Good deal for an American Deluxe P?

[gjbassist]

I think I found what appears to be a very good deal on a late 90's Fender American Deluxe P bass. The seller only wants $600 for it with a hard case. I have not seen it yet but he says it's in great shape except for a scratchy pot. Includes a Fender hard case. It is black with a rosewood fretboard. Should I grab it at this price?

[Yango]

That's a pretty decent price if it's in great shape. But make sure that you like the sound of it before you buy it. I picked up a beautiful sunburst American Jazz Bass Deluxe when they first came out, and I struggled with the tone pretty much from day one. The preamp had this thin harsh high end tone issue that I could just never fix or get to like. I tried all kinds of pedals and amp settings and nothing worked. Eventually it came down to swapping out the preamp and possibly the pickups, or get rid of the bass... I ended up trading it for a Stingray, and I've never been happier.

Having said that, I've heard that there were issues with the preamps at Fender, and with later models they started using a different preamp... whether or not this is true, I don't know, it's something that I read here on talkbass... and by the time I read the info, my Deluxe was long gone.

All that I can recommend, is to put the bass through it's paces, and make sure that you like the tone before you buy it.

I know that there are guys that absolutely love their Deluxes, so I suppose it comes down to personal taste.

[RickenBoogie]

My '02 is my main player, above my collection of Rickenbackers over the years. That fat humbucker is awesome. The one you're looking at will have the 9VDC preamp, which is "ok". The price is good, so play and see what you think.

[gjbassist]

The preamp is my main concern as I normally prefer passive basses. The seller wants to meet somewhere which won't give me the opportunity to play it through an amp. I think I'm gonna pass on it even though it's a good deal.