference is tone. When compared to my '68 Tele bass (the original '51 reissue) the '51's tone is thin and lifeless, lacking a lot of low end. This doesn't mean you won't find a usable tone here, just that if you want a tone to inspire you, you'll need to swap out some electronics.

I routed out a cavity under the pickguard, added a bartolini preamp and now it sounds full and rich like a bass costing 3 times as much (the nice thing about a $600 bass is it's not a crime to customize it a little).

I've played 7 or 8 '51 reissues in various music stores and it seems that the construction quality is either hit or miss. Considering that Fender Japan craps these things out by the thousands, it's not surprising you'll get a few slipping through quality control with overhanging fretwire, cracked finish, and sloppy neck joints. If you try a few like I did, however, I'm sure you'll have no problem finding one with a good set up and a neck joint so tight a piece of paper can't fit in.

I've been gigging over 20 years and I can't imagine a scenario where this bass would quit working.

Fender relies on Leo's legacy and his patented designs to turn a profit; they have no need to provide customer support- welcome to corporate America.

In my first review of this bass I covered the positive aspects of this nearly perfect reproduction, however, to be fair, I need to address a few of the easily fixed, issues.
Now, if you are a serious 'player' and if 'accurate' intonation is important to you, I strongly suggest that you replace the two saddle bridge with any bridge that will allow all four strings to be set. Try to find a bridge that will allow you to string it 'through' the body, as this type of string attachment really does contribute to the unique sound of this bass. Also, spend the extra cash for a set of 'Thomastik jazz flatwounds' They sound amazing, last forever, and get better with age.
Now, regarding the electronics, The stock pickup is 'OK' and I suspect most novice bassists will find it acceptable, but those few that are really looking for that elusive throaty, rich percussive 'pop' found in ancient p basses, consider the 'Jason Lollar' I went through a 'Lindy Fralin' an SD 'antiquity', and even had one custom wound. It was the lollar, that had that 'sound'.
By all means, buy this bass! It is an excellent value and with just a bit of tweeking, you will have an awesome, truly 'vintage' sounding instrument for a fraction of the going price of an old Fender.

Full time pro since 1968. Having toured the world backing up well known, and not so well known acts, and yes, I would replace this bass if something happened to it. I've owned an original 1955 P bass, as well as an original 1962 Jazz bass. Thus, I feel 'qualified' to talk about true 'vintage' tone.

As described below. Crafted in Japan; one piece maple neck, etc. etc.

I give it a 7 because the two barrel bridge is iffy.

I really like the neck on this thing. Not as wide at the nut as a standard P bass and not as narrow as a Jazz. The 7.25" radius is also very cool. This neck feels just right to me.

This is what this bass is all about. The tone is just beautiful. For blues/rock this single coil puts out just the right deep, smooth bottom that holds it all down. I use it straight into a Yorkville XM200 T with the 15" extension cab.

This is THE definitive electric bass tone, the one that set the standard that all others emulate (unless they're trying to not sound like a P bass).

It comes with round wound strings: not vintage correct but I think they work really well with this bass. Haven't tried flats but I've never been a fan of those.

I have not had any problem with noise from the single coil pickup.

Noted already - this is not a slapper's bass but it does have a nice woody slap and pop sound. The geometry of the bass is not good for a hardcore slapper though.

Fit and finish this bass arrived flawless. I agree with those who think Japanese Fenders may be the best. Neck relief and action were a bit off but I've come to expect that in a brand new mass-produced bass.

Though period correct, the weakest link is the two barrel bridge; makes exact intonation difficult. However, I am rarely up to or beyond the 12th fret and very few listeners would even notice any intonation issues in a live setting so it's not really an issue for me. Wilkinson make a more adjustable two barrel replacement. I might go that route in the future.

