Precision bass options

[SteveXFR]

I've decided it's time to buy a p bass so started looking this morning and it seems one doesn't just buy a p bass, there's an awful lot of options. 

In my budget I've got a choice of US, Mexican or Japanese then there's player, vintera, 62 reissue, lyte and Roger Waters signature or PJ. 

Where's a good guide to what's what with precision basses?

[Jonesy]

 

Do you have any preference on neck (size, finish, frets) or tone?

 

Generally they're all PBasses, right? So you're going to be in the same ball park tone wise. I played a Vintera 50s P and Player Series P the other day in guitarguitar. The Player Series was a more modern hi-fi tone to my ears and a bit clinical. The Vintera was rounder sounding, but still had some grunt to it - I really liked it. The only thing that put me off was the neck as it's quite a chunky boy, its thin back to front, so not unmanageable, but still quite wide in the hand, especially down the dusty end. I've sold basses with thinner necks because of that issue, but it still doesn't stop me wanting to buy one! Who goes up the dusty end on a P Bass anyway?!?!?!

 

If I was looking at a P Bass I'd be thinking about 2 options.........

 

MIJ PB 70US. Lovely necks (40mm - the same as the Nate Mendel) that are a dream to get around. Gloss finish and thin vintage frets, which I really like. Ace workmanship and US pups/hardware.

 

G&L SB1. The MFD pups can be lovely and vicious, but there's loads of play in them and they can be gentle too. I always keep an eye out for them in the sale forums here and they don't come up too often. I don't even think many shops stock them over here, so if you wanted to go full fat US then ordering from the States might be your only option. You'd get a load of custom options if you did this and @Ricky Rioli would be your man to chat to on how best to go about it. If you wanted the cheaper option then pick up a G&L Tribute SB2. Same bridge and MFD pups that are in the US models, with an added J pup for more bite.

 

22 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

Where's a good guide to what's what with precision basses?

 

What @Lozz196 doesn't know about PBasses probably isn't worth knowing 😃

[yorks5stringer]

This may be too cheap...?

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/210305367331025--gl-tribute-lb-100-olympic-white-maple-fingerboard

[PaulThePlug]

if you can get past that headstock...

[Supernaut]

Go to a shop and play some. Buy the one you like the most. 

[Lozz196]

3 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Go to a shop and play some. Buy the one you like the most. 

This. I’m Precision nuts, love them and am happy playing any Precision and my faves are the 2013-16 US Standards, but as there are so many different models available get the one your hands like the most. I hit on my faves by trial & error over a period of a good few years. 
 

And a thank you to @Jonesy for such fine comments, very pleasant of you!

[SteveXFR]

7 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Go to a shop and play some. Buy the one you like the most. 

 

I forgot to mention I'm buying used so a lot of the options aren't current models. I know some shops sell used instruments but I don't know of any around here other than Bath Rare & Vintage guitars who don't sell instruments in my price range (up to £1200)

[Lozz196]

Well up to £1200 I’d be looking at a US one, my thoughts of those I’ve had.

 

Late 90s to 2004 - good sized necks, nice balanced sounding pickups 

 

2004 to 2007 - same as above but included the S1 Switch, which can change the sound to similar to a Jazz

 

2008 to 2012 - neck quite shallow so felt wider as a result, scooped modern sounding pickups 

 

2013 to 2016 - deep chunky necks, Custom Shop 62 pickups so fuller/more vintage sounding 

 

US Professional 1 - neck modelled on 63 Pbass, the “holy grail” of Pbass necks apparently. Tall narrow frets. V-Mod pickups are ok/quite neutral sounding.

 

The advantage of the US models are graphite strengthening rods in the necks, plus you can easily add a Hipshot Drop D Extender and a Fender A-String Retainer (some A strings can rattle due to the poor angle) without any permanent mods.

Edited October 12, 2022 by Lozz196

[police squad]

£1200 should get you a cracker. I haven't played many modern USA examples so can't comment on them but I have played a fair few Japan models, all of which were excellent. 

I bought my wife a Jap PB70US in olympic white, nearly 15 years ago. It is a lovely bass

here's a gratuitous picture for you

(paid £350 for it)

 

[gjones]

I do like the MIJ 57 reissue type Precisions. I've owned two and they have a really nice shallow neck and the pickups sound great. 

 

I bought an Olympic white one a few years ago from Basschat and it really is lovely.

 

I prefer it to my USA Fender Elite Precision, for just P bass sounds, and the neck is more comfortable. 

[Steve Browning]

Yes. MIJ PB70US. Superb basses and incredible value.

[dmc79]

1 hour ago, SteveXFR said:

I've decided it's time to buy a p bass so started looking this morning and it seems one doesn't just buy a p bass, there's an awful lot of options. 

In my budget I've got a choice of US, Mexican or Japanese then there's player, vintera, 62 reissue, lyte and Roger Waters signature or PJ. 

Where's a good guide to what's what with precision basses?

