Fender '62 Precision Bass Reissue

2008 Fender American Vintage ???62 Precision Bass 3-Color Sunburst Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish. Body Alder. Neck Maple, vintage ???C??? Shape, Nitrocellulose Lacquer Finish. Fingerboard "slab" Rosewood, 7.25??? Radius, 20 Vintage Style Frets.
Pickups 1 Vintage Precision Bass Split Single-Coil Pickup (Middle)
Controls Volume, Tone.
Bridge American Vintage Precision Bass
Machine Heads Vintage Style Reverse Tuning Machines
Hardware Nickel/Chrome
Pickguard 4-Ply Brown Shell
Scale Length 34???
Width at Nut 1.750???

Accessories Deluxe Brown Hardshell Case, Strap, Cable, (Chrome Bridge and Pickup Covers are Unmounted and Included in the Kit)

This is "the" standard for P basses. From Jamerson to today this is the bass heard round the world. Looks and feels just like you stepped back in time to the local mom and pop music store that sold Fender. You can make a P bass work for any style. They are a good all around bass. Throw flatwounds on it and go for the Jamerson sound that made Motown famous. Move over to roundwounds and this thing will get you to that growly puncky sound you've heard on countless recordings. The Fender 62 reissue bass pickups on this bass really do capture the original Precision sound. Depending on your strings this bass will do anything you need it to do. Is it the perfect bass for everything, well no. However few basses will allow you to cover any type of music like a P bass will. You can at least make it work.

I run mine through a Hartke PRO1800 18" and an Ampeg 410HLF using a 800 watt Yorkville hybrid and it sounds great for classic rock and blues. I can get a lot of different sounds out of this bass just by using the tone control. With Rotosound RS66's on it I can get it to cut through just about any mix. Roll off the tone control a bit and it gets that woody smooth tone you need for blues stuff. You tend to lose volume slightly when you back off the tone so I set my amp hot with the guitar volume full on. That way I can back off the vol knob and still have headroom when I roll off the tone.

For me a Precision bass has always been the main axe. I've tried others but always come back.

Factory setup out of the box was almost unplayable. I feel Fender has always done a poor job at factory setups on their basses. It took me about an hour to get it dialed in and now its pretty decent. Action is fairly low but this one has a couple of minor high fret ends but that can be eaisly corrected with a trip to the local luthier for a fret level. I run my necks dead flat with no relief so I always need to have the frets done on any bass I buy. Still I feel that on a USA made bass that sells for over 1300.00, the fretwork should be dead on. I've played 400.00 Ibanez basses that were perfect right out of the box. All in all this bass a a real beauty. Overall fit and finish is among the best I've seen. I'm giving it an "8" due to the fret ends. If they were ok this bass would be a easy 10.

It's a Fender. My other P bass is over 40 years old. Why should this one be any different. It will outlast me. I would and have gigged with P basses without a backup for years and they have NEVER let me down. I always install strap locks and have never had a failure using them. I only use the "original" Dunlop long model locks. My Fender necks have been rock solid over the years and I expect this bass will be no different. The early P's had wider "C" profile necks and thick "slab" Rosewood boards that seem to me to add to the stability of these necks.

Never has to use them lately, but in the past they were usually OK. I've heard stories recently of Fender's support being "too big". Customers get lost in the corporate tangle, so it's anybody's guess.

If you are into to early Fender basses but can't afford the high ticket or you have a pre CBS you are needing to retire, get this bass. It will feel like an old friend. If lost or stolen - I get another one period. I did compare this to the new 08 American Standard Precision and intended to buy the 08 when I went to the store. After playing both basses side by side, I just felt that the 62 was a better bass. I liked the sound, feel and the look of the Nitro finish of the 62 reissue better.

If you love Precisions - this is the one you want!

Crafted in Japan (import) and on that note, the craftsmanship is stunning. The simple features are perfect for this genre of bass guitar. Sunburst finish with tortoiseshell pickguard.

