Fender Precision Bass

I've just bought this, it's a 1966 Precision. I've owned heaps of basses over the last 20 years, but now I understand what all the fuss is about with these old P-basses. This thing just sits right, sounds right, plays right .... well, you know what I mean. On a vintage scale, its about a 7.5 - its all original, but its missing a bit of paint (it's sunburst), and generally its been used a lot, although definately not abused. I have to say that, having been through Steinberger, Musicman, Warwick and countless others, it really is amazing how something as simple as this can be so on the money.

Only one real sound, but it's amazing. Very versatile, and really responsive to the way you play. I play in a number of styles, and the sound just seems to be right whatever I throw at it. You can use a pick, then swap over to some mad slapping, and it just seems to sound right, with no major eq changes. It would appear that the philosophy here was "one sound, but we'll make it a really good one"!

Like I said, this is a 35 year old bass that's been played. Feel wise, it's like putting on an old pair of shoes, really comfortable. The neck shape is just right for my hands. As for the finish, it's played but it just has so much character. I think the fact that it still looks as good as it does after 35 years is testament to the quality of the original finish.

Everything about this bass is a testament to it's longevity. It plays well, it looks good, and it sounds great. I'd say another 35 years shouldn't be a problem.

I think if Fender were to offer warranty on instruments of this age, they'd probably go out of business. Having said that, there's not a lot needed on this baby anyway.

As I said, I've been through quite a few basses, but I've not had one that felt so good from the start. I tried a lot of P-basses out, and the only other model I directly compared this to was a Jazz bass of the same vintage. I love Jazz basses, but for the money I paid for this I would've been looking at a mid 70's Jazz, which wasn't what I wanted at all. This bass just oozes character, and it shows why these babies just keep going up and up in value. I think its a shame that the market value of these has risen to the point where a lot of working musicians can't afford them, but I'm afraid that's an economic issue rather than a musical one. All I can say is that if you've saved hard for a Sadowsky/Alembic/Ken Smith etc etc, just try one of these out first - you might be pleasantly surprised. Probably the only thing I wish this bass had was the original American case - because I bought it in England, I ended up with a case that was supposedly supplied by Selmer, and it sucks in a big way (Selmer imported Fender during the Sixties, and they supplied a locally made case with the guitars).

1983 Fender Precision Bass. 34 inch scale, 20 fret bolt on maple neck with a rosewood board. The electronics (as we all know) are not complex. 1 split pickup, 1 volume, 1 tone, and a input jack. The pickup is the stock Fender passive P bass pickup. Simple black body with a white pickguard. Oh, this is also made is the USA, and yes, that matters to me.

First off, the reason I play a Precision Bass is Steve Harris of Iron Maiden (and about 5 million other bass players). At the moment, I'm using a Crate B160 XL 1-15 combo and it works fine with this bass BUT I'm getting a Ampeg or a EBS amp shortly that should sound a lot better. I like the growl of a good Fender Jazz Bass better for most of my music (metal), but I don't like the Jazz neck that much. The Precision has a little beefier neck that suits me better. The pickup can be a little noisy, but overall its not that bad. Its good a good heavy bottom end to it that kind of surprised me for still having the stock pickup in it. This bass pretty much has 1 tone to it, but its a good one. You can get a little variety by adjusting the volume and tone controls on it, but not much unless the tone is rolled full on, they its extremely muddy. I pretty much just leave everything wide open.

I had to adjust the action to suit me, but I have to do that with everything. The bass looks almost new, and its 18 years old. Whoever owned it before took very good care of it. The neck fits solid in the neck pocket, the nut was cut the right height, and it still intonates easily. No complaints here.

When I play live, this is the bass I prefer. Again, it has very simple electronics that do the job and there isn't much to mess up on it at a gig. I think thats part of why these basses are so popular. I installed Dunlop Straplocks are they are cheap insurance and I use them with everything. I keep all my instruments pretty well set up and do it whenever they don't quite play 'right'. However, I havn't had to do anything to this one for 6 months, but again, I stay on top of it. Last thing I did was the initial setup when I got it. So far so good.

I'm not sure I'd want to deal with Fender or any other big corporation at this point in time. With that being said, I'll let you know how it goes if I do need service from them.

I have yet another Precision Bass (a non stock 1976) I also like so I don't think I'd worry about this one much. I play guitar maybe 60 percent of the time and bass the rest, but I'll play either depending on what is needed. I really like the simplicity of the P basses. Not a lot of options and none needed. It gets the job done. Just like guitars, you'd really need several basses to do several different things. I like the Rickenbacker 4003s for certain things (like playing Rush and Motorhead), the Kubicki Factor 4s are excellent basses as well (but different looking). You really can't compare this to a Kubicki, as they are completely different animals. If I only had one bass to play, it would be one of these. Thousands of you know why.

