Fender American Hot Rodded P-Bass

fender.com

ok, not really a bass player. WAIT! my story gets better. i'm a guitar player/engineer/songwrite/producer/flake. i dont always have the budget to get a good player in so i bought this bass to fumble through some parts on my own. i do know what a good bass sounds like. and this one is just stunning. i almost always use it w/ all knobs at 10. when i record at home i use either an avalon u5 or the di on my chandler limited tg2 through either a distressor or a dbx 160a and the tone is unbelievable. i've also used it though an ampeg amp. the "b" something . . . w/ the tubes on top and a metal grill over them. that was just about the coolest rock bass sound i ever heard!!

it's a fender

just effortless good tones. i wish they made this in a 5 string version

Pretty standard fare: passive P+J pickups, V/V/T controls, ash body, rosewood fingerboard.

A note about the V/V/T setup: That's gay, Fender! It makes more sense to have Volume + Blend controls only. What does the tone control do, anyway? It rolls off the high frequencies. A blend control gives you the proper tool to dial in your bass and treble levels. Doesn't that make more sense?

Okay, high marks here, Fender! This bass sounds exactly the way I expected (and wanted) it to. A beautiful, warm, round tone from the front pickup. It had that smooth, wooly character to it, reminiscent of the old-school Motown funk sound. Dial in a bit of the back pickup to get that growly, open-vowel tone with the midrange emphasis. Just a classic tone, good for any kind of rock, funk, or soul music. A 100% stellar tone. Every bass player should have one of these in his (or her) arsenal of instruments. You just can't get a bad sound out of this beauty.

Uh, Fender, how about a little consistency out of your Quality Control division? I don't know what Ass-monkey set up my bass, but Jesus, how hard is it to adjust a fucking truss rod? Or a bridge saddle? There were more buzzes going on with that fretboard than the Portland Trailblazers. After a few hours of tweaking, I got it fairly well adjusted. Even a high school dropout like me figured out how to use an Allen wrench. Dickheads!

I know it may seem I'm bipolar, but I have to give max points to Fender for this section. I'll just state it plainly for everyone: THE P-BASS IS A TANK! If you're breaking these things at gigs, you're a fucking retard! Go get some coordination and start over.

Can't comment here.

You can buy something different, but you'll never get anything better than the original.

American Hot Rodded Precision Bass, USA made, purchased in 2000, Ash w/rosewood, natural finish w/tortiseshell pickguard, 4-string/thru body. One Precision split coil in neck position and one J-Bass pickup in the bridige position, passive electronics. Came with the deluxe case which is trimmed out nicer than the molded shell cases but not as durable in my opinion.

I play mostly in church these days rather than bars and clubs and it suits my needs quit well. I have 4 other basses and only use this one on occassion prefering 5 strings most of the time. I've owned Jazz Basses and played P-Basses and this bass sounds pretty much like what you would expect. It is basically a P-Bass with a Jazz Bass pickup added in the bridge position. It has a volume knob for each pickup and a one tone control (I prefer one volume with a blend/pan knob which I think makes way more sense and it is much easier to regulate the tone and blend of the pickups). With the P-Bass pickup on by itself it sounds just like a P-Bass naturally, warm and deep with a mid-range growl. Start adding the J-Bass pickup into the mix and you get get more of the bright snappy edged growl of a Jazz Bass. It is definitely more P-Bass than J-Bass though but not quit either with both pickups blended together. I tend to play mine with the tone and P-Bass pickup all the way up with the J-Bass pickup backed off about 1/3 of the way. For some reason the output is noticeably increased this way which seems odd but I noticed one of the other reviewers said the same thing so I guess it is just a characteristic of this instrument. When playing with the P-Bass pickup alone it is totally quiet as far as hum. The J-Bass pickup is noticeably noiser when turned up and even more so when the J-Bass pickup is on by itself. I've noticed that J-Basses tend to be like this...some more than others. This bass is great for a variety of styles. You can play nice smooth warm bass lines or get it to sound bright, snappy and funky as well for slapping popping styles. The sustain is great on this bass as well. I recently had a 75 J-Bass reissue (Japan) that was really nice but was way too noisy for me. I replaced those pickups with EMG actives and even though it took away the noise and gave it more bottom, I thought they gave it a sort of sterile sound so I just ended up trading it. This bass however definitely beats the Jazz as far as gettng a nice fuller bottom while yet maintaining that edgy sound of a J-Bass. I play through a Hartke combo with one 15" aluminum driver and this bass sounds plenty full. I bet it would sound even snappier though playing it through a couple of 10" speakers as well.

