Fender '51 P-Bass Reissue

'51 reissue P-bass made in Japan in '06. Gloss finish Butterscotch blond ash body w/maple neck/fingerboard, black dot fret markers, matt black pickguard. Two chromed knurled control knobs on chrome base plate. Plug socket on lower side. The body is a non-contoured slab-cut shape in what later became the Telecaster Bass in the late sixties. One single-coil pickup placed mid body. 4 string long scale (87cm nut to bridge length)w/20 frets. String-thru body over simple two pole bridge. Reverse tuners (like an upright bass) in chromed long-stemmed style. Headstock cut in Telly style. Purchase price included nice Fender 60th Anniversary gig bag. Basic features, and excellent in it's simplicity.

Plain and simple (as it is in every way) its sound is unmistakably "Fender bass". It's a no-frills bass guitar and that's it's strength. Variety can be achieved at the amp. It's distinctive in it's sound and that's why I purchased it. It's one of a few basses I own, each for it's particular and unique sound. For what it is, it sounds great!

Bought it new from a local music store, and the setup was good. (I assume a factory set-up) Action seems alittle high but very playable and most likely correct for this type of bass. It has only one pickup, and it seems fine adjustment-wize. No flaws whatsoever. The overall quality was spot-on. Again, for what it is, it is "fabulous".

Overall, I continue to rate this instrument for what it is; a simple well made 4 string bass guitar that has that solid Fender stamp in sound and vision. It's beefy and rugged and ready to go the distance. I can't imagine anything going wrong w/it as it's so basic and "rock" solid. It's all about playing it, not fussing over it.

As far as Fender goes, I just bought it, so no issues or problems. It comes with a Fender lifetime warentee and I assume they are going to back it up. The music store I bought it from did well by me. Just having it in stock to play saved me time and having to deal with the hassel of shipping/possible returning etc. The deluxe gig bag was a bonus(no additional cost) and the price was right. I will be a return customer. (Support your local music store!)

I've been a bassist nearly my whole life (I'm 53 and bought my 1st Woolworths purchase "Japanese" made bass when I was in grade school-1966?) The 51 reissue is also a Japanese-made bass. A huge improvement (since then) and a fine instrument! I have owned a '64 Gibson T-bird since '78, and have an '86 Philip Kubicki X-Factor and a custom (frankenstein) fretless. (Kubicki fretless neck/tuners on a custom Koa T-bird (style) body w/EMG active J-bass pickups)
There was nothing 'wanted' to further ask when I bought the '51 P-bass. I sat and tried a few other basses, had free reigh to do so, and was not 'hounded' to buy it. I don't like to think in terms of 'stolen or lost', but would get another one if I could. I have fallen in love with this instument because I always wanted to own a Fender, as I love that Fender sound/tone. I love the way it looks and feels and sounds. If you are a cyclist, it's like a classic fixed-gear (single speed) bike. One gear, no brakes, pure bicycle. The '51 reissue Fender P-bass is all of that. Long live Fender!

2004 or 2005 made in Japan.

Same featured as mentioned here and on the Fender website. The reverse turning tuners is a little bit of a headtrip when tuning, kinda cool.

A passive pickup with a minimal bridge (limited intonation) and tone controls... these may seem like sparse features, but they are great features when somebody is looking for vintage vibe.

Everyone always thinks that little single coil pickup is going to sound as thin as it looks... it is very deceiving!

The pickup has a big fat sound, with lots of thump and thud. It also has the ability to have a little more Treble, as well as a very welcoming midrange that sort of barks and growls.

Not sure really how much the Ash body or Maple fretboard (as opposed to Rosewood) affect the tone, but this bass sounds great. Can hum a little bit when played through a loud amp.

Perhaps since everyone is used to hearing split coil P-Basses, single coil Jazz Basses, and the rest of the classic pickups, the sound on this can be unique and surprising. It certainly stands out as different in it's overal tonal character.

