Come On Fender!

[Gervais Cote]

A precision bass with a slab rosewood board, rolled edges and nice colors : I would buy that right away if I was shopping. This would also stop me to look at the equivalent precision bass Sire P5.

OTHO, I would CERTAINLY do my own quality control myself before buying though.

 

[CallMeAl]

Positive thing about the update: more nonsensical emojis.

 

[pepj]

I like FSO but so many guys do it so so so much better IMV so even if I lucked out with a Fender...like an old Elite, I definitely wouldn’t start looking there. So I guess I'm not their demo...

 

[gwangi]

So Fender is using a slab rosewood board on the Player ii series but that don't use slab rosewood boards on the American Professional ii precision or jazz bass?

 

[Iridescentone]

Since we're injecting totally subjective preferences here....

Not me, I prefer lighter looking Pau Ferro for its natural, distinctive beauty and its smooth-feeling tight grain. That it looks like what it naturally is, instead of looking like something that it's not, isn't a "problem" or a bug for me, it's a feature.

To each their own, but give me Pau like this example, every time please. Silky smooove...

 

[Hounddog409]

So Fender has released the Player 2 Series boasting some supposed upgrades to the Player Series along with new colors:

https://www.sweetwater.com/fender-p...ek=2024-07-09T14:30:08Z&bsft_lx=14&bsft_tv=38

The "new" colors are far from being all that different from existing colors and the "improvements" are vague and not overtly different.

SNORE...........

I compared specs between player and player 2 Jazz on the fender web. The only difference I see is colors and tone nob type?

These are the same bass as far as i can determine.

 

[MovingPitchers]

P’s and J’s are classics that are hard to go wrong with, which is why people want them and buy them. For the same reasons, Fender can’t make any drastic changes to them either. Every time Fender does try to introduce something new and different, like the Dimension or Meteora, hardly anyone is interested, and they get discontinued eventually.

Of course Fender sticks to what their customers want - why shouldn’t they? The new models are perfectly fine, and a reasonable - if slightly uneventful - refresh of the Player line. And at least we’ll now be spared all the whining about Pau Ferro fretboards.

By all mean,s everyone can happily donate their basses that have pau ferro fretboards to me free of charge. I will, erm, take care of them just in case you want them back.

 

[Git]

As well as the rolled edges, the necks have a 'satin urethane' finish. My Player Jazz has a gloss finish, so I assume this is an another improvement.

Bassists and guitarists do seem to be quite traditional don't we. FSOs stay in fashion and people miss the rosewood of old. I also prefer the slightly red brown and grainy look of Pau ferro, however, for practicality, on a darkened stage, I'd rather have maple, even if it doesn't look so good.

 

[Yahboy]

As well as the rolled edges, the necks have a 'satin urethane' finish. My Player Jazz has a gloss finish, so I assume this is an another improvement.

Bassists and guitarists do seem to be quite traditional don't we. FSOs stay in fashion and people miss the rosewood of old. I also prefer the slightly red brown and grainy look of Pau ferro, however, for practicality, on a darkened stage, I'd rather have maple, even if it doesn't look so good.

Are you sure your player J has glossy tint on back of the neck???

 

[Git]

Are you sure your player J has glossy tint on back of the neck???

Yes, I'm sure. I have just played it.

2019 Player jazz in tidepool blue

 

[Git]

Actually, now I'm not so sure.

Fender says the were 'satin urethane'. My neck feels glossy for the most part but the back of the headstock and the base of the neck are satin.

It just feels like gloss for most of the neck but there isn't an obvious change point, so perhaps what I thought was gloss was just shiny satin?

 

[musicman556]

Actually, now I'm not so sure.

Fender says the were 'satin urethane'. My neck feels glossy for the most part but the back of the headstock and the base of the neck are satin.

It just feels like gloss for most of the neck but there isn't an obvious change point, so perhaps what I thought was gloss was just shiny satin?

The fretboard is gloss, the back is satin. Lots of playing, etc, can make the satin back of the neck "polish up" to look more glossy over time, but it should never get to that "sticky glossy" level.

I love the satin-back, gloss maple fretboard vibe. Generally only the maple boards get the gloss treatment. Rosewood and Pau Ferro boards just get an oil rub and not a poly spray.

 

[Git]

The fretboard is gloss, the back is satin. Lots of playing, etc, can make the satin back of the neck "polish up" to look more glossy over time, but it should never get to that "sticky glossy" level.

