What makes a Precision Bass, a Precision Bass?

[Delberthot]

52 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

"Made by Fender" is a bit of a grey area, no? Something made by Cortek in Korea or Indonesia, alongside other brands, which just has a Fender logo applied at the end, isn't really made by Fender. Being really pedantic You could argue anything made since they shut down the Fullerton factory isn't really a Fender at all, just a legalised copy made by whichever corporate entity owned the brand name at the time, with the crowd pleasing logo stuck to it 

What I meant was anything bearing a Precision logo that was made/licensed/whatever by Fender

[Woodinblack]

3 hours ago, Doctor J said:

G&L are in Fullerton, California, but not in the old Fender building, as far as I'm aware. 

 

They are in the old MusicMan building on Fender way.

[shoulderpet]

P bass:

Bass with one pickup either split p pickup or single coil p pickup

Bass with 2 or more pickups that are split p or single coil p pickups

 

Not a p bass:

Any bass that does not have p pickup(s)

Pj basses

[Woodinblack]

54 minutes ago, shoulderpet said:

P bass:

Bass with one pickup either split p pickup or single coil p pickup

Bass with 2 or more pickups that are split p or single coil p pickups

 

Not a p bass:

Any bass that does not have p pickup(s)

Pj basses

 

So a jazz bass is a P bass, but a Fender Player plus precision bass isn't a precision bass?

[lurksalot]

9 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

Then what would you call a fretless Precision Bass? An Approximation Bass? 

Oxymoron ? 

[shoulderpet]

4 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

So a jazz bass is a P bass, but a Fender Player plus precision bass isn't a precision bass?

If the pickups on the jazz are precision pickups then yes

[Jonesy]

If Fender/Squier are happy calling this a Precision then I'm going for the body shape as being the deciding factor. 

 

A H/S/S strat is still a strat and they call a Jaguar a Jaguar whether it's a J/J with a load of switches or has P/J pups in it.

 

There's probably a few exceptions and odd models here and there just to muddy the waters, but body shape is what does it for me.

 

 

[Doctor J]

Having run the answers offered here through a supercomputer*, I can now present a definitive illustration of what is and what is not a Precision bass.

 

This is a Precision

 

This is not a Precision

 

This is a Precision**

 

This is not a Precision

 

This is, of course, a Precision

 

This, most definitely, is not a Precision

 

Finally, this is a Precision

 

And this, clearly, is not a Precision

 

I hope this is clear to everyone and we can all move on.

 

* This may be a lie

** Look, it says so on the headstock

[neepheid]

20 hours ago, FinnDave said:

A Fender Imprecision Bass

 

Hey, I did that already.  Although it was on a fretted Precision so it was more a self deprecating comment on the player rather than the bass...

 

[FinnDave]

Damn, I thought I was being original!

[neepheid]

Just now, FinnDave said:

Damn, I thought I was being original!

 

I thought it was genius too, but during the heyday of amusing decals the preferred one seemed to be "Pretender Bass", which I always found to be a bit route one.  Still, it's better than the one most frequently seen on Jazz basses...

[FinnDave]

1 minute ago, neepheid said:

 

I thought it was genius too, but during the heyday of amusing decals the preferred one seemed to be "Pretender Bass", which I always found to be a bit route one.  Still, it's better than the one most frequently seen on Jazz basses...

I haven't seen any altered decals on a Jazz, but I can visualise what a difference change of vowel would make!

[JoeEvans]

I think if it says ‘precision bass’ on the narrow end then it’s a precision bass; otherwise there are various shades of increasing vagueness - p-bass copy, p-bass type, p-bass variant, etc.

[Downunderwonder]

47 minutes ago, JoeEvans said:

I think if it says ‘precision bass’ on the narrow end then it’s a precision bass; otherwise there are various shades of increasing vagueness - p-bass copy, p-bass type, p-bass variant, etc.

You are correct for the most part but Fender/Squier have made the odd booboo tagging things that patently aren't P basses as such.

[BreadBin]

8 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

You are correct for the most part but Fender/Squier have made the odd booboo tagging things that patently aren't P basses as such.

See also the Jazz Bass Special for an example of mis-identification.

[Nicko]

A Precision Bass is any old bass with a single split coil arrangement in the right place, in the traditional shape, two knobs, no fancy active nonsense and crucially it must be 34" scale bolt on.  Choice of body wood is irrelevant, A single piece maple neck/fingerboard is preferable but a glued on rosewood board is acceptable. 

 

You can add a Jazz pickup but it's no longer a Precision.

 

Ideally the bass should be played standing with an incredibly long strap such that the strap button on the upper horn is below the player's navel.

 

 

[Rich]

My Thunder 1A has a single split pickup, but it ain't no Precision. For me, unless it's a Fender or Squier Precision, it's not a Precision. 

Now waiting for pedants to blow holes in my argument

[Woodinblack]

OK, So I think we are pretty clear and conclusive here then.

A Precision bass is:

• A bass made by Fender. Or Squier, or maybe someone else as long as it looks the same
• Has 4 strings - unless its a 5 string.
• Always has 4 tuners on one side - unless it has 5 string, then it is 5 on one side, or maybe 4 on one side and one on the other
• Always has a 34" maple neck. Unless its short scale.
• Has an unbound neck. Unless it's bound.
• Has a maple fingerboard. Unless it has a rosewood fingerboard
• Is always the same shape, unless it is a longhorn
• Says precision bass on the headstock
• The headstock is the rounded Strat type. Unless it is the telecaster type.
• Has a arm and top cutaway. unless it is slab sided, when it doesn't
• Always has one split pickup. Unless it has the original single coil pickup. Or 2 split pickups. But never one split and one j pickup. Unless it does.
• Always has a volume and tone control. Unless it has two pickups, then it can have another volume
• The volume and tone control are on the same pickguard as the pickup. Unless they are on a separate plate.
• Is always passive. Unless it's active. And then it is allowed another switch. or two.

[neepheid]

You could just play the damn thing, regardless of whether or not it's a P bass?

[FinnDave]

5 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

OK, So I think we are pretty clear and conclusive here then.

A Precision bass is:

• A bass made by Fender. Or Squier, or maybe someone else as long as it looks the same
• Has 4 strings - unless its a 5 string.
• Always has 4 tuners on one side - unless it has 5 string, then it is 5 on one side, or maybe 4 on one side and one on the other
• Always has a 34" maple neck. Unless its short scale.
• Has an unbound neck. Unless it's bound.
• Has a maple fingerboard. Unless it has a rosewood fingerboard
• Is always the same shape, unless it is a longhorn
• Says precision bass on the headstock
• The headstock is the rounded Strat type. Unless it is the telecaster type.
• Has a arm and top cutaway. unless it is slab sided, when it doesn't
• Always has one split pickup. Unless it has the original single coil pickup. Or 2 split pickups. But never one split and one j pickup. Unless it does.
• Always has a volume and tone control. Unless it has two pickups, then it can have another volume
• The volume and tone control are on the same pickguard as the pickup. Unless they are on a separate plate.
• Is always passive. Unless it's active. And then it is allowed another switch. or two.

Are you sure you're not Boris Johnson??

[nilorius]

On 16/04/2022 at 17:27, paul_c2 said:

I would say:

 

1. Split coil pickup in the right place

2. Body style

3. Thick-ish neck

 

and......

 

4. Made by Fender or Squier.

 

Anything else is either slightly less than, or with more pickups a little bit more than, or a variation of, a Precision.

I absolutely agree.

[drTStingray]

On 17/04/2022 at 13:03, chris_b said:

 

That doesn't describe anything played by JJ Burnell, James Jamerson, Paul Jackson, Wilton Felder or Duck Dunn.

This is true, but up to 60 yrs ago. @Newfoundfreedom is right to the extent they often exude blandness these days (not always though) - but there again they often did back in the 70s also. Maybe a comment on the players rather than the instrument. 
 

I tried a couple of 70s ones out the other day and was pleasantly surprised, particularly that they didn’t have hefty necks, so I was able to play them ok. Sounded and looked nice as well (one was rather heavy). Both were natural with maple boards - nice for that 70s Paul Jackson vibe. 

Edited May 13, 2022 by drTStingray

[Stub Mandrel]

'Precision' is not a specific model, it's no more than a sub-brand used by Fender. Unlike Jaguar and Mustang, for example, it uses it solely for basses.

 

As something of a failed taxonomist, the consistent features of a Precision are few and far between:

 

Bass guitar, made or licenced by Fender under the labels Fender or Squier. Bears the word 'Precision' in its name. Has a non-offset body shape. Standard layout with a traditional Fender-shaped headstock, four tuners on the one side (a fifth on the bottom is optional) and a single bridge unit.

 

Just about everything else varies, sometimes almost everything else is different from the original ('51) or classic style.

[TheLowDown]

Pickups

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

18 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

'Precision' is not a specific model, it's no more than a sub-brand used by Fender.

Ding ding ding - I think we have a winner