As a guitar player, I have a nice little collection of guitars going on already. I've got MIM Fenders, Korean made Fenders, and Indonesian Squiers... right alongside the American made heavyweights (3 Gibsons, a Jackson, more Fenders, etc, etc).

The fit and finish of the bass is excellent. My first Japanese made Fender, and it is nearly as good as an American made one!

Action needed a little bit of tweaking, as the bass hung instore for sometime being abused and drooled on by Green Day fans.

To be expected, so it would be unfair to mark against her for action/setup.

Nice fat neck, nice solid Ash slab body. The old style lacquere on neck feels like it will protect well too.

Looks and feels solid enough to me to compete with my 10lbs CShop Les Paul :)

Have had many guitars from Fender, never once had to deal with customer service... to me that is a powerfull sign of good quality. As far as service compares to the quality, I have no idea.

Started on bass, went to guitar, and now am playing both for well over a decade by now. I own a ton of guitars and I have built 7 or 8 tube amps mostly based on vintage circuits.

I was deadset on a Classic 50's P-Bass, but walked out of the store with this bass instead after trying it out. I still want a 50s Classic, but they didn't have my color :)

The neck is not a clumsy "baseball bat" at all, but is comfortable. The slab body has no contours and this is often a complaint as some folks say the square edges get uncomfortable. This has not been my experience at all, but I do sag my straps real low, so this may be why.

Another common complaint is the lack of fine tuning in the intonation aspect. I play a lot of Telecasters with similar "barrel" bridge saddles. Wilkinson makes compensated saddles to relieve this problem, but again, it's not really a problem for me. Intonation matches up very well across the fretboard.

The pickup's A and D string magnets are slightly rised to make for better string balance as it follows the fret radius, but alot of folks say this makes for A and D strings that are unbalanced and louder than the E and G. I fixed this by simply adjusting the string saddles to comform more to the natural radius of both the fretboard and the pickups magnet poles.

I have an early 50s circuit Fender Twin head I built that is similar in some ways to some really old Fender Bassman circuits. I ran the bass into that and then through a Jensen P15N AlNiCo magnet 15" reissue speaker - the same type of speaker as found on another very early Bassman amp... not loud enough to do rock gigs with, but it nails vintage bass tone EASILY. In fact it nails any bass tone I could imagine as "rocking" without any effort... and I like ACDC and The Cult, so it's MUCH more usefull than just a vintage reissue "blues" or "country" throwback bass.

If it were stolen, I may or may not buy it again... it'd be a toss up between this bass and the Classic 50s P, but those are the only two basses I'd probably EVER buy anyways!

I'll rate it at 10...It doesn't really have loads of features but it does exactly what a vintage P-Bass should do. Reverse tuners, Single coil pu, P type volume and tone, vintage 2-saddle bridge assembly, excellent maple neck with thin vintage style frets and lovely butterscotch body which shows the ash grain through to great effect. Its made by Fender Japan who I've long considered to be top dog...often better than American made instruments.

Straight out of the box the sound is vintage P...and surprisingly powerful for a single coil pu. The tone controls do what they should and seem to be sturdy enough. The output accross the stings is a little uneven in output though I understand that the original 51 Fenders suffered from the same problem. I've solved this by exchanging the pu for a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder - a direct replacement which still captures the Fender sound but is a little fuller and definitely more even accross the strings.

I bought this second hand very recently. It was virtually un-used and was probably set up exactly as it was from new. It was set up very well indeed with no major issues. As well as replacing the pu I've also replaced the 2-saddle bridge assembly with a direct replacement BadassIII which allows for proper adjustment of action and intonation which isn't possible with the original configuration. Its a departure from the vintage concept but in my opinion its an essential modification. The bass is now a joy to play. I'm a pick player, I play traditional rock and pop styles..no slapping or whatever..and it sounds great through my Ashdown amplification.

