Fender American Vintage '62 Precision -- want one without dead spots

LyleRyan · #1 10-12-2011, 11:25 AM

I'm thinking of ordering an American Vintage '62 Precision. But I want one without dead spots.

I talked with Fender Consumer Relations today, and was told: "some will have dead spots, and some won't".

Catch 22! "Try before you buy, but you can't try one".

Dealers don't seem to stock these, so they have to be ordered. If I have to look through 3 or 4 (just a guess) to find one without dead spots, I'm not sure who pays the shipping, or if the dealer's patience will wear thin. And the dealer giving me the best price is not local to me.

Any advice? Thanks...Lyle

Mastermold · #2 10-12-2011, 11:40 AM

Call or go to Sweetwater.com and ask for Robby Resnick. I've purchased several basses from him including an AV 62 P-bass. They have several in stock right now and he might be able to pull a few and test the neck for you to help you decide which one to buy. He's done that for me before. When they do this it's a pretty involved process (so don't ask for too much) because he has to check the bass out from the warehouse, have it brought to him, inspect it while talking to you on the phone, and then send the basses to their guitar tech for a full inspection (and fingerprint wipe) before finally sending them back to the warehouse. You'll never get this service from GC or MF. Robby has inspected every bass for me before I purchased and I trust him, he'll take care of you.

Johnny Alien · #3 10-12-2011, 11:54 AM

I might have mentioned this to you before but The Music Zoo is one of my favorite shops even though they are not local. They can usually match a price and will also cherry pick an instrument for you. There have been a few times they told me not to buy something they had in stock because it wasn't up to par with other stock.

Reuben · #4 10-12-2011, 12:02 PM

I actually just got one of these basses from Sweetwater last week. I was able to go through the various serial numbers listed, which also listed their individual weight and I chose the lightest one (only 8 lbs 3oz!) and lo and behold there are no dead spots on this beast. I love it.

JTE · #5 10-12-2011, 12:26 PM

Bear in mind that the severity of dead spots and their precise location fluctuates with the strings you're using, and the way the truss rod is adjusted.

John

Mastermold · #6 10-12-2011, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Alien

I might have mentioned this to you before but The Music Zoo is one of my favorite shops even though they are not local. They can usually match a price and will also cherry pick an instrument for you. There have been a few times they told me not to buy something they had in stock because it wasn't up to par with other stock.

Yeah Robby at Sweetwater has "refused" to sell me a few basses too for the same reason. That's great customer service, really helps reduce the risk of blind on-line buying.

Spinal Tapper · #7 10-12-2011, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTE

Bear in mind that the severity of dead spots and their precise location fluctuates with the strings you're using, and the way the truss rod is adjusted.

John

Big one here. I've had techs get rid of dead spots for me before...

azzyrazzy · #8 10-12-2011, 12:39 PM

Fender, all have a resonant frequency somewhere (dead spot). Just get one.

bjabass · #9 10-12-2011, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azzyrazzy

Fender, all have a resonant frequency somewhere (dead spot). Just get one.

JMO, (worth every penny you paid)...All basses have a 'dead spot'. Some worse than others but all near the 7th fret on the g string. Adding a "Fatfinger"

Musician's Friend

will help but it's the nature of the beast. I have 4 Fenders, the Jazz basses (2 of 'em) are worse than the Precisions (the other 2). I have the 'hubcaps' (Bridge and pickup covers) on one Precision and it ALMOST doesn't have a dead spot, but it's a Frankenbass made from a Squier body and a Mighty Mite neck, so I don't know why it has less of a problem than the others. My other Precision has a Warmoth neck and it is the next best. I bought the Warmoth neck partially because they say it eliminates dead spots, but it didn't. It helped a lot, but especially when strings get old, it still has a 'weak' spot.

FretlessMainly · #10 10-12-2011, 01:27 PM

Most instruments are prone to dead spots of varying degree. Sometimes a small tweak of the truss rod will move the dead spot just enough to make it less dramatic. But, I've had better luck by changing the mass of the headstock by changing tuners. In my case, a lighter set of tuners almost completely removed a dead spot on my 4003FL (B and C on the D string). The theory being that the resonance frequency is highly dependent upon the ratio of the mass of the headstock to the mass of the body. The dead spot may not be gone - it has to exist somewhere, but I don't find it when I play.

Sparkdog · #11 10-12-2011, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mastermold

Call or go to Sweetwater.com and ask for Robby Resnick. I've purchased several basses from him including an AV 62 P-bass. They have several in stock right now and he might be able to pull a few and test the neck for you to help you decide which one to buy. He's done that for me before. When they do this it's a pretty involved process (so don't ask for too much) because he has to check the bass out from the warehouse, have it brought to him, inspect it while talking to you on the phone, and then send the basses to their guitar tech for a full inspection (and fingerprint wipe) before finally sending them back to the warehouse. You'll never get this service from GC or MF. Robby has inspected every bass for me before I purchased and I trust him, he'll take care of you.

Beaver and crew at Bass Central have done this same sort of thing for me before, i.e. "QC"ing a bass before it ships. They don't mind doing it because they would rather take a little time and send you a bass you're going to keep as opposed to taking it back.

Mastermold · #12 10-12-2011, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkdog

Beaver and crew at Bass Central have done this same sort of thing for me before, i.e. "QC"ing a bass before it ships. They don't mind doing it because they would rather take a little time and send you a bass you're going to keep as opposed to taking it back.

And they carry virtually every bass make and model out there.

BassBob1 · #13 10-12-2011, 05:32 PM

there is a used one at the sam ash close to me that I played around with this weekend. (also a used 57 with the raised pole pieces on the A string). No noticeable dead spot on either while playing around on it. There is also a brand new one at the shop almost right across the street from my apt. I haven't picked it up in a while but IIRC there's no really noticeable dead spot either. The nice thing if you are buying new is pretty much every online dealer i can think of will let you send it back if you don't like it. When i got my 08 american standard jazz I got it from guitar center. They where the first dealer around me to get them. They had to order the one I wanted. I personally unboxed it at guitar center when it came in and tested it out for about a half hour making sure it was all good and if it wasn't i would get my money back right then and there. See if a shop, be it guitar center or a mom and pop shop is willing to do something like that for you.