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2008 American Standard Precision

Venom of God

Venom of God

Oct 8, 2007
704
257
38
Australia
#1
Hey guys, I'm about to pull the trigger on one of these but was wondering if there was anything I should be looking out for? I've only really bought new in the past. I figure make sure the frets aren't dented but is there anything else? Bad action and what not could be fixed, yeah? Anything in particular for this year? I couldn't find much info.

And before anyone asks, yes, it is burst with a tort pick guard ;) Rosewood board.

Should make a nice alternative to my Thunderbird (sick of the Spector, gotta go!) that hopefully sticks around. It was either that or a StingRay but I think I've made the right choice.

Thanks!
 
#3
dedpool1052 said:
The '08 I owned in the past had a very modern, scooped sounding pickup. The tone was more balanced when I strung it with boomers, but it was scoop city when I was using DR hibeams.
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I had a student with one, I found the same scooped tone. Great bedroom tone, bad band mix tone. Pickup swap is nothing though if it's a good player.
 
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#4
Interesting, I wasn't expecting that! This is a bedroom guitar for me, as I use my Gibson in my band, so not as worried about how it sounds in a mix as people usually would be I guess. Still, I thought P basses were renowned for their 'in the mix' sound so it is a bit surprising. Might swap the pickup out down the line anyway in that case (funny as the whole point of going this over a MIM I was also looking at was to not have to swap out the pup, ha).
 
#7
Venom of God said:
This is totally getting ahead of myself and probably unnecessary for my needs, but is there a go-to pup replacement for these? Preferably from either Seymour or DiMarzio.
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I liked the pups in the MIA P I had (built in 09' and purchased new in 2010 if I'm remembering correctly). The build quality was excellent as is my 08' MIA jazz. Shouldn't have sold that P. I feel fender really stepped up their QC in 08' through today. As for the pups I here people raving about the fender Geezer Butler pups.
 
#9
MovingPitchers said:
Wasn't 2008 the year they started putting on the high-mass vintage bridges?

You're definitely not getting the CS62 pickup in it. Those didn't come until 2012. I suggest you get those if you want a nice crunch and bite from your Precision.
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The CS pups... Cannot rave enough about them. Dunno how an 08 sounds or feels, but if the price difference between the 08 and 15 are similar, I can tell you this - you won't be disappointed if you get the 15.
 
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#10
Venom of God said:
This is totally getting ahead of myself and probably unnecessary for my needs, but is there a go-to pup replacement for these? Preferably from either Seymour or DiMarzio.
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Plenty of options. DiMarzio Area P for vintage vibe or Model P for 70's ceramic kick-a... tone, Seymour you could do some antiquity II for vintage vibe, SPB-1 for 50's tone or SPB-3 for a rock scooped tone. My favorites however: Lollar P, or Arcane 65 both awesome. For a more laid back vintage tone, Aguilar AG 4P-60 is also very nice.

The bass itself is a solid instrument that will serve you well.
 
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#12
... as mentioned, '08 was a transition year ... along with the bridge and machine change, Fender began using the 61276/7 set of pups in the 'New' American Standards ... these were used up until the transition in 2012 (as mentioned) to the CS pups ... '08-12 set seems be the least preferred stock pups (taste is subjective) in the American P's if/when compared to the CS and the pre-'08 56003/4 set which was generally used through the early American Standards (pre-2000) and American Series run (2000-'07), although some seem to like them ...

Just FYI, but the price of a new '08 AmStand included the rectangular TSA style latch case ... if that is not included in a used sale, you may want to adjust the price accordingly ...
 
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#17
twinjet said:
The CS pups... Cannot rave enough about them. Dunno how an 08 sounds or feels, but if the price difference between the 08 and 15 are similar, I can tell you this - you won't be disappointed if you get the 15.
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I do love the CS62 myself. I had them in my old MIM Precision and it was amazing. Too bad I sold it. I could've replaced the pickup with the stock one and kept the CS62....and I got such a good deal for the CS62 too...T_T
 
#19
MovingPitchers said:
I do love the CS62 myself. I had them in my old MIM Precision and it was amazing. Too bad I sold it. I could've replaced the pickup with the stock one and kept the CS62....and I got such a good deal for the CS62 too...T_T
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They sounded phenomenal with the Fender rounds that came on it. Put some flats on and gurrrrrl, do it sang!
 
#20
I had a late 07 with all of the 08 updates and it was the best sounding P I've ever owned. It had crazy overtones and just beautiful tone. It slayed Ps I've owned that were 3 times the price. I definitely wouldn't jump to the conclusion that you immediately need a new pickup.


Michael
 
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