Best fender p-bass years?

[RobJ]

My '63 sounds great but I've played others from the '60s that weren't so great. Bottom line is ymmv no matter the year, and this includes the '70s imo when it was tough to find a very good Fender but there were a few great ones as well.

Also the last I looked my '63 Precision had 4 screws holding the neck on.

[Mastermold]

Yeah there is no magic year for P-basses. Pre-CBS basses tend to be good but so do post-2008 basses, and there's plenty of great ones in between. Buying new is certainly cheaper over vintage and the Fender AV and CS lines are putting out really good instruments these days so that's where I've been looking lately. I currently own five P-basses and each one sounds a different. Strings and pickup differences and a host of other factors come into play.

[ZSavage]

I stand by my '74 fretless

It has made me and a lot of other folks happy through the years

Including Artists - Producers - Engineers -

...and even a few drummers

[meatwad]

I've played and owned lots of Precisions from all eras over the years, and I must say that 2008+ is the best, IMO. I understand how everybody wants theirs to be the most special, sought-after, or whatever, but as already mentioned in this thread, why bother with vintage (or in the case of the 70's, just plain old) when a new one is as good as they get?

BTW, no offense to any 70's owners. I've owned more than a few, and my opinion is based solely upon my experience with them.

[walterw]

where's the love for '90s basses? the first-gen american standards (in '95, i wanna say?) are great. they tend to be lighter than the later ones, and have steel saddles on the low-mass through body bridge. my '96 P rules, especially after i put lightweight keys on it.

anyway, the P bass seems to be the one thing fender never really screwed up, even through the darkest years of the '70s. they might have been bricks with sloppy neck pockets, but they were still the real deal.

so the best years for the fender P? i'd say '51 through '12

[Bassamatic]

2008 on up.

My '08 MIA P is just amazingly incredible. Everyone that has played or even held it has been impressed. Whatever they did from 2008 on up, they are surely doing the right thing. I'll put my P up against any other.

My guess is new automated equipment in the factory making everything more precisely, and new QC procedures.

[insain]

Fender MIA from 08- are consistently well made. In other "eras", not so much

[Kmonk]

1970s era Fenders are really hit or miss. It was during this time that CBS started cutting costs. As a result, there are some very poor playing and poor sounding guitars and basses from that time. There are also some very good ones. My advice is to play as many as possible. Inspect them closely and then decide what you want.

There is an old saying in sales that applies to all industries. "People buy emotionally and then try to justify the purchase logically". Think about when people buy cars. They usually buy something they really like based on the appearance, style, horsepower, etc and then tell their friends and families about the safety features, gas mileage, reliability, warranty. Most of us make the majority of our purchases the same way. Don't make your decision based on emotions. In other words, don't buy the first one you see or play just because you have always wanted one.

[thebrain]

A lot of people on this thread are saying that they see no point to buying a vintage P since the modern ones are just as good. To me, the reason I buy vintage basses is because the resale value is much better and usually goes up over the years, unlike a modern P which generally will not. I've rarely ever made any money on a modern bass when I went to sell it (lucky to break even), but I usually do make some money on vintage basses - especially if I've held on to it for several years. There are good and crappy ones out there, but that goes with all Fenders from any era (and pretty much every brand).

Many vintage basses have a feel that the modern ones do not have, especially the '60s Ps and even more so, the pre-CBS '60s. The early '70s Ps are considered more desirable than the late '70s not only because of age and the features, but because they generally weigh a lot less - in the 7.5-10 lb. range as opposed to many of the later '70s Ps weighing in the 10-12 lb. range.

If you can find a nice playing, nice sounding, lightweight, original vintage P, it will hold it's value a lot more than a modern one will.

[awilkie84]

Originally Posted by Ric5

Best fender p-bass years?

---------------------------------

Pre CBS

The old ones are great ... But I really don't like a bolt on neck with only 3 screws. That is a bad idea. I think all bolt on necks should have 5 or 6 screws. I also don't like the truss rod adjustment at the body.

The best Fenders these days are the MIA ones ... or custom shop.