I bought this bass mail order from WoodWind & Brasswind and they did a great job of picking out a nice finish for me and packed it really well. With the packing job they did you could have dropped it off an airplane and never noticed. The bass was flawless and the natural ash looked great. The action was a bit high for my taste and the strings were junk. I lowered the action a bit and put a set of DR High Beams on it and it was ready to go. I'm not sure what model of strings Fender put on the bass at the factory but they were awful! It had been years since I bought a new Fender and I was impressed by the quality of the instrument. I compared it to my G&L ASAT(noted for high build quality)and it seemed comparable in fit and finish to me. It came with the nicer case (at least in looks) and with the usual Fender goodies: truss rod adjustment wrench, allen wrench for the bridge, polishing cloth and Fender strap.

Seems very solid to me. All the hardware is top notch. The tone knob seems to have a little bit of play in it or something strange. I'm not sure how to describe it but it works fine however and I'm not concerned with it at this point. I really baby my instruments but I would say this bass could take some major abuse if it had to. I wouldn't be afraid to gig with it without a back-up instrument on hand.

Have never had to deal with Fender but a dealer told me they were good to work with compared to some of the other manufacturers. So far the bass has required no repairs.

I've been playing guitar and bass for about 26 years now. And have owned Rics, Fenders, G&Ls, Guilds, Gibsons and who knows what all in the line of basses. I currently own a G&L ASAT Bass, Peavey Cirrus 5 String, a Rickenbacker 4003, G&L L-5500 5-string as well as this Fender. Believe it or not the Peavey is my favored choice among all these basses. If you havn't played one...go try it! You won't be dissappointed. The Peavey and the G&L's have active pickups which I prefer anymore and they have way more output with less noise. The G&L ASAT is very versatile and so is the Peavey. Sometimes though I want that more traditional sound and the Hot Rodded P-Bass gives me that when I need it. I like the Rickenbacker too but would say the Fender has a better balance of sound from string to string than the Ric on which I've noticed higher volume levels on the A string as opposed to the E string. I've found that characteristic on other Rics as well. As I said earlier, I would prefer a blend/pan knob for volume which is way easier to regulate than a separate volume knob for each pickup but Fender must have a hard time changing old habits or something. Not long ago a friend of mine bought an Ibanez for about $550 (can't remember the model number)which had a Precision/Jazz pickup configuration (active) on it. We brought it home and compared it to all my basses and it sounded remarkably close to the Hot Rodded Precision for half the money. I was really surprised.

Made in '99 i believe, American hot-rod P-bass, P single coil and a jazz pickup in bridge. Alder body with a black finnish and brown tortise shell pickguard and a maple fretboard.
Came with a case, strap, cable, tools, strap locks.

I play Metal and classic hard rock mostly...its a great bass for just about anything i tried really. Im running through a Peavey TNT and it seems to work well with the hot-rod. For a passive bass i find i can get quite a number of tones outta this thing, i love this bass...its my main one.
I give the sound 9, although it sounds killer..if it were active PU's then it would be even more bad-ass.(not a complaint really though, i perfer passive) Just trying to give an honest review.

The setup was great from the store from in which i bought it from, really low...it doesnt buzz at all...neck is as straight as an arrow. Cosmeticly there wasnt any flaws either. It was mint when i bought it.
And the store i bought it from even polished it for me before i got to bring it home, which made the black finnish extra shiny. :)

Fenders are tanks, i can through it through a wall and doubt it would go outta tune. The Strap locks were solid...Pbassess are just plain tough...no worries in the durability department.
I probally could use it without backup...but i probally wouldnt, shit happens...its always wise to be prepared.

Never, delt with Fender...i heard they can be dicks...hopefully ill never have to find out.

I own nothing but P-bassess(i tried just about everything out there, they are just my thing)
Since i bought it i have had no regrets or second thoughts. When i played this thing i knew right away i was taking it home with me.
If it were stolen, id be pissed...i love this bass, and i think Fender discontinued the MIA hot-rod series...so i wouldnt be able to find a replacement to easliy. The theif better make sure id never find him.
Simply this is one of the coolest bassess i ever played...it feels very comfortable and it looks bad-ass i an honestly say there is nothing i dont like about it. I tried to be fair with this review...even though i gave it high ratings but i found it hard, cause i just like the bass that damn much...awsome value in my honest opinion. I would even consider buying a second one.

Ash body, natural finish, tortoise pickguard, PJ pickups, Vol-Vol-Tone controls, side jack.

It came with a hard case.

Not a ton of features, but that's not what you buy this bass for.

One note: I has an easy access truss rod adjustment slot in the pickguard. That's handy!

Replaced the crap stock pickups with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders.

Added a Hipshot Bass X-tender.

The sound is now big, loud, fat, and funky. Perfectly balanced tone.

No complaints. The truss rod was easy to adjust without removing the strings. Everything was tight and well aligned.

Come on...it's a P-Bass! These things are freaking tanks!

I can't rate them. I never had to ask them for help.

I traded in a Dean European Select neck-thru 5-string with Basslines pickups and an Aguilar preamp. I believe I came out ahead with that trade. I love this bass. Beautiful tone, great looks, an all around outstanding instrument.