Only the cheapest of Squier P-Basses are likely to give problems with reliability/durability. These vintage re-issues are built like a proverbial tank...possibly better than the originals from which they are copied. These are perfectly suitable for live work and would easily withstand plenty of it. Neck/trussrod adjustment may have to be done ocassionally as with most Fender basses - particularly if it is subjected to big temperature variations. Its a bit of a pain on these as you have to remove the neck in order to avoid damage...the same as on my 57 re-issues. I accept this as part of the deal. Some guys may want to have the bass professionally set up from new though I don't think its necessary with Japanese Fenders. The frets should last a long time and be trouble-free. Totally trust-worthy on a gig..no back-up required.

I doubt that I'll ever have to use Fender's customer support...I never have done in the past with my other basses. I'm not an expert but I know enough about basic setting up and maintenance to get by.

I've been playing bass for over 30 years, professional for a while, though these days a couple of gigs a month as a paid hobby plus home studio song-writing and recording. I own 2 other Precisions, both '57 re-issues made by Fender Japan along with a Mexican Jazz. This is a great addition to my setup, an instrument which I'll probably use quite a lot. I havn't owned it for long but I'd definitely replace it if it were lost/stolen. I think my modifications have improved it and I'd do the same to another if I bought one. The 51 Precision is not a bass to suit every player but its wonderful for all things rock n roll.

This is a new, 2006, Fender, made in Japan with the "butterscotch" finish. As others have noted, there ain't many features: one passive single-coil pickup, two knobs for volume and tone (treble roll-off), four strings. 34" scale, 20 frets, one-piece maple neck, slab body. Strings load through the back of the body. Everything else is on top, including a large black "amoeba" pickguard, which has squared-off edges, rather the bevels we have become accustomed to. What shape is it? Precision, of course, this is the great-grand-daddy P bass.

The neck finish is gloss transparent over maple on the front and back. The body is "butterscotch" which a friend called "banana." It's more attractive in person than in pictures: photos make it appear opaque, but it is transparent, and the ash body grain shows through. Several friends have complimented its looks. It is postwar industrial, not postmodern froufrou. Plain, well finished, made with the same kind of care that you would expect to go into a well-made wooden rowboat. Since I added the LaBella black strings (see below) it looks like it ought to be called the "Black and Decker Bass." Personally I think it's beautiful.

The bridge has two adjustable saddles, which means that at least two strings cannot be properly intonated. Metal hardware is all chrome plated. It came strung with Fender round-wound strings.

The tuners are modern remakes of the vintage Klusons, and the appearance (and the backwards action) have been duplicated, but they have a modern high-ratio mechanism. The tuners are attached like the original,with a noticeable bow in the plate because Leo hadn't figured out a way to get them to mount flush to the headstock (it took until 1964 to figure out that a relief could be cut into the headstock to allow this). The neck is chunky, with a 7-1/4" radius, very different from modern basses, which typically have 9-12" radius on the fingerboard. Large black dots on the fingerboard are at the III, V, VII, IX, XII, XV, XVII and XIX frets, with corresponding, smaller, dots, along the edge.

It's just like Leo made it, with the exceptions that Phillips head screws are used everywhere instead of slot heads (the originals used Phillips screws only for neck attachment), there is neither a pickup nor a bridge cover, and the tug bar was left off.

It came in a cardboard box. No documents, just an inspection checklist hanging from a tuner.

I guess I can't rate a bass this simple as a "10" so I'll give it a "9".

I play roots bass: no Jaco, no Billy, just fundamental play-on-the-beat style bass. We do a wide variety of material, drawing from CS&Y, Neil Young, C&W, along with show tunes. I use a MusicMan HD-130 head with a Hartke 410XL cab for rehearsal, and an Ampeg B100R for gigs. Retro, in other words.

I haven't encountered any noise so far, but I haven't been in a lot of environments with it yet.

