Fender Precision bass ,which one to get ?? ;/

wiggy69

My svt classic head is on the way , my guitar is ready to pack in , it buzzes and i have to tape the lead to it so that it doesnt take a heart attack , so i've decided to bite the bullet and search the planet for a replacement , any one i've spoke to who claims to be in the know , tells me to buy a fender p-bass . so i tried a few sites to find a fender p-bass for around 850 euro , but i dont know which is the best or the worst one to buy , i know that the american made ones are the best , but i keep banging into ones made in different years , are these giutars like wine !! which year to pick from , this is getting complicated , please help

Giblet

Try them out, also make sure you try out an American Jazz Bass.

juno75

percission is a class bass (sp???) but I do perfer the Jazz,
i luv the styling of the body which can IMO make the percission
a bit plain looking.
One mans meat.
Dont discount the Mex versions - they are exactly the same components shipped from califorinia accross the border to mexico
,built for cheap labor (to a very good standard)
Any differences between a mex and american are cosmetic and do not detract from the sound of the instrument- go try each in a straight A/B.
I did with mex/yank Strats and perfereed the Mex, felt 'rawer' (400 yo yo cheaper also)

I'm gonna be brave and get a Gibson ES333 from this place for
bout 950Euro Deliverd to IRL. The same guitar in UK in £2000 STG
so gawd only knows how much it is here.

The prices on this site are jaw dropping , and they ship internationally:

http://www.guitartrader.com/

somefink to drool over:

http://www.guitartrader.com/itempg.icl?orderidentifier=ID106130278129028499E20387A&secid=1023&subsecid=1133&catid=0&dirpage=dir2&itmid=3696&eflag=0&curitempos=7&numitems=61

feylya

Ah Juno, you and your ES333. Tut tut.

Wiggy, I reckon you should just go into a music shop look at the basses, pick one that grabs your attention and play it for a while. Then grab another and play that. Don't limit yourself to saying "I must buy a Fender P Bass".

But if it's a Fender you must have, take Juno's advice and get the Mex version from Guitar Trader.

dragon_ninja82

how much is postage from guitar trader to ireland?

feylya

Within 30 seconds of looking at the site, you could have found out, on your very own, that shipping is between $100 and $200.

mirv

I got my guitar from music123.com, it was a Gibson SG Special Faded and managed to get to me within 5 or 6 days. Needed a while for it to settle in to irish humidity before the neck would play nice, but its great now.

Mongo

What type of music do you play?Whats your budget?

wiggy69

rock music and my max amount to spend around 1000 euro

Mongo

Could you be a tad more specific?

bombidol

get a musicman. problem solved. best bass ever made

Morello

I just got myself this one for about a grand. It's a cross between a Jazz and a Precision, I think it's beautiful.

You might have some troubles to find it though, the one I got was the last at Thomann.de and apparently it's out of stock all over Europe (it's a limited edition)

As he said, the musicman is just a *fantastic* bass but I don't think you can get it for a grand

It wasn't me!

Yo! If it's a cross between a Jazz and a Precision why does it just have Jazz Bass on the head? It's probably just a special edition Jazz Bass.

The power of observation people!

mirv

He didn't say it was specifically a model of its own, but it is a hybrid as it has a P-bass style split humbucker, which is accurate.

Morello

What he said.

Here's the deal:

Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass BK E-Bass, Limited EditionSeries, Body Basswood (Carved Top), Maple Neck mitRosewood Griffbrett, 20 Medium Jumbo, Pickups 1 SplitSingle-Coil Precision Pickup (Mid), 1 Single-Coil JazzPickup (Bridge), Black Chrome Hardware, Color black

It seems real cool, the only downiside being it's made in Japan... well, I guess if it was American I couldn't afford it anyway

I saw one at Music Maker if you want to try it... more expensive though.

mirv

I'd trust a Japanese bass more so than a Mexican one in all fairness.

Giblet

Originally posted by mirv
I'd trust a Japanese bass more so than a Mexican one in all fairness.

More the fool you then....

Morello

Right. This doesn't really affect me coz there's no US version of the bass I bought and anyway I couldn't afford it... however, just for curiosity like:

Is there any *real* difference between a Fender US, Mex or Japan?

I mean, as far as I can see the woods are the same and so are the finish and the components. The difference is that Mex and Japan are assembled there, where work is cheaper.

I tried a few American and Mexican basses and to be honest I couldn't really tell the difference, so I wonder: am I missing anything or the only *real* difference is the "Made in USA" writing on the headstock..?

mirv

Finish, components and woods aren't the same.

Woods are supposedly of same species, but also supposedly higher quality in jap/american ones.

The finish is usually polyurethane on the guitars, but the higher end vintage american models have nitrocellulose, just like the old days (or modern day gibson), and some models have polyester.

Components on mex strats are manufactured in-factory afaik, so american ones would supposedly be of higher quality.

Doctor J

American made Precisions are good, but you can't really beat a Rickenbacker 4003 - I got one from this site for just over a grand (they're about €2500 new in Waltons and Musician) - not only does it sound incredible but you can happily sit there and just look at it too.

Used Rickenbackers

ferdi

just get a music man SUB, you can get them in musicmaker for about 800euro. the electronics,pick-ups, machine heads etc etc are the same the only differences are - very slightly cheaper wood, less layers of paint. they are made in the same factory as the "real" stingrays buy the same ernie ball craftsmen, the pick guard may look dodge, but hey, at that price, if i wasnt broke i'd buy one in a flash. check ernieball.com




nice

Mongo

800?They are 1119 in Musicians ink

Doctor J

Musicman basses have horrible, wretched tone. If you really want low end, get a Fender P or a Rick.

Morello

It can't be 800 coz it's 945 at Thomann.de:

http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw6_artikel-160910.html

Maybe you saw one of those OLP Basses licensed by Ernie Ball, great value for the money:

http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw6_artikel-152164.html

Morello

Originally posted by Doctor J
Musicman basses have horrible, wretched tone

Musicman are the best sounding basses EVER

Doctor J

Nonsense, their position near the bridge gives them a fundamentally trebley sound, any low end is added by the onboard eq or the amp. Ever Leo Fender saw the error of his ways and ensured his subsequent G&L basses had a pickup situated closer to the neck.

It's like a jazz bass bridge pickup, naturally thin sounding. P basses are better for low end and Rickenbackers are better still 'cos they've got a pickup 0.5" away from the neck. Natural low end, really nice and warm. No electronic shenanigans.