'62 Precision vs '72 Precision: can you hear the difference?

[Jim Carr]

Example A seems to be tracked a bit hotter, which IME makes a big difference in overall perception of tone.

Small differences in pickup height can make an audible difference, and strings are have a big role to play, too.

If they both were restrung identically at the same time with the same brand, type and gauge of strings, and played very little before the recordings were made, then the differences in output, given essentially identical pickup heights, would likely be due to magnet aging in example B, making that one the '62. That would be assuming the magnet alloy and initial strength were the same—not really knowable.

Perhaps the strings in example B are "deader?" As we know, it is not so much the age of the strings, as the amount of playing they get and the cleanliness of a player's hands that most effect string life.

In any case, I liked example A better because of its greater presence in the mix.

So many variables besides "vintage" that are hard to control—what about pot and cap values? Did somebody say wires, LOL?

 

[luciens]

Most people are tone deaf let alone tell the difference between Basses, different versions of the same bass, and or have the ability to mentally recall what they just heard. To find a difference here takes a discerning ear.

To your point, it’s fairly easy to hide an instrument’s identity, but let me add this. I may not have the best ear in the world, if you let me hear a P or a J with all tone controls open, the same strings, played in an amp EQ’d flat, I’ll bet I hit 90% or better on a blind test.

Sure, I could too, though I wouldn't put my odds of success as high as yours. Reason being, we've owned and played J and P style basses for a while. So we have cultivated, at least to some degree, that "micro focus" on the differences in tone in very controlled conditions.

But the idea is, for the more real-world conditions, like a gig or recording session, where supposedly the bass from The Good Old Days of pre-CBS Fender manufacture is worlds apart from a 70's or even 2020 MIM model P bass in tone, you're just not going to hear it. And the guesses will perform no better than chance. The player will notice because the pre-CBS bass is probably more broken in and (s)he is accustomed to its setup, etc. And it may be more comfortable because of that. But nobody else will be able to tell.

I mean, look at how hard it is for folks to tell between the recordings in this thread "are the pickup heights different?", "I think this bass is mixed hotter than the other" and so on: out on a gig, or when recording in a mix with a bunch of other instruments it's going to be orders of magnitude harder to tell.

Heck, I could probably sneak in with my jaco pastorius with no frets on it, hard finish on the fingerboard and Fender flats, turn off the bridge PU and probably no one would be the wiser that it's not a fretted P bass. Apart from my crappy playing and everything's out of tune, they'd be like "ah, the glorious sound of those pre-CBS P basses... " .

Anyway, that's not to take away from the fun of execises like these. I enjoy it too, but sadly the outcome is usually not very glamorous. The collector's item is usually indistinguishable from the 2 year-old beater. But oh well...

L

 

[bassliner50]

Nuanced playing. I cannot date the tone but through my head phones, I prefer A by slight edge.

 

[Michael Jewels]

All basses sound unique generally speaking. I have a '65 and a couple of new AV RI Precisions and they all sound great and slightly different. I had a '75 once and it was a piece of crap. It sounded thin, weighed a ton and started falling apart a few months after I brought it home.

I had almost exactly the same experience, JMarkD!

I bought a new, 1975 Fender P-bass in 1976.
It was natural with a fretted maple neck. The frets were in the neck, no fretboard.
After a few months, the natural blonde finish started turning grass-green in three places: on the body where you would rest your arm, on the upper horn where the strap button would go, and on the back of the body directly in back of the tone controls. After about a year, the neck began to twist up towards the G string.
Overall it had a very bright sound.
No warmth at all. Terrible.
I sold it after two years later.
I can't believe someone else had a similar experience with a '75!
I guess they might have been from the same batch.
By contrast, I had a friend who had a 1965 Precision, and it sounded so good.
I know I have photo of me playing it somewhere.
I'll try to find it.
Mike

 

[40Hz]

A sounds a little more focused to me.

B a little fuller and with a more extended timbral range.

If I had to guess I’d guess A was the 62.

But whatever. I like them both. And great playing on the demos! Nice to hear a bass that sounds like one, and not a percussion instrument for a change.

 

[Matthijs]

After listening to them on pretty good nearfield monitors I have to say I absolutely love B. I have no idea wich is the 62 though. Voted A in the hope that the B sound is a bit easier to achieve.

and, yes: outstanding playing.

 

[stringthrough]

General observation: Pick any year, pick 2 random P-basses from that year and they'll sound different. Wood, magnets, solder joints, etc. all come into play to assure no 2 basses will sound exactly the same.

