Here's some specs off of Musician's Friend on this bad boy, who I have affectionately named 'Big Daddy P'.....
Quote:
The '58 Precision Bass guitar-a classic-re-created by the Fender Custom Shop in a limited-edition run of 100 instruments. The select alder body has a gold anodized aluminum pickguard and 3-color sunburst finish. The one-piece quartersawn maple neck has a '55 soft-V shape and a 7.25"-radius maple fingerboard with 20 vintage-style frets. Other features include nickel/chrome hardware, vintage-style reverse tuning machines, an American Vintage Precision Bass bridge and a single custom Vintage '59 split single-coil pickup. Comes in a vintage tweed case with a red interior, and includes strap, cable, and polishing cloth.
This instrument has been given Fender's Relic" treatment to simulate the natural wear and tear of years of heavy use, with nicks, scratches, worn finish, rusty hardware and aged plastic parts.
Fender 1958 Precision Bass Relic LTD Features:
Custom Shop Limited Edition
Select alder body
1-piece quartersawn maple neck with '55 soft V shape
Maple fingerboard (7.25" Radius/184 mm)
20 vintage-style frets
Custom Vintage 59 split single-coil pickup
Volume, tone controlse
American Vintage Precision Bass bridge
Vintage-style reverse tuning machines
Nickel/chrome hardware
Gold anodized aluminum pickguard
34" (864 mm) scale
1.750" (44.5 mm) width at nut
Relic treatment: shows natural wear and tear of years of heavy use, nicks, scratches, worn finish rusty hardware and aged plastic parts.
Fender 1958 Precision Bass Relic LTD Includes:
fender vintage tweed hardshell case
Only 100 made
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This is not your average Pbass. If your one who is ambivalent about vintage vs modern Pbass examples, and thinks that your Hwy one Pbass/modern American P sounds the same as the Custom Shop examples, or even the vintage models, than please, look elsewhere. I've owned a 78 stock, played and gigged a friends 64' P, owned and gigged a 58' custom shop Relic, and have had a genuine love for this venerable design for years.
IME, I've never come across a better sounding example in my life. This bass feels 'alive', every single note on the neck just leaps right off the fretboard, and there's a consistancy from the Low F to the High Eb that I've never experienced in any Pbass. I never really considered my Pbasses solo intruments, but more suited for laying down deep-bottomed grooves that drive the band like no other. This one can do both.
I atribute this to the tone pot and the pickup. This is a hot bass with a lot of output. Like some of the amazing vintage P's and J's I've had the pleasure of owning/playing, the tone pot on this axe has truly useful variants depending on where you set it. IME, most modern tonepots only go from 'mud' to 'clanky' on the P's I've come across. With the tone knob all the way off, its a dub machine that stays clean on the lows, and when the tone is jacked up, it is extremely responsive to right hand technique and placement. Unbelievably so.
In the past, when playing latin music and other styles that required an articulate midrange sound, I would of course reach for any bass I owned that had a bridge pickup, mostly a Jbass. Now, I'm not saying that any single-pup Pbass can even begin to approach the burp of a bridge pickup on a Jbass, this bass admirably gets the job done if you have a clean right hand and play behind the pickup. In fact, on every gig I've played with this bad boy (at least 20 now), I left the tone pot completely open and varied where I placed my right hand, covering stacatto punch to deep Jamerson-Esque fundamental. If you're a player who defines 'versatility' as residing in the hands rather than in the flexibility of the pickup/EQ setup of a bass, you'll love this one. I certainly have.
Why sell it then?
It really comes down to the lack of a bridge pickup. Like I mentioned above, this bass is very articulate throughout its entire neck. However, it still can't replace a bridge pickup, which I'm finding is a sound I need more and more with the gigs I play. I plan on picking up a Sadowsky Hybrid PJ after moving this bass, and would of course honor a trade if someone had a Metro PJ they wanted to throw my way (not bloody likely I'm sure!!
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Also, a word on the unique neck of this bass. If you've never played a soft v shaped neck before, you might not like this bass. Personally, I love this design better than the other Custom Shop P's which are vary thin from front to back. This neck is a thick slab of maple. Its a solid one-piece neck, and there's no seperate fretboard per se. IMO this contributes to both the eveness of notes and to the extreme stability of htis neck. It simply hasn't moved at all since I've had it. I can't say the same about the 59' Custom Shop I had, which required constant tweaking.
Anyways, enough of my ramblings. I always like to give my own impressions to a potential buyer rather than simply listing the price. That being said...........
$2100 shipped to Cont. US only. Firm. No trades unless its a Hybrid PJ sadowsky
Thanks for looking and here's some pics:
