Fender American Series Precision Bass

2003 American Series 4-string P-Bass with S-1 pickup switch (for series/parallel operation), American Standard P Bass passive pickups, volume and tone. String-through body. Graphite-reinforced "C" shape maple neck with rosewood fingerboard and adjustmant at the base, bolted on with four bolts. 3-color sunburst with white (shielded) pickguard (I've ordered a more colorful custom pickguard from Terrapin Guitars in Eugene, Oregon because the white looked too stark with this bass). Output jack is located on the front of the bass, which I don't care for, but it's not a big deal. Came with a molded case and generic user's guide.

Has that basic passive P Bass sound, which suits my classic rock roots just fine. It's probably not as versatile as some basses, but it nails the one sound it was designed to make, and a lot of variety can be achieved by differing playing style, fingers/pick, amp settings, etc. I use it with an Ampeg SVT-3 Pro amp and Ampeg Classic 4x10 cab (with extended low end), which is a wonderful combination for rock. Very deep and full, but not muddy. (The cabinet's horn is adjustable, too, for rock or funk, and the highs can really cut through.) The S-1 switch, located in the top of the bass' volume knob, is easy to engage when needed, and adds another useful tonal option. Reduces the output quite a bit, and produces a very bright, smooth tone quality, probably suited to certain types of jazz and maybe some funk passages. It would require a volume pedal or something if I wanted to switch frequently between pickup configurations, but I mainly use the standard sound so I'm not concerned about it. The electronics seem pretty quiet. I haven't recorded with it yet, but I just know it'll be great.

I raised the action and pickups a bit from the factory setup and I think the tone's a lot better that way. I like to play pretty hard sometimes, so this also helps to prevent string buzz, and the greater string tension allows better control. A small area of finish on the top of the guitar has some tiny paint specks; I don't care about those much, but it is a little sloppy. Otherwise, the finish, setup, rounded body (a little sleeker and lighter than the classic P bass), and hardware are all really nice.

I've only had this for a week.

No experience.

I'm a guitar player and have been fiddling around with bass for about four years, recording original rock songs in a computer DAW. I have two other basses: an American Hot-Rodded P-bass (which I've also reviewed on this site), and a Pedulla Rapture PJ. My favorite of the three so far is the Hot Rodded P Bass, which I've put flat wound strings on for the 60s sound. The Hot-Rodded has a PJ pickup config. for a tad more variety, and it can growl a bit more than the regular P Bass, and gets a very cool "hollow/woody" sound that I can't really describe, but like a lot. I keep round wounds on the American Series P Bass for a more universal rock sound. I'm not a great player, but I'm very critical about sound quality. I like this bass much better than the American Deluxe I tried with active pickups (hopefully you can bypass the electronics!?), and I sold a Music Man Sterling because it wasn't recording as nicely as the Fenders do. Other basses I've tried are the Zon (graphite neck) and Pedulla Thunderbolt, both of which were cool but not as much to my liking as the good old P Bass. I've liked the way one of the more expensive Warwick basses sounded (not the Thumb bass), but I didn't like the way the neck felt. This P Bass plays really well; no problem getting around in fast passages. I wish I could be a little more negative here, but I really have nothing bad to say about this bass. In fact, it's perfect for me. Great price, too.

Bought this new in 2003, though it apparently sat in the warehouse for a while as the serial numma says it's 2000 model. which is rad for the following 2 reasons: brand new things make me uncomfortably afraid of breaking them, and it's in a white-blond finish, which was discontinued that year or the one after, i think. I dig the white big time. The body is ash and the neck is maple. It's got vol/vol/tone and one humbuckin pickup. It is very, very, very light, which I like because i can move around no problem, but it worries me because that makes me think that the wood may be a little bit soft. but we'll find out if it ever breaks in half. which, come on, would be pretty rad. It gets a 1 because 10 is clarified as meaning 'tons of features,' which this DON'T GOT.

I've long had an internal struggle between precision and jazz basses, but the p won out because it's so damn simple and effective. you can hear all of the notes no problem, and it's real fat sounding. it can sound very bright and sharp, or thumpy and warm. plus, with only 2 controls there's not much for me to mess with. the wood is definitely funny on this bass, it has a unique low mid range that is very pronounced, but it's exactly what i'm looking for.