The sound is the definitive P Bass sound: round, deep, warm, good articulation. Not much variety, unless you count "round, deep, with no treble" at one end of the spectrum and "round, deep, very little treble" at the other extreme. This is the sound we all grew up with, the aboriginal electric bass.

It was a bit clangy with the roundwounds, but I already had a set of LaBella Deep Talkin' Bass (corporations ought not try to sound so hip) nylon-tape wound strings, and insatalling them cured the problem. I don't expect this one to record as well as brighter basses, but live, it's no problem.

Do I like it? Well, there's only one way to get this vintage P sound, and that's with a vintage P bass: I wanted it, I bought it, and now I've got it. It's not my only bass, but it just might be the last one I'd give up.

The difference between this and other basses is that, there is no tweaking here: you plug it in and play it, and if you don't like the sound, you unplug it and go get another bass. The upside of that is the sound is gorgeous and rich.

Very nice fit and finish: I looked it over pretty closely (it came from Japan in a cardboard box, after all!) and found no flaws. As I mentioned above, it's postwar industrial, so it doesn't have the glassy finish other basses have.

Action was very nice, neck was properly adjusted, the pickup seemed to be in the right place, no complaints about that. The strings were detuned by a quarter tone or so, and in correcting that I noticed what another reviewer had said: the tuning keys are more than just stiff: I thought at first they were locked into place! Hopefully use will loosen them up. The intonation was very good, given the limitations of the primitive bridge.

Nothing loose, chipped, marked, or other than very nicely finished.

This is the original canoe paddle bass. It would take a pretty big hit to make a dent in it. A lot of the ol' originals are still out there, and, not counting the ones in glass cases, are still doing the job. If something happens and you need to work on them, they come apart like a Stromberg 97 carburetor.

I haven't had to adjust anything yet. I could gig with it without a backup, but there are several songs for which it doesn't have the appropriate sound, so I'll probably end up with two basses at the gig.

No experience

I've been playing guitar for 35 years, and bass for 25. The P is one of 6 basses I currently own, but with this and one other I'll be covered. Basses for sale! A quick list of the basses: Carvin LB20 with DiMarzio Model J pickups, Global mutt with Select Bass Humbucker pickups, Ibanez 5-string acoustic bass guitar, Squier II Precision with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound pickup and a Tribute by G&L L2000. The amps I listed above. I also own 9 other guitars from a couple of acoustics to a pedal steel, and operate a digital project studio.

The other keeper is the L2000, which might reasonably be called the grandson of ol' P, here, since it was the third style of bass that Leo Fender designed. (Short history lesson: Leo devised the Fender bass -- the P under discussion -- then went on to modify it into the Jazz Bass and a few other variations, all of which had passive electronics and solid bodies. After he sold Fender Musical Instruments, he developed the active MusicMan basses, and when he left there, he came up with the G&L line of active basses. So the Precision '51 Reissue represents the first of the line, and the G&L L2000, the final heir.)

Between the '51 P and the L2000, I can get every sound I want. The importance of the P is that it goes where the G&L can't, which is into 1951 territory.

All my other basses are less competent, don't sound quite as good, or don't feel as good as these two.

You can't buy love or happiness, but you can buy a great, warm bass sound, and it's pretty inexpensive, especially considering that the real vintage thing goes for 5-figure prices, and probably smells like stale tobacco smoke into the bargain.

There is no question that I'd buy another one. This is the one bass I can't live without.

I bought a '02 '51 P bass reissue brand new. It has an ash body which is heavy but too heavy to gig with. The one piece maple neck is really fast and has a great feel. If you ask me the single volume and the tone knob are all you need and the sinle coil pickup has such a versitle sound it can be used for any gender of music. The only thing I wish it came with is a hard case or any kind of case for that matter.

The sound if fantastic! I play classic rock and it can make so many different kinds of sounds for any type of style. If the tone knob is down than its a warm smooth sound like you might hear from a John Entwistle (The Who) type sound. If you turn the tone up its a real bright and poppy sound like you might hear from Geddy Lee (Rush). It great for live gigs or in the studio.

