fender 70's precision

[jasper383]

I ordered one at the low price, and have not received an email yet telling me I'm out of luck. I wonder why they are sending some people cancellations, and others not.

I don't think this was bait and switch, but rather a big mistake on the website that GC got rid of as soon as they found out about it.

I am surprised that they seem to be trying to weasel out of honoring the price they posted; they generally own up to web mistakes unless they are outrageous.

Plus, I doubt there were thousands of orders for these at the mistake price--this thread is only four pages long, and TB seems to have a lot of hair trigger buyers.

 

[fenderazor]

I have this 70's P-bass and a 2011 Fender American Standard P-bass.

Both are wonderful basses. There are similarities. The neck's pretty much identical in dimensions and playability.

The body of the 70's P-bass is a wee-bit lighter, but not a huge difference.

The pickups in the 70's p-bass are different. They deliver a different presentation.

What are differences in sound; are you satisfied with the pickup of 70s, or will change sometime ?

 

[Batmensch]

I ordered one at the low price, and have not received an email yet telling me I'm out of luck. I wonder why they are sending some people cancellations, and others not.

I don't think this was bait and switch, but rather a big mistake on the website that GC got rid of as soon as they found out about it.

I am surprised that they seem to be trying to weasel out of honoring the price they posted; they generally own up to web mistakes unless they are outrageous.

Plus, I doubt there were thousands of orders for these at the mistake price--this thread is only four pages long, and TB seems to have a lot of hair trigger buyers.

I believe it was an error too, and it's likely that it depends on the timing as to when one placed an order and when the deal was concluded (i.e., funds were collected and/or item was shipped) and when GC discovered the error. It would be nice to know what kind of laws governing such a transaction would be involved. I imagine there is a certain point where GC is SOL, and has to eat the loss, due to it being an error on their part.

 

[Down_Low]

Is bait and switch illegal in the US? I'd be pissed if this was me. It doesn't look like the bass has been discontinued at all and is still listed on the Fender site (just not under Precision Basses): Invalid Link Removed

I'm liking these, however I'm leaning towards the 70's P Bass made for the Japanese market due to the thinner neck w/ rosewood board.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[TMart99]

What are differences in sound; are you satisfied with the pickup of 70s, or will change sometime ?

The 70's Pbass pups are less forward or aggressive in the lower/upper bass/lower midrange.

All across the frequecies it's a little recessed, with the bass being a little less defined and looser . Yet, the highs and treble are snappier and more highlighted....a wee-bit brighter in that aspect. But not overkill bright. Dialing down the treble yields a nice presentation. I like it it, different than my 2011 AS; but still nice sounding.

I see it as a nice tonal presentation option, to my other Pbasses.

 

[TMart99]

How could I order/purchase one of these MIJ Pbasses with the rosewood fingerboard and thinner neck? Anyone know of a safe dealer to deal with? I'm in the USA.

Please feel free to respond here or PM ...or e-mail. I'd love to add one of those to my stable.

Is bait and switch illegal in the US? I'd be pissed if this was me. It doesn't look like the bass has been discontinued at all and is still listed on the Fender site (just not under Precision Basses): Invalid Link Removed

I'm liking these, however I'm leaning towards the 70's P Bass made for the Japanese market due to the thinner neck w/ rosewood board.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Colonel Monk]

I've been waiting for Fender to reissue these for years in the American line.

The yellow/red/black sunburst, black guard, 70s lettering, but WITH A ROSEWOOD FRETBOARD.

MIJ used to offer one, but when I finally had the cash I could find it anymore and it was ash, not alder.

I'd give the maple board a try, but only with aged finish (yeller). I'm just not a fan of the new "impervious to sunlight" clear finishes - it'll stay bright white forever....

Cmon fender, please reissue the 1975 PBASS with the 3 color y/r/b sunburst. You've had it on JBASS for a few years now.

Can I get an AMEN?

 

[TMart99]

I've been waiting for Fender to reissue these for years in the American line.

The yellow/red/black sunburst, black guard, 70s lettering, but WITH A ROSEWOOD FRETBOARD.

MIJ used to offer one, but when I finally had the cash I could find it anymore and it was ash, not alder.

I'd give the maple board a try, but only with aged finish (yeller). I'm just not a fan of the new "impervious to sunlight" clear finishes - it'll stay bright white forever....