Warm, woody, vintage, soulful growl. This bass makes you work to get the 'the' tone, but I adore that! Pickup is a single coil, so the odd bit of noise (e.g. when you touch the polepiece nearest the E string, without touching the strings) is expected, but that's the small price you pay for vintage tone! There's a lot of bite available when you max out the tone knob, providing your strings are fairly new.

Action was fine on arrival, but I made a few tweaks in the saddle (still plenty of screw height left for further adjustments) and popped some extra foam underneath the pickups to raise them closer to the strings (personal preference). Thick, precision neck really works out your left hand but again, that's my personal preference. The string 'taughtness' above the pickup is 'just right' for grooving and soloing, although some players may prefer a jazz bass/bridge pickup setup for the extra tension.

Haven't gigged it yet but my thinking is passive = no batteries, no preamp, simple electronics. It's all about the wood here, so I don't envisage needing a backup. You have to be careful with the volume/tone pots however; i'm guessing they'll fly off after a few gigs if the grub screws are even a 'tiny' bit loose!

Never dealt with them.

I've been playing for 10 years now and I have to say I haven't been this excited about a bass guitar's tone in years! The fender precision sound may be a little generic, but there's a reason for that..it's a legendary bass! If you crave a passive, warm, woody growl without the nasal, clinical snarl of modern pickups and preamps, get yourself one of these! Look out for Japanese imports as well, the build quality is amazing and you could save yourself ??500!

1999 US model in Fiesta Red. SN V-116610, bought from a friend who'd bought it in London. Formerly belonged to Jonathan Noyce, bassist with Jethro Tull. Standard US nitro finish, bass unalterd except for addition of Dunlop straplocks. Light bass, c. 8lbs. The cplour, now discontinued, exudes a real retro vibe.No case or accessories came with it when I got it. I had to repair stripped-out neck heel holes with hardwood maple dowels, neck rock solid now.

I have a whole lot of basses and wanted a 60s-style P-Bass. This one sounds like a Precision should. Not a lot,obviously in the tonal variety department, but what it does it does very well. I like the rich, thumpy well-defined sound of this one.

As ststed above, this needed work on the neck. Once completed (a year ago) no problems at all. Set-up is easy and the bass is simplicity itself.All functions are perfect.

Have often gigged it-the colour always attracts attention!It's a simple,no-frills instrument that's well-biult and will putlast me!
I never use a backup,why would I? I've left it alone as I have it the way I need it.

I've never dealt with them and wouldn't care to have to either from what I've been reading.I don't need them.

I;ve been playing for 30+ years and cover a whole range of styles.I put the'62 R/I through a MarkBass 2 x 10' combo and never use effects, I don't need them. I like this bass a lot, it's very playable and has a nice dig-in aesthetic, is simple and uncluttered and has THE sound. This one's a player and a keeper.

2006 US model. Sunburst with tort guard. I wanted a Jamerson type bass as an alternative to the more aggressive Wal (or picked sound) I've played for 25 years. Others seriously considered but not tried was the Lakland Skyline Glaub which I continue to hear great things about. Nevertheless, it was always gonna be Fender reissue first to either nail it or rule it out. The bass took nearly 4 months after ordering by which time I was desperate for some 'classic fender sound'.

Visually, I would have preferred a brighter burst and more burst through the top horn but that's nitpickin.

The bass had all the chrome bits to add-on but strangely, not the screws to do that. Luckily, they required standard guard screws which I had. Again, normally this stuff would get in the way for me and I'd leave it off but I was determined that this time, if James Jamerson can play with them on, I should at least give it a go! Basically, after 25 years I wanted a fresh challenge and a different string to my bow with a new found sound that I have started to appreciate.

Feature-wise - it's a passive Fender. Simple and functional.

Sound-wise I was gonna ditch my picks and gulp... force myself to get good without one. The sound I wanted wasn't a picked sound but a full, round, warm, punchy, growly, soft pillow of bass ala Motown.

Plugging in I was massively disappointed.

The bass with tone full up sounded aggressive and far too noisy and toppy. Not what you would class as vintage in the slightest and a million miles from the sound I expected.