One caveat: Replace those crappy stock pickups!

'99, made in Mexico, split P in the middle, J at the bridge. Gold Anodized pickguard (HATE this). Red finish. Rosewood fingerboard, etc.

It's a classic Fender bass sound. The bridge PU is almost useless. noisy, no level. Adds a little 'bite' when mixed with the middle PU, but also adds hum too. I play 95% of the time with just the split P on. I alternate between pick and fingers. I don't slap, crackle or pop. Osborne, Kaye, McCartney, Rainey, Sting, Radle, if you know what I mean.....

Well made as most Fenders are. The pickguard drives me nuts. Gets cold as ice in winter, and I'm always afraid of getting shocks in bad grounding situations. Gonna change this one day......

People buy Fenders to play and play and play. You can beat the shit out of them and they still play.

Never bothered with customer support.

Bass is my second instrument (though I probably play better bass than I do guitar) and I've been playing it about 35 years on & off. I spent 2 hours in the store trying to decide between this and the Deluxe Lyte which is active, much lighter in weight, and has more tone variations. The Lyte was also $150 more. Not being one who likes to spend too much time twiddling knobs, I went with the Precision which I am used to. I wish now I had bought the Precision bass with the monster humbucker at the bridge, but that's $1100. If this one gets ripped off, I'll get that one. I play into an old Acoustic 370 head driving a Hartke 4-10XL. No effects.

It is a 2001 model. I won't need to get into detail with this bass. Most of the owners here have pretty much covered it and thing only thing I will put is that it's a clear natural finish over ash.

The sound of this bass is great! Smooth, rich, and warm with some punch thanks to the J pickup. This would make an awesome recording and gigging bass, it covers just about any type of music out there except for maybe slap and pop. I don't think the Fender P pickup sounds as good for that if it had j pickup by the neck..of course that wouldn't make this a Hot Rodded bass anymore. Nonetheless, it's a great bass for just about any application. I'm just wondering if the bass would sound even better with the after market Original P and Custom J pickups that they sell? If so, this bass would sound even better than before, but i'll test drive the Vintage and Custom series basses to see how much better would they sound and if so ....i'll definitely consider upgrading them that.

The action was setup perfect as well as the pickups. The paint job was outstanding, this is were fender excels is on the finishes on their guitars and basses. I couldn't find any flaws the nut was setup great and the neck was straight as an arrow.

Everybody knows that fender basses are known to just about withstand any type of abuse and still sound great! They are workhorses! They just keep going and going and going!

I have been playing for 12 years and when I stumbled upon this kinda a deal at Guitar Center one day by just checking around some new stuff and when I looked at the price tag on this bass I knew I couldn't turn it down...no way! What's funny was that I wasn't in market for a new bass for awhile.... I was thinking about getting the Warwick Rockbass and I will, but for a deal like this I couldn't pass it down. List price $1400 now for $550.00..it's a no brainer..I know these basses are being discontinued and if you have a chance grab one they are well worth it and I believe every bass player should own at least own a Fender during their lifetime. I love my two Ibanez SR400 with EMGs...they have been perfect for the stuff I do but there's something special about owning a quality American Fender bass.

This is a correction to my review submitted earlier: according to the Fender Catalog, the American Hot Rodded P Bass neck DOES have graphite reinforcement, as it is an American Standard neck. It therefore is also NOT tapered as I wrote previously.

4-string, made at the Fender factory in beautiful, Corona, California, in 2001. Passive Precision split-coil and a Jazz pickup at the bridge. Each pickup has a separate volume control for blend, but no master volume, (so doing a pot-fade is tricky), and there's one overall tone control. Mine has a natural-finish, a rosewood fingerboard on a slightly tapered neck as compared to the Standard Precision, string-through body onto the bridge, good-quality high-ratio tuners with open string slots (as usual), and output jack on the side (unlike a classic P-Bass with the jack on the front). The trussrod is adjustable, but there's no graphite reinforcement in the neck. It came with an Fender/SKB case.

This bass sounds terrific. I record original rock songs direct to ProTools using an Ampeg SVT-3 Pro DI output to a mic pre to an 1176 compressor. It has a very fat, classic P-bass rock sound, though never muddy, thanks to the J pickup. It has a strong, but not nasal, midrange that helps maintain the clarity in a mix; and there's pletty of higher frequencies, even for slapping, I think. The split coils seem a little hotter than the J pickup, but that may be due to their placement relative to the bridge. I like to use mostly the split pickup, and back off the J a little, anyway. Oddly, the output drops about 1-2dB when both volume controls are set to full, and it comes back up when I back off the J pickup a bit. I don't know if this is a phase issue, or some anomally with my particular bass, but it doesn't pose a big problem when recording. It's a moderately hefty bass (less than a typical Warwick, more than a Music Man), and I think that contributes to its remarkable sustain. And while it has a very solid feel, it plays really well (better than my MM Sterling in some ways) and it lends itself equally to expressive playing as it does to head-banging rock. Mine must be setup well or something because it's easy to play without getting string buzzes, even playing pretty hard. Yet I've set the action to factory specs. The neck is set completely straight--no relief at all. I'm replacing my Music Man Sterling bass (which has a Bartolini MMC replacement pickup) with this bass because it records direct with a much beefier tone. I've never recorded a bass that sounded this good direct to HD.

The bass is flawless except for the mounting of one tuner, which shifts very slightly when there's no string wound on. And there's the weird drop in volume with both pickups on full, but I don't know if that's a flaw or an inevitability (I'm going to check into it). The natural finish is nice, and not overly "pretty".

I just got this bass a week ago, but it seems well-built. Seems like you could throw it through your stage speaker grill clothes every night without even affecting the intonation.

No experience. I own four Fender guitars as well as this bass and I've never had a problem that needed to be dealt with by the company.

The reason I'm writing this review so soon after purchase is that the bass has just gone out of production and some readers really may want to go out after one of these. It's an exceptionally good bass for an exceptional price. For recording rock music direct to DAW, or whatever, it's simply fantastic. Stores (like Guitar Center and Musician's Friend) were blowing them out for under $600, and I'm sure the one I have was bought for resale shortly before I got it because there wasn't a mark on it. Even at $700 it was a steal. If you're striving after the classic P-bass rock sound with the ability to get a touch more clarity, you owe it to yourself to check this one out.

I got 2.
mine are both 1999's
features same as all listed
1st ones a clear Ash body and maple neck
2nd one is Sunburst Alder body and rosewood neck.
They both came with the wrong case.
Fender screwed up and they used Jazz bass cases instead of "P" bass cases when first in production. They started shipping them in form fitted cases and would have exchanged them for me but I like the square old style cases.
They all come with strap,strap locks, cord, case and all the tools.

It has that classic fender tone that Classic Growl.
I run them into a Ampeg SVT with no effects .
Its sustains like no other bass in the world .
It will Hold a note like Ted Nugents Gibsons.
Actions like a 6 string guitar low and smooth.
I set the "P" pickup on full and the Jazz to about 80%.
The Jazz pickup seem to lower the volume and changes the tone if set at 100%.
Stage or studio its a Fender, Kicks ass all around.

Ash/maple bass right out of the box was perfect, it was love at first feel.
Remember these are custom shop basses, they 're all hand finished.
The Alder/rosewood took some time to get it right.
I finaly got it dialed in and its smooth as silk.
The tuners needed to be tightend and the screws on the knobs were loose.
Other than that they'er fine

Again these are Pro Basses.
I always glue my stap pegs into the body and move the rear pin up about 2inches to change the angle of the bass.
I would and have used this bass with no backup.

I did dealwith Fender because of the cases and they would have done anything for me.

Ive been Playing bass for over 20+ years I've played on TV,radio and the movies and even modeled for Gig Magazine.
My band is 1880 and you'll be able to here the rosewwod base on our new record out July 2002 go to mp3.com/1880 to hear it soon.
I own
Alembic Epic 5 string.
2x's G&L 1000 1981and82.
Gibson Les Paul Bass
Carvin 80's style Bass don't remember Model #
A 70's hollowbody Lyle Bass same as Ephiphone Ravoli
Peavey T-20 Bass
I use all Ampeg Amps
Pro II bass head all tube.
350 Solid state head
2-4x8" cabs
4x10" with a 15" same size as the 8x10's
and my combo B3 2X8's sounds killer.
I don't add any effects and run all my basses dry.
Ive always wanted a Fender but they never made a American Made Classic "P" Bass with a Jazz pickup.
They were all Mexican or from Japan or had some unFender thing added to them.
Double Jazz pickups side by side with a P pickup up front. weard headstocks bodies ect...
The Hotrod's are real Fenders molder after the great P/Jazz basses.
Fender quit making this Bass and I I'm luck to own 2

I A/B test played this bass against a Musicman Stingray, Sterling, Warwick Corvette FNA (The one I sold after I bought my Hotrod P) A Rickenbacher 4001, US made Fender Jazz, and a Padulla at Guitar center. None of the above came close to the good feel, sound, awsome action and playability. It looks great! But pretty basses like some of the above are only good to look at. The warwick I owned hurt my fret hand to play it. Give the Fender hotrod P a try next time your out shopping.

It's like owning a Jazz bass and a classic P-bass both!

Mine was setup great no adjustment needed at all, Your dream bass is out there! I found my mate in this one and plan to keep it till I die.

These are battle proven to withstand years of beating.

Most likely wont need any.

