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Fender 60th Anniversary Precision Bass

#861
Nah, I don't see the deal clear enough. The shop guy made his own adjustments, lowered the action, altered the pickup height, a couple of screws on the pickguard look like they have been unscrewed and screwed back (a little twisted). The bass makes a little humming noise through the amp, which other basses in the store don't do. And somehow it sounds lower than other basses, through the same amp at the same volume. For a two year old bass that has been used and adjusted to the likes of a guy in particular, and doesn't look to be in 100% perfect condition, 1520 euros is way too much.

Even taking into account it was the bass I liked the most of all the shop (I tried: a Lackland Bob Glaub -1100€-, a Fender American Standard Jazz Bass - 1440€-, and a Fender American Special Precision Bass -950€-, plus a semi-hollow Warwick I didn't like at all), I don't see it clear enough. I didn't get the chance to try a Fender American Standard Precision to see how well it stacks against the 60th, for what I've read around here you guys seem to think the 60th is a bit better, but aesthetically I like it more and the price isn't so damn high.

Bottom line: I think I'll keep my GAS under control for now. I really don't want to rush this one.
 
#865
When these basses first came out, I really didn't think anything of them. They reminded me of the Mike Dirnt signiture. I figured it was just a way for Fender to make some coin by charging more for essentially an American Standard with some very slight variations. My local music store had one come in and for no particular reason I took it down and it absolutely floored me. It was light weight, resonant, and had a great feeling neck. I ended up buying that bass on the spot and using it at a big recording session the very next day. It was by far one of the very best sounding P-Basses I have ever owned. For some ridiculous reason I decided to sell it a couple of years ago, but another one recently turned up there and I had to have it! These really are outstanding instruments. They are unique in that they have many of the things that I really liked about the American Vintage series including thin nitro finish and the '62 American Vintage pickup, with some modern features I'm a fan of(carbon fiber rods in the neck, ultralight machine heads). This one weighs 8 lbs 8 oz, is very resonant acoustically, and sounds just killer plugged in. Its balanced sounding without any dead spots, and has a very strong but clear low end. Awesome basses.
 

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#869
mojomike001 said:
There's only a total of about 125 of these made.


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THIS is a true 60th Anniversary bass. Sadly, Fender had to go & screw with everyone's heads & put a 60th anniversary button on the back of the headstock of nearly every USA made that year. -_- As a result, so many people are overvaluing their basses for resale. Hell, some people are even putting their Highway series basses up for beyond MIA Std prices because of the button.
 
#871
I've had mine for about 10 days or so and love it. However, while it's a 2011 I don't think it's an actual anniversary model. Am I right? It doesn't have the headstock washer on the A string that I see in most of the photos upboard. And I might be wrong but after reading this entire thread (and learning heaps, thanks all) I have the idea only blondes and sunbursts are anniversary models?

I'm a fairly new player and online ordered this one from a small mom and pop music store in Texas. And was actually expecting a current year MIA Fender Standard P-Bass. So when I opened the case and found this 2011 model I was initially a little disappointed. Until I started playing it. Wow!

For me, this was that leap from cheap starter bass to a real instrument and did I say wow yet? So I'm not really concerned about its status as a true anniversary issue, it's already a dream bass to me, but I would still like to know - just to know. In the meantime, as online buying is always a bit nerve-wracking, I'm considering this very lucky for a transactions that didn't go exactly as planned.

:)

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#873
Well, I just joined the club. An absolutely mint second hand blonde has been hanging around my local muso store for a couple of months now. Everyone who plays it loves it. Since I have a CS 59 P I enjoyed playing it but convinced myself I did not need another P. The darned thing just kept on calling to me, long story short I made a silly offer and got it at a great price. Attempted justification to self is that I will leave the 59 with flats and keep rounds on the sixtieth anni. It sold itself to me on the neck and tone, I never liked the look when they first came out but when a bass plays great it starts to look more appealing to you;). I know the neck is supposedly the same as the American Standard P but it feels better to me, more solid and chunky and the action is a dream. Tonally she is punchier than I expected, and a little funkier.
Currently strung with 105s through body - has anyone compared through body stringing with top load? My inclination is to stick with through body to ensure the string ferrules don't drop out.
 
