Paul S Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Just doing a bit of Googling about Fender Precision Lyte basses ('cos I have one arriving soon and I am getting all excited) and found [url="http://pluckedout.com/blog/?tag=fender-japan"]This blog site here[/url] that has an entry commenting on an eBay listing for one. He says: [quote]A future classic? Quite possibly. Great basses, very underrated. A lot of people don’t realise that Fender actually used Stratocaster bodies to make these basses, very slightly modified to take a bass neck, so strictly speaking they should have been called the Stratocaster Bass. It does make a big difference in terms of weight and therefore these are superb gigging basses as well as being ideal for those of a smaller build. We can’t all be Peter Hook. Made to a very high level of quality in the Matsumoko factory, the P-bass Lyte was made in relatively small numbers in the early days (1988-91 )but production did ramp up towards the end of its life, about 2001 as I recall. Various colours, including Fotoflame finishes but my favourite is the finish that this particular example is finished in namely Vintage Sunbust. £250 is a very good price too, I’ve seen these go for between £200 and £350 recently but would expect these to go north of £400 in a few years time.[/quote] Stratocaster body - really? Matsumoku factory - I didn't think any Fenders were made there? Anyone know the low down on these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostromo Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Stratocaster body - really? Matsumoku factory - I didn't think any Fenders were made there? Anyone know the low down on these? [/quote] Dont know anything factual . . . . have just been looking at a couple of front on pictures of Lyte bodies and comparing them with my Strat sat about 5 feet away from me . . . . You know its just possible that this story could be true . . . . I would say it may be possible that the body of the lyte could have been crafted from the same blank as a Strat body . . . beyond that they certainly are Not the same finished body shape . . . . . ? Interesting story . . shall watch this thread with interest ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 (edited) Blog post sounds like voodoo to me. Easier just to machine a dedicated part. Why rout a Strat shape, then put it back in the router for a second, different pass? Extended upper horn (or cut-back lower horn, whatever), different curve on the upper and lower bouts, bevelled cutaways, etc. Sounds like lots of faffing and I've never heard any suggestions that the Lyte was parts-bin special. But who knows... Edited June 5, 2011 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 From the pictures on google images, it looks a bit big for a Strat body to me. And like Skank says, why would they use a Strat body then put things like the lower horn contours onto it and "modify the neck socket", rather than just cut a new body? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 Seems unlikely, doesn't it! When mine arrives I'll check out the serial number - it will most likely say made in Fujigen-gakki in 1989 or whatever. And guitarists in both bands have strats, so it should be easy to hold it next to and compare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethFlatlands Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 A friend (of small stature as it happens) used to play one of the natural finish ones, it was a really nice playing and sounding (and looking) bass from memory. Think he swapped it for a Curbow after a while but he sang its praises while he had it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I got one of them sitting here i have borrowed that has been defretted. The defret was a pro job and it is a nice bass. This is a natual finish strung with flats that i have recorded with and it did really well in the studio. It is amazingly light (hence the name i guess) but has a good sustain and range of tone. I wouldn't call it P bass or Jazz bass in tone but somewhere in the middle if thats possible. You don't get the growl of a Jazz or P but it has its own thing going which is very useable. Apparently it has an 18v Preamp that chews batteries. Quality wise it feels solid for a light bass if that makes sense and neck pocket, fret board are typical excellent Japanese workmanship. IMHO you could do a lot worse for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny B Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 (edited) I compared my strat and P-Lyte last night, and to my absolute surprise, this could be true, they're very close indeed The strat is slightly bigger, particularly on the lower horn, but the width and length are almost identical [[url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/40/plyte3.jpg/"][img=http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/4180/plyte3.th.jpg][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/405/plyte2.jpg/"][img=http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/3159/plyte2.th.jpg][/url] [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/651/plyte1.jpg/"][img=http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/1821/plyte1.th.jpg][/url] [QUESTION - Why won't my photos embed?] I think the links now work, will look again at embedding later... Edited June 7, 2011 by Lenny B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 [quote name='Lenny B' post='1259335' date='Jun 7 2011, 09:15 AM']I compared my strat and P-Lyte last night, and to my absolute surprise, this could be true, they're very close indeed The strat is slightly bigger, particularly on the lower horn, but the width and length are almost identical [url="http:///""]http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/40/plyte3.jpg/"[/url] target="_blank"><img src="http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/4180/plyte3.th.jpg" border="0"/></a> [url="http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/651/plyte1.jpg/""]http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/651/plyte1.jpg/"[/url] target="_blank"><img src="http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/1821/plyte1.th.jpg" border="0"/></a> [url="http:///""]http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/405/plyte2.jpg/"[/url] target="_blank"><img src="http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/3159/plyte2.th.jpg" border="0"/></a> [QUESTION - Why won't my photos embed?][/quote] Answer, cos you can't embed with html here, you need to use bbcode () with the URL inbetween the tags, and no round brackets (which I used to try and keep the code visible. Oh, and I must have copied your image URLs wrong as well, I can't embed them either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 [quote name='BottomE' post='1259151' date='Jun 6 2011, 11:50 PM'][/quote] Looks like the Warmoth 'Dinky P' body. Pretty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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