Point: The fact that these two P-Basses were manufactured years apart says nothing about which production year is "better", that is unless different designs and/ or sourced parts were used.

 

[baileyboy]

Both basses have great tone. The difference is hardly discernible. Bass players care, no audience member ever will.

 

[Thundertips]

My friend Robert Strickland and I decided to conduct an experiment to determine the difference in tone between our Fender Precision Basses, his being a coveted pre-CBS instrument from 1962 and mine being a 1972 model. Both basses have rosewood fingerboards and are completely stock with their original electronics and hardware. They are both strung with La Bella light-gauge flatwounds that have been on their respective instruments for the same length of time, and neither bass has a foam mute. For this experiment, I chose to play a portion of James Jamerson’s classic bass part from Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” along with an instrumental backing track, the bass featured prominently in the mix. Both instruments were recorded directly into Audacity with no compression or effects. The basses were played finger-style and the volume and tone controls were up all the way. We would like the members of this group to listen to both tracks and see if they can determine which bass is being played. We will reveal the answer at a later date.

Track A

Track B

View attachment 3762364

- Steve

I think Track A is the 72 cuz it sounds brighter and B is the 62 cuz it sounds like it has more bottom end.
Aren't flatwounds not as bright as roundwounds? Anyway, the 72 sounds brighter, like Steve Harris's 70's P-Bass, except his is even brighter with the Maple fingerboard and roundwounds.

 

[4StringDave]

I voted for 62=B, but that said I liked track A slightly better. Difference is so subtle though as to not make any real difference in the real world.

What do I know though, as I'm mainly a Jazz Bass player.....

 

[Wood and Wire]

I think the '62 wins in the feel category, especially since the finish is worn off the back of the neck. It's a very enjoyable bass to play. The '72 has a very different neck: round and chunky with larger frets and a narrower B-width nut, and the glossy poly finish is intact. I like the neck on this bass too, but I could see why a lot of people would prefer the feel of the '62 neck. Outside of that there's not a huge difference other than age and wear. Both basses weigh 8.5 lbs as well.

- Steve

Thanks.

 

[4StringDave]

For gigging, I'd just buy a new one from Fender, which will sound exactly the same and, because it's just better manufactured with modern techniques, better QC on the wood and parts, etc., will be more comfortable to play. The sound guy will never be able tell the difference in sound and neither will you.

I agree, especially once you factor in other instruments playing alongside you, the room etc etc

 

[4StringDave]

Most people can't even identify a P bass and a Jazz bass soloing the front PU in a blind test much better than random chance, if they can detect a difference in the sound at all.

Truth !!

 

[Panek]

Great playing! I'd say that A is the '62, while B is the '72.

 

[pbassnut]

My friend Robert Strickland and I decided to conduct an experiment to determine the difference in tone between our Fender Precision Basses, his being a coveted pre-CBS instrument from 1962 and mine being a 1972 model. Both basses have rosewood fingerboards and are completely stock with their original electronics and hardware. They are both strung with La Bella light-gauge flatwounds that have been on their respective instruments for the same length of time, and neither bass has a foam mute. For this experiment, I chose to play a portion of James Jamerson’s classic bass part from Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” along with an instrumental backing track, the bass featured prominently in the mix. Both instruments were recorded directly into Audacity with no compression or effects. The basses were played finger-style and the volume and tone controls were up all the way. We would like the members of this group to listen to both tracks and see if they can determine which bass is being played. We will reveal the answer at a later date.

Track A

Track B

View attachment 3762364

- Steve

Hard to say as both sound great primarily due to the excellent playing which is really the tonal bottom line when all is said and done.

 

[juancaminos]

I don't know either but I like B as well. IMHO even basses of the same year are different, just like guns and people.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

I'd like to know what the signal chain is. They are wood and wire (and some magnets, resistors and capacitors), so there's no particular reason why any of my basses shouldn't sound as good. I have had a Precision sound as good on occasion, but perhaps I need to tweak my current set up. However, I was trying to move before lockdown so all my instruments are in a storage unit I cannot access, so it won't be for a while.

 

[CatDaddyOTB]

Track A sounds "throatier" to me, which is typically something I associate with 70s instruments. I feel like B is the '62. Both sound nice though : )

 

[TheDialog]

A = 72
B = 62

 

[-Asdfgh-]

The playing is terrific, both sounds are high quality, but I'm afraid I'm getting a little thrown by volume differences. A sounds louder to me. And while I like hearing good strong bass, both seem too hot to me in the mix to be able to give you a solid opinion of which I like better.

They are both very loud in the mix. I presume that's been done to allow people to hear the bass more easily rather than being representative of a final mix.