 

Is weight an important factor to you? I've learned that it is to me. If so, this may be useful to you. Here's the weight of recent P basses I've had. The first I had for several years, middle two were just 'passing through', and the last I plan on keeping, in part due to the weight:

 

2004 USA 'Series': 4.1Kg

2008 USA Standard: 4.2Kg

2013 MIM: 4.1Kg (including chunky Hipshot bridge) 

2021 Player (Mex): 3.7Kg 

 

From what I've read, the 2013-16 American Standards are a really nice line, and weigh around 3.9Kg. I haven't seen much on a ballpark weight of the 2017-20 Am Professional or 2020-present Am Pro II, I'd be interested if anyone could chime in on that. 

 

I am really enjoying my 2021 Mex Player, and am about to put some CS62 pickups in it (can't vouch for stock pups, it came to me with SD Quarter Pounders), along with a KiOgon loom to USA Std specs. The weight (or lack of) makes it so comfy, I miss the rolled fretboard edges of a USA P a little, but it's such a nice, fairly slim neck and very playable neck anyway. I guess I could get the edges rolled by a guitar tech at some point if I wanted to. Very nice bass at the price point though. £500-600 used for a good one, I'm not convinced that a used USA made P is worth double that at around £1000-1200, but I haven't tried the 2013-16 Am Std or any of the Pros that came after them yet. 

 

You probably know this anyway, but get a P with a good comfy weight (I almost said "and balance" there, but I've never had a P that wasn't well balanced), and a neck that feels nice to play and doesn't strain your hands, and as they say "the rest is gravy"; you can change pickups, circuitry & hardware, but you can't do anything if you don't like the neck & weight. 

 

 

Edited October 12, 2022 by dmc79

[Roger2611]

I think it's tough, certainly in recent years, to find a poor Fender Precision bass, my personal favourite is my Mexican built 50's classic, however, some won't like the baseball bat like dimensions of the neck, I have never played a bad Mexican Precision much as I have never played a bad Japanese Precision or a USA Precision

 

Some of the 70's USA Precision's can be very heavy, however, they still tend to play really well, with current asking prices being where they are for these 70's basses you are very unlikely to find one in your price range anyway.

 

Don't discount Squier basses just because they are cheaper, some of them are fantastic basses and easily rival the build quality of their more expensive Fender badged brothers and nearly everything is interchangeable on a Precision so, if you like a certain neck profile with a certain colour and a certain pickup sound then you can customise to suit.

 

As others have suggested try and play as many as you can and get a feel for what you like neck wise and sound wise, if you are in the Northampton area I have a whole bunch you can play and see what appeals, just drop me a PM

[Cosmo Valdemar]

7 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

I've decided it's time to buy a p bass so started looking this morning and it seems one doesn't just buy a p bass, there's an awful lot of options. 

In my budget I've got a choice of US, Mexican or Japanese then there's player, vintera, 62 reissue, lyte and Roger Waters signature or PJ. 

Where's a good guide to what's what with precision basses?

The Roger Waters has a maple cap neck - this gives it an extra aggressive snarl to my ears, like Entwistle's Slab.

 

I'd swap the pickup though, not a huge fan of the stock Quarter Pound.

[msb]

Pbasses are all over the map , and all the same. Play some Squiers , Mexican and Japanese models. Some Squiers turn out perfect , for some only a Custom Shop will do. Just play as many different ones as you can and you’ll form an opinion about what you need or want. You may decide the expensive ones have an edge worth paying for , you may decide that cheaper is the route to take. 
But play as many different ones as you can. 

[yorks5stringer]

7 hours ago, PaulThePlug said:

if you can get past that headstock...

I went to a big gig, 2 bands last Weds and there were 2 Precisions lined up next to a MB Casa stack. The opening act were halfway through their set before I noticed the PJ being played was a US G&L.....and that's the sort of stuff I usually notice!

[neepheid]

Does it have to be a Fender?

[SteveXFR]

I should have mentioned I have already got a Squier affinity P bass. I like the neck and string spacing. I didn't like the stock pickups (replaced with Tonerider and Kl0gon wiring) it now sounds OK but lacks the p bass snarl. 

Some of my favourite P bass tones are Matt Freeman of Rancid and Jay Bentley of Bad Religion and JJ Burnell (Peaches specifically)

[SteveXFR]

5 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Does it have to be a Fender?

 

No

[neepheid]

Just now, SteveXFR said:

 

No

 

And with that, Pandora's box lid flew open

[SteveXFR]

6 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

And with that, Pandora's box lid flew open

 

That G&L headstock is completely unacceptable 

[msb]

But aside from that unacceptable bit at the end , the rest of them is quite lovely …

[neepheid]

6 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

 

That G&L headstock is completely unacceptable 

 

Ach, you caught me using one to pry it open

[Vin Venal]

Basically:

 

Mexican:

 

Player - modern passive

Plus - modern active

Vintera - classic

 

American:

 

Performer - modern passive pj

Professional - modern passive

Ultra - modern active pj

Original/Vintage - classic

 

I've only had a player precision, but have absolutely no complaints. I bought it new with a good setup, and it's me number 1.

 

[Downunderwonder]

13 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

(up to £1200)

That will get you into some very nice P's.

 

I think there may still be a very nice natural blonde Mexican P Deluxe in the classifieds for a lot less than 1200.

 

Turning off the preamp makes it a standard P with a slimmer than usual neck. Turning on the preamp makes it an active J bass with a P neck pickup that you can still solo and you have three band EQ to boot.

 

Kinda a must have a go on kind of thing.