The action from the factory was ok but with the adjustable trus rod it was easily fixed and really not a big deal. The only compllaint I have as far as hardware goes is that about a year after I bought it the output jack started to get loose but all that it took to fix that was two pairs of needle nose pliers. Again no big deal.

The bass itself is a tank but all fenders are. I have had one major problem with this bass. I was playing a gig and playing some slap bass and as I was slapping and popping the pickup cover and all the coiling inside came off and the magnet poles stuck to the strings. I took the bass and the rest of the pickup to my local fender repair shop and had it fixed though there was a hitch in that to. I'll get to that later.

The fender support for me sucked! When the pickup broke on my bass and I went to the fender repair center (3rd Coast) and told them what happened. They said that they could get it fixed and luckily it was still under warrenty. (1 year) It took fender three months to get the pickup to third coast and another two weeks for them to install it. I was not happy when I got my bass back and I let them know it.

Even though I had the problem with the pickup I would still buy this bass again in a heartbeat even if I had to go through all the repair work again. The playability and sound totaly make up for the problem I had.

Japan, Maple Neck, Single Coil, Tone & Vol

Original pickup was real bright, put a seymour duncan quarter pounder in. big full sound, real modern. kind of wish i put a Antiquity in, but is sounds killer. have labella flatwounds on there great for pluckin!!!

pretty good set up from the factory. after putting the labellas on major dead spots, set up fixed the problem. finish is beautiful!!!!! the maple neck is so pretty you dont want to touch it, the buttersotch doest look like it does on the telcaster. more musterd colored.

TANK!

dont know

know a good bass when i feel one

Ash body: it's a hunk of wood. solid sound and substantial heft. you know you have a bass in your hand with this on. that or a bag of baseball bats.

One-piece maple neck/fretboard: i've only played a fretless jazz since i started playing in '93, so this was a very foreign feel to me. but once i got used to it, it's all right. used it for a country gig, so there wasn't much movement. the neck is definitely wider and thicker, so it's a bit of a chore, but when you pluck a note, you get a solid tone. i put flatwounds on it because i'm used to the fretless's warm tone, and that fret "zing" was too much for me. with this kind of bass, you're playing to get BASS: harmonic foundation and lines. if you're looking to slap'n'pop, this probably isn't the answer for you.

Single-coil pickup: in keeping with the "reissue" thing, the original unprotected pickup was manufactured, so you have to be a little careful not to man-handle it a lot. i covered the poles with a strip of gaffers tape to minimize clicking when i really laid into it. sounds good, but the placement is a little odd. (again, the "reissue" thing. warts and all.) i'm prone to using harmonics a lot, and the pick-up placement cancels out the 4th overtone (2 octaves + 5th) on an open string. however, this is crucial to its particular tone, so it's a trade off. and the tone is pretty good.

34" scale: you know the drill

Vintage frets: seem fine. i didn't do any setting up aside from adjusting bridge and filing the nut. no noticable buzz on any one fret. good feel.

Original 2-saddle bridge: ok. again, the "reissue" disclaimer. there's limited adjustment since it slaves two strings together, but how much do you really need. also, there's not much metal to help sustain, but with the ash body, i usually end up killing most notes with my hands rather than needing more sustain.

tone and volume: that's all you need if you're playing "bass". a one-trick-pony is fine if that one trick is good. i usually played with the volume wide open and the tone rolled back to about 2 or 3. it doesn't seem to be a very linear response on the pots, though. most of the action happens between 7 & 10.

tuners: this is a bone of contention for me. they're backwards. instead of turning counter-clockwise to tune up, it's clockwise. minor, but off-putting.

for the style i use it for (bassic traditional bass lines), it's perfect. a nice full tone with a slightly throaty tone. just a simple bass.

i've been playing it through a Peavey Combo 300. no effects. very clean and true. not much variety.

