Fender AVRI '62 Precision Bass Questions

[ETThompson]

Hi

I'm considering a Fender American Vintage '62 Precision, but haven't been able to try one yet in person (working on that).

One question I have is about the reverse tuners - have people who have that bass gotten used to them? Swapped them out? I'm a little hesitant about that detail.

Also, how do you like the stock p/ups? If you swapped them out, what did you put in its place?

I love old P's, a pal of mine has one and it's amazing but I can't afford the real deal, I've heard the AV's are great, wonder in general what people who own them think?

Thanks Eric

[king_biscuit]

The reverse tuners are cool and easy enough to get used to. The stock pickup is great, and one of the best sounding P bass pickups made. I wouldn't change a thing except the strings -- its really needs flats!

[Anthony Barrett]

Hi Eric - I bought one two weeks ago. I use the AVRI 62 P Bass and a 2009 MIA Standard P Bass. The things that stand out for me are:

- Wider, flatter neck. Didn't like it at first but now I really dig it. I can't explain (and I don't have the biggest hands) but it feels more comfortable.
- Fit and finish: Beautiful. A fantastic piece of workmanship.
- Pickups - More aggressive than my standard. More noisy too. I was at first concerned as there was a buzz from the pickups.
I called Fender who advised that it is normal for the AVRI 62 as it is built to 60's spec. The noise does not interfere at all with playing however. Once you touch the strings you earth the bass and it goes away.

All in all, fantastic bass. Very happy. Sounds beautiful in the live mix. If you are OK with the vintage pups (I am that's why I bought it) you should be very happy.

[king_biscuit]

Originally Posted by Anthony Barrett

Hi Eric - I bought one two weeks ago. I use the AVRI 62 P Bass and a 2009 MIA Standard P Bass. The things that stand out for me are:


- Pickups - More aggressive than my standard. More noisy too. I was at first concerned as there was a buzz from the pickups.

Any noise you are hearing is probably not the pickup per see, but rather is a result of the shielding technique used for the bass -- I never noticed any unusual noise with mine, though. OP, I had a late model 62RI that I traded a while back -- I also have a 82 Fullerton reissue 57 so that is the one I wanted to keep. The stock 62 is as good a sounding P bass as I've ever heard.

[Anthony Barrett]

Originally Posted by king_biscuit

Any noise you are hearing is probably not the pickup per see, but rather is a result of the shielding technique used for the bass. OP, I had a late model 62RI that I traded a while back -- I also have a 82 Fullerton reissue 57 so that is the one I wanted to keep. The stock 62 is as good a sounding P bass as I've ever heard.

Hi - probably is the shielding I guess - excuse my loose terminology. Again, relative to a modern standard, the guy at Fender advised me to expect a little more hum. A little nit picking on my part as no interference with performance whatsoever. Just wanted to pass on my experiences here. I guess if I wanted to eliminate it altogether, I could add some more shielding right?
Ant

[Avidus]

My AVRI '62 P is never leaving my stable. Love the sound, love the feel, love the craftsmanship. It sounds great DI'ed for recording, or through my vintage Ampeg, my goodness. I hated P's until I tried this one. So good!

[Anthony Barrett]

Originally Posted by Avidus

My AVRI '62 P is never leaving my stable. Love the sound, love the feel, love the craftsmanship. It sounds great DI'ed for recording, or through my vintage Ampeg, my goodness. I hated P's until I tried this one. So good!

Any pics mate?
Ant

[ahc]

I've never played an AV, but I own a real 62 P and a RW Jazz, both with reverse tuners, as well as several other basses with "non-reverse" tuners. It's a not issue to adjust to the direction. You'll know immediately if you're going in the wrong direction.
And how often will you need to tune anyway? I have more trouble on my 5-string in tuning the wrong string!

As for the pickups, I've heard that the reissues are very close (if not identical) to the originals. Play it and let your ears be your guide.

[christle]

Originally Posted by ETThompson

....
One question I have is about the reverse tuners - have people who have that bass gotten used to them? Swapped them out? I'm a little hesitant about that detail.
....

I have a 50's Classic with the reverse tuners and I have no problems going between them and the standard tuners on my other Precision. I did swap out the E string tuner for a HipShot Extender and that worked out well....

[JTE]

I've had my AV '62 since April 1983 (well, technically, mine's NOT and "American Vintage" because in those days the only choices were a "Vintage Series" or a "Japanese Vintage" which were made in Japan solely for the Japanese market...). It took about five seconds to adapt to the reverse tuners. When I got it I alternated at gigs between the P and a StingRay, and just like having different controls, my hand automatically turned the tuning machines different directions. No reason at all to change pickups. The stock PUP translates perfectly for me the inherent sound of THIS particular bass. And I love the neck- very wide side-to-side while being very thin front-to-back. That front-to-back dimension is very critical to me. Part of why I hate Jazz Bass necks is that they tend to be much deeper there, forcing my hand and wrist into positions that cause problems. This contour P bass neck really facilitates what I believe to be the best fretting-hand position to reduce stress and pressure on not only your finger tendons, but the whole arm and shoulder.


The bass in 2004


A close up of the body showing how my right arm has worn the finish since 1983

John

[A-Step-Towards]

62 reissue pickups are by far my fav P bass pickup. As for reverse tuners its not that hard, you learnedd to read and write obviously so you can accomplish this task.

