Fender Precision Bass Lyte

MY P-BASS LYTE WAS MADE IN JAPAN IN 1996
THE BASS ONLY HAS 18 FREATZ THIS IS A BIT OF A STUPID IDEA IT SHOULD HAVE HAD 22 BUT HEY NOTHING IS PERFECT.
THE CONTROLS ARE VOLUME BASS BOOST/CUT TREBLE BASS/CUT AND PIKE POT
THE PICK UPS ARE 2 FENDER COSTOM P STYLES AND A 1 STANDED FENDER J STYLE WITH ONE OF THE MOST AMAZINGLY LOUD 9 VOLT ACTIVE ELECTRONICS I HAVE EVER HEARD.
THE BODY IS MADE IN BASS WOOD WHICH IS REALLY EASY TO KNOCK THE NECK IS MAPLE AND ROSE WOOD I WOOD HAVE LIKED AN ALL MAPLE NECK BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO!
MINE IS IN BLACK METALIC I HAVENT SEEN ANY OTHERS IN THIS COLOUR I HAVE SEEN THEM IN GLOSS BLACK RED WHITE AND THE HORRIBLE BURST BUT NOT BLACK METALIC.
THE P BASS LYTE IS A MUSIC MAN STINGRAY BODY WITH A JAZZ BASS NECK STUCK ON IT
WITH THIS BASS I GOT GIVEN A GIG BAG A 30FT LEAD AND A SETR OF ERNIE BULL STRINGS NOT BAD HA!

THE BASS GIVE S A REALLY GOOD LOW END BUT DONT EVER EVER EVER USE THE JSTYLE BY ITSELF IT SOUNDS TURD BUT I BONT CARE I DONT LIKE TERBLE BASS BASS SHOULD BE BASSY AND THATS WHAT THIS BASS IS "BASSY"
I AM RUNNING THIS BASS THOURGH A PEAVEY BASS STACK BUT THIS BASS SOUNDS GOOD THOURGH ANYTHING THIS BASS HAS BEEN PLAYED BY MYSELF (A VERY DEEP ROCK AND METAL PLAY) MY BASS TEACHER (A FUNKY BASS PLAYER) TOO NAME A FEW AND WE ALL GOT ON WITH THE BASS SO MAKE YOUR OWN MIND UP ON WHAT SOUNDS THIS BASS CAN DO!!

THE BASS WAS SET UP BADLY AT THE FACTORY BUT IF YOU LIKE THE BASS GO TOO THE BLOKE BEHIND THE COUNTER AND SAY TO HIM YEA I WOULD BUY THAT BASS IF THE ACTION WAS SET UP AND IF YOU REPLEACE THE NUT WITH A BONE ONE AND 9 TIMES OUT OF 10 HE WILL 30 MINS AND A 1 POUND NUT IS WORTH 300 POUND OF YOUR MONEY.

I COULD USE THIS BASS AT ANY GIG IT IS HIGHLY RESPONSIVE AND WHEN YOU PUSH IT. IT WONTS MORE.
THE HARDWHERE IS SLIGHTLY BETTER THAN THE ONES ON THE STANDED P BASS AND WHEN DID ANYONE HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THEM
I CAN DEPEND ON IT I DID FOR 6 MONTHS THE ONLY BUT OF A TURD THING IS THE WOOD IS TOO SOFT AND JUST KNOCKS I HAVE TWO BENTS IN THE BACK AND IT ONLY GOT TAPPED
AND WOULD I PLAY IT AT A GIG WITHOUT A BACK UP NO OF COURSE NOT I WOULDNT DO A GIG WITH ANY BASS WITHOUT A BACK UP