I have been play bass since I was 8 years old, So that makes 26 years of playing. I have owned about 20 basses and only one other Fender that was stolen back in 1991. A red p bass with mirror pickguard that some crack head stole and pawned in Florida. I never recovered the bass. This one is a keeper!

I think it's a 2000/2001, made in the USA. The body style, neck size, etc... are all about the same as a regular American Precision Bass, except that it has an added jazz pickup at the bridge. It has a graphite-reinforced neck which is very solid. The pickups are called "New Hot Vintage," and I have no clue what that means, but anything with both the words 'new' and 'vintage' in the name must be good. It has a fairly small bridge that offers regular string loading but also string-through-body, which is nice. It also allows, in addition to the standard saddle adjustments, string space adjusting which are really nice if you want to switch from fast picking to slapping to fingerstyle to whatever. The tuners are cast/opened back that hold tune well and look really nice. The controls are passive volume/volume/tone knobs (solid, knurled chrome) which are very functional and taper well for pickup mixing. I think normally these come with cases, etc..., but I got this on clearance so all I got was a cardboard box.

The sound is really, really nice. The pickups offer a wide range of tones, all of which are useful. First of all, let me mention that most basses with this pickup configuration have a p pickup that is much louder than the j, which really limits what you can do with them, but on the American Hot Rodded has a "hot" jazz pickup that is perfectly matched. The sound can go from smooth, thumping, chest rumbling p-bass/motown sound, to very bright scooped mid, high treble p-bass (think green day, blink 182, clash, sex pistols), to bright, cutting, punky j-bass, to solid, cut-through, heavy mid j, to a gajillion combinations of the two pickups. I personally like to have either both of them full on for a dark, low-mid growl that really has a lot of presence (kind of like a passive stingray), or have a little more p to have it smoother, or a little more j for more growl and clarity. My playing style really varies, sometimes i want to sound like jaco, and the j nails it dead on, sometimes i play some punk rock, and for ska/reggae/dub, this bass is perfect.

The finish is "sunset orange transparent," which, on fender.com, looks as though some sort of mishap occured at the factory involving nuclear waste, but if you look at it on fender's www.bassstreet.com, has a brilliant reddish color. The second one what the actual finish looks like. everyone who has seen the bass agrees that it is more red than orange which is a good thing. It has a more interesting color than 'hot rod red,' and really stands out. The pickguard is tortoise shell, which contrasts nicely on the red. the pickups are at a perfect height, and the frets are perfect. there are three flaws on it, which I assume are part of the reason i got it for so cheap. the first is a tiny, tiny, tiny flaw in the finish on the edge of the body near the bridge (it looks as though there was an air bubble in it that popped and left a weird little mark). Secondly, near where the heel of the neck, there is a small, small area where it looks like the finish did not reach entirely, but that does nothing to the sound or durability. Lastly, there is a small space between the side of the neck and the body. not where the neck plate attaches, so it's nothing that would ever affect the durability, but it doesn't look as nice. Literally, there is barely enough of a space to fit a sheet of paper into, but if you look closely, it's there. Aside from that, it's great. I keep the action very low, and there is no fret rattling unless i go crazy with a pick, and that's when i'm going for a punk/metal sound, so it really sounds good.

I have never played live (i'm working on it), but i figure this would withstand anything. this is the same kind of bass that I see all of my favorite players using on tour, so it must be pretty tough. The graphite neck is really incredible, it's stayed perfectly straight through the weather change in BOSTON which is pretty harsh. the straplocks are made by schaller, I believe, and are completely steady.

this is a very, very versatile bass. probably the most versatile out there, aside from the stu hamm model. It sounds great, even through my solid-state swr workingman's, so i can't imagine how great it would be through an ampeg solid state or a tube amp. i highly recommend this bass if you like the fender sound, if you need a versatile bass (has a million different sounds, you can have string thru or top load on the bridge, change the string spacing, etc....), or if you just like really great tone that is easy to access.

Ok so my Bass is Precision Hot Rodded it was made in 1999, USA. It has 4 strings and 20 frets. It's not one of the Deluxe Basses but it sounds like the deluxe and it's comfortable like the Deluxe.
My bass has one Split-Coil Pick Up of Precision and one pick up of JazzBass so I can use this bass for lots of styles. It has two volumes for the two pickups and one tone.It's a passive bass. The body is P-Bass style. and the neck is rosewood and the body's color is sunburst. my bridge style is string-thru body. I got cable with it and hard case.

Every bass has it's own sound and the basses are getting their sounds with the years. My bass is quiet and it's good for all of the styles. The bass has a warm sound and you can make it bright. The bass player makes the sound there lots of sounds that you can do with any guitar.
This Bass is for Studio and Stage. I like this bass it has a great sound. I dislike that it doesn't have the Jazz Bass look.

I haven't sent my bass to a setup i have it only 10 months and it's a great bass. I think that the pick up adjustment is very good. Nop it has no flaws.