Well, the knobs were loose and came off a lot, so i bought some all parts ones and those are fine. the jack is also sketchy, and if you push down on the cable when it's plugged in it cuts out, but nothing's perfect, and that's expected to happen, seeing as the people in the fender bass dept. are clearly on crack anyway. glad i got this before this lame s-1 switchy thing was invented.

as i said, there's the jack thing, and when that becomes a real issue i'll get it replaced, but aside from that it's a rock. very solid.

we'll find out when i call them.

I gave it some low scores, but i like the bass because i know that there aren't any silly doo-dads to worry about pooping out on me, and all the electronics are easily replaceable. it will have the sound i want no matter what i play it through. it also has a very useable sound, that will be good no matter what style of music my band plays. yaaaaaay. Should be about $300 less expensive, but hey, what are you gonna do?

Part of the popular American Series models, the American P-Bass had recently received an overhaul: this fine split-coil pickup-equipped bass guitar comes now shipped with an S-1 "Stealth" switch. This new feature allows the split-coil humbucker to be wired from series to parallel, producing a sharper, snappier, almost growling J-Bass tone!

The "Stealth" switch was basically a series/parallel pickup selector that creates a wider palette of sounds. The Precision Bass Plus of the '90s featured a similar one for splitting the Lace Sensor P-Bass pickup for getting a growler tone, almost similar to a J-Bass neck pickup. The S-1 works fine with Lace Sensors and other stock P or J-Bass pickups as well, although he was primarily designed to suit the American Series pickups.

No comment.

None!

Can't dealt with Fender yet for getting a particular customer support about these gorgeous instruments.

The American Series Precision and Jazz Basses combined the old with the new. From hand-rolled fingerboard edges and the detailed nut/fret work to the new custom-staggered pickups and the string-through-body bridge, these gorgeous basses now came factory-equipped with a genuine "Stealth" pickup switch for series/parallel pickup wiring, meaning there isn't necessary to switch instruments anymore. An additional configuration for the American P-Bass may be perhaps an extra Jazz pickup near the bridge with a third control knob for the bridge pickup's volume and a side-mount output jack socket (an optional top-mount jack can also be available as well): the new American Series P-Bass Special follows the steps of the now defunct Hot-Rodded American Series model, with its American Series P and J pickups and the popular S-1 switch which adds up about to 8 different pickup combinations and tonal shades, while an American Deluxe Bass bridge with milled stainless steel saddles allows two different string-mounting methods: string-through-body and top-load. They also include a good variety of six cool finishes to choose, from the attractive Butterscotch and the shiny Chrome Silver to the juicy Sunset Orange Transparent and the luscious Chrome Red. The American Series Basses also feature 3-ply parchment or b/w/b pickguards (depending the finish), while the Butterscotch models came factory-shipped with a 1-ply black anodized guard for getting that true 50's vibe.

This is a 2000 alder sunburst American P-Bass with a maple neck and a rosewood fretboard. It's fretted with 4 strings and passive, with one split humbucking pickup, a tone control, and a volume control. It is cool lookin. I put a black pickguard on it instead of the parchmenty yellowish one, and now it is badass. It is the nightrider of basses. I ordered a moving red light and it should arrive in about 2 weeks. I give it the 10 because it as as many features as it should have. Not too many and not too few.

The reason I bought this bass was the sound. It has the bestestest sound ever. I've had a few basses in my day (and it is a short day, i am fickle), and have been playing with a Jazz bass. And it sounded cool, and had a much wider range of sounds than this one. The only one I ever really used, though, was the 2-pickup growl (the other configurations were really of no use to me), and I just found that the sound wasn't there for me. The bass was too low, and the mids were too high. The low mid growl was nice, but it didn't cut through. To cut through I needed to boost the mids. The PRECISION, on the other hand has low mids up the wazoo. And it is not hard to get them out of the wazoo. Every amp I played it through gave much more bass and middle than the Jazz bass did. It has great highs as well - not quite as sharp as the Jazz, but very defined and tight. In short, I feel like a P-Bass supports the music more like I'd like a bass to. Not a lot of variety in the sound, but that is to not why I bought it.

I bought the bass used, so the action is a little high, so I'm going to have it set up for me soon, and the finish was a bit chipped in some places. The pickups are fine, and the finish, aside from the flaws put into it by the previous owner, is purty.

I assume that this is invincible, since Fenders are supposed to be.

N/A

It's a great bass for rock, punk, ska, blues, jazz, country, swing, polka, etc, etc... I recommend it.