I HAVE BEEN PLAYING 2 YEARS I ALSO OWN A YAMAHA RBX 765A A WESTFILED A SQUIRE P BASS (EVERY HOME MUST HAVE ONE)A PEAVEY 130WATT MARK 3 BASS COMBO A PEAVEY FIREBASS STACK AND A TRACE BOXER 15 WATT HIP OF TAFF. I AM ALSO LOOKIN AT UPGRADING MY 5 STRING TO A TGB YAMAHA.
IF IT GOT LOST OR SOMEONE STOLE IT NO I WONT REPLACE IT I WOULD GET A BETTER 5 STRING BECAUSE I HARDLY PLAY IT ANYMORE.
I BOURGHT THIS BASS BECAUSE IT LOOKS GREAT IS LOUD AND SOUNDS DECENT WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED.
IF YOU MUST GET A FENDER BASS THEN GET A P-BASS LYTE BUT IF YOU WONT A GOOD CHEAP ACTIVE BASS WITH BETTER SOUND BETTER HARDWHERE AND JUST A BETTER BASS FOR LESS GET A YAMAHA RBX760A2

White P-style bass with P+J pickups, active, good solid feel and a fast playing neck. Nice Ivory white finish.

Unlike the other reviews of this bass, i have nothing but positive comments with regards to the tone and versatility. With control over pickup blend, bass and treble tone and a responsive volume, most sounds can be easily obtained. Yes, the jazz pickup can be noisy, but this is a problem with all the active basses I have used, and playing live it doesn't notice at all.

The bass was not too well set up, but with a little tweaking it now plays fast, smooth and with perfect intonation all the way up the neck. No dead spots, wolf notes or any of the other problems i've had with my other basses. All hardware on the bass was reasonable quality, and is still working fine, and the neck was perfectly fitted, which may have been helped by the micro tilt system.

I've no reason to believe this bass won't last forever. It only needs tuning once a month or so (unless idrop it), the truss rod stays fine, only needing small adjustments if different string gauges are fitted. I've used it at many a gig without backup, but if the bass did break i would yodel my basslines.

never had a problem, so no idea.

Iv'e been playing for many a year, and this is still the best 'workhorse' I've used. The bass is light enough you can play all night without needing a chiropractor as a roadie, and perfectly balanced. The sound is strong and versatile, the tuning solid as a rock, and its the only instrument i've ever had that has given me NO problems.

The other reviewers have pretty much described it. Mine has the foto-flame finish, which actually looks very good (deep tobacco sunburst). If I were to buy one new, it would be the deluxe because KNOWING this has a foto-flame is the worst thing about it!
However -- Regarding features: Active pickup system, PJ, yada, yada. What more do you need in a bass?

I've played guitar for nearly 30 years (Yikes!) and bass for about 3. I have a flock of guitars and several amps and have gotten more positive comments on the sound of my bass rig (especially the "punch") with this bass than nearly any other combination I've put together. I play this bass through a GK 400RB and two Ampeg Classic cabs; a 1x15 topped with a 4x8 with tweeter. Great rig ... and portable! For the curious, the amp is racked with a Korg tuner and I sometimes add an Alesis NanoComp. No effects! I think with bass, less is more.

Frankly, I think this bass is great ... but think any prospective buyer should take the other reviwers' comments seriously. This is clearly a mass-produced low-cost item. Caveat emptor. It looks great. The neck and pocket/fit on mine are fine. Tuners are great. Bridge is fine, though the plating (gold) is kind of cheezy. Don't look into the control cavity if you get queezy easily; it's a rat's nest of wires. But, as I have said above and will probably say again, it works!

I play this all the time and have never had a problem. Of course, I take care of my gear and actually LIKE tweaking the action. I adjust the truss rod at least twice a year ... and do not change strings that often ... but I think basses need that sort of truss rod attention. I have about a dozen guitars and have only had to tweak a truss rod on one of them maybe once or twice in the past couple of decades! FWIW, I also tweak the truss rod on my P-bass fretless (made from Tokai body and StewMac neck) so I think the adjustment question is more about basses than Lytes. Long necks, big strings, lots of tension, there you go!

Not an issue. I've never had to contact them about this bass.

Find me another LIGHT bass with active electronics that WORKS reliably, isn't head-heavy, and doesn't look goofy for $340 and I'll buy it. The name "Precision Lyte" is misleading because this neck feels much more like a Jazz and the body feels smaller than a strat. Not only would I replace it with another if stolen, but at this price, I would buy another one to have as a spare in case this one disintegrates suddenly. I can (and have) play all night and still want to play more. Try that with a standard P-bass. Yes, a separate battery compartment, threaded brass inserts for neck and control compartment covers, tidy wiring, and a gorgeously machined and plated bridge would be nice, but I'm not willing to pay two or three times more to get it. If you are ... there are lots of opportunities, so go get'em, Tiger!