I prefer to build my own parts/frankenstein p-basses, jazz basses, jag basses, Fenderbird basses, SG basses, etc ...

When I build my own I can use the neck I like, the bridge I like, the electornics, pickups, etc ... I get my own custom shop bass. It is not that hard to do. There are a ton of Fender style aftermarket parts out there.

Seeing as how the neck should be seated in a tight pocket that allows minimal movement, it shouldn't matter if you have 3 or 4 or 5 screws holding it down. As long as you have screws counteracting movement, you can get away with using 3 and still have a solid connection. Hell, there are custom basses that use 1 and have a rock solid connection.

You say truss rod adjustment at the body is bad but then go on to say how you like newer fenders. All new American fenders (Save the American Specials) have body side truss adjustment.

[billgwx]

Originally Posted by walterw

where's the love for '90s basses? the first-gen american standards (in '95, i wanna say?) are great. they tend to be lighter than the later ones, and have steel saddles on the low-mass through body bridge. my '96 P rules, especially after i put lightweight keys on it.

I'll second that. Am very happy with my '98 MIA Standard. Just put a high mass vintage bridge on it so I can top-load long scale strings instead of always having to go with thru-body super-longs.

[thebrain]

Only Jazzes and Telecaster basses were made with 3-bolts/bullet truss rods. If you want a P, they are all 4-bolt/body-side truss rods.

[Turock]

Fender has made good basses in all "eras".

[chetmz]

I have owned a '61 P since 1976 (after my '64 was stolen).

I have tried new instruments through the years and none felt or seem to sound as good as mine. However, I have tried two 2012 instruments and both were lighter than mine and were more 'even sounding' up and down the neck. Fret work was great and they felt pretty darn good even off the rack.

That is not to say every new one is a gem but I bet the odds of finding a really good one are better than they have been in along time.

Will they ever hold their value like my '61... No. Could I play one of them and be happy with it...Absolutely

[derridiandrift]

I really dig my 1960. Just picked up a 2011 and it's a fine instrument. Nicely put together.

I had a 1978 that was stupidly heavy but was a pleasure to play.

[Pet Sounds]

I have owned P Basses from every decade except the '50s, and there are great basses to be had in each era. It's true that '70s basses sometimes are heavy (that was considered a good thing then) with sloppy neck pockets, but I've had a couple great ones. The early '80s Fullerton models were good, but had broad necks with sharp edges that aren't for everybody. Don't care much for the "boner" basses of a few years later. The first -generation American Standards from the '90s are very nice, too. I personally didn't care as much for the American Series, but really like the 2008-present instruments as a rule. I've never played a bad one from the '60s and own a '69, but they're of course very expensive these days.

[loendmaestro]

I have a 2003 P-Bass that is one of the finest instruments I've ever played. It really is all a matter of opinion.

[Mojo-Man]

I've never played a bad P-Bass made between 1958-1966.
That said, 1959, and 1962 are my favorite years.
Rosewood slab-board fingerboards just kill me.
I had a 1962-slab-board P-Bass neck on a 1963 Jazz body.
It was my main bass for 9 years, till it got stolen from a gig.

[drTSTingray]

Sounds like the 2008 on models will be classics in 40 years time then?

It's funny - back in the 70s people like me in their teens wanted a new Fender bass as the pre CBS were associated with out of date music genres which were very uncool at the time (for teenagers) - the older guys said you're making a mistake those earlier basses are far better and your new ones will never be worth much.

Look at the price of 70s Fenders now - the older ones are even more expensive but I wonder whether the real vintage ones have peaked in price.

My choice - an early 70s natural with maple is my ultimate Fender.

And to be honest I've played loads of them - their sound is always fairly similar to me, some slightly better some slightly worse - but it's a Precision bass sound. I think a lot of it's down to the skill of the player to make the bass sing.

[svtb15]

Im a big time Pbass fan...I like the mid to late 60s necks.... And even the reissues are cool... Anything that is NOT heavy! like the late 70s ones that were like boat anchors... I just cant play those..
Actually my friend has a 62 RI listed on here it was out on a Queen tour or two. Its in the classifieds here...