I am reviewing a 2001 American P Bass with a classic sunburst finish, I purchased 6 months ago. I was looking for and found a bass that is very versatile. I play anything from classic rock "finger picking" too Blink 182 "pick" style music. I have found that this bass can handle it all. It has two controls "volume and tone", you would be amazed that with such a basic set up you could still get a wide range of tones from this bass. It came with a nice hard case, cheesy strap, some tools, and very nice to use strap locks.

As said above it suits my style perfectly. If you could only own one bass, thats me for now, this would be the one because of the versatility. It produces a very punchy rich tone. It also great for slap style bass. I am not real proficient at it so I use it more for just messing around. But the results are great. Right now I use it with a GK 400 RB amp and a Carvin 2X10 cab. When I play larger venues I sometimes add a Carvin 15 cab to the rig with great results. I have been testing out other cabs recently and might upgrade to the GK RBH 210 cab, but for the money the Carvin has been real good. So I guess the only reason I would change is just that thing that most musicians have about always tinkering with new stuff.

I would give an average rating for set-up from the factory. But it wasn't much of an ordeal to dial it in. In fact the guitar center I bought it at had a free set-up from a local guitar repair shop when you purchased it there. I didn't take them up on it, but for that alone it could have been perfect from the get go. All the finish and so on was perfect. When I purchased it they opened it brand new from the box. So I am the only person to play it. I wouldn't buy one that was sitting on the rack, a lot of those get played pretty regular by customers trying them out.

As far as reliability, I would say Fender and especially the P bass' are the best. It seems and feels like it is a tank. It is pretty heavy I guess is a slight complaint but I guess that is what playing a P Bass is all about. The hardware to me is first class, I have seen some of the Fender active bass' that I thought had some cheesy knobs, but on the P Bass they have solid chrome steel knobs that seem very rugged. The only bass I have seen better would probably be the knobs on the Music Man bass'. The strap locks are nice and seem like they are reliable, you do need to crank them on pretty hard to the strap to make sure the nut doesn't get loose. I use this all the time without a backup, there really is not much to go wrong on it and nothing ever has. As far as finish it is only 6 months old but I haven't seen any thing to make me think I will have a problem with it.

Never had to deal with them, but the web-site is pretty cool.

If my bass was lost or stolen god forbid I would definitely buy another one. When I was shopping around I compared it to the Music Man sting ray. Though they are very nice I decided to go with the more basic P Bass, it was about $500 less and I didn't see the added value, besides the fact that the M.M. is has active pick ups. I also liked the action on the P Bass better. Especially the pick up area, I just like the feel when you rest your thump on the P Bass pickup. On the price of the P Bass, you will find a lot of the time Guitar Center will work with you on price. So be sure to ask if the listed price is their best deal. Most the time I have found they will work with you. Plus if you don't ask you never will know, the worst thing that can happen is they say no. My experience is they won't, especially with the economy they way it is.

This is a 2000 American Precision Bass, Made in the USA, maple neck, black finish, white pickguard. It has 1 volume knob, 1 tone knob, and 1 precision pickup. It is a very basic bass, and I was almost put off of it because of the lack of features.
Then I plugged it in and realized that more knobs don't necessarily mean more versitility of sound! The bass came with a nice hard case, strap, straplocks, cord, towel, and some tools.

I play reggae and rock - it can do 'em both. Very punchy and full with a pick and very smoothe with fingers. It's almost unbelievable how many different tones can be achieved by merely turning the knob and switching between fingers and picks. This is the only bass I have owned that can achieves range like this by doing so little. My Yamaha RBX has three "tone" control knobs and can't get the range of tone this bass can. It is just an all around above average sounding bass.

This bass is very well put together - an excellent neck, comfortable body, and quality finish. Very solid. Very easily adjusted too.

The factory setup wasn't great, but honestly folks, that may not be the factory's fault. If you've ever worked in the trucking industry, you'll know what I mean.

I have not used the bass live, but I can't see it being a problem. I use the simplist setup known to mankind - bass - amp - PA. With a bass devoted to simplicity and an amp devoted to simplicity, there is less to go wrong.
I have used it for home recording - above average results. Every student who picks up this bass (some with only a few days of experience find it to be more comfortable and rewarding sounding compared to my two other basses and the two basses at our school.

I have this complaint, however - the knobs feel like they could be a problem in the future - they don't feel secure.

Haven't had to deal with them yet.

I feel the same way about Fender basses as I do about Fender guitars - it is worth owning one, even if you are not a big Fender fan. They are fairly well built at a good price, and they have good tone.There is always a song or two that only a Fender can do justice to. This is my favourite bass (and I've owned and played many). It has substance, sound and simplicity going for it.