22 frets and some uh... active pickups.

it sounds good until the settings get unset and the saddles mess up.

it's good as far as wood and pickup adjustment but its really touchy to temperature and humidityas far assaddles and trus rod.

i would play a gig with this bass but not without a back-up. don't buy this guitar unless you want to change the settings every week.

i dunno.

i hate the pickups the bridge and the paint stuff scratches really easy. I would buy a turd with strings before i bought another one of these.when my strings break i pick up that card with da Smiley Face!!!

1990 (before the split into Deluxe and Standard models) Japanese make
active PJ pickups, frost white, gold tuners, strap buttons, jack, brass bridge. BALSAWOOD body, rosewood fretboard. Volume, bass & treble control, pickup selector. Weighs very little.

J pickup is so noisy, it's almost unusable. Sound from most settings is pretty good though. Not a very strong sound, you can only get so much out of basswood. A little raspy and a little muddy, now that I've heard some of the better basses out there.

Fairly bad. Neck is not centered well, finish nicks easily, all hardware works its way loose too much. Hard to set up, but you can get it to be very fast if you work at it. The excellent playability is the only reason I'm even going to rate it medium here. Not really a precision neck at all, much closer to a jazz. (The whole association between this bass and a Precision is unclear at best)

Has lasted 9 years of hard use. Only thing I ever had to do besides normal maintenance was replace the jack when it was out of round about a year ago. It looks a lot worse for wear, but still plays like a trooper. Great backup bass for anyone, and great only bass for beginner / intermediate.

My only dealings with Fender was calling them up to ask what diameter the truss rod was. They told me 7mm, which turned out to be wrong (it's 5mm). Fender in general has a pretty bad reputation.

Very usable bass. For the price, it's especially impressive.

It's about a '93 or '94, going by the serial number. Active preamp with passive P/J configuration, treble and bass cut/boost, pickup balance pot. I bought this bass because my Ibanez 6-string is so heavy that one intense weekend it put my back, neck and shoulders out. I needed a light bass in a hurry and this one was in a local pawnshop at the right price. It's light as a feather and the neck is super fast - almost jazz bass dimensions. Plus the bridge design makes string changes super painless. I have to admit I'm not a fan of the foto-flame finishes (which I assume this one is unless someone at the Fender factory fouled up and used a stunning piece of wood on it) but it does look good. One big complaint - when are manufacturers going to realise that active electronics need the batteries changed occasionally, and stop putting them behind screwed on control cavity plates and start putting them in a battery compartment that is accesible from the outside with out having to unscrew anyhting?

It's nowhere near my Ibanez 6 string soundwise but, having said that, it's certainly got the versatility to cut any gig I do with a bit of amp twiddling. Slap, finger funk, reggae, blues, rock'n'roll, pseudo-upright jazz - so far it's handled them all. It's certainly outstanding for the bucks and a good live axe. I haven't recorded with it yet, but I use my Ibanez for that anyway. I like the Ibanez because it's super versatile and I don't have to touch the amp to dial in different sounds, but the Fender's a lot better than many axes I've played.

I bought it second hand and I assume it hadn't been set-up since it was new. It was second hand so I didn't expect much anyway. I set it up myself and it was certainly a piece of cake to do as the truss rod (unlike most Fenders) was easily accessed from the nut end of the neck. It seems well constructed and everything worked fine.

No problems so far but I've only had it a month. Neck hasn't shifted since I adjusted it. I play the daylights out of it - 4 gigs a week plus jamming and I sweat a lot. I don't take backup basses to gigs - I can't imagine anything short of the neck breaking off that I couldn't fix or fudge on a gig with my tool kit. A cautious 9

Never dealt with Fender although I know a couple of people who had amp problems and had to wait a horrendous amount of time (9 MONTHS in one case!!!) for replacement parts. This is totally unacceptable to a working musician such as myself and shows what contempt some companies hold their customers in. So, it's not my experience but I'll rate it on behalf of my friends.

I've been playing 20 years. My main axe is an Ibanez SR1206 six string bass. I'm overall quite happy with the Fender bass, especially considering the price, and I would buy another if I found one at the same or similar price. The main thing is it's so light, I can carry it on a five hour gig with no problems. It's certainly versatile enough for any gig (with knob twiddling at the amp). I only wish it had the mid cut/boost like on the lyte deluxe.

Shes a 1990 22 fret 4 string very light body easy to move around on stge with. I am never tethered. The finish is in a rich black with gold flec. All macine head and saddle are in gold. Controll of Volume hi lo and mid tone. Active pickups. Thin neck. It uses an active pick up system

My style is Reggae and I'm afraid that the active pickups are a little bright for my style of music. I would prefer a woodier mellow sound. but it does offer the advantage of bollicks in a noisy gig. And its very easy to round off the sound during recording sessions. I use a Laney Quarterbacker for amping. I use no effects. I set the bass to its warmest by tuning down completly the highs and turning the lows up to full. I use flat wouond chome strings also offering a liitle warmth.

The factory seting was OK it was adjusted a little after getting to know it for a while. The factory finish was emaculate but I will never by gold finished fittings again. The bright gold over the years has oxidized where ever I've sweated on it.

This bass has been bashed around the stage for 10 years or more and still looks fantastic. It has never taken a hard knock. But I would never let it. I would stand in the way of bullet for my bass. As far as i'm concerned I would depend on my bass no doubt I have never played with a back up and don't feel I will ever need to.

the warranty was 12 months. never once have I had to use back up. The bass 'Gary' has never failed me.

I bought 'cause I run around a lot on stage. Its light and compact. It looks classy in its Black and Gold. I wish I had known the gold may corrode. I would buy it again. I am still considering putting vintage passive pick ups on it. I wish I had known the differnce between active and passive pickups.

I got one of these in 1995, but the Fender tag said it was built in '94. Originally it came with one P style pickup (neck) and one J style (bridge) with the flame print front and back in blue. Passive pickups with an active EQ and I'll have to agree that they were kinda noisy. It had bass and treble, pan control and master volume. I got this bass because it was light, it's really light...but it also had a great sound. The nut is 'Graphlon' which is a nice added bonus...just remember to steam it when you want it to come off 'cause some monkey in the Fender factory uses too much glue.

I play hard rock and roll and this thing sounded mint for what I needed. A country bassist played it too and really dug the sound. I didn't like the original sound...or noise, so I ripped out the pickups and replaced them with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders and a mix of my own electronics (radio shack parts galore). Right now in its setup, it has a big punchy heavy tone, but this can be changed by moving the pickups closer or farther away from the strings. I also had to 'set up' the bass when I purchased it as the strings were a little to close to the fretboard for my taste...but that's what a set up is all about anyway.

For a Bass of this price range, it was set up pretty well. Everything worked right the first time and kept working. I changed stuff to fit my needs as I changed my playing styles and who cares if you rip pickups out of a $300 guitar...it's not a collector's piece and it won't ever be one.

This thing can withstand some abuse. I've dropped it, hit it on stuff, removed the body from the neck for painting and refinishing multiple times and I've even run 110 AC current through it on several occasions and it hasn't stopped working. It's a keeper and I trust it.

Never needed any. It I can break it...I can fix it.

I've got some other stuff I play as well, but the best feature of this guitar is it's thin, easily playable neck and light weight body. I play it all the time and haven't found any substitute for this bass...and I've been looking.

4 String, Rosewood fingerboard, maple neck. Passive P/J pickups + active eq, 1 volume, 1 pu balance, 1 bass cut/boost, 1 treble cut/boost. REALLY fast neck, basswood body. Red burst with Maple flame veneer (front & back). Matching headstock. Very lightweight.

Alright, not great. Has no b@lls, pretty thin, and the snap isn't there either. The J-pickup is WAY too noisy, I ended up yanking this one out and throwing in a humbucking Carvin (helped). However, the EQ is also extremely noisy. This caused problems on stage (I used to have to solo the P-pickup and cut the treble to get rid of the noise, unfortunately, that also killed my tone). It's hard to get more than one sound out of this ax, and it's not THAT great.

