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Fender 2018 MIM Player Series

#421
Quick update on this front, as I was able to find a Player Series Precision nearby with the pau ferro fingerboard earlier this morning. I gave it a pretty thorough inspection, and I spent a good bit of time playing it through a GK combo of some sort (MB112? MB115?).

IMG_20181226_103734433.jpg


FWIW I also had a chance to compare it directly to an American Professional Precision they had on the wall.

Bass itself was impressive. No flaws of any kind that I could see - nice, tight neck pocket...

IMG_20181226_103742374.jpg

...fret work wasn't half bad either - maybe a little sharper than I'm otherwise used to, but it didn't bother me a bit while I was playing... oh, and the neck shape/treatment felt awesome. It obviously wasn't set up to my liking, but then, nothing is except for my basses after I've spent a few hours adjusting them.

Important Edit: I feel like I also need to add that the pau ferro color was actually really rich and nice as you can see in the pictures. If I was in the mood for another dark fingerboard bass, I might have picked it up then and there.

IMG_20181226_103747491.jpg


Upon plugging it in, it definitely had that unmistakable P-bass character that makes you smile. It was a lot of fun to play, though I'll admit that I missed a B-string a little more than I thought I would :bag: when running through some of my bass lines.

And as for that American Pro that I compared it to? I know that some of the upgrades like the graphite neck reinforcement are hidden, and others like the beefier tuners and higher-mass through-body bridge aren't, but fit and feel wise, there didn't seem to be a huge difference. I left impressed.

Now, if I could just find one for the right price... ;)
 
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#422
Heavy Blue said:
Yes! I've been waiting for years for an affordable P with a maple board in something beside black and sunburst.

Winner on all fronts. Ideally it would be that sweet buttercream but Tidepool is great too. Make the sonic red available and I'll want one in pau ferro. Ordered a Tidepool one Christmas Eve.
Click to expand...

Very cool. I'm primarily a Jazz Bass guy (I never keep PBasses long), so I'll grab one of these cheap ones as well. I hear good things. Hope yours is killer. Happy holidays.
 
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#423
I did it. Sweetwater came through in a big way (many thanks to my Sweetwater rep Chris :thumbsup:), and I've now laid claim to this guy - pics of the actual bass I personally picked out of the three that Sweetwater had on hand. I wonder if other vendors will follow suit and start showing individual listings for each bass they have in the warehouse instead of just using stock images?

12-27-2018 2-18-31 PMsmall.jpg


Anyways, while some (who are wrong) may feel that sunburst is played-out, it still tickles me just the right way, and in a first for me, I'm excited to finally own an instrument with a maple neck! No CITES agents breathing down my neck with this guy!

I'm really very excited for it. The only concern I have still in the back of my head is whether I'll actually be able to bond long-term with a 4 string. I use the B-string infrequently in the grand scheme of things, but low-Ds in particular tend to work themselves into my compositions. I guess I could always string it BEAD if push comes to shove... though I guess the flip side is that if I take to the Precision well-enough and use it for future composition-work, eventually the problem should take care of itself! :laugh:

And now I wait.
 
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#424
Just got a call from my Sweetwater rep Chris again, and I just had that feeling that it wasn't going to be good news as soon as I picked up.

I had asked him if he'd personally do a quick once-over of the bass and let me know if there were any issues, as I was willing to wait for a good one to come in. In my mind, I was thinking of issues with bad neck fit, or spacing issues... loose pots, or... you know, things of that nature.

As it turns out, there's some funkiness with either the paint or the clear coat down by the jack. See pics below. I was told that it's the only issue with the bass, and that I can likely get it at an additional discount given the flaw - essentially they'd sell it as a "demo". Cost is a consideration here, as this is essentially an impulse buy, and why I'm going with a Player vs. one of its MIA brothers, so I'm thinking that maybe I should just roll with it.

What do you guys think? What would you do?

zoomout.jpg


zoomin.jpg
 
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#426
Kukulkan61 said:
I would keep it, to me there’s not enough of a flaw to turn it down besides that SW is doing you right by discounting it, your probably the only one that will ever know it’s there and as careful as you can be there will always be a time when it gets bumped or scratched...
Click to expand...

Thanks, I think you're right - especially since the version that I chose actually probably has the nicest burst coloration (per my preference) that I've seen to date. Not that I couldn't probably be patient for another good one, but many of the others that I've seen don't do as great of a job of hiding the fact that the body is multiple pieces of alder laminated together - that each seem to take the burst coloring differently.

IMO the official product shot on the Fender website is probably the worst offender that I've seen, but on most of the others the seams and color variations are pretty visible.

Official Fender product example (I guess managing expectations is a good thing):
grain1.jpg


My goofy wrinkly version ;):
body.jpg
 
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#430
Interesting... I had a banner ad pop up on screen for these guys this morning because of all the time I spent looking at them over the past few weeks, and interestingly enough, it noted that the maple fretboard Players now seem to be priced identical to the Pau Ferro ones.

Previously the maples were at a $25 discount. I just checked a few vendors and this appears to be the case now. Not the hugest price increase in the world, but I'm glad I pulled the trigger just a few days before it went into effect.
 
