Fender 70s P bass RI - thick neck or not?

[pattyløve]

Hi all,
Im interested in the relatively new Fender 70s P bass RI (classic series). What i want to know is does the bass have the thick 'baseball bat' neck that is standard on the 50s P bass RI (and original early fender P basses).

If not, what is the neck on this like, because ive heard its not exactly the same as the modern C-shape that's on the MIM/MIA standards. I do like the wide neck of a P bass but i really dislike the thick neck of early P basses.

[Wallace320]

infact it's way thinner

Cheers,
Wallace

[packhowitzer]

I have a 2011 70s P. it is one of the MIJ ones (I think they are now MIM). I find the neck to be a little thinner front to back than other modern P necks. This gives it a little bit of a flatter feel to me.

I also have a Geddy Lee jazz (very skinny neck) and a Highway One P (very comfortable modern C Pbass neck). The neck on the 70s P is somewhere in between the two of them as far as size goes.

But make no mistake- the 70s P neck is all P. No one would confuse it for a J neck at all, it's just a little thinner front to back than a typical P

there is quite a bit of discussion about it in this thread:
Fender '70s Precision Bass

or this one:
Fender 70s P-Bass MIJ

or this one:
fender 70's precision

good luck. i absolutely love mine. it is the best neck i've ever had in my hand.

good luck

[pattyløve]

So it's actually thinner from front to back than a standard MIM/MIA bass? Fascinating. Thanks for the answers guys, and thanks for those links packhowitzer, i searched with no decent results. I shall have a read I'll have to find one around and try the neck out for myself is it is as good as you say it is!

[Mokebass]

The 70's P basses had a lot of wood in those necks. Heavy but it made for great tone.

Would consider a Highway 1 if they still make them.

[packhowitzer]

Originally Posted by Mokebass

The 70's P basses had a lot of wood in those necks. Heavy but it made for great tone.

The new Fender 70s P has a neck that is not really like P necks from the actually 1970s. It is not chunky or baseball bat-ish at all. also no pbass necks from that era were bound and blocked as far as I know. In fact, other than the logo and the body/PG color scheme, I'm not really sure what makes the bass "70s" at all. The Fender 70s Jazz bass seems a lot more accurate for the period.

BUT- whatever the name is- the 70s P is a great bass. Fit and finish are fantastic for a 850 dollar bass. The sound is great right out of the box- some may want other pickups or hardware, but I didn't need to change anything on mine.

I think Fender wanted a P bass "twin" for its 70s Jazz bass more than it wanted to make a period-accurate 1970s Precision Bass.

All I know is, I wish that neck was on every bass I ever played from now on. ymmv.

[packhowitzer]

Originally Posted by pattyløve

So it's actually thinner from front to back than a standard MIM/MIA bass? Fascinating. Thanks for the answers guys, and thanks for those links packhowitzer, i searched with no decent results. I shall have a read I'll have to find one around and try the neck out for myself is it is as good as you say it is!

I can't completely vouch for caliper-style measurements to back up my claims, but i can tell you that the neck FEELS thinner to me back to front than my HIghway One P.

And again, it's the most comfortable neck that I'VE ever held. It may not fit your hand like it does mine. But here's what i've found: The Geddy Lee is almost too skinny for me, I feel like my hands just wrap around it. it's like trying to play a billiard cue. I understand that some of the newer Geddy Lee's have a little bit more wood in the necks for stability, but mine (an 08) is thin as a rail. My Highway One has a very comfortable neck- Fender hit the nail on the head with the "modern C" p neck if you ask me. But there's just something about the 70s P neck. It doesn't feel wider, but it feels flatter. like the angle of the back curvature of the neck meets the front edge at a shallower angle or something. Some may find this unappealing, but it makes me feel like I can play anything that comes down the pike. Wish I could take some more scientific measurements for you, instead of just going by feeling and intuition, but it is what it is.

I think a few in those other threads i linked to talked of fret ends being a little rough or string spacing being less than ideal. I haven't had anything remotely like that from my bass. it came ready to go out of the box: smooth fret ends and not only intonated, but practically in tune as well. the action was quite nice and the neck was straight. obviously they won't all be like that out of the box, but it does happen. conversely my Geddy Lee needed a MAJOR setup out of the box and the stock tuners were so bad I had to replace them with Hipshots. So I know that circumstances can vary widely.

I did compare my 70s P neck to an American Deluxe P neck at a local Guitar Center. I was saving for the AmDlx P when the 70s P came out. I wondered if the "Rolled Neck" of the AmDlx was really that big of a deal. I liked the idea of a neck that already felt smooth and broken in because of extra attention being paid to how the fret ends were dressed. Honestly I couldn't really feel a difference between my 70s P and the AmDlx P. But perhaps with the AmDlx, EVERY bass they put out has great fret ends and with the less stringent QC on the MIJ basses, the likely hood of getting great frets is diminished.
But mine feels great.

Hope this helps.

[Fullback32]

I just received one of these (MIM). I am a J-Bass guy, but wanted a P-Bass to go into my collection and this is the one I chose. The neck is not as thick as most P-Bass's I've seen throught the years. It is most certainly not a J-Bass neck, but it is the most comfortable neck I've ever played on a P-Bass. I like it!

[Mike M.]

I bought one of the MIJ '70's P basses a few months ago (my first Precision) and I love it! Good God but it plays so easy! Took my time when looking, did a lot of comparing and when I found mine it was like...."wow!!"

I'm at work now so I can't provide measurements, but as others have said the neck seems to have the same width across the fretboard as a P bass. It's also thinner from front to back but not as thin as a Jazz bass neck. Kinda in between a P and a J. The fretboard radius is also 9.5 so it's flatter than a 7.5 radius. Personally I find the flatter radius to be more comfortable. Mine is also very light (about 8 lbs.) and that's very good for my back.

I love it! Plays great, balances great and it kicks! Not a wimpy sounding bass at all. Turn the tone knob all the way down and it's got a really deep sound to it.

[4stringsonly]

I bought a brand new MIJ 70's p bass (sunburst with black block maple neck) about a year ago. Man I LOVE this Bass. I have always played MIJ Fender P basses ( I own 2 others) but this one is the best. Its got a fast neck and the tone is great.