My bass got few bumps and nothing happend to it. The bass have little scratches but they're nothing. Anoter thing is that bass guitars are getting better with every bump they get. I don't think that something can happen to this bass the neck needs an adjustment because of the climic condition.

I've never had to call the company the bass is great

Im playing bass for 2 years and a half. I owned fender Jazz Special fretless and some venson P-bass. If it were stolen I would buy a JazzBass, as i said i love the JazzBass look and this bas is a hard to get in Israel. another thing is that i like changing guitars cause i want to check them all. But don't get me wrong this bass is awsome.
Every one has his own style of basses this bass is good for me as the JazzBass was good for Jaco Pastorius. I did compare it with my brother's Precision 78' and my brother is saying that mine is better. and I compared it with my ex guitars the fretless Jazz and the Cheap
precision the P-Bass Hot rodded was the best.

1999 (bought new in 8/2001) left handed USA made Fender Hot Rod Precision Bass. This bass has 20 jumbo frets, 1 piece solid Ash body with a shell pickguard, and P/J passive American pickup configuration. The neck is maple with rosewood fretboard. This finish is Orange sunset transparent. The bridge is through body top load, which means you can load the string through the back side of the body ala Fender Telecater, or through the top of the tailpiece. The tuning keys are a new (?) semi covered key that looks real cool. It came with docs, a strap, and a case that exterior wise looks like the 70's Fender tolex case minus the Fender logo. I was told that this case was discontinued in 11/00 and replaced with the newer molded SKB. Everything in this department was perfect. 9 only because it was not active.

The sound of this bass is awesome. The ticket with a Fender is the Jazz/Precision pickup combo. The Jazz cut through, and the P adds the thump. If it were missing either pickup it would not be the same. I play through a GK 400RB and a Hartke 1x15 and I can get whatever I want out of this bass.

The factory setup was standard but not to my liking. I like very low action so I re-set everything. Intonation was fine. The most impressive thing about this bass is the ash body and the finish. My bass has a perfect grained ash body, I love the hell out of it. That combined with the Orange Sunset gives it a somewhat vintage look. I once bought a Gibson Les Paul classic that used a 2 piece maple top that was done VERY VERY VERY bad. The left half was center cut of the tree i.e. very grainy and the right was outside cut hardly any grain, it looked like crap. $1,600 for that trash. I even called Gibson to ask if it was a factory second, they said no. My point is, Fender did very good with their wood selection and build. There is absolutly no problems with this bass from finish to hardware.

Not a valid question. I tink any instrument would last a lifetime if properly cared for.

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Wow what a deal. I could not believe the deal I got on this bass. It was so good that I was worried that it may have been a taco bass, but when UPS dropped it off it said "Made in USA" right on the headstock. I have been playing music for 19 years and have NEVER got such a good deal on a piece of equipment. This bass is almost exactly the same as the new Hot Rod P bass. I confirmed with Fender CS everything about the bass. The only difference between the new bass and mine is "the highly detailed fret and nut work". I'm left handed so to buy this bass in a 2001 model would be $1,699 list and best price about $1,200. Mine was $599 (less than an Am Std. Jazz bass Lefty, cause they don't make the P left) plus $18 S/H. The list on this bas as per Fender CS was $1,549.99. I would never spend $1000 on this bass, but $600 is well worth it. If I were to spend a grand I would get a Music Man Stingray (about 1,300 left) or a Warwick Corvette (about $1,200 left). I do think this will fully meet my needs. The only drawback to this bass is that I can't play it as fast as my Yamaha, I think it's a neck difference. Sorry for any bad spelling, did'nt have time to spell check. GO BUY THIS BASS WHILE THERE STILL ON SALE www.musiciansfriend.com

My bass was built in 2000. It has a natural finish and is made out of realy light and tough Ash, you can't scratch the finish. The neck is made out of maple and has a rosewood fingerboard, 20 frets. It has a graphite reinforcment which is very solid. It has a bi-pole Jazz pickup and a split coil Precision pickup. The electronics are passive and are American made. Two volumes and and tone control are all this bass needs to give you unlimited tones. The tuners are the best i have ever seen, the don't slip not matter how hard you play. The bridge is through body and doesn't rattle, move, or anything, it is perfect. You can ajust the strings height and its distance from the other strings which is awesome. It has great sustain. Came with an SKB case, a cable, strap, Schaller strap locks, and a polishing cloth

This bass is one of the best sounding basses i have ever heard. I play through a SWR 4004 head with a 4x10 cab, or a Fender BXR 100. No matter what amp i use i can get a wide range of tones. From short and punchy, warm and mellow to bright and twangy, this bass can deliver all the tones you can think of or want. The bi-pole pick up does have a little bit of hum at high volumes, but the split coil in perfectly silent. This would make a great studio ar live performance bass.

