bobpalt Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Just took delivery of a brand new 2009 American Standard Precision today, which appears to be spot on, but to be honest, it sounds really dull! The D string is dead, and I have had to lift the pickup height to get a balance of volume on the others. Is it possible that the strings on a brand new bass are knackered in some way? I bought it from GAK and assumed it would be fresh in a box, but it sure looks like it might have been on display somewhere, so I guess this might explain it. Or are Fender strings not of the best quality? Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MythSte Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 [quote name='bobpalt' post='627081' date='Oct 15 2009, 03:51 PM']Just took delivery of a brand new 2009 American Standard Precision today, which appears to be spot on, but to be honest, it sounds really dull! The D string is dead, and I have had to lift the pickup height to get a balance of volume on the others. Is it possible that the strings on a brand new bass are knackered in some way? I bought it from GAK and assumed it would be fresh in a box, but it sure looks like it might have been on display somewhere, so I guess this might explain it. Or are Fender strings not of the best quality? Bob[/quote] Generally speaking the stock strings arnt fantastic, but should be better than that. Phone GAK and get them to sort it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nash Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 see if gak will send a new set but tbh i see it as the same as buying a drum kit. they all have show skins on so you buy new ones when you buy the kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 If the retailer doesn't go to the trouble of setting up a new Fender I can tell you from experience that they can be appalling out of the box. I got a a US P and a US J from Andertons a couple of months back and the action was about 1cm on each, worse than you would expect on an £80 piece-of-cr@p Chinese bass - after tweaking the truss rod and bridge I did eventually sort it out and get it nice and low. I was a bit miffed that Andertons sell expensive basses and don't give them even a cursory setup ... but I guess the real question is why they leave the Fender US factory so badly set up in some cases? regarding strings: the stock Fender nickels strings are actually OK I think (I know some BC'ers disagree) so if you have a dead one it either implies that the bass has been played in the store for a while or that the string is just a duffer. I have bought expensive flatwound strings (LaBella, TIs) and had one dead string in a packet so its probably just sod's law I reckon. After your initial teething problems I am sure you will love your new P-bass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MythSte Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 [quote name='nash' post='627100' date='Oct 15 2009, 03:59 PM']see if gak will send a new set but tbh i see it as the same as buying a drum kit. they all have show skins on so you buy new ones when you buy the kit.[/quote] Im not a drummer so i did not know this, But it sure as hell makes me glad im not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRadford Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 [quote name='nash' post='627100' date='Oct 15 2009, 04:59 PM']see if gak will send a new set but tbh i see it as the same as buying a drum kit. they all have show skins on so you buy new ones when you buy the kit.[/quote] Thats not always the case. I bought a new Mapex M Birch Kit about 4 years ago. It was a mid range kit about £600. I was expecting to have to fork out another £70 for drum skins, but the factory ones were actually really good. They were Mapex branded Remo weatherkings, but they sounded fantastic and the kit still had them when I had to sell it about a year later, and they still sounded fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobpalt Posted October 15, 2009 Author Share Posted October 15, 2009 What actually causes a "dead" string? Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 You can occasionally get a "dead" string in a set. Sometimes it's a fault in the winding that just doesn't let the string ring like the others. I'd get some nice DR Fatbeams on it. Much softer string, lovely to play, great tone and very long lasting. I ought to be on commission from DR! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguyhomer Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Bob - wait until you try the DR Sunbeams on the Jazz tomorrow - they're brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XB26354 Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Also bear in mind that it may not be Fender's fault - most of them are one-piece maple necks which can move in a change of climate and humidity - like sunny California to damp England! They do usually set up a medium rather than low action on the BNIB one's I've tried - although even some of the newest ones had badly cut nuts (just like you'd expect on a cheap copy). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 I always change the strings on any bass I buy whether new or not. I've felt that the strings on new Fender's to be a bit too high tension in the past as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguyhomer Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Putting new strings on and a good polish is part of the bonding process with a new bass for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 [quote name='niceguyhomer' post='627566' date='Oct 16 2009, 08:54 AM']Putting new strings on and a good polish is part of the bonding process with a new bass for me.[/quote] Me too! I shall be doing this very thing tomorrow with a Jap P. New scratchplate, new strings, set up, possibly a light fret dress, a good polish, then play all day! I love doing that Part of the pleasure of getting a new bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 [quote name='niceguyhomer' post='627400' date='Oct 15 2009, 10:15 PM']Bob - wait until you try the DR Sunbeams on the Jazz tomorrow - they're brilliant.[/quote] I changed the original strings on my 04 MIA Jazz for Fender 7150 Nickels which were quite good in a mellow sort of way. For my second change, I went "upmarket" and bought DR Sunbeams and made sure it was all set up well. [socks blown off] The difference was unbelievable! The better compliance of round cores was a known factor, but the increased output from both the Nickel itself plus the fact that DR put more metal (allegedly!) in their strings was quite surprising[/pulls socks back on] In summary, though, you've no way of knowing what's happened to your strings on a bass before you collect/receive it. Best thing to do is swap in a good set that are a known quantity to you so you can get an idea what the bass is really like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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