I have a Fender P-Bass it was made in the late 90's not too sure exactly when. 4 strings. full scale 20 fret 34" neck. one volume one tone. passive. alder body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard.

Great sound for the price you pay! I play rock, contemporary hawaiian, punk, swing, big band...all the good stuff. has dark punchy sound. I wouldn't recomend it if you like to play jazz or some swing songs or if you play "high up". Has a nice slapping sound.

Very solid, excellent construction! Could use it to chop down a tree. very nice finish. a little heavy for me, my shoulders get sore after playing a 4 hour gig.

very reliable very durable. my stuff gets bangged up alot and it has NEVER failed me yet! after owning one you'd never even think of bringing a back up.

I've been playing for 5 years now and this bass is a awsome bass! this would be a great bass to start up on. it's solid, nice sound, simple and my best friend... well was I sold it not to long ago. if it got stolen i'd buy a new one...a fender. wish it had a better high end. i play it with my fender bxr25, great amp! remember to keep your shit going and sounding great you got to take care of it! polish , oil, keep it in a case, dust it, and for gods sake don't leave it in your car..especially under the hot sun!

Built in '93, ash body, maple neck, 20 small size frets, one peace neck, just a Fender Precision Bass. I got it used, payed 650DM = ca. 310$US, equipped with a Bartolini pickup. Neck and body have a transparent finish, the whole instrument was in perfect condition (except a scratched pickguard). The neck is rather fat, compared to my Mexico Jazz, seems to have a slight D shape. The natural finish and the black pickguard make this instrument look very good, better than sunburst oder other non-transparent finishes. The bass is very well made, only the bridge was replaced by a Schaller 3D4 (I dont like the floppy Fender bridges). The bass came with a case. And it weights a lot less than my Jazz Bass.

I do only know its sound with the Bartolini pickup. However, coming from a Jazz Bass it was something quite different. Very rich and earth-shaking lows, a crisp but transparent attack. The right bass for ready-steady rock and solid progressive things. With my TE AH300 and a 1048H speaker it gives a very clean and detailled sound. The next surprise was the sustain and the clarity of natural harmonics. I really like its sound and feel.

Well made, that's all to say. Excellent work. No flaws. Because of the good fretwork I can have a very (very!) low action with nearly no fretbuzz. The only point is that I will replace the tuners. I dont have to but the newer tuners help restringing. However, I will never understand why Leo used those bridges, as I said earlier.

Built to last. The finish is a very hard one, even after 6 years playing there is only one little mark in the fretboard. I cannot see now how stable the neck is, but I expect it is.

n/a

For the last five years my Mexico Jazz was my #1, even after a massive buy-and-sell-phase (Dean, Epiphone, Washburn etc.). This bass is now my new #1, the JB will become backup. Only my Guild Pilot4 fretless will stay untouched in this contest as he is one of his own. This Japan Precision Bass fits for me in every catagory, sound, playabilty, handling. I never believed that one pickup would be enough :-)

This is an 83 Fender bass..one pickup..maple neck..black with white pickgaurd. It has the same features as other Fender Precision basses. It's made in USA.

It sounds good..I am not a bass player by trade..but tone comes from the hands...so I get a good tone out of it.

I don't know, I traded a Cort Curbow for it..I set it up myself..I've set up guitars and basses for 20 years..didn't seem to be any flaws, other than the neck profile.

It's in mint shape and it was made in 83...it seems durable.

Been playing music since about 1968 or 32 years..but been a full time guitar player for 20+ years and a sometimes bass player since about around 87.. See my Cort review..I list some gear there. I don't play the bass, unless someone asks or I need to play a bassline any available bassplayers find too difficult..if it were lost...oh well..I would just buy another Cort Curbow 4. It feels nice and it has a good acoustic tone...the neck profile was designed by a hand surgeon in need of business. I got this on a trade from someone who wanted a better playing bass, for his means, than he had. I can play it fine, but the Curbow by Cort just plays more naturally.
I'd say..it's a good bass..it's a real good bass, if you can trade a less expensive bass for it...and no..I probably wouldn't have bought it for it's full cash value.

Made in 1994, and Mexican. 18 frets, 4 string. It has modified knobs, EMG pickups, and a Mother of Pearl fretboard. Knobs are volume and tone (all you really need). It is a wonderful sunburst with a few chips in it.

The strings on this bass are 4 years old, but it still sounds nice and warm. It fits my style of rock and techno, and I use it with a Danelectro practice amp (I don't play bass mainly). I think it will be the only bass I need.

Awesome, but I got it used, so it has three chips in it near the top, bottom, and back. I couldn't care less though.

As I said, this is all I need. It wouldn't break unless I intentionally did it.

I am mainly a guitar player though I play over 10 other instruments, and as a bass, this is all I would need. I would have to buy another one if stolen, and replace the pickups and pickguard just like this one is. I love how easy it is to transport, always ready, no hassles. It is great.

-1978 American Fender Precision Bass
-4-string
-Volume and tone controls
-Sunburst Finish
-Case included

-Excellent warm sound
-Perfect for all ranges (lows, mids, etc)
-I play it =through an older crate head and an EV 15 in a crate cab

-The bass is virtually flawless

-This base has made it 22 years, and it isn't going anywhere
-Hardware is in excellent shape
-Strap buttons are solid
-Never used a backup!

-Never needed it

-this bass has emerged as my favorite
-I would recommend to any bass player that they must have a vintage P-Bass at one time or another

Mexican 4-string with 20 frets. Standard volume and tone controls
with a single split pickup. Not sure about materials but it seems
like Alder. It's got a cream finish and a WBW pickguard.

This bass is excellent for the stuff I play. It's very slappable
and the pickups don't get in the way. It's also easy to play fast
as the strings stay tight and the action is low. I play a lot of
punk/soft rock stuff with some harder stuff thrown in there. It's got
a pretty sweet sound when it's on a bass amp but I'm stuck using a
little 15 watt Fender guitar amp until I can afford a bass amp for home.

Action's good and low, easy to play. Love the neck, it's a good size.
No problems whatsoever.

It's a Fender. Sometimes they're annoying but they're all built like tanks so I think it's fine for agig with no backup if you're not afraid of broken strings.

Never Dealt With Fender

I actually just started playing bass 3 days ago. I've been playing guitar for a year or so and it's not too much different so far. I couldn't pass this up since I got it at below cost at the store I was at (I know the owner and they were doing clearance). Remember...the amp is more important than the bass!

My P-bass was built in 1995 and was built in the USA. It has 20 medium jumbo frets, maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. It has a nice solid alder body with a Fiesta red finish. It also has the W/B/W pickgaurd. The bridge is the string-thru-body, and the tuners are the standard Schaller. It has the Strap locks. Everything on this bass is original except the strings, I changed them to Fender flatwounds. They give it a really warm mellow sound. The case a strap and tools were included.

My bass fits my style well. I like to play rock, blues and jazz. I haven't been playing for very long(about 3 years). I run my bass through a Fender BXR 25 and I use a DOD fuzz and a DOD bass overdrive. It has that full low end when no effects are used and when I add fuzz and overdrive it opens it up a bit but it still holds its solidity. This bass makes no noise at any setting. The passive pick-ups stay nice and quiet. I really enjoy its sound, it's a classic sound other basses can't copy

I feel that it was set up well at the factory. I felt the action was low for me when first started so I just adjusted the strings and it was fine. I feel that the pick-ups are properly adjusted I haven't had to tweak them at all. The neck joint is very tight, the frets have nice crowns, the nut is properly cut and sanded. The finish on the neck is smooth. The finish on the body is smooth and I haven't seen any rough or thin spots.

I believe this bass could withstand just about any punishment it is put through. The hardware is solid and I feel it will hold up for the life of the bass. The finish is pretty durable, I've bumped into things and the finish hasn't chipped off of the body. I have hit the headstock and the finish cracked but I feel that's to be expected with use over time. I have only had to adjust the truss rod twice. If I was to go to a gig I feel that this would be all I need

Lifetime warranty. I have not had to contact the company, but I give it a high rating for the length of the warranty.

Since I've only been playing for about 3 years this is the only instrument I own. If it were stolen or lost I would probably buy another one, if not then I would probably buy a Jazz bass. I love how it just feels right when I play it. Fenders were the first basses I looked at. I'd always liked their sound. I feel any Fender American Standard instrument is worth the money spent. I feel that this bass is definitly a good value

Standard precision features, 1 tone, 1 volume knob.

I have owned several precision basses, including a '79, '78, '96 and a '66. This is by far the best sounding of them all, and none of them were slouches. Maybe it's in the wood (alder stiffens and sounds better with age), the pickup (the early-mid '60s precisions had alnico pickups), or the fretboard which is Brazilian rosewood (not available since the mid '60s). It's punchier, deeper sounding, and much warmer than the other p's I've owned or played.

action is perfect, low but not too low, the old bridges hold their settings much better than those from the '70's or '80s

lightweight, but tough as a slab of granite

don't think Fender warrantees their products for 36 years

been playing bass for 15 years, mostly precisions. The pre-cbs ones are much, much better sounding than any of the later ones I've heard or played.