Cmon fender, please reissue the 1975 PBASS with the 3 color y/r/b sunburst. You've had it on JBASS for a few years now.

Can I get an AMEN?

AMEN!

 

[TMart99]

I'd give the maple board a try, but only with aged finish (yeller). I'm just not a fan of the new "impervious to sunlight" clear finishes - it'll stay bright white forever....

For the record, like I mentioned in that other thread regarding this Fender 70's Pbass (with the maple fingerboard and block inlays); it's not really Olympic White or Bright White. At least mine isn't.

It's closer to vintage white. it has a touch of cream in the color. And that's not just my observation, everyone who sees it mentions it, too.

 

[BigBigGuy44]

I don't understand all of the anger over GC not honoring a price especially if a mistake was made. Sure, the way they are handling the situation is complete crap and I disagree with their responses, but as the old saying goes, "it is what it is". It's also a common event to see advertisement corrections in the windows and on isle displays of department and grocery stores saying "sorry for the inconvenience, but this price was a misprint and we cannot honor it".

Think about it this way, what if the role was reversed and you accidently inverted two numbers on an eBay BIN auction and sold a $840 bass for just $480 with free shipping? Would you honor the price and grumble about it or create a new thread called "Help - I entered the wrong and now the buyer wants me to honor it - what should I do?" Now, think about the same scenario but with a quantity of 10, 20 or even 100 units. It wouldn't take long to lose a lot of money.

 

[bolophonic]

I don't understand all of the anger over GC not honoring a price especially if a mistake was made. Sure, the way they are handling the situation is complete crap and I disagree with their responses, but as the old saying goes, "it is what it is". It's also a common event to see advertisement corrections in the windows and on isle displays of department and grocery stores saying "sorry for the inconvenience, but this price was a misprint and we cannot honor it".

Think about it this way, what if the role was reversed and you accidently inverted two numbers on an eBay BIN auction and sold a $840 bass for just $480 with free shipping? Would you honor the price and grumble about it or create a new thread called "Help - I entered the wrong and now the buyer wants me to honor it - what should I do?" Now, think about the same scenario but with a quantity of 10, 20 or even 100 units. It wouldn't take long to lose a lot of money.

This.

I am always disappointed by the amount of people on this board who believe that Guitar Center owes them a huge discount just because a mistake was made. To the point of believing that GC is in the wrong to even CORRRECT an error in pricing. People need to grow up... nobody owes you squat.

 

[fenderazor]

The 70's Pbass pups are less forward or aggressive in the lower/upper bass/lower midrange.

All across the frequecies it's a little recessed, with the bass being a little less defined and looser . Yet, the highs and treble are snappier and more highlighted....a wee-bit brighter in that aspect. But not overkill bright. Dialing down the treble yields a nice presentation. I like it it, different than my 2011 AS; but still nice sounding.

I see it as a nice tonal presentation option, to my other Pbasses.

I've heard bassists who say that many Japanese bass is not very LOUD (compared to the Americans always ...). And this troubles me, so I wanted your opinion ...

 

[JHAz]

I've heard bassists who say that many Japanese bass is not very LOUD. And this troubles me, so I wanted your opinion ...

Might be, but as long as you amp has a volume control that you can turn up, it makes zero difference. Unless your preamp is especially noisy and you need to keep it turned down.

 

[TMart99]

I've heard bassists who say that many Japanese bass is not very LOUD (compared to the Americans always ...). And this troubles me, so I wanted your opinion ...

Honestly, I feel that's a non-factor. As JHaz pointed out, volume knobs are exactly for that purpose.

Personally, I find pickups that are wound very hot (and louder) to lack the nice, little, step by step degrees of tone variations, compared to pickups that are wound much lower. To my ears, it seems to rob a lot of that natural, organic tone, too.


But that's just my opinion. To each his own.

 

[packhowitzer]

I don't understand all of the anger over GC not honoring a price especially if a mistake was made. Sure, the way they are handling the situation is complete crap and I disagree with their responses, but as the old saying goes, "it is what it is". It's also a common event to see advertisement corrections in the windows and on isle displays of department and grocery stores saying "sorry for the inconvenience, but this price was a misprint and we cannot honor it".