I put the bass away for a couple of days and began to plan my next purchase. Maybe I should have bought the 57 or the Skyline Glaub after all.

After a few days and with nothing to lose I decided to string it with some new TI flats I had been holding for 'this bass' (it had nickel roundwounds I think) and tweak the setup. The setup seemed OK but something didn't feel 100%.

Gradually with a tweak here and a tweak there, running through my SWR Baby Blue (with EQ disengaged) I was getting in the ball-park. After a bit longer and with the tone knob rolled off well over 50% it was sitting in the pocket like a good un. Those 62 reissue pick ups are pretty cutting with everything up. Another strange thing is rolling off the volume affects the tone quite a bit. I've read this can happen and need to investigate more. In the meantime full volume is not a problem.

I now have a vintage sound that would improve even more through something like an Aguilar or certainly a B15. I gave it an 8 for sound as I know a 10 would have to totally blow me away. I intend to put some Labellas 1954s on it - the TIs are good but if I was to nitpick the D and G could be little thicker sounding for perfection. The E sounds great and I think it's relatively a thicker string than normal.

Action was OK when new - normally I do like my action ridiculously low for fret growl but this time, the sound needed to be pure. I think It's probably a little lower now than factory. I didn't really want to emulate Jamersons super high action.

One of the things that I noticed whilst fixing the covers is how easy the finish scratches on these nitro-celluloise finishes. Didn't like the first little mark in the finish. The covers I'm not sure about, without them your tone palette is increased IMO. There's one sweet spot over the pickup that I like so I don't know whether they will stay on. I do plan to experiment with some foam padding under the bridge cover to see what sound that gives, but the sound now is pretty vintage and a massive improvement on the first impression.

Who knows in years to come how this bass will last. I'm sure the finish will wear.

No idea what Fender are like here but my local shop is always good to sort any problems if and when they occur so it doesn't worry me at all. It's probably my 5th Fender so it's not an issue.

In the end this bass is very close to what I expected. If I can get the neck profile slightly more straight without too much buzz I'll be very happy. I'm very fussy when it comes to necks. I'd give it more than 8 if the pickup wasn't naturally really bright which kind of makes you think that you're fighting the bass to get the sound you want. I do wonder what it would sound like with some Lindy Fralins and may try them at a later date.

I also own Wal, Rickenbacker and Steinberger. I can't compare any of my basses to each other as they all have their own niche - this one more than most. This is the bread and butter big warm Fender sound that is the essence of where it all started. The flats are important to getting this sound and feel great.

Mi Fender P-Bass '62 con la leyenda: Made in Japan fechado en 1993 segun el numero de serie
El color es Blanco con el pickguard color rojo turtoiesse pastillas american vintage bass
El headstock tiene el acababado vintage con el logo "Spaguetti" todos los acabados son excelentes

Yo toco rock clasico ochentero lo mismo que rock alternativo contemporaneo. Este bajo es perfecto en cada estilo.

Desde que lo tengo, mi P-Bass'62 es mi bajo principal (dejando en reserva un Epiphone les paul especial bass y un B.C. Rich NJ "custom") la verdad es que con el P-Bass'62 no necesito realmente otros bajos, el sonido es el clasico calido sonido de un Fender P-Bass muy acorde a su preciosa estetica vintage.

Utilizo un Yorkville Bassmaster combo de 400w, con noise supresor, bass chorus, flanger, y bass overdrive todos de Boss, el rugido del P-Bass es impresionante e igualmente profundo y hermoso, en frecuencias altas las patillas american vintage suelen hacer un poco de ruido, nada que moleste y se controla facilmente con un pedal noise supresor.

