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(Almost) NBD - Fender Precision Player II - Limited Edition

Ian774

Ian774

Jan 27, 2007
1,747
3,030
Edinburgh, Scotland
#1
Alright guys?

I have been on the hunt for a good giggable Pbass recently, and stumbled across the Player II Limited Edition “Moonlight Drive”…. a very nice dark metallic blue that came out last year. It immediately caught my attention, so decided to order it sight unseen…. And I was pleasantly surprised. Well, for the most part.

This is what it looks like as standard.


IMG_2218.jpeg



Love the colour, love the roasted maple neck.
Don’t like the parchment pickguard….
The bridge was a bit flimsy. And the rosewood fretboard was very dry and pale.

It was time to fix that. Hot rod the sh*t out of it.

Enters a black pickguard. A Hipshot Vintage bridge I happened to have lying around.
And a good dose of lemon oil and Montypresso wax to nourish and slightly darken the fretboard.

And here it is:


IMG_2244.jpeg


IMG_2245.jpeg



It is an absolute joy to play. Well balanced, neck is super comfortable and smooth. It’s very well finished and have no complaints in that regard.

And the sound?

Well, it came with a Seymour Duncan SPB-3. A VERY polarising pickup. Never played it before, and I was ready to have it replaced if needed - again, I have a spare P pickup lying around.

And you know what? First rehearsal with it a few days ago, through my pedalboard (Cali76 Bass Comp, Darkglass VMT, SansAmp ParaDriver) into the room’s Ampeg. What. A. Sound.

I loved it. Cut through the mix like butter. It sounded so nice, I wasn’t expecting that. I thought I was gonna hate the SPB-3. Well, it’s staying in!

It’s naturally scooped but the VMT adds a lot of mids so it sounds very nice in the mix.


I have found a very nice Pbass for my current band. Some would say that you shouldn’t have to change things on a brand new instrument, but if that makes it amazing, why not?
 
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#7
This is my standard P bass built in 2000. I changed the pickup to a DiMarzio model P and also installed 500k volume and 250k tone pots also from DiMarzio. I finally gigged with it last Saturday night for the first time and played all 3 sets with it. Depending on the lighting it sometimes looks black, purple, blue or grey. Really odd. I like the black pickguard you put on yours. I'll be using it out again I'm sure as it did not disappoint!
 

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#12
@Ian774 paradriver you say... I am a long time bddi user, I picked up a paradriver to keep around for guitar or whatever anyone wants to plug in, and of course I tried it out with a bass one day... I was almost convinced it was defective. Still not entirely sure. You notice anything terrible and unusable about that rumble filter? Also, do you find the gain significantly different from a bddi?
 
#13
I picked up one of the Moonlight P's late last year. Walked into GC and it immediately caught my eye and after 15min of playing I bought it.
Don't know what makes it special but it sounds, feels and plays better than any of the 5 or so Player series I've had.
I also put a black pickguard and a Fender High Mass bridge I had laying around on it.
 
#14
I am with you brother...
Make it right...change pickguard ...Montys wax...and... lemon oil?
Bass looks way better
I tried the SPB-3 pickup...but ultimately went back to a PV63 or CS62

I love that you make your bass your own vision.....Excellent :bassist:
 
#16
Ian774 said:
Alright guys?

I have been on the hunt for a good giggable Pbass recently, and stumbled across the Player II Limited Edition “Moonlight Drive”…. a very nice dark metallic blue that came out last year. It immediately caught my attention, so decided to order it sight unseen…. And I was pleasantly surprised. Well, for the most part.

This is what it looks like as standard.


View attachment 7446215


Love the colour, love the roasted maple neck.
Don’t like the parchment pickguard….
The bridge was a bit flimsy. And the rosewood fretboard was very dry and pale.

It was time to fix that. Hot rod the sh*t out of it.

Enters a black pickguard. A Hipshot Vintage bridge I happened to have lying around.
And a good dose of lemon oil and Montypresso wax to nourish and slightly darken the fretboard.

And here it is:


View attachment 7446216

View attachment 7446217


It is an absolute joy to play. Well balanced, neck is super comfortable and smooth. It’s very well finished and have no complaints in that regard.

And the sound?

Well, it came with a Seymour Duncan SPB-3. A VERY polarising pickup. Never played it before, and I was ready to have it replaced if needed - again, I have a spare P pickup lying around.

And you know what? First rehearsal with it a few days ago, through my pedalboard (Cali76 Bass Comp, Darkglass VMT, SansAmp ParaDriver) into the room’s Ampeg. What. A. Sound.

I loved it. Cut through the mix like butter. It sounded so nice, I wasn’t expecting that. I thought I was gonna hate the SPB-3. Well, it’s staying in!

It’s naturally scooped but the VMT adds a lot of mids so it sounds very nice in the mix.


I have found a very nice Pbass for my current band. Some would say that you shouldn’t have to change things on a brand new instrument, but if that makes it amazing, why not?
Click to expand...
Very mince indeed! thebBlackmPg was a great upgrade. Enjoy.
 
#18
grubdumpling said:
@Ian774 paradriver you say... I am a long time bddi user, I picked up a paradriver to keep around for guitar or whatever anyone wants to plug in, and of course I tried it out with a bass one day... I was almost convinced it was defective. Still not entirely sure. You notice anything terrible and unusable about that rumble filter? Also, do you find the gain significantly different from a bddi?
Click to expand...

I used to have the BDDI V2 and I compared them both. The BDDI sounded too “Modern” with my Pbass. The Para is more “vintage” in my opinion. It works really well for me. The drive stays at 12 for me and it works.

The Rumble filter is designed for acoustic guitars as the Para is multi-instruments. It doesn’t work for me on bass. Sucks too much low end.
 
#19
coryr1000 said:
This is my standard P bass built in 2000. I changed the pickup to a DiMarzio model P and also installed 500k volume and 250k tone pots also from DiMarzio. I finally gigged with it last Saturday night for the first time and played all 3 sets with it. Depending on the lighting it sometimes looks black, purple, blue or grey. Really odd. I like the black pickguard you put on yours. I'll be using it out again I'm sure as it did not disappoint!
Click to expand...
How are those pots? I just bought some from Sweetwater. This will mark the first time I've modified a bass. Unless you count changing strings a modification.
 

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