Truss rodd access is at the butt of the neck. I thought I would just take off the pickguard and adjust it but discovered the guard is glued on (partially). It means taking the neck off, which is a pain (but a vintage one)

The simplicity and quality construction of this bass suggest it is very hardy. I'm easy on my gear regardless so don't expect any problems. Everything about it feels very solid.

I would never gig without a back-up but that's more from the standpoint of broken strings (which has yet to happen). I've never had a bass of any kind suddenly give me problems in the middle of a gig.

Never needed them.

I've been playing 25+ years but haven't really owned a whole lot of different gear. THis is the first bass I bought purely on its sound alone. I saw it in the store (never seen one before) plugged it in, and was smitten at the first note I played. The tone is exactly what I've been looking (listening?) for. As said above, I also really like the neck on this. The colour is a bit too yellow for some folks but I don't mind it. With the maple neck and black p-guard I think it looks quite sharp. I also love the simplicity of one pickup, volume and tone.

I was worried at first about the lack of body contours, especially for the forearm but so far haven't found that to be a problem.

This is my main "go to" bass (I also have a Jazz and a fretless bass). If it was lost or stolen I would want to replace it (but would probably use the opportunity to try something else - with potential disappointment).

Highly recommended

Made in Japan like all the others. I picked this as I wanted a good Fender bass without paying American series prices.

Mine is the 2 tone burst, passive, single straight pickup with the staggered poles, 2 saddle string through body bridge, passive, one piece maple neck/fretboard with skunk stripe, reverse tuners.

Nice and simple.

i had to give it a 10 because it has all the features i need

I love the way the bass balances. I've had a long line of unbalanced basses and this one is perfect.

I play in 2 entirely different bands; wedding and rock covers and this bass is perfect. Its all about right hand placement, how hard you hit the strings and slight variation of the tone control.

I use a GK700RB II amp and when i play it hard it sounds very much like a Rick which I believe someone else mentioned. I used to own a Rick and couldn't get it to sound like a Rick!

It has a very full, warm sound but like I said this can be varied. It sounds fantastic for slap as well as fingerstyle. I don't use a pick so couldn't comment on that.

I love the sound of this bass.

The only downside is that it has the pickup with the staggered poles. From what I've read, this was only on them during the transition from '54 to '57 models when the 'modern' split pickup and strat headstock was added. Since the original '51 model didn't have staggered poles, there was no need to include them in this model as it was only used to balance the strings with the crap amps of the time so that string response was equal.

All it does now is make you have to jack up the action on the A string and to a lesser extent on the D string.

everything else on this bass has been perfectly finished

This bass is made from the same type of wood as the originals with poly used for the finish rather than nitro so if anything, it should last longer than the original before it starts to look scabby.

i always use strap locks so the originals are in a box should I ever sell it (the only reason I would sell it would be to buy an original one)

I have only ever adjusted the saddles initially. Other than that it gets tuned and that's all.

The bass is rock solid and will outlast me

Never had to deal with them. I only buy Japanese Fenders because I know that they are made to higher standards that anything else that Fender does with the exception of the masterbuilt line - cha ching.3

I've been playing for 20 years and have been through 40 odd basses. I also own a 1973 telecaster bass and go through a Gk 700RB II and Schroeder 1212L cab. I use a tapco Squeez rack compressor - no effects.

I love its simpicity: I've had top-end Ibanezs, Yamahas and Warwicks and find 6-8 different controls to be stupid - isn't that what the controls on the amp are for? Volume is always on full and the only adjustment I need to make is slight movement of the tone control.

the only thing I don't like are the staggered poles on the pickup so I may swap it out for an SD antuquity one with flat poles to keep the original sound but gain better action

Features? Are you kidding?

OK, it has a nice two-piece swamp ash body in two-tone sunburst finish. The neck and board are maple with a vintage aged finish. It has a 34 inch scale with 20 frets. Electronics include volume and tone pots, with a single coil Precision pup. The bridge is rudimentary, and is a string through design. Tuners are vintage reverse-gear Klusons.