When I bought this bass it was perfectly set up. The action was perfect and the neck was perfectly adjusted, and its' intonation is perfect. IT has a super tough finish, you would have to try to scratch it for you to leave a mark on it. High quality everything. The body is one piece ash and has a good grain. Hand shaped nut looks good. THIS BASS DOES NOT HAVE A THING WRONG WITH IT!!!

This bass is solid. Everything stays to together. I have never had to get an adjustment on it . Super tough hardware should last forever. Great for live performance, doesn't need a back-up.

This is great bass no matter who you are or what style you play. This is definitly a top of the line Fender bass. If it were stolen i would find the person who stoll it and put them in jail for life, and then go buy a new one.

Mine is a 1999 Fender Hot Rod P-bass (Old American Standard Series). It is the predecessor to the new Hot "Rodded" P-bass. I am putting this review under this heading because the other guy did and well, it's the same bass as the new one, as far as I know. They changed the routing on the strats and teles, so those are different than the 1999's, but the basses are just about exactly the same I think. But anyway, musicians friend was selling them for $600 as the other guy mentioned, so how could I pass up a $950 Fender bass for $600. Same features as the other guy's bass, cept mine is artic white, but man do I wish I could have an orange or sunburst one, those look much sweeter. Only choice I had was maple or rosewood, I got the rose.

Ok, here we go with the compliments. This is THE bass as far as I'm concerned. I had a 1999 Fender Mexi Jazz, but this is much nicer. The bridge has much more sustain, the neck is reinforced so it doesn't move much if you tune down to drop D or something, and the tuners are rock solid. The paint job resists chips, the pots are solid, the pickups thump. I use the bridge(J) up all the way with the P about half way for slap, sounds killer. I use the P more for heavy songs, and the J more for "pop" style songs. There is almost no buzz from the P and very little from the bipole J pickup, unless you stand by a TV or something. You can really influence your tone with this bass just by where you pick from. If you rest your thumb on the bridge, it cuts through with the funky jazz growl. If you pick from the P, it thumps and rattles your skull. This bass has all the sounds you could want. It is much more versatile than a plain old P-bass.

Everything solid, except the pickguard is kinda warped by the P-pickup. This does not affect playing or tone and is minor.

This is a Fender, meaning it is rock solid. I have used it for only one gig so far, but many practices and it holds up nicely. I worry about the hard case it comes with. It seems like cheap cardboard or plywood. I had a Fender P/J deluxe (plastic shell, SKB style) case for my jazz bass, that was much nicer and appeared more durable. Sure this vintage case looks pretty, but will it do the job? I don't know. I haven't been using it, because it is 4 feet long an won't fit in my trunk (toyota). So I use a gig bag, which I will probably be sorry later! Reliability/Durability 10 for bass, 6 for case. But I am not reviewing the case so, I give it a 10.

no experience, but I cringe at the thought of mailing this beast to CA, or dealing with some crappy mom and pop fender dealer. (Them: Did you buy the bass here? ME: No, I didn't want to spend $1000 when I could get it for $600. THEM: Tough, take it back elsewhere.)

This is the bomb bass. I have never tried Warwicks or Alembic, or any of those active basses, or even an american deluxe P or J bass. Maybe one of those two higher level fenders would be nicer, but I am never getting rid of this one, unless its and even trade for oraange or 'burst. I also have the mexijazz, a squier P-special, and an affinity P-bass. My main amp is a crate BX100 but I need more firepower for the band I'm in. Rock and Roll baby. If someone stole this bass, god forbid I catch them in the act, because i will take it back and hold their head in the dirt and scream obscenities in their ears until cops come. They will be glad the cops arrive too, because it will be more fun meeting Bubba than it will hearing me when I''m pisssed. BTW, I am really glad I dind't have to spend $950 on this bass, that would have sucked. WHERE ARE ALL THE OTEHR REVIEWS OF THIS BASS, doesn't anyone own it??? This is a great bass, let others know!!!

I got the 1999 or 2000 (not sure of manufacture date) 4 string passive precision bass w/ american split coil pick up in the traditional p-bass position and an american single coil jazz pickup in the bridge position. She's got 20 frets, a graphite reinforced maple-jazz neck w/ bi-flex truss rod, string through ash body w/ sunset orange finish (absolutely beautiful with ash), one tone control (that actually works), and two volume controls. She came with a molded hardshell case, strap (too small and thin for a bass - but are you buying a strap or a bass?), straplock pegs installed (but no straplocks for the strap, why?), tools, and a nice little cloth. I got lucky and and took a gamble on this bass when I ordered it from Musician's Friend. Normally, I would not buy an instrument without playing it, but for $600 bucks I had to take a shot (note: list price is ~$1450 - which means they normally sell for ~$1090; MF had to reduce price to move these out to make room for the next year's models), besides MF has a 45 day return policy, so I wouldn't be out of luck if it was a piece of trash.