i haven't recorded with it yet, but the live sound is extremely relliable. (been using a Jack Cassidy w/ flatwounds for recording.) great for the road since it's a hardy piece of wood and maintains tuning like a rock.

it is a very beautiful instrument. the gloss neck is easy to play on, and any nicks and dings only enhance its looks.

factory setup: ok. it was playable "out of the box", but i my preferences definitely called for adjustments. i changed the strings, raised the pickups slightly, filed the nut, lowered the action, and re-adjusted the intonation to compensate for changes.

electronics: very quiet and no scratches when adjusting volume/tone. i've given it a decent amount of rattling (bouncing in the trailer around the country in a gig bag amidst amps and miscellaneous gear with temperatures fluctuating rapidly from 10-85 degress) and have noticed no perceivable changes.

body: it's usually even within a cent or two from being in tune when i get on stage. really. it's a hunk of wood.

as stated above, definitely road ready. feel free to use it for a round of cricket between shows and feel confident it'll be all the better for wear when show time comes.

the hardware seems durable enough, but i've only been playing it for about 9 months on the road.

the finish will outlive me it seems.

and i haven't taken a back-up bass for the past 30+ shows, so i have no concerns about it being good for the go, even with the poor care i take of it.

haven't dealt with customer support. but it's fender, so take it from there.

i've been playing bass for about 15 years, but exclusively on a Fender Jazz with Elixir Roundwounds, Barolini pick-ups, and a BADASS bridge.

other gear i own: Dano U2, Dano 12-string, Ashbory bass, Jack Cassidy bass, Alvarez 12-string acoustic, Wurlitzer 145, Oscar Schmidt mandolin, various brass & wind instruments, Gretsch Catalinas (w/ DW hardward, Zildjian cymbals), Acoustic 150 head, and all the rest are homemade amps and cabinets, plus studio stuff.

if something happened to this bass, i don't know that i'd buy it again, but i'm more particular to music than the instruments that make it.

what i love about this bass: sounds good, aesthetically pleasing to look at, feels pretty good to play, few things to go wrong with it, and extremely reliable.

what i hate: if the strap is not wide, then its weight gets burdensome rather quickly. strings seem to "pop" the pickup too easily, even before i adjusted anything. gets a little hollow sounding on some stages.

why i bought this one: i was in a country band, so my Jazz wasn't quite the sound they wanted.

closing comments: if you're planning on playing prog rock, metal, slap'n'pop, or any number of "notey" styles, this probably isn't the bass you want unless you plan on doing extensive mods.

if you're looking for a solid, reliable instrument and are playing music with "bass lines", this is a good pick.

suggested styles: more "organic" and/or technically simplified music such as americana, country, indie, folk, blues, jazz, etc.

Y2K '51 Made in Japan. 9lbs in weight. Three piece, slab alder body and a one piece, fat maple neck. One volume knob, one tone knob and one single coil pickup. What could possibly go wrong?

As most will point out, the colour is a bit too yellow and it didn't come with the chrome covers or finger rest. The latter are low cost items and should be included.

People who purchase this bass will not be looking for features.

I bought this bass as a beginner and it makes all the right noises for what I need. I installed a set of TI flats to get a more 'authentic' sound and they make it really nice to play as well. The mates prefer electric and acoustic blues and I'm privately working on some jazzier stuff. This bass works well for both styles although I like to stuff a loose cloth under the strings at the bridge to muffle some of the sustain.

There is a little hum but that is to be expected. There are many suggested remedies for this but it doesn't bother me enough to justify fiddling with it.

I got mine as a well used, second hand bass. Not exactly immaculate but it does show that it can take some abuse. Ignoring the cosmetic damage, I could not fault the set up. The bass was spot-on in all regards and I didn't need to adjust anything. The bass had been set up well by Fender or the previous owner.

In a room full of clubs, this would be the Caveman's choice. You could take down a Mammoth before breakfast, rinse off the claret and gig with it that night. Most basses seem delicate in comparison.