There's not a lot going on here, but what's here is nice.

This sounds nothing like a split-coil P-bass, and there's nothing wrong with that. It has a bright, aggressive tone that sounds almost like a Ric bridge pup soloed. You can change the tone by changing your right hand technique or rolling off some treble with the tone pot, but there isn't a huge amount of variety here.

I play classic and roots rock, so this bass is tailor made for the style I play. I'm running it through a Traynor YBA 200 tube head and Avatar 2x10 and 1x15 Neo cabs, and it sounds just fine.

The fit and finish on this bass are incredible. Fender Japan really has their act together in the QA/QC department. The tech at the shop I ordered it from pulled the neck for a truss rod adjustment, and he was dumbfounded at the the neck pocket fit. It's like Tupperware.

The finish on the body and neck is first-rate. All hardware is mounted snugly, with no rattles or loose bits.

Well, the basic design has survived since 1951, so I think that's a testament to the durability of a fundamentally sound design. It's built like a tank, so I have no doubt it will hold up just fine.

I replaced the stock strap buttons with Schaller strap locks, as I do will all my basses.

The bass is solid enough to gig on its own, but I always bring a back-up bass.

I haven't had any issues yet, so no worries.

Kudos to Tigard Music in Tigard, OR and Russ their tech. They ordered the bass for me (two-tone sunburst is an uncommon finish---most are butterscotch)and Russ did a great set-up job.

I've been playing since 1977. The '51 P is sharing the stable with a '90s Gibson T-bird, '62 Jazz reissue, '79 Franken-P/J, an MIJ acoustic/electric fretless Precision, an Epiphone Jack Casady, and a '74 Ric 4001.

The '51 P is basic in the extreme. I didn't expect a lot of features, but I did get a well-made bass that sounds pretty damn good. I've been wanting an old-school P-bass since I started playing, but vintage prices kept one out of my reach. I've been looking at the reissue for a long time. I should have gotten this bass years ago.

I love the tone and the vintage vibe this thing puts out. There's nothing to dislike about it.

90's--Japan. Two Tone burst finish. Simple and thats all you need.

The best sounding bass Ive played. Midrangy PU with tons of bass to spare as well. Huge flat wounds help to the boomy tone ala upright bass.

One of the nicest finishes Ive ever seen. Japan made models RULE.

The best.

Never needed it

The best bass for the money. Used MIJapan models rock for this and many other Fender guitars as well.

Made in Japan, just tone and volume knobs, 2-saddle bridge, butterscotch with a black pickguard, maple neck. Vintage everything, plus a trussrod. The original precision design, with what is now the Tele headstock (but was originally the headstock for a p bass). Came with gigbag. Features are exactly what you would expect for a 51 reissue. One single coil pickup.

There are certaint things I really love about this bass, and a couple things I don't enjoy all that much, probably due to the fact that I am not a bass player by training, but a guitarist who bought a bass for recording purposes and for fun in general. As such, I am running it through a SWR workingman's 12. For a single coil bass, there is surprisingly little hum. The original pickup is wound around the outer pole pieces, which means that the poles below the A and D strings are not making as much contact with the wound. I realize this makes it no longer a reissue of a vintage bass, but I made two rather common modifications to this bass: I replaced the pickup with a Seymour Duncan SCPB-3 (aka Quarter Pound), and I replaced the bridge with a Leo Quan Badass III, which drastically increased the sustain. The sound did not change to an ultra modern tone or anything, but it definitely sounds deeper, fuller, and more evenly distributed across the strings. I also put flatwounds on it, and now I love how it sounds.
One problem, however, which is not necessarily the basses fault, is that it has extremely small frets, probably vintage correct. This increases probability of buzzing, and makes it so I have to press down much harder than on other basses to get a clear note, even after a professional set up and truss rod adjustment. Having said that, it is not such a problem to prohibit me from enjoying playing it or enjoying its quality tone.

