NBD - Fender American Vintage II Precision Bass - now with some subtle mods

[danbanbass]

After many years of owning precision basses and churning through them I think I’ve finally found one that might be a keeper….

 

Its a Fender American Vintage ii Precision Bass, it just hits the mark of what I’ve always been yearning for sound wise but struggled to obtain previously - to say I’m very pleased is an understatement 🙂

Edited March 2 by danbanbass

[Lozz196]

That’s a beauty

[danbanbass]

27 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

That’s a beauty

 Thanks Lozz, I can’t wait until the thin nitro starts to chip and wear 😄

[LeftyJ]

Beautiful! 

 

Is that the protective film still on the pickups, or are they secretly Mustang pickups in P-bass cases? 

[danbanbass]

21 minutes ago, LeftyJ said:

Beautiful! 

 

Is that the protective film still on the pickups, or are they secretly Mustang pickups in P-bass cases? 

They’re mustang pickups in disguise 🤣

 

I haven’t got around to taking the protective film off them yet.

[Lozz196]

58 minutes ago, danbanbass said:

 Thanks Lozz, I can’t wait until the thin nitro starts to chip and wear 😄

There’s a certain irony there isn’t there, and I suspect many players with nitro instruments feel the same, get some wear on this thing, makes it unique to the owner.

[ezbass]

Classy! 👍

[BassAdder60]

Lovely looking bass 

[snorkie635]

Yup! A keeper, as you say. 👍

Enjoy.

[uncle psychosis]

So what makes this "the one" compared to the ones that have come and gone? 

 

As a fan of Fender style basses I'm always intrigued as to where the differences lie, because the basic recipe has been the same for 60 years... 

[danbanbass]

 

47 minutes ago, uncle psychosis said:

So what makes this "the one" compared to the ones that have come and gone? 

 

As a fan of Fender style basses I'm always intrigued as to where the differences lie, because the basic recipe has been the same for 60 years... 

 

For me it has that zing and roundness whilst retaining a big bottom end without sound muddy. Almost piano esq, with lots of sustain.

 

It’s clear, authoritive and punchy - I know these words are all subjective.

 

The neck profile suits me too, similar to the width of a musicman neck but slightly wider. The depth of the neck is akin to a jazz bass neck.

 

I’ve always struggled with U.S.A. standard precisions necks and found them to be too chunky, having owned 2 I found them to sound a little muddy on the lower strings.

 

I had a couple of Mex p basses which left me wanting even after different upgrades with both. 

 

American Deluxe Precision, nice neck - struggled to dial the active eq and find a tone I liked. Never used the musicman bridge pickup on it.

 

70s USA precision, great to look at but on the whole felt lackluster.

 

Finally the first version of the Squier classic vibe 60s precision, out of all the basses at that point this was the best. Felt right, played great. Had the sound I liked but lacked the depth and bottom end.

 

The American Vintage II to me was everything the classic vibe was but far superior in every way.

 

Nate Mendall Sig - had high hopes with this bass, was disappointed as it was quite dead sounding and uninspiring to play.

 

However that’s from my experience, everyone else’s mileage will vary.

 

if it also helps, I have a fond memory from 20 years ago of a Jap Squier Surf Green 60s reissue precision I played in a shop years ago which has been imprinted in my mine ever since - I remember being blown away by it but at that time I couldn’t afford the £299 used price tag it was up for so that could be something to do with it.

 

I also have memory’s of a 65 Precision I had the chance to play which was a cracker as well.

 

This new iteration meets my expectations of what I like in a Precision which is a mix of the 65, classic vibe and the Squier jap precision that I played and loved.

 

Admittedly I’ve had to drive around the uk to play ones that shops had in stock and this one just blew me away.

 

Some good, some dull and some average - it’s incredible how much they vary across the same model range.

[luckman67]

Good looking bass 😎

[danbanbass]

I also did some subtle mods, see if you can spot them…..

Before

And after

[Lozz196]

New bridge & new (but very retro looking) volume/tone knobs. 

[danbanbass]

1 minute ago, Lozz196 said:

New bridge & new (but very retro looking) volume/tone knobs. 

Spot on, I really like the deluxe telecaster knobs as I find it useful for setting the tone knob for certain songs in my bands set.

 

Bridge wise I just wanted something I could set, lock down and forget.

[Reggaebass]

Looks great and they do play nice, if I didn’t have my avri 62 which I really like , id definitely have one of those 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

The unofficial Colin Grigson signature model, congratulations!