I love the satin-back, gloss maple fretboard vibe. Generally only the maple boards get the gloss treatment. Rosewood and Pau Ferro boards just get an oil rub and not a poly spray.

Yes, I think you are right. I have played that bass quite a lot and I think my finger grease has polished it up but it certainly isn't as glossy as a Squier P bass I used to own.

 

[Iridescentone]

As well as the rolled edges, the necks have a 'satin urethane' finish. My Player Jazz has a gloss finish, so I assume this is an another improvement.

Bassists and guitarists do seem to be quite traditional don't we. FSOs stay in fashion and people miss the rosewood of old. I also prefer the slightly red brown and grainy look of Pau ferro, however, for practicality, on a darkened stage, I'd rather have maple, even if it doesn't look so good.

I'd agree that rolled edges is a pretty big deal, and a def improvement for any bass.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

Of course it would be improved after I bought a 2021 Player Jazz

 

[Relayer71]

Since we're injecting totally subjective preferences here....

Not me, I prefer lighter looking Pau Ferro for its natural, distinctive beauty and its smooth-feeling tight grain. That it looks like what it naturally is, instead of looking like something that it's not, isn't a "problem" or a bug for me, it's a feature.

To each their own, but give me Pau like this example, every time please. Silky smooove...

View attachment 6977169

View attachment 6977170

That Pau Ferro looks good. So does the Pau Ferro Spector has been using forever on their USA basses. However, some of the Pau Ferro Fender used looked, to put it bluntly, disgusting.

It's all in the shade used. A nice neutral medium to dark brown looks good, but some of the Fender ones I've seen are a little too light, but with a yellowish or orangey tinge.

 

[Iridescentone]

The Pau Ferro looks good. So does the Pau Ferro Spector has been using forever on their USA basses. However, some of the Pau Ferro Fender used looked, to put it bluntly, disgusting.

It's all in the shade used. A nice neutral medium to dark brown looks good, but some of the Fender ones I've seen are a little too light, but with a yellowish or orangey tinge.

Hmm....light, with yellow or orange tinge?

Sounds like something I'd go for!

Cheers.

 

[antfarm]

So Fender is using a slab rosewood board on the Player ii series but that don't use slab rosewood boards on the American Professional ii precision or jazz bass?

The American Pro II fretboard looks pretty slab to me.

As this is the default for Fender since they changed it back from the round laminated boards in the early ‘80s, I believe they didn’t bother calling it that anymore. Maybe out of fear it could be regarded a downgrade from the round lam?

I guess the use of the term for the Player II series has its origin in Fender’s marketing department looking for new ways to describe the same old thing and making it sound more vintage inspired.

The term ‘slab board’ is usually used with vintage instruments from the time before Fender started using round laminated fretboards in the early ‘60s. Accordingly, the only other current bass I know of where Fender explicitly specifies a slab fretboard is the American Vintage II 1960 Precision Bass.

 

[godofthunder59]

At this price point there aren't many things that Fender can do to improve the Player series I own two and both are excellent basses.
For the Player Series II Fender added rolled fingerboards, tinted necks, new colors and brought back rosewood fingerboards. That's at least three changes to the line. I just tried the new Series II Precision and Jazz and both are great basses and fill the place in the market for a affordable Fender Precision and Jazz.

 

[MrAB4003]

The real question is whether their QC will improve with this new series of basses. I honestly doubt it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Squier passes them if they haven’t done so already.

My suspicions have been confirmed. Squier's QC has surpassed that of MIM 7enders!

I went to my local GC today and I played some basses. I tried out a 7ender Player II Jazz Bass and it was not worth the $800 price tag. The fret edges were rough, the pickups were quiet and brittle sounding, and there were small marks all over the bass, particularly on the neck. This is a brand new bass that had come in within the last 5 days (I know because I was at GC on Sunday and there were no Player II instruments out yet).

What's more is that I tried a $200 Squier Sonic P Bass after putting down the Player II Jazz. The fretwork was exactly the same, but the pickup sounded hotter and louder. I didn't expect to enjoy that bass as much as I did both for the price and compared to the MIM 7ender. There were also very few marks and imperfections on the Squier.

The 7ender is 4x the price of the Squier, despite both basses having similar levels of QC. Country of origin is the only reason why.

There's a Japanese word that I learned about in high school business class that means "constant improvement": kaizen. Squier has been embracing the kaizen philosophy in their basses since I started playing bass over 15 years ago. Their improved QC at a great price point ($200 - $500) is amazing, especially compared to what's coming out of Mexico lately.