Previous to my modifications I would give it a 7, and after, a 9.

I bought it used, so I didn't get to experience the factory settings. However, I am going to take this opportunity (since it is the "finish" are for commentary) to note that the finish is much, much deeper and beautiful than it appears in pictures. The butterscotch is pretty yellow, but the woodgrain is visible from underneath, giving it a depth that really grew on me. If I had to buy this bass again, I might get the sunburst instead of the butterscotch, and then put a black pickguard on it. The neck comes with a vintage tint, which makes the maple truly beautiful.

So far so good. I have not played it live, as I am using it for recording and just general jamming, but like most p-basses, it is extremely solidly built. Also, it has the reverse tuners - which is a vintage correct feature - and it stays in tune very well, reliably.

Like I said, I am a guitarist who purchased this bass for recording and jamming. It suits these needs perfectly, providing clean tonal variety. The perks: it is a vintage reissue. The drawbacks: it is a vintage reissue. But, in my case I made a couple modifications, and I have exactly the bass I want, aside from slightly too small of frets.

made in Japan
I replaced the pickup with a Duncan 1/4 pounder (the original pickup did't have a very even output); replaced jack and socket with an "electrosocket" and switchcraft jack. sunburst finish is great;
nice piece of ash for the body; narrow frets; medium weight; this model is not true to a '51, but has features that sorta combine 51, 54, and even the early telecaster bass-they should probably just call it an early 50's model bass

pickup is way too spikey. not sure if they were trying to recreate the 50's pickup that had those characteristics, or if it's just crappy. in my experience, all of the Japanese basses (jazz, p-bass, etc.) that don't use aftermarket or american pickups, have crappy pickups. the basses themselves are fantastic, but I've always wound up replacing the pickups.
I play 60's psychedelic rock, and this fits perfectly in a kenny rogers/1st edition kinda way.
not much variety in the sounds it can make, but it's an articulate, yet warm tone with a hint of leather and woodland moss, with light amber aftertaste.

flawlessly constructed and finished; set up was perfect.

built like a tank; would work well as a defensive weapon, or baseball bat too.

I've been playing since the late 70's;
i own all kinds of stuff;
I'd buy another if lost;
i wish it had a reissue leather gig bag and also came with an early 50's bassman 15" amp at no extra charge.

Japanese made bass from 1990-1991, according to Fender's website. 20 tiny, vintage frets, maple neck, black dots, plugged truss rod hole on the bass' Telecaster-like headstock. One string tree, and tuners that go in reverse. The nut was replaced. One volume knob, one tone knob, and one single coil pickup nearer to the neck. Slab, flat two-tone sunburst body with a white pick guard (whose screws are spread out rather far). The bridge has two barrel-saddles with no grooves for the strings. Two strings on each saddle; adjusting the intonation affects both strings, and adjusting action is little more than changing the height of each side of the saddle. This thing weighs about 12 lbs on my bathroom scale.

As far as features go, this thing is dire. Features aren't what this bass is about though; in 1951, this was the first and only electric bass available. Our bass playing forefathers finally had an alternative to running around with a 6 and a half foot tall, bulky, difficult to play, and nearly silent upright acoustic. They now had a heavy, rather noisy, impossible to intonate electic bass with high action. Oh, and back then, this bass DIDN'T HAVE A TRUSS ROD. They would sit at the back, out of the view of anybody, quietly playing their new bass. Maybe, just maybe, someone in the audience will hear them play their root-5 basslines.

I play this bass proudly, paying homage to those trailblazers. Here we are in our advanced age of active electronics and solid state modelling amplifiers, forgetting our past. Sure, this bass might seem a little lacking in this day and age (I mean it doesn't even have body contours, for God's sake!), but that's why I love it so much; it's true to it's original spec (but with a truss rod this time), looks incredibly retro, and is just plain cool. Your nice hand-made boutique bass with 21 strings, 85 frets and a 6 band EQ with 4 cutaways might make you stand out a little, but playing a vintage number like this is what really gets you not only noticed, but respected.

