Fender Aerodyne Precision Questions

[BigWalnut]

Hey All,

I have a few questions about these that I am hoping someone here may be able to help with. Its probably a long shot but I thought it worth attempting anyway.

1. I have been looking into these for a while now, does anyone know why these are so elusive? I know they are discontinued, but there are many other discontinued basses that seem easier to find.

2. Does anyone one know either an exact or even rough figure of how many of these were made?

3. I know they still have the aerodyne jazz bass, so why did they stop the precision? Was it poor sales, maybe due to the some what wild (by fender standards) colors? I wonder if they had made them in black if they would still be around.

4. Pickguards: this seems odd. Seems like some came with mint guards and some with white. The white guards even have holes for a pickup cover predrilled in them. Were they just trying to use up some old stock they had laying around?


Sorry if this is nonsensical and a waste of band width... some times wierd questions go through the mind though.

Thanks,
BigWalnut

[orangeball]

You are not alone.

[hdracer]

They stopped because people have tiny hands and like the Jazz neck better. They were the same bass but a P neck. They are hot! I have a Aero Jazz but would love to find a Aero P, in blue

[Miskatonic]

I'm assuming that the people that bought them just aren't selling. I know I wouldn't be if I had one. Especially one of the red ones.

As for why the jazz and not the precision, I would think that it came down to where the profits were coming from. Sell more of the jazz and measure that against the manufacturing cost/sales of the precision, there was likely more margin on the jazz. Even though the p was damn cool.

[onosson]

I've got one, in red! It did indeed come with a white pickguard, with pickup cover holes - I replaced it with one of those "gold" metallic ones. I find that the neck is quite narrow for a P, not far from my mid-90s MIJ Jazz. It's a great bass, though I did have some problems with the electronics - the input jack was originally very loose, which is a big problem for a bottom-loading input, and the volume pots were somewhat noisy - I've since replaced them. I bought this bass primarily due to its lightweightness which, coupled with the smaller P body profile, makes it a great bass for extended weekends doing three+ sets, three nights in one venue (my Jazz is a back breaker in those scenarios).

[dmusic148]

I had one briefly and sold it. Couldn't deal with the sharp, bound body edge digging into my arm when playing with a pick.
It was pretty, and sounded good but it wasn't for me.

[bolophonic]

Where are the photos in this thread? I've never even seen an Aerodyne P.

[onosson]

There's quite a few of 'em in the Aerodyne Club thread ... mine is here, about halfway down the page:

Fender Aerodyne Club!

[Kenova]

‪Ratt - Round & Round - Bass cover‬‏ - YouTube

Nice looking basses!!!!

[timber22]

I have a red one. It's a really nice instrument. Build quality is typical Japan - excellent. The neck seems to be between a J and a P, closer to some Jazz's I've played. Very comfortable. I don't play it a whole lot because I love my G&L's too much, but it is sweet. I can only assume Fender's decision to discontinue them was a purely business decision (aren't they all?) I guess they weren't making enough profit.

[BigWalnut]

Thanks for all the replys everyone!

I suspected there wasn't a bunch of info out here on these.

After some more research I read in a different thread here that these were discontinued due to a lawsuit from Brian Moore guitars about body shape. Any truth to this?
If so, why not he Jazz basses as well?

Thanks,
BigWalnut

[BigWalnut]

Remarkably I stumbled onto a used one of these in amber at woodsys music in Ohio. It's on their website, have at it whoever wants it. They don't come around often. I am not affiliated with woodsys in anyway.
I was searching for info and this happened to come up.

Thanks,
BigWalnut