Fender '51 P-Bass Reissue

I've had a 51 reissue for almost a year and it's perfect for me. I like power trio style blues rock like ZZ TOP. Fills in the bottom end real nice. True, not much range but true to it's original fat sound.

I would like to have had all the parts to it. Like pickup cover and finger rest. And a big F on the back plate. I also have a problem with the nut. Any one else? Rate 9

i have a Fender Bassman 100 watt amp. Good for jaming and giggin. I wish it were Louder. It could be the 51.

This bass was made in 2002. It is the new 51 reissue made in Japan. It has a slab p-bass style ash body, no arm or belly cuts. It is Butterscotch Blonde. 20 fret maple neck/fretboard with Telecaster style headstock. 1 single coil pickup like a Strat except has only 4 polepieces. It has a 2 saddle string thru body bridge, reverse nickle tuners.

This bass has that vintage Fender vibe. It may not have tons of features, but this is a reissue of the first electric solid-body bass. It is true to the original, which is why I am giving it a 10.

This bass will not suit all styles of music, but it does suit my styles. I play classic rock and country. It works just fine for both. Metal, Grunge, New-Wave players stay away. You won't like this basses tones.

The single coil pickup packs some punch, and is incredibly quiet for a single coil. It doesn't have the split pickup p-bass tone, it is much more punchy and the notes are better defined.

I play it through a Peavey BAM 2x10. I use as little chorus or flange depending on the song. It gets the Sting/Police early era sound perfectly.

You won't be able to dial in multitudes of different tones with this bass, but then again, that isn't why you buy this bass.

This bass was constructed very well. All the frets were dressed and seated properly. The action is nice and low with no fret buzz. The neck body joint is nice and tight and there is no noticable side to side movement.

My only complaint is that Fender should have included the bridge and pickup ashtrays. It would have been a nice addition.

It seems very durible. I only had to adjust the truss rod during initial setup. The neck hasn't moved since.

The Japanese have constructed a nice solid bass.

Never dealt with them

I've been playing for over 20 years. I have always wanted one of these. If it were stolen, I would definately buy another one. At $599.00, this bass is a great value. Very good construction, vintage vibe. As I said before, the ashtrays would be a nice touch.

Mid 90's Japanese '51 P-Bass reissue. Tobacco sunburst, white pickguard and maple neck.

I was initially interested in the '51 primarily for it's looks - a couple of the bands I play in have 50's and 60's overtones so I wanted something that looked "authentic". I've played it a lot since and my only complaint was that at live shows it lacked punch on the E and G strings. I replaced the stock pickup with a Seymour Duncan BassLines pickup which cured that problem nicely. At first I was concerned about intonation because of the paired bridge saddles, but it hasn't really been a problem. The only complaint I have now is the all-too-familiar single coil hum but as long as I keep my hands on the strings it's not too bad. The two systems I use are a Fender BXR 400 or a Gallien Krueger 400 RB, through either a BXR 410 or EV 15. All in all, I like this bass a lot. Very solid, lots of sustain and just good all around sound. My much-cherished, customized Aria Jazz Bass copy was stolen recently, so the '51 P-Bass has now become my main weapon and it's doing great

No flaws, good quality all-around.

Built like a tank and very durable. A little action and intonation adjustment, and the new pickup and it was ready to go. Oh yeah, the original input jack used to come loose all the time, so I replaced it with a Stewart MacDonald Electrosocket - now I feel like I've got a bass that won't ever let me down at a show.

25 years on bass, many years of piano and violin before that, but I switched to bass hoping to get chicks, lol. Still have a piano, several guitars, and lots of cheapo basses that I wish I'd never bought, lol. If it was lost or stolen, I'd definitely try to replace it.

Mid 90's Japanese 51-P Bass re-issue. Butterscotch Yellow w/ Black Pickguard. Maple Neck. Single coil Pick-up. Original Tweed case

Strung with flat-wounds, it's great for Rockabilly. Which I play often. For this style of music, it's the only electric bass that is
really authentic since it's a re-issue of the only bass around in the 50's, and it was the bass used by Gene Vincent & Jerry Lee Lewis's bass players.

Deep warm bass.
Especially when used with an old tube amp like a Fender Bassman 135.
Not very versatile though, can sound muddy in certain rooms. (Concrete ex-disco's are the worst)

Maple Neck is fast + Comfortable.
Hardware is sturdy
looks awesome

Had the exact same problem as other user. String caught under edge of pick-up at gig, ripping pick-up right out of body, rendering the bass useless. Had to replace with Seymour Duncan Single coil tele bass p/u, which sounds even better. Can not rock too hard because of this.

I rarely rely on any bass without back-up.

Replaced strap buttons with Dunlop.

Cloth Material on outside of tweed case is not holding up too well. Tolex case would have been better.

Used independent repair shop

Been playing 31 years
Other gear I Own:

Sunburst 74 Precision w/ Rosewood Neck
Maple 72 Precision with Rosewood Neck
Maple 75 Jazz Bass re-issue (Japanese)
Cherry Red 1968 Gibson EB2
Mid 90's Jerry Jones Longhorn Bass (Black)
2000 Dan Electro Longhorn Bass (Blackburst)
2000 Dan Electro Baritone Guitar (Black)
Tobbaccoburst Custom P-Bass (non-Fender) W/ Rosewood Tele Style Neck
1983 Fender Catalina Acoustic Guitar (Black)
2000 Dan Electro U2 Copperburst
GK 400RB
1970's Fender Bassman 135 w/ 2-15 Cab
1970's Traynor Bass Amp w/ 1-18 & 2-8's in original reflex Traynor Cab

Love the Looks of the 51 Re-issue
It's great for Rockabilly & Country Western, even some Blues & Rock N Roll, but it is limited compared to a later P-bass or Jazz Bass.

Non contoured body can be cumbersome & uncomfortable. Bass is heavy. Neck is Huge. Not for the novice.

Would buy again if lost or stolen, if I could find it. They're getting rare.

This is a mid-90s Japanese 51 P Bass. My dad owns an early 1968 Telecaster bass, and that thing wails. When I got the opportunity to get a tely style bass, this came up on ebay. This bass is Blonde with a black guard. Awesome original features with Surprizingly excellent Japanese craftsmanship.

Four words: Duck Dunn, James Jamerson

Excellent setup, with absolutely no flaws.

Hey, it's a Fender....what do you expect from a 55 year old company!

This bass is the S**T!!!!!!!!Poop on other basses.

Two years ago i acquired for #IR350 (Euro 440) c.US$420 a slightly
used but otherwise mint Fender Japan '51 P-Bass reissue from the company's deleted 'Collectibles' series. It is a 2-tone sunburst finish with a one piece maple neck, and large single-ply white pickguard.

I play a lot of jazz, light rock, country and pop and this bass is,
despite its mass, a delight to play as one can rest the forearm along
the slab body while playing fingerstyle.

The neck feels very smooth and the action is very low and buzz-free.
The bridge and pickup are replicas of an original and have some disadvantages to them-but hey, things have moved on this last half century ! The large Tele-type headstock looks great!

Soundwise this bass has a 'woody' tone, not surprisingly given the
sheer amount of ash and maple used in its construction! As the strings are anchored at the rear of the body by large ferrules, sustain is good.

All in all, a surprisingly versatile bass with superb build quality-
the Japanese made good Fenders at very competitive prices.

1996 Japanese Made reissue of original '51 P-bass. Blonde transparent finish, black pick guard. Maple neck, tele style headstock. Single vintage re-issue P-bass pickup that has a clean, brighter than normal bass sound to it. It does not have as much beef as a regular P-bass, but the sound is great if you want to get some ring and overtones on your bass sound, esp. if you use a pick. Great for playing bass chords. Old style string through body bridge that has 2 saddles, 2 strings per saddle. This makes it hard to get into perfect intonation as you have to compromise between the E/A and D/G strings that share a saddle. Came with a really nice tweed case with fuzzy orange lining.

Sound is great if you play bass chords or drone, good for distortion on bass - the single coil pickup allows new strings to really ring out. Definitly not a 'funk' bass though, as the low end does not compare to most quality basses. Depending on what sound you are going for, I think the sound is great.

Finish was superb, action is very nice and easy to play.

It's pretty solid and always stays in tune. The only problem I have is with the pickup - there is no pickup guard on it and the top of the pickup has a lip that hangs over the edge. Playing a show in front of 3000 people, I once caught my G string under the lip, and in an attempt to 'unhook' the string mid-song, ripped the pickup right out of the body. That and the dual saddle thing - though I believe that is what makes it the '51 re-issue, now isn't it.

When I destroyed the pickup, was able to get a new vintage-reissue pickup without problems from the factory.

I bought it because I liked the sound, but pickup/saddle issue bug me. I love the sound and how it plays - almost like a guitar, so smooth. My other bass is a 5th anniversary P-Bass deluxe that has it's own range of sounds but is not as easy to play.