[lesmarshall]

Originally Posted by Anthony Barrett

Hi Eric - I bought one two weeks ago. I use the AVRI 62 P Bass and a 2009 MIA Standard P Bass. The things that stand out for me are:

- Wider, flatter neck. Didn't like it at first but now I really dig it. I can't explain (and I don't have the biggest hands) but it feels more comfortable.
- Fit and finish: Beautiful. A fantastic piece of workmanship.
- Pickups - More aggressive than my standard. More noisy too. I was at first concerned as there was a buzz from the pickups.
I called Fender who advised that it is normal for the AVRI 62 as it is built to 60's spec. The noise does not interfere at all with playing however. Once you touch the strings you earth the bass and it goes away.

All in all, fantastic bass. Very happy. Sounds beautiful in the live mix. If you are OK with the vintage pups (I am that's why I bought it) you should be very happy.

Could someone comment on the difference in the frets? I think the AVRI 62 uses 6105 frets and the Standard uses medium jumbos. Does anyone notice a difference in playability. Also , you say above the the 62 has a flatter neck- I assume you mean the shape of the neck as opposed to the fingerboard radius, which is 7.25 on the 62 RI and 9.50 ( I believe) on the Standard . Does anyone notice a difference based on the radius?

[DTF]

Originally Posted by lesmarshall

Could someone comment on the difference in the frets? I think the AVRI 62 uses 6105 frets and the Standard uses medium jumbos. Does anyone notice a difference in playability. Also , you say above the the 62 has a flatter neck- I assume you mean the shape of the neck as opposed to the fingerboard radius, which is 7.25 on the 62 RI and 9.50 ( I believe) on the Standard . Does anyone notice a difference based on the radius?

I like the smaller frets , the larger radius fretboards are easier to play (subjective YMMV) I guess, but its not really a big deal I dont notice when I switch between radius' and my favorite basses seem to have the smaller radius , you cant go wrong buying a used AVRI if you dont like it it would be hard to lose money reselling it

[DTF]

The bass in 2004


A close up of the body showing how my right arm has worn the finish since 1983

John[/quote]

is that LPB? what a beautiful specimen. I wish theyd offer more colors with the AVRI line

[Fender4Me]

Originally Posted by king_biscuit

The reverse tuners are cool and easy enough to get used to. The stock pickup is great, and one of the best sounding P bass pickups made. I wouldn't change a thing except the strings -- its really needs flats!

++++1 ! I love, love, love mine !

[Fender4Me]

Originally Posted by Anthony Barrett

Hi Eric - I bought one two weeks ago. I use the AVRI 62 P Bass and a 2009 MIA Standard P Bass. The things that stand out for me are:

- Wider, flatter neck. Didn't like it at first but now I really dig it. I can't explain (and I don't have the biggest hands) but it feels more comfortable.
- Fit and finish: Beautiful. A fantastic piece of workmanship.
- Pickups - More aggressive than my standard. More noisy too. I was at first concerned as there was a buzz from the pickups.
I called Fender who advised that it is normal for the AVRI 62 as it is built to 60's spec. The noise does not interfere at all with playing however. Once you touch the strings you earth the bass and it goes away.

All in all, fantastic bass. Very happy. Sounds beautiful in the live mix. If you are OK with the vintage pups (I am that's why I bought it) you should be very happy.

Mine is dead-quiet ! Make sure you have the full aluminum shield under the pickguard. If not, add one. They are cheap and it will make a difference.

[JTE]

Originally Posted by DTF

The bass in 2004

A close up of the body showing how my right arm has worn the finish since 1983

John

is that LPB? what a beautiful specimen. I wish theyd offer more colors with the AVRI line[/quote]

Yes, Lake Placid Blue, real LPB.

John

[ETThompson]

Thanks everyone for the comments - I'm on my way, saving up and selling off old stuff I don't need.

I would love to hear about the frets - that can make a difference too.

What about the radius? Is there any drawback? I know with guitar you can fret out when you do deep bends on a smaller radius, but on bass?

Btw, I played an American Std at GC (they didn't have an AV), and it was really really nice, but much much better was a '71 P - way outta my league right now but sooo tempting. It's here:http://www.vintageguitars.net/produc....cfm?id=188281

I'd rather have a rosewd board but it sure was nice.

Thanks Eric

[frankie5string]

I have it's younger brother, the '62 RI Jazz (really a RI of a 1960 jazz with the stack-knob design)...

Too bad they decided to give the neck that silly sticky lacquer treatment... Mine played much better once I sanded off the neck lacquer...

[lpdeluxe]

I don't have a 62, but I have a '51 RI, a Classic '50s and an AV 57, and I have to say that the reverse tuners are not an issue. It DOES cause problems when drunks come up and want to play bass, and find out that they are incapable of tuning the strings (which, dammit, started out in tune anyway!) but I use my social skills to minimize those encounters.

The fingerboard radius was a little problematical when I was switching back and forth between a Tribute L2000 (12") and my '51 (7.25") but after getting the '57, the feel is very similar and I no longer have to adjust.

Finally, I LOVE the vintage "mandolin" frets: I can do slides that almost sound fretless with them. Big frets get in my way. It's not like I'm doing any bending, after all.