Fender Deluxe Active P-bass, thoughts/opinions?

benjammin420 · #1 03-06-2011, 04:54 AM

I'm shopping around for a Precision bass, I've been leaning towards a MIM Standard, but I'm thinking I might like a P/J model. None of my local stores have the Deluxe Active in stock, so I'd probably have to order one to play one in person. For those of you who own or have played them, what are your impressions? I'm don't have much experience with active instruments, are the electronics on these basses good, or do they "require" upgrades?

madfiddler · #2 03-06-2011, 05:28 AM

I have a American Deluxe V

I had played various variants in stores, but never that model before I bought online. Most stores on the high street wanted me to pay upfront and commit to purchase before seeing the bass so in my mind there was little difference buying online and I could get a better price

Personally I think with the MIAs buying online is a relatively safe thing to do if you know what you want. Getting a MiM I would be more keen to try the exact bass I was looking for in store before purchase.

The active electronics are awesome, they can deliver a thumping low B and a really phat tone, combined with the P/J setup it can deliver as much of a jazz tone as it can a precision in my opinion, not necessarily "vintage", but very very good to my ears. The active circuit is 18v so that helps too, it doesn't seem to eat up the batteries as much a I thought it might

Over every other bass I have I would say this is the most versatile. It is the one bass that when first plugging in the guitarists in my band all complimented me on the sound, in fact they were probably more immediately impressed than I was!

HTH

benjammin420 · #3 03-06-2011, 05:46 AM

Thanks for the input. Just to clarify, I'm thinking about the MIM Deluxe, I'm open to other possibilities but I'm looking to spend less than $1000

madfiddler · #4 03-06-2011, 06:42 AM

Yeah I figured, but made comments on MiA as you were struggling to find what you are looking for in stores

Aren't the MiM and MiA electronics the same?

benjammin420 · #5 03-06-2011, 06:50 AM

According to the specs they don't have the same pickups, I dont know about the pre-amps

funkycoldmedina · #6 03-06-2011, 07:05 AM

I have the MIM deluxe p and I love it. Its got a great feel with the jazz neck. I don't feel that the bass "needs" any upgrades.

The only issue you might have is the single coil hum from the bridge pickup. Also the j pickup doesn't have the Same output so it doesn't come out alot when both pickups are on full BUT IMO it comes out just enough.

In terms of tone, the bass does a really good imitation of a p and a j with the bridge soloed. And with the blend knob in the center it has a little more of an aggressive bite than a standard p.

So short story long, I highly recommend this bass. While I don't believe it "needs" any upgrades, you could easily make it rival more expensive instruments by swapping out the bridge, or maybe new pickups. But good solid bass no matter what.

Brought to you by IMO, Inc.

Edit: the preamp is pretty solid but not the greatest. I don't think you could go wrong with swapping it out. But it does get the job done pretty well. The only problem I have with it (and it may be something else) is that the single coil hum is vastly exaggerated as the treble is turned up.

Overall if a passive p is what you want, get it. If you want a bass with a lot more tonal variety (IMO please don't flame me) go with this one. That is all

benjammin420 · #7 03-07-2011, 06:09 PM

Thanks for your input. If it was a decent isntrument, but needed a new pre-amp, I would probably just convert it to passive. I didn't realize this model had a Jazz neck, I'm not sure how I feel about that, I already have a nice Jazz bass, and half the reason I like P basses is because of how different they are. I prefer the Jazz neck, but I like the Precision neck too. I guess I'll have to try to track one down before I order. My local store does have a 30 day "no questions asked" return policy though