#431
Alright, looks like Christmas came a little late for me this year! Or early I guess, if you follow the Orthodox calendar...

Anyways, while I feel that the bass likely warrants a dedicated NBD post, I'll just say that I'm super impressed - even more so with this one than the last one I tried at the local GC. Kudos to you Fender for offering a bass like this at such a modest price-point!

Here it is with its brother (I obviously have a type)!
IMG_20190103_212741123.jpg


Edit: NBD post here.
 
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#432
After spending a few days with it, I can say I am really impressed. Maybe it's just me, but it feels like any gap between MIM and MIA has been slowly closing in recent years and this bass is no exception. Pickup sounds great and I absolutely love the feel of the satin neck (which feels comparable to my AM Std Jazz 5 in that regard). I tried a new pickguard on it as well. Sorry for the not-so-awesome pic. As I've stated in a previous photo endeavor, I am not the camera aficionado that some of you are...;)
IMG_5457 (2).JPG
 
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#433
Bogster said:
After spending a few days with it, I can say I am really impressed. Maybe it's just me, but it feels like any gap between MIM and MIA has been slowly closing in recent years and this bass is no exception. Pickup sounds great and I absolutely love the feel of the satin neck (which feels comparable to my AM Std Jazz 5 in that regard). I tried a new pickguard on it as well. Sorry for the not-so-awesome pic. As I've stated in a previous photo endeavor, I am not the camera aficionado that some of you are...;) View attachment 3272374
Click to expand...

That is gorgeous.
 
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#436
Bogster said:
NBD! Just dropped off at my house. Loving it so far...:)View attachment 3265579
Click to expand...

Bogster said:
After spending a few days with it, I can say I am really impressed. Maybe it's just me, but it feels like any gap between MIM and MIA has been slowly closing in recent years and this bass is no exception. Pickup sounds great and I absolutely love the feel of the satin neck (which feels comparable to my AM Std Jazz 5 in that regard). I tried a new pickguard on it as well. Sorry for the not-so-awesome pic. As I've stated in a previous photo endeavor, I am not the camera aficionado that some of you are...;) View attachment 3272374
Click to expand...

Man do I love that color! I might have to get one of those just because of the butter cream! drool:thumbsup:
 
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#437
Kro said:
img_20190103_212741123-jpg.jpg
Click to expand...

Earlier tonight, I was doing a little tracking, and after I had things finished to my liking, I figured why not swap my StingRay for the Player Precision for a few minutes and try and put down a quick dirty track with it.

My findings:
1. My Precision shipped to me with intonation 100% dialed in - again, not sure if it was Fender's or Sweetwater's doing, but it was a nice surprise.

2. Holy **** it's HOT. Hotter than my StingRay with volume full up, and EQ nooned, at least comparing the Precision with its stock strings, whatever they are, and my SR5 done up with a regular "light" gauge Chrome set.

3. I'm not a huge fan of the stock strings. :p I have a shipment of medium gauge Chromes on their way to me that should arrive this week. I'm really looking forward to doing a proper setup with them and seeing what this bass is capable of dialed in a bit better for my personal preferences.
 
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#438
(Edit: I found the culprit, and the issue wasn't the bass. See post #443 for full details).

Anybody else do any recording with their Player Precisions recently?

Similar to last night, I was doing a bit more recording earlier today, and when I finished, I unplugged my StingRay, plugged in my Precsion, and recorded a bit more, being a bit more mindful of what was going on - I noticed that my Precision seems to be excessively noisy. Lifting the ground on my DI helped a good bit, but should that really be necessary?

With the ground lifted, I'd say the level of noise was "acceptable", but still a little bit louder than I would have preferred.

Is that typically to need to lift the ground with Precisions, or is it a symptom of potentially a bigger issue?

Example of the noise (rough sample, nothing but p-bass noise until bass comes in ~:20).
post #443
 
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#439
Kro said:
Anybody else do any recording with their Player Precisions recently?

Similar to last night, I was doing a bit more recording earlier today, and when I finished, I unplugged my StingRay, plugged in my Precsion, and recorded a bit more, being a bit more mindful of what was going on - I noticed that my Precision seems to be excessively noisy. Lifting the ground on my DI helped a good bit, but should that really be necessary?

With the ground lifted, I'd say the level of noise was "acceptable", but still a little bit louder than I would have preferred.

Is that typically to need to lift the ground with Precisions, or is it a symptom of potentially a bigger issue?

Example of the noise (rough sample, nothing but p-bass noise until bass comes in ~:20).
Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...

I dont hear anything out of the ordinary. Great tone though for as short as the sample is.
 
#440
Bogster said:
After spending a few days with it, I can say I am really impressed. Maybe it's just me, but it feels like any gap between MIM and MIA has been slowly closing in recent years and this bass is no exception. Pickup sounds great and I absolutely love the feel of the satin neck (which feels comparable to my AM Std Jazz 5 in that regard). I tried a new pickguard on it as well. Sorry for the not-so-awesome pic. As I've stated in a previous photo endeavor, I am not the camera aficionado that some of you are...;) View attachment 3272374
Click to expand...

If I picked up one of these I'd do the same and put on a tort pickguard. Looks great!
 

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