Este bajo es solido, no muy ligero pero de calidad que poca o nada difiere de un US P-Bass
Todos los acabados y materiales son perfectos

Aunque quisiera no encuentro queja alguna de este instrumento

Solamente he mandado a ajustar el alma del cuello una vez, desde entonces todo esta bien, este bajo permanece afinado indefinidamente

He Contactado antes a Fender y la atencion ha sido pronto, clara y amable

sin embargo no he tenido que requirrir a ellos con motivo de mi P-Bass'62

I recently purchased two used USA Fender 62'reissue P basses-Olympic White (1998)and 3 tone Sunburst (1996). Both were stock with rosewood fretboards. pickup covers, etc. They have a wider but thinner neck than my two 1978 P basses (B verses C necks). I have used P basses off and on for the past 25 years, but favored active basses more recently and have gigged with MM Stingrays for the last 4 years. I didn't really care for the newer USA P basses (i.e American Standard, etc.), but felt the 62 Reissues where a pretty good copy of the 60's P basses without having to spend the $$$ for the real thing (better build quality than the newer USA P basses IMO). I also did not want to gig with a collectable vintage early 60's P bass.

I am currently using a Mesa M-Pulse 600 and and the newer Mesa Powerhouse cabs (the newer Mesa bass gear is fantastic). The sound of the 62 Reissue P-basses was not bad, but I felt the overall sound was a little thin compared to my 1978 P basses and to my active Stingrays (my band has two lead guitarists so I need to cut through two guitars). Using a Sans Amp RBI or Sadowsky outboard pre/DI helped a lot. However, after upgrading both basses with Lindy Fralin passive PUPs and Bad Ass II bridges, I really noticed a major improvement. The sound was richer, fuller, and deeper with better sustain. I had a lot eaiser time being heard through the two guitars. I can't say enough great things about the Lindys as they are great and really make a major improvement compared to the stock 62 Reissue Pups. The Lindy's are a little hotter than the stock PUPs too.

The built quality is excellent for a bass in this price range and IMO better than the newer USA P Basses. The original 62 Reissue PUPs could be better though.

I think this is a dependable and reliable bass overall, but I always take a backup bass to gigs no matter what my primary bass is. I would recommend checking out the Lindy Fralin P Bass PUPs as well as the Bad Ass II bridge as there is a noticeable overall improvement.

Never used them.

A really good bass, but a great bass for the money with the upgraded Lindy Fralin PUPs and the Bass Ass II bridge.

Mine's a 2000 MIJ.
It has the stock everything on it.
Maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, ash or alder (?) body.
Olympic White with a brown tortoise-shell pickguard. Mine also came with a bridge cover on it. Very classy-looking.
The neck is rather wide. I'd guess it was .625" at the nut, but it MAY be the .750" like on the American reissues. I have no clue. Point is, it's a big neck.
I only got a gig bag with mine. I bought it on eBay, though.

I didn't expect to get crazy, active pickups or locking tuners or anything with this bass. In fact, that's the opposite of what I was looking for. I wanted a straight-forward, classic-sounding bass that didn't cause me any headaches trying to find out how to make it sound how I wanted it. This was perfectly fine for me.

I play in a vintage rock band. Aside from our own original material, we cover The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and a variety of other rock bands. I use a Crate BT100 1x15, which comes with a distortion/octave footswitch.

This bass is wonderful for practically any kind of music. I use it to play classic rock, country/western, jazz, Motown R&B, etc. It's so versatile, despite the single pickup/volume/tone setup. It sounds great with flatwounds or roundwounds. You can bring out mellow or growly tones out of the bass, with a simple adjustment in tone and amp EQ. It's valuable both as a studio and stage instrument. It's my favorite bass that I've ever played thus far.

There's one problem with this bass that I cannot figure out. When I use roundwound strings with it, the E-string (the biggest one) rattles at the bridge. It affects the sound of the E-string, but only slightly. Other than that, it's awesome.

Solid. Solid. Solid. Solid. Solid. Solid. Solid. Solid. SOLID. Hardly ever knocks out of tune. SOLID.

I've only been playing for two years. I also own a '75 MIJ Fender Jazz. I feel like I can't compare the two, however. They are very different and very wonderful instruments. The Jazz Bass has a great mid-range neck, but the Precision Bass has a great bass-range neck...that kind of thing. Each has their own advantage. One isn't better than the other in my eyes.

