Fender American Professional II Bass

[EmaTheMirror]

1 hour ago, FDC484950 said:

Does the US price include sales tax? Probably not, which may account for the difference

Yes, there is a difference, but up to a certain extent.

EDIT:

actually...

Edited October 14, 2020 by EmaTheMirror

[dannybuoy]

Sounds like a great choice for a Motown bass:

 

[Cuzzie]

Really liked the Dark night finish in photos, less so on the video - but looks and sounds pretty stellar

[Eldon Tyrell]

11 hours ago, dannybuoy said:

Sounds like a great choice for a Motown bass:

 

Thanks. I like the guy. Good no-nonsense presentation without the usual hard selling BS. The new Pro II sounds indeed slightly more vintage-ish. However, I will go for a used P and put in the pure vintage 63 and some flats. I showed my wife Geddy Lee's big beautiful book of bass (BTW, strong recommendation for everyone's Xmas wishlist. Amazing book!), showed her his P basses and she liked the foam green and Dakota red ones. So, may get one of these if I find a good one.

[wateroftyne]

IMO instead of desperately announcing big product launches for a redesigned pickup, Fender should just keep it simple.

The line should consist of a 60s P, 70s P and a Modern P, in a big variety of colours, with special editions every now and then. Bob's your uncle.

 

[Beedster]

Meet the new boss

Same as the old boss 

[antfarm]

[Deleted]

Edited October 17, 2020 by antfarm

[Ramsay777]

On 14/10/2020 at 17:27, FDC484950 said:

It’s worth mentioning that when the original American Standards came out in 2008 you could have one new for about £830. They’ve more than doubled in price in 12 years, but are they really any better? I very much doubt there’s any significant improvements - given Fender’s sometimes ropey QA, probably less difference between a 2008 and 2020 than two from the same year...

...and considering the thousands of great, worn-in P-basses available used, you’d have to really, really want a new one to pay double. 

Think I bought my Am Standard Jazz about then. Got it with 20% off in a closing down sale, possibly Reverb? For about £680 BRAND NEW.

Still got it, great bass.

[Beedster]

IME there’s good precision’s, average precision’s, mediocre precision’s and awful precision’s, there’s some that are toppy, some are middy, some even a bit boomy. But it’s across the board, in the new batch you’ll get all of the above. Build consistency is improving, but there’s only so much you can do with a 70 year old design, two bits of wood and some bits of metal. Price these days shows how gullible we are when it comes to marketing and PR

[wateroftyne]

39 minutes ago, Beedster said:

IME there’s good precision’s, average precision’s, mediocre precision’s and awful precision’s, 

There's great Precisions too :-)

[Beedster]

10 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

There's great Precisions too :-)

Fair point 

[Beedster]

Although.........

I'm not sure how 'great' a Precision can ever truly be. I've owned about 30 I'd guess over the years, and played many more, and whilst a Precision will always be my number 1 bass, I don't get the idea tat they're ever 'great'. I see them as being a tool that is usually perfect for the job. Some perhaps make the job easier and others make it bloody hard, I just think they do what they do. I owned the Pino Precision for a while, folks kept saying "Wow, what a great bass", but to me it was just one of the instruments that made the job easier. The basses I've had that I'd say are great would be the Modulus Flea, Wal Mk1, Ric 4001 C64 and, possibly the Takamine B10. 

YMMV   

[wateroftyne]

1 minute ago, Beedster said:

Although.........

I'm not sure how 'great' a Precision can ever truly be. I've owned about 30 I'd guess over the years, and played many more, and whilst a Precision will always be my number 1 bass, I don't get the idea tat they're ever 'great'. I see them as being a tool that is usually perfect for the job. Some perhaps make the job easier and others make it bloody hard, I just think they do what they do. I owned the Pino Precision for a while, folks kept saying "Wow, what a great bass", but to me it was just one of the instruments that made the job easier. The basses I've had that I'd say are great would be the Modulus Flea, Wal Mk1, Ric 4001 C64 and, possibly the Takamine B10. 

YMMV   

Keep looking - you'll find one eventually...

[Beedster]

2 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

Keep looking - you'll find one eventually...

That's the thing, I have (by the standards of other people, and I had one of your ex's for quite a while also), I guess that I don't get blown away the same way others do. Perhaps it's a case that for me the majority of them doing the job so well that there is limited headroom in which any greatness can operate? 

[Guest]

Special kudos should go for the Jazz with the new colour “roasted pine”, or “cheap 70s plywood table”

The only slightly interesting colour from the new batch is Miami blue. Given they’re charging similar prices (for a simple passive bass) you’d think they could at least match Musicman’s range of colours and have some more interesting finishes?

The problem is that in today’s society it’s not enough to gradually improve things like the pickup, or the hardware. You must produce something “new”. As there is essentially nothing Fender can do to change the layout and look of a precision or jazz, they’re reduced to new model names for the same old bass. And it sells, so why not?

I’d still love a Roscoe Beck as a standard model (hell, they’ve had a Tony Franklin in the line for years and I know even less about him than Beck) or a p-bass with Dimension eq and pickups - but such experimentation tends to end up in their Squier or cheaper Fender ranges.

[Guest]

Obviously the original recipe P goes perfectly with La Bella flats. I was wondering if the cumulative effect of tiny little modernisations in the Pro II P messes with that.

 

I can't see why it should: the pickup isn't that different, ditto the bridge - does the stiffening of the neck make much difference?

 

But actual experience would be good to hear. Have you put DTFs on your Pro II P?