#874
Tim1 said:
Well, I just joined the club. An absolutely mint second hand blonde has been hanging around my local muso store for a couple of months now. Everyone who plays it loves it. Since I have a CS 59 P I enjoyed playing it but convinced myself I did not need another P. The darned thing just kept on calling to me, long story short I made a silly offer and got it at a great price. Attempted justification to self is that I will leave the 59 with flats and keep rounds on the sixtieth anni. It sold itself to me on the neck and tone, I never liked the look when they first came out but when a bass plays great it starts to look more appealing to you;). I know the neck is supposedly the same as the American Standard P but it feels better to me, more solid and chunky and the action is a dream. Tonally she is punchier than I expected, and a little funkier.
Currently strung with 105s through body - has anyone compared through body stringing with top load? My inclination is to stick with through body to ensure the string ferrules don't drop out.
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Hey Tim. Congrats on the bass. I sold my blonde I bought soon after they came out. Later regretted it and snagged a used Sunburst 60th. I think you'll like the responsiveness of the tone knob.

As for the strings and the top-load versus through-body stringing, I haven't found much difference with the stringing. I'm a flatwound type of guy, but on my burst I have D'Addario Black Nylon tapewounds. They actually sound good on it. Regarding the ferrules, back in '08 I bought a new Am. Std. Jazz and Precision. (Still have the Jazz.) The ferrules were loose on both of them. I normally top-load unless my strings are the Extra Long variety, so to solve the problem of the loose ferrules, I just put a little wood glue on the outside of the ferrules, then put them back in and let them set overnight. I've never had a problem with them coming loose, and I normally top-load. Hope this helps. Here's my sunburst baby...

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#875
Grabbed this beaut from GC a few days ago. It was used but in such good shape I wouldn't have blinked an eye if they said it was new apart from no pickguard plastic. No case or candy, though, just the bass (case in the picture is something else). I was looking for a player not a museum piece anyway...and they threw in a gigbag so I'm not broken up over it. I prefer gigbags to HSC anyway.


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I'm still wondering about the pickup in this, though. A few people earlier in the thread said that the pickup was the 62 Vintage, but Fender's info calls it a "split single-coil pickup" and the 62 is a humbucker. This is my first and only P bass so I can't really compare it but based on my own previous experience with different pickups it seems more "single-coil-ish" to me - clear and articulate, not powerful and wooly like I expect a humbucker to be. Also lower output than pretty much all my other basses.

Don't get me wrong, I like how it sounds - balanced with just enough thump and no noticeable hum. It's not that I want to change it out, I'm just getting curious and it's going to bug me until I know for sure.

Does Fender put anything on their pickups to identify the model like the stickers that are usually on Gibson or SD pickups? Just wondering before I go through the trouble of taking it out to look at the bottom.
 
#876
Yes, they used the '62 pickup on these. You'll notice that the pole pieces are chamfered (or beveled, not sure what the correct term is). Fender didn't make a big marketing point of it being a humbucker when they introduced the split coil pickup in the '50's, possibly because the humbucker was still under patent protection, and they didn't want to pay a licensing fee. But all regular split coil P pickups are indeed humbeckers. A lot of large humbuckers are mounted closer to the neck, and it is that mounting position which would provide the typical mudbucker sound you described.
 
#877
Congratulations on the bass, Shadoof. My recently purchased used sixtieth anniversary P is fast becoming my favourite gigging bass - certainly it is the best second hand deal I have made. Re the pickup sound, if you read back through this thread you will see that many have commented on the tone control on this bass providing a greater range of tone than in other precisions. Specifically it does have a nice bite when the tone control is dimed, then you can wind it back a tad to get the more traditional P tone. This gives the bass a little more versatility than you might otherwise expect in a P.
 
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#879
Thanks for the input, guys. I knew that split P pickups were humbuckers so it threw me off when I saw Fender calling it a single coil. So then I started thinking they did something weird like G&L Z-coils which I believe are technically singles...but clearly I was over-thinking a piece of throwaway marketing. I do love the sound, though, and have been making good use of the tone knob like you mentioned, Tim1. Right now I like it turned nearly all the way down, but that's probably because of the really bright strings that are on it currently.

Now, the only question left for me is whether to buy the matching six-stringer:

Squier51.jpg
 
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#880
My 60th is the only bass I've ever owned that I've never seen a need to make any modifications. Well, not entirely true. I did add strap locks as soon as I bought it, but everything else is still stock. The tone control has an incredible range.

And of course you should buy the matching six-string. ;)
 

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