Precision Neck Comparison [With Charts]

[mahtar]

TLDR: In search of my main recording bass. Dove into five Precisions and made some measurements, charts below.

 

 

 

 

Hey everyone,

 

So, a mate of mine suggested (probably as a tease, knowing him) that I throw my recent obsession onto basschat. Been neck-deep (pun intended) in specs of different P-Basses, and thought, why not. Might be fun to see what others think.

 

I’ve embarked on a quest to find a new bass that I can call my main, especially for recording. I want to downsize, so I’m being quite picky, particularly about the feel. I turned to the specs and made some measurements, focusing mainly on the neck to understand why some of them just click while others are meh. I’ve recently had the chance to compare five models: MIM Deluxe Active Special, MIM Classic 50s, Player, American Performer, and Professional II.

 

What really struck me was discovering that the Player and the Performer have very similar neck specs on paper. However, when I got my hands on the Performer, it surprisingly felt more akin to the Pro II neck. I'm wondering about the consistency between the US models (Performer, Pro II, Ultra even). I know for a fact the neck lottery is a standard "feature" on Gibson guitars...

 

Speaking of the Pro II, it’s a fantastic piece of craftsmanship overall, but the neck is quite chunky. It made me question whether all Pro IIs are like this or if it's a lottery as well. Anyone else have thoughts or experiences with the Pro II specifically?

 

The Deluxe Active Special has a Jazz neck. It’s pretty comfortable, and I tend to prefer slimmer, narrower necks. However, the rolled edges on the Pro II are something else; I wish that Jazz neck was finished like that.

 

Attached some graphs for y'all, hopefully useful for a few of you. Shoot if you have some insights!

Edited October 28, 2023 by mahtar

[theyellowcar]

Respect the work. Interesting to see how different the profile of the American necks are compared to the Mexicans. It’s like the Americans have a beer belly 😂

[mahtar]

Thanks, and true, those US profiles are a bit too deep for my taste. Before I looked at Pro II properly, I thought it would be an iteration of the good ol’ Standard line, but they seem to be more inspired by vintage specs. Tall frets, chunky neck, truss rod access at the heel…

[ahpook]

7 hours ago, theyellowcar said:

Respect the work. Interesting to see how different the profile of the American necks are compared to the Mexicans. It’s like the Americans have a beer belly 😂

 

Hey, Slayer told you this....it really should be no surprise

 

"There only one place to go...."

 

 

[ahpook]

Very thorough @mahtar, and very well presented- thanks for posting this.

 

 

[bassbiscuits]

Very good - nice work. 

[tauzero]

You'd also ideally need to use a profile gauge to show the shape of the profile, which makes a considerable difference in the feeling between necks that are the same width and depth.

[Quatschmacher]

Got Jon Shuker to measure one of my Am Pro IIs when I was putting a build order together and it was 19mm but am not sure if that was at the nut or at the 1st fret now. It was 26mm at the 12th. Haven’t measured the other. 

[mahtar]

11 hours ago, tauzero said:

You'd also ideally need to use a profile gauge to show the shape of the profile, which makes a considerable difference in the feeling between necks that are the same width and depth.

 

I agree. I was actually looking to get one of these profile gauges a while ago... Not all Modern Cs are created equal, that's for sure.

[mahtar]

11 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

Got Jon Shuker to measure one of my Am Pro IIs when I was putting a build order together and it was 19mm but am not sure if that was at the nut or at the 1st fret now. It was 26mm at the 12th. Haven’t measured the other. 

 

Thanks, 19mm sounds promising. 26mm is a bit too chunky for me, I will probably look at few other Pro II's and check around that 12th fret. 

[Reggaebass]

Nice work, this should be pinned somehow for future reference 

[Quatschmacher]

4 hours ago, mahtar said:

 

Thanks, 19mm sounds promising. 26mm is a bit too chunky for me, I will probably look at few other Pro II's and check around that 12th fret. 

My Shuker is 21.5mm at the 1st fret and my other (and now only) Am Pro II feels thinner. One day I’ll buy some callipers. 

[kevham]

Interesting.

I now have three 2021 P basses - a Player, a Player Plus and an American pro 2. All three have different necks.

The Pro 2 is noticeably chunkier. Haven't decided what I like best TBH.

Edited November 6, 2023 by kevham

[soulstar89]

Thanks for the comparison. Like others have stated I find it interesting how deep the American pro II necks are. My favourite necks are the late 70’s. 

[soulstar89]

On 29/10/2023 at 07:21, Reggaebass said:

Nice work, this should be pinned somehow for future reference 

I agree. I was just looking at a MIJ J precision bass. It has a 42mm nut with a soft V profile. It is described as 70's vintage but the depth is 20.60mm. Not deep enough for me. Shame as i found a good deal.