This bass suits me quite well, tonally. I can get an great growl out of the p-bass pickup. The jazz pickup is not as bright as I'd like, but I've fallen so in love with the p-bass pickup, I almost use it exclusively. Furthermore, she responds well to slappin' with the jazz pickup, for a passive bass. I would say it sounds clearer and punchier than my fender mexi-deluxe active jazz-V. The pickups are silent when the bass is not being played. I string her with smiths roundwound (45-105) - but I'd like to try DR-lo riders. I have played this bass striaght into a PA, into my peavy 130W 15", and into my buddy's (but soon to me mine) SWR Silverado Special. Of course it doesn't sound very good when run straight into a PA, what does? It sounds good through my peavy (much better than the mexi-deluxe did), but where it really shines is through the SWR. That amp is simply a tone monster - and it really brings out the range of this bass. As for musical style, I play bass regularly with three different praise and worship groups - one acoustic driven, one clean rock, and the third a progressive rock/emo/alt P-W band; in all three styles the bass fits perfectly. I wish the jazz pickup was better, but I guess I should compare it to other passive jazz basses, instead of my buddy's Fender American Deluxe Jazz-V (active).

The bass was set up fine from the factory. The neck had a bit too much relief for my tastes (but this was easily adjusted) and the intonation wasn't as good as it could be. After taking it to a local luthier I had it set up how I like and it has held up since (now it has low action - and virtually perfect intonation). It plays very fast and easy, does not buzz, and doesn't pop if the strings accidently hit the frets while plucking (I'm a pretty percussive player). I've yet to find a real flaw with this instrument. By the way, the transparent sunsent orange on ash is an amazing combination, especially with the tortise shell pickguard. The orange finish highlights the reds and oranges in the pickguard making for an awesome color combination. Another plus is that you can see the grain of the wood which is stunning (one reason why I love transparent finishes on ash bodies - they put quilted and flame tops to shame, IMHO). Some might say this finish is a little to loud or obscene, but if you want a bass to stand out, this is it. I'd say that a fifth of the people I meet absolutely hate the color, and the rest either like it a lot or love it.

This bass is pretty solid. I've had no problems in the few months that I've owned it. So far the only wear showing is on the pickguard where my knuckles hit during slapping, but you really have to look for it. Everything is holding up great and it looks that it will continue to for a very long time. Of course, I take very good care of it. The neck isn't going anywhere, she stays in tune (for days), and the strap locks keep her secure. I consider the entire bass to be very reliable and, although I have another bass, I 'gig' (if you want to call it that) without a back up - plus it's passive, I'm not gonna run out of batteries.

I've dealt with Fender once through my local guitar shop (Rainbow - best in Tucson and all of AZ - well, thier set-ups are overpriced and not as good as some others, but otherwise, they rule) when the truss rod on my first bass broke (a fender active mexi-deluxe jazz IV). Basically, that bass had a severely warped neck and, during an adjustment, the truss rod bottomed out and snapped. I took the bass in and explianed that this neck was junk and I would very much like something done about it for free. They talked to Fender and within a week let me know that Fender had agreed to send me a new neck and have it replaced for free. Going above and beyond, Rainbow allowed me to have full trade value on the old bass (which I would have had if the Fender agreed to replace the bass - but didn't, instead opting to replace just the neck), so I got my jazz V mexi-deluxe for an extra $50. Woulda been nice if I got a bass to use during the few weeks that I had to wait for word from fender and for the neck to come in before the trade could be completed, fortunatley my step-bro is also a bassist, so I had something to play at church.

I'm 22 and have been a guitar player for over 3 years (I have an american tele (maple w/ blond on ash - beautiful), hot rod deville 212, fulltone FD2 (great tone), Voodoo lab tremolo (very nice), bud-wah (excellent wah w/ true bypass!), seagull acoustic, and some other guitars and pedals. I've been playing Bass for almost a year and have taken to it. I love bass, probably more than guitar, and am shifting my focus towards it. I have no regrets about buying this bass, but some of my satisfaction is due to the killer deal I got on it. I don't know if I would have paid $1090 for it. If I was lookin' to spend a grand on a bass, I probably would have opted for a crimson transparent american deluxe p-bass with active electronics and a humbucker in the bridge on a alder body (although I think I now prefer passive - much truer tone). If she was lost or stolen I'd probably go out and buy that american deluxe p-bass, but I would no doubt be very sad about losing this one and miss her very much - I mean, she plays and sounds great; and the color is just SICK!!! I love it. One thing though, I wish the jazz pickup could be a little brighter, or something to make me want to use it more - for now though, I'm stuck on the p-bass pickup. I'd also like to get some quality info on a good bass distortion pedal (true bypass a must), I've heard good things about the bass drive from fulltone and the budda phatbass, but I've yet to try either. Well, that about does it. Final thought - great bass!