There's no doubt that I would seek out another one exactly like this if it were stolen (I would never lose this thing, believe me.)

What do I love about it? Everything.

2003 built (neck made on September 11th, curiously enough) US '62 Vintage Reissue.
Olympic white (fades beautifully and quite quickly), light weight alder body.
Chunky, wide maple neck with yellowed (thin) nitro cellulose lacquer and a slab of almost ebony-like, dark rosewood for a fretboard.
Nickel plated, period correct hardware (not sure about the bevelled pole pieces on the pick up though)?
Doesn't do much by todays standards - except fit like a glove and make you wonder how come Leo nailed bass guitar design at only his second attempt!

Having owned several cheap basses with "Precision"-type pickups over the years (all of which sounded bland as hell), I wondered how it was possible to get any kind of "depth" of sound from a bass with this pickup design. Well, the answer was pretty obvious when I picked this bass up - it's not just about the pickup, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE WOOD!
Unplugged, this bass resonates really sweetly. As you pluck a string, you can feel each bass note developing as the vibrations run smoothly through the whole instrument, which in turn, affects the way that the string moves over the magnets in the pickup. The result is a really "round" and "full" bass sound, which can be emphasised by rolling the treble right down to produce a reggae rumble, or adding just a twinge to simulate the pumping funk drive of the master himself, James Jamerson. Adding more treble is almost like travelling through time, as you dial in the sounds of John Entwhistle (The Who), Paul Simenon (The Clash), Mike Drint (Green Day) and a hundered others.
It's simply amazing how much variation is possible with this simple layout. If you own a collection of amps or (more likely) an amp simulator, the possibilities just sky-rocket!
Make no mistake, this is not a "one sound" instrument AND it doesn't have a single unusable sound on it.
It's equally at home being played with fingers or a pick, but (in my opinion) it's not really a "slappers" bass.

I was very lucky (judging by some of the reviews here), the bass came straight out of the case with everything set up perfectly.
Even if it hadn't, bass guitars don't come much simpler or more idiot-proof than this, so I (being an idiot) would've happily tackled it with a screwdriver if necessary.
The finish was perfect. I had no idea that mass produced, bolt together instruments could vary so much between manufacturers, but this bass really feels "authentic" in some way.
Somehow, you can tell that these reissue instruments are made with a certain amount of pride and that quality control is important. I also have an American built Clapton Strat, but that's looks like it was built as a school project, in comparison to this bass - so Fender don't always get it right!

It's pointless even discussing this subject. There IS NOTHING sturdier than a Precision (is there)?

Hopefully (as I'm nowhere near California), I'll never need to try and contact Fender directly.
Still, their dealer network is pretty effective. I had to order this bass specially and it only took about 3 weeks to arrive.
I'll give it a 7 based on that.

THIS IS THE MOST TREASURED GUITAR THAT I'VE EVER OWNED! I just wanted to spell that out first.
I've been playing at an amateur level for 20 years now and have owned many medium to professional quality basses.
I currently have a new Musicman Stingray (another fantastic Leo Fender design), an active Jazz Bass, a Status Series II headless bass and a G&L Tribute bass, but quite honestly, if my house was burning down, the only thing that I'd run back into it for would be my Precision.
I'm no James Jamerson, in fact I'm pretty hopeless as a musician, but whenever I strap that bass on, plug it in and start jamming along to the sounds of Motown coming from my iPod through my mixer - I can't help grinning to myself.
Until I got this bass, I could never quite underdstand how musicians could get so attached to one instrument, when there are so many other designs out there waiting to be tried. Well, now I understand!
I'd love to give this an overall 10 rating, but I have to acknowledge that 1,600 Euros/1,100 GBP is a hell of a lot of money for a passive, 1 pickup bass, so it probably isn't everyone's idea of good value for money.

