Brother Jones Posted August 5, 2008 Share Posted August 5, 2008 As a long term Jazz and Jazz-clone user I've been gassing for a Precision for a while. This reached crisis point when I spotted a gorgeous '66 Precision in shoreline gold, matching headstock, etc, in Charlie Chandler's shop. It was a refin and had had a serious neck repair. It also cost a small fortune so I thought I'd better compare it with a 'bog standard' P-bass and had a little tinkle on a Jap '62 reissue. It was up at £489, so I'm assuming it was one of the 'standard' reissues with basswood body and Jap vintage pups. It looked almost as good as the '66, with a perfect 3T burst and a three-ply tort guard - not that weird reddish tort that you sometimes see on Jap Fenders. The neck wood looked very good, with a slight quilt to it, and the lacquer was slightly dark for a nice vintage look. Weight was around medium - 8.5 pounds or so. The neck (the thing that might have bothered me most) was an absolute peach - wider than I was used to, but also shallower. It felt perfect. It also sounded bloody good. When I was a young nipper checking out Precisions, they always seemed to sound a bit clanky and industrial to me. Perhaps the better string control and muting I've learned over twenty years has made a difference, or perhaps this was just an unnaturally good Precision, but either way it seemed to be making all the right noises and I preferred the neck to the '66 (which was three or four times pricier...) So, what the hell. I snapped it up and made my apologies for rapid loss of interest in the '66. Having got the thing home, I could not stop playing it. Happily, after a moment of suspicion, it became clear that my girlfriend could not really tell the difference between the Precision and my sunburst Sadowsky Metro 5 (which I stashed quietly under the bed). There is something about the pure utility of a Precision, and (to my eyes) the way a good 'burst one looks, that has a unique appeal. Harmonics aren't really on the agenda and slap seems to need a bit more control, but as a fingerstyle bass it does things than I just can't do on anything else. Fast runs have a kind of burpy quality and you get little inflections by subtly altering your muting technique. Perhaps most importantly, this is the bass that was on so many of those lines that made me want to play the bass when I was 8 or 9 years old - like the theme to Barney Miller (which I can't stop playing on it ) The main downside at the moment is that, while I've put my usual 45-105s on it, I just can't get the action down as low as I'm used to on my Zons and Sadowskys, and the strong tension also seems higher - so it's physically more of a challenge. But in a way I enjoy that more and have the massive blisters on my left hand fingers to prove it. Might try it with 40-100s though... Verdict: I've got that sweet 'new toy' feeling with this bass. I love looking at it, love playing it and think it's a long-term keeper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted August 6, 2008 Share Posted August 6, 2008 Excellent review, BJ I've had the same problem with action on my Precisions, also being a recent P-bass convert. My 08 Am.Std was suffering with the same high action problem (especially at the 12th), where the neck had been set with far too much relief so I straightened out the neck & as you mentioned, put 40-100 strings on. Just perfect. I like my wooden necks set with just a hint of relief towards the top of the neck (headstrock end.) My MIM P was also a little high & I just repeated the same process, but with the standard 45-105 strings. Just nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainfele Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 [quote name='Brother Jones' post='255284' date='Aug 5 2008, 12:20 PM']As a long term Jazz and Jazz-clone user I've been gassing for a Precision for a while. This reached crisis point when I spotted a gorgeous '66 Precision in shoreline gold, matching headstock, etc, in Charlie Chandler's shop. It was a refin and had had a serious neck repair. It also cost a small fortune so I thought I'd better compare it with a 'bog standard' P-bass and had a little tinkle on a Jap '62 reissue. It was up at £489, so I'm assuming it was one of the 'standard' reissues with basswood body and Jap vintage pups. It looked almost as good as the '66, with a perfect 3T burst and a three-ply tort guard - not that weird reddish tort that you sometimes see on Jap Fenders. The neck wood looked very good, with a slight quilt to it, and the lacquer was slightly dark for a nice vintage look. Weight was around medium - 8.5 pounds or so. The neck (the thing that might have bothered me most) was an absolute peach - wider than I was used to, but also shallower. It felt perfect. It also sounded bloody good. When I was a young nipper checking out Precisions, they always seemed to sound a bit clanky and industrial to me. Perhaps the better string control and muting I've learned over twenty years has made a difference, or perhaps this was just an unnaturally good Precision, but either way it seemed to be making all the right noises and I preferred the neck to the '66 (which was three or four times pricier...) So, what the hell. I snapped it up and made my apologies for rapid loss of interest in the '66. Having got the thing home, I could not stop playing it. Happily, after a moment of suspicion, it became clear that my girlfriend could not really tell the difference between the Precision and my sunburst Sadowsky Metro 5 (which I stashed quietly under the bed). There is something about the pure utility of a Precision, and (to my eyes) the way a good 'burst one looks, that has a unique appeal. Harmonics aren't really on the agenda and slap seems to need a bit more control, but as a fingerstyle bass it does things than I just can't do on anything else. Fast runs have a kind of burpy quality and you get little inflections by subtly altering your muting technique. Perhaps most importantly, this is the bass that was on so many of those lines that made me want to play the bass when I was 8 or 9 years old - like the theme to Barney Miller (which I can't stop playing on it ) The main downside at the moment is that, while I've put my usual 45-105s on it, I just can't get the action down as low as I'm used to on my Zons and Sadowskys, and the strong tension also seems higher - so it's physically more of a challenge. But in a way I enjoy that more and have the massive blisters on my left hand fingers to prove it. Might try it with 40-100s though... Verdict: I've got that sweet 'new toy' feeling with this bass. I love looking at it, love playing it and think it's a long-term keeper.[/quote] Great review. I've been toying with switching to a Precision for a while so I'm going to check this model out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestar Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Great review but I wish that I hadn't read it. I've been gassing for one of these for ages and they keep popping up secondhand and I have no money and oh god it's all too depressing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Jones Posted April 16, 2009 Author Share Posted April 16, 2009 Quick progress report on this. I haven't done anything to the neck or the strings in almost a year, apart from wonder vaguely about trying flats on it. But the older the rounds on it get, the better it seems to sound. I've tweaked the set up just a tiny bit with the 45-105s and now it's perfect. Playing Jazz necks now feels almost weird - like picking up a toy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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