It also stays in tune for ages.

I've heard they can be difficult in Australia but I've never had to deal with them. With this bass, I doubt they'll ever hear from me.

If I ever had to, I would replace it with another. The only thing that concerns me is that the replacement might not be as good. I love this bass!

I run this bass through a Roland 100W Cube. No problems there as I only play at home with the mates. I'm not a musician but I wouldn't hesitate to use this bass if I were. It's really nice to play.

I had looked at other basses but nothing pushed my buttons like the '51. One particular G&L was attractive and the same goes for a Stingray I played. Both were fantastic basses but I felt they were overkill for what I needed. Having a hundred different sounds is no use to someone who can't use them. The '51 supplies exactly what I need. No more, no less.

If you need more features than this, buy something else.

Crafted in Japan 2003

A close replica of the original 1951 Fender Precision Bass
(the Fender site can give you an accurate list of facts and
features) minus a few details (like the pickup and bridge covers).

I replaced my MIM Standard P-bass with this because I was blown away from the sheer playability and surprised by the strength of the sound of that harmless looking little single coil pickup. After a re-string it sounded a little bright, even with the treble rolled off but it warmed up and fattened out in a few weeks as the new strings settled in. And then it became my main electric bass (I also play double bass)as it sat where I wanted it to in every recording I put it into and provided a tide of bottom end live. My outfit plays electronica which I wanted to warm up with a Fender bass. My other electric gives me more pure boom and warmer mids but when I want them I use that one. Mostly it's the Fender P.

I bought this used and it needed some work on the truss rod and the action. A little trial and error later I had it just right. The neck is the fastest of any fretted bass I've played, a sheer joy. The reputed quality of the craftsmanship is very high in these Japanese Fenders and I cannot dispute that.

This is not as solid feeling as my last P-bass and if I were into bass playing as an extreme sport I'd go with something else. It does feel more delicate than other basses I've had. The finish hasn't had any serious tests nor have the strap buttons. That said, the way I play won't endanger this instrument in the slightest and it should be with me for years to come.

Never needed it.

Been playing for over twenty years, mostly guitar and keyboards. I also have a hofner double bass, a Cort Curbow fretless, a Gretsch Jet Baritone and a Roland RS-5.

I'd get another if it were affordable, otherwise I might do as well with a more modern style P-bass.

Loves: big P-bass sound a little extra hot treble when needed (great for tic tac style sound), it's light and very comfy, extremely playable neck. Some people have lamented the lack of a rest or the covers for use as rests but I find the squared off slab style easy to use a floating thumb for finger style playing. The few occasions I use a pick with this bass can get exhausting for the same reason. Lucky I got me a baritone guitar for the Bert Kaempfert sound.

Hates: truss rod adjustment is through a cross screw at the body end, requiring either removal of the neck or use of an s-shaped phillips head screwdriver (with the pickguard removed). This one was rigid and very hard to budge. It gave in the end and I got my adjustment working well (with a little damage to the wood around the screw, or a little added damage as someone else had tried before me). If they're going to ditch the metal covers and be that shy of authenticity, couldn't they also give us a more normal rod adjustment arrangement?

Having said that, I'm glad I went ahead with this one as it delivers such a strong and flavoursome tone in a beautiful and highly playable package.

I have a 51 Fender P-Bass Custom Shop reissue. great feel to it, even though it only has the one single coil pickup, you can play with the sound with the volume and tone knobs. the neck is thick, but if you can't play on a thick neck, you're just a pussy!

Not noisy at all, very warm sound. Better suited for blues or pop rock, not very versatile if you want to use it for different genres like metal. But then again, why would a metal bass player buy this guitar??? it has a very nice sound.

action is a little high and the neck is thick. There are alot of no talent pussies out there who can't play anything that doesn't have super low action and a thin neck. so if you fall into that category, don't buy this bass

never had to contact them