Horrible. The finish looks nice, but it started checking within a week. The gloss finish is REALLY thin and doesn't take even a light tap with a patch cable without dinging. The set up sucked. That was easily fixed at Hy-Way Music on Rt.18N in East Brunswick (best setup on the east coast!). The electronics work sucked, really sloppy and lack of adequate shielding really added to the noise.

It's a Fender, so it's going to be pretty mend-able if you bang it up, but it's not exactly going to take a beating.

Fender sucks.

Nice backup, but not my lead ax. I should have gotten an American Jazz, but this ax is easy to fall in love with in the store. Unfortunately, you figure out it's pretty boring at home. Beware.

I bought this bass at a large musical store chain 4 years ago. When I saw it I purchased on the spot. It has an EQ inside and is a 4 string model (I dont think that Fender makes a 5 string in this model yet). Controls are a bass and treble EQ, a fader, and a volumn control. The body and the headstock is a flame red with gold hardware. But the neck is not painted. There is a P and J pick up configuration. This is a Japanese model, there is no American counter part yet. The newer models have a midrange control.

The sound of this bass is awsome. I play allot of "open mike" gigs at local bars. Every musician who hears this bass wants to play it. It can get allot of sounds from it, but I like to refer it to as deep bunchy but sweet. I've played off numerous amps and it sounds great on every one of them. A friend of mine barrows it for recording when he needs it.

The bass came with no instructions, so I had figure out what knobs did what. The action was kind of high too. But otherwise the bass was set up great.

No problems with the hardware, body or EQ system.

No experiance yet.

I have been playing guitar for over 10 years now. And bass for 4 years now. The Precision Lyte I think has been my best buy that I have ever made in musical equipment. The only anger that I have is that Fender does not make it in an American model. It is so cool to walk into a studio or bar with the model in a gig bag, it's so light, very cool. Everyone always askes about it.
(Just dont buy a Squier--I just bought one and the neck warped on me in just 6 months)

This bass has two p-style pick ups and one j-style pick up, it has active controls, it has a extremely light cutaway body, and a rose wood neck.

I'm using this bass with a Trace Elliot SM300 head and a Trace Elliot 4x10 cab, I also use a Boss Auto Wah envelope filter pedal and a boss fuzz pedal with it. You can get pretty much every sound you can think of, partly because of the j and p style pick ups, you can get a real classic precision thump to a funky "Flea" sound.

I wouldnt normaly go for a bass this colour, I bought it in Frost Red, which is kind of like a candy apple red. It's quite bright, but the only other colours it comes in is black, white and a horrible 2 tone sunburst , all of which I hate

This guitar can withstand the toughest of all gigs and because it so light it dosent hurt your shoulder st all, its built like brick

n/a

I've been playing for 8 years, i have had this bass for about a year know, and I'm thinking of selling it and getting a 75 Jazz bass, as I have gone off the Precision sound and prefer the warm jazz sound. I wish it came in a natural colour and not something out of the 80's. I paid #500 but know I see they are around #350, I think that's a price tag more worthy of it.

This bass has two p-style pick ups and one j-style pick up, it has active controls, it has a extremely light cutaway body, and a rose wood neck.

I'm using this bass with a Trace Elliot SM300 head and a Trace Elliot 4x10 cab, I also use a Boss Auto Wah envelope filter pedal and a boss fuzz pedal with it. You can get pretty much every sound you can think of, partly because of the j and p style pick ups, you can get a real classic precision thump to a funky "Flea" sound.

I wouldnt normaly go for a bass this colour, I bought it in Frost Red, which is kind of like a candy apple red. It's quite bright, but the only other colours it comes in is black, white and a horrible 2 tone sunburst , all of which I hate

This guitar can withstand the toughest of all gigs and because it so light it dosent hurt your shoulder st all, its built like brick

n/a

I've been playing for 8 years, i have had this bass for about a year know, and I'm thinking of selling it and getting a 75 Jazz bass, as I have gone off the Precision sound and prefer the warm jazz sound. I wish it came in a natural colour and not something out of the 80's. I paid #500 but know I see they are around #350, I think that's a price tag more worthy of it.