This is a brand new bass, not available in The U.S. I got it from a Japanese distributor. This bass is almost exactly like the American reissues, except for a few hardware inaccuracies. The tuners and bridge are incorrect for the era. I have replaced the single saddle bridge with a 'threaded' type, and the tuners with reverse Kluson type, made by Gotoh. It most likely has a basswood body, like my Japanese '62 reissue Jazz Bass, and a 34" scale maple neck with slab rosewood fingerboard. It is a beautiful candy apple red, with a vintage tinted neck.

Well, what can I say here except that The Japanese did their homework, and, like my Jazz bass, it nails the tone of a real Pre- CBS bass. It's hard to beat a p-bass, they were used on literally thousands of hits we all know. The pickup is quiet, and the tone and volume pots work as they should. I'm very pleased with the sound.

The fit and finish on this bass is absolutely stunning! The color is just incredible, I've always wanted one like this in this color, but I've never seen a lefty in this finish, 'till now. The action needed adjusting, but I'm a professional guitar and bass tech, so adjusting it was a piece of cake.

The bass gets a 9 here, because candy red finishes will chip and flake, and crack even if you just look at it funny! So, I'm being as careful as I can, and I already chipped it in one place... I glued the chip back, and now it's hardly noticeable. The neck seems stable, but it's a vintage type truss rod, and it will probably have it's share of necessary adjustments. Not a real serious issue here. This is a p-bass, you could buy one, use it your entire playing life, and pass it on to a young bassist, and he could do the same. Truck like reliability.

No fault of the bass here- this rating is bad, because Fender U.S.A. sucks, in plain English, if you are a left handed bassist. I don't understand why this amazing company, through all of the evolution it has been through, only offers a Mexican made, black jazz bass- that's right, ONE model of bass- to lefty's. No American or hot rod p-basses anymore. WHY? Is it because retailers claim to have a hard time selling them? I remember having TWO custom color basses- a lefty p, and a jazz bass in the 70's. A friend has two lefty p-basses, a '59, and a '60! This situation made me look offshore to get what I wanted at a reasonable price. This is unacceptable, in my opinion. I'm an American, and I'd like to buy an American made product.
I repair all my instruments. As far as the warranty goes, it's a mute point, I'll fix it if it breaks. The people I purchased this from were very helpful in getting it to me very quickly, and undamaged.

I'm playing bass since 1967. I also build basses, my main bass is a very expensive all flamed maple 5 string, with all Alembic pickups and electronics. I own so much other gear it's almost criminal. As soon as the budget allows, I'm buying another one of these, before Fender stops them from making them. I love the look, feel, and sound of this bass. If you do a search, you can find the Ishibashi web shop. It's worth the hassle. It helps to have a Japanese speaking friend! They have a translated page, but hard to negotiate through. Keep trying, if you really want one of these great basses.

U.S made 3 color sunburst 20 vintage Thinner frets single pickup 4 ply tortoise shell pickguard. Nitrocellulose finish. Rosewood veneer fretboard maple neck (very wide). Came with strap and cable as well as metal bridge and pickup covers. Reverse kluson style tuners

Playing all types of classic music, from blues to country to the beginning of rock and roll I have never heard a bass sound better suited for what I play.Playing through a solid state pweavey tmax and an Ampeg B100 Rocket I get Nice mellow thumping Jamerson sound. This bass is very basic tone wise but the basic tone is beautiful. This bass is also suprisingly light. I own aan all original 78 precision and a 98 jazz bass

I have owned the bass for two months now and I have yet to notice any flaws. High quality prts and finish.

Great solid bass so far. I never gig without a backup period!

Fender's customer service is horrendous. I bought this bass from musicians friend and due to an oversight (probably at fender) my bass did not come with the bridge and pickup cover package. Mine actually came with a jazzmaster/jaguar guitar package. Originally Musicians Friend told me to return the package to Fender and I did
so. Through several calls to Fender and musicians Friend it took me a month and a half after I recieved my bass to finally recieve my parts. I was very displeased with the runaround from Fender

I've played approximately 12 years and I own an all original 1978 precision as well as a 1998 jazz bass. If your going vintage oldies tone this bass is perfect.