Long story short; the features are dire, but the aura surrounding this bass is just incredible.

When I got this bass, I thought the pickup was going to be all bass, no treble, like the neck humbucker of a Gibson EB-0/1/2/3. I thought I was going to load it with flatwounds, crank down the tone, and just shake the walls with the muddiest and dubbiest bass tone known to man.

The bass came armed with nickel roundwounds, and I started playing it. As I played more and more, I realized how wrong my premonitions of this bass were. The tone of this bass is very bright, very clear, and very round. You get your hum of a single coil pickup, but the clarity of this bass blew me away. It also delivered a great passive low-end, with it's own cute happy version of the famous P-Bass bark. Some reviews stated that they've changed the pickups to a Seymour Duncan Antiquity (or even a Basslines! Talk about defeating the purpose!), but I couldn't imagine doing that. Sure, the A and D pole pieces are raised, making those strings wolfier than the other two, but that's what compression is for.

Harmonics rang out clear and true, even clearer than the split P-bass pickup (I find that humbuckers in general, especially at the neck, tend to dull out harmonics rather severely). The harmonics were almost comperable to the bridge pup of a J-bass! Well, one thing to note is that the harmonic on the 4th fret (or 9th fret, or 16th, they're all the same harmonic) is almost completely dead. All the other harmonics ring out clear and true (even stubborn ones like the 6th fret), but not that one! I find it amazing that the pickup was positioned and balanced just so that that harmonic got cancelled out.

When the day was done, instead of stringing it with flatwounds, I put on some Rotosound stainless steels. This bass is clear and deep, and I am as taken with the sound of the bass just like I'm taken with it's looks.

I bought this used. The nut had been replaced. The action required some lowering (which was difficult since one of the saddle's screws was stuck for a while), but keep in mind this isn't a slapper's or a shredder's bass. There were some knicks here and there, but this bass is 16 or 17 years old, so I can't blame it. I actually thought it was new with some nicks put on it via delivery. The bass was fitted with the buttons of Straplocks (luckily all my other basses are too, so I just use one of the straps with locks on them like normal). The bass' body is 2 piece ash, and it's two tone sunburst and white pick guard looks a million times better than the butterscotch finish nonsense. I love the neck; it has a 1.625" width at the nut (as opposed to a Jazz Bass' 1.5"), which I find strange, because '57 and '58 P-Basses have an even thicker 1.75" nut width. This nut width is as big as I'll go for on a 4 string. I love maple necks on bass and I love this bass' smooth thick shiny finish on the neck.

Oh come on... a P-bass? This thing weighs 12 pounds. The structural integrity of this bass is about as high as it gets. You don't get much tougher than this. However, the frets are vintage style, which means they are smaller and shorter. This also means that the frets will wear out quicker (and the strings might even dig into the fretboard a bit), but you're not going to ever wear out frets during a gig.

Nope, I always work through my dealer.

I love this bass very much, it's a valued part of my collection. I have another Japanese Fender (in the form of a Fretless Jazz) and a new US Deluxe 5-String Jazz. I run them through a Fulltone Bass Drive, a Digitech Bass Chorus, and a Digitech DigiDelay. My amp is a Fender Bassman 250 210. If this bass were stolen, I'd be heartbroken. I could replace it, but it wouldn't be the same.

All the things I 'hate' about the bass are actually some of the things I love about it. It's vintage vibe and rock-n-roll lineage tells a story of days long past, and it's sweet sound says it'll play loud and clear into the future. A lot of companies try to doll up their reissues, making them better than they were originally, but all Fender added here was a truss rod. This is a very honest reissue of a bass that I'm proud to own. I doubt this bass will every be your main axe, but I guarantee it'll never collect dust under your bed.