Think about it this way, what if the role was reversed and you accidently inverted two numbers on an eBay BIN auction and sold a $840 bass for just $480 with free shipping? Would you honor the price and grumble about it or create a new thread called "Help - I entered the wrong and now the buyer wants me to honor it - what should I do?" Now, think about the same scenario but with a quantity of 10, 20 or even 100 units. It wouldn't take long to lose a lot of money.

This.

I am always disappointed by the amount of people on this board who believe that Guitar Center owes them a huge discount just because a mistake was made. To the point of believing that GC is in the wrong to even CORRRECT an error in pricing. People need to grow up... nobody owes you squat.

Here's my issue: They had no problems tying up my credit card with a pending charge for over a week. No one ever said, "Hey our IT dept. posted the wrong price." When I called, the guys on the other end said things like "I've never seen anything like this before" or "I don't know what to tell you".
So what am I supposed to think? Am I getting a bass or not? Some guy on this thread got one for the advertised price. Will I?

So no. I'm not entitled to a bass at an erroneous price- if that's what happened. But they were certainly quick to tie up my credit and certainly slow to get to the bottom of the issue. Or they knew the whole time and were just stalling. Then when it was decided that they wouldn't/couldn't honor the price-- nothing but a "solution" that while it may not be legally a bait and switch, it is pretty close to the working definition.

I called two times not demanding anything. just trying to get a status update on why my card was being charged. take the charge off my card and no harm no foul. I even told one operator that I too work with computers and these things happen- they do.

But I still stand by my statement of they should stand by the advertised price, make the change to the site asap, and try to learn to do better in the future. I used to work a large sporting goods retailer. if we ever had a sign up that was wrong, the customer got the price and the salesman got yelled at behind closed doors with the potential of the difference coming out of his commission. The idea was- not to confuse or irritate the customer, and then hopefully learn not get it wrong again. GC doesn't have to have the same customer service policy as this other store, but what have they learned? will they have the sting of losing some profit as a reminder that they can't let pricing errors fall through the cracks and end up posted on their website? i doubt it. Their mistake has cost them nothing. I haven't pitched a fit or demanded gift cards or credit toward a purchase or anything else. they will continue to do sloppy work. But i feel certain that if the cost of honoring mine and everyone else's orders came out of someone's budget for the year we would see a vast improvement in the area of getting advertised prices posted correctly.

 

[hieronymous]

I've heard bassists who say that many Japanese bass is not very LOUD (compared to the Americans always ...). And this troubles me, so I wanted your opinion ...

I have one and find the pickups to be very HOT! I'm interested to know what kind of pickups are in it - Japanese? American? That's what you pay for in Japan on the more expensive models - US made pickups. I would be willing to bet they are Japanese but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[TMart99]

This.

I am always disappointed by the amount of people on this board who believe that Guitar Center owes them a huge discount just because a mistake was made. To the point of believing that GC is in the wrong to even CORRRECT an error in pricing. People need to grow up... nobody owes you squat.

They (GC) put the charge through and held onto the money, in the 'Sales pending " process.

They tied up people's money for way too long, eventually responded with an " alternate solution" by trying to goad them into buying a Fender Standard bass, without even releasing the money, first.

If this was just an innocent mistake, a straight up company would immediately release the money back into the people's accounts and respond immediately and tell them it was a mistake. Rather than dragging their feet, holding onto the money for over a week and then attempting to peddle something else on the customer; so they wouldn't have to release the money back to the customer.

You don't see anything wrong with this scenario? Really?

Please, show me one person in this thread who was trying to get anything for free or making unreasonable demands.

 

[BigBigGuy44]

They (GC) put the charge through and held onto the money, in the 'Sales pending " process.

If I am reading the above post right, it was a pending charge, which is typical to hold funds until the product ships. No money changes hands nor is interest charged on open approvals.

You don't see anything wrong with this scenario? Really?

The only thing I see wrong is GC's response. Give a little, you know, make the customer feel special. The economy stinks these days. Any penny counts especially for a retailer that has high overhead costs (rent, building, inventory costs, utilities, etc.) and doesn't sell anything that is a true necessity or need.

Please, show me one person in this thread who was trying to get anything for free or making unreasonable demands.

Okay.

Guitar center better send mine or sell me a 50s P for like 400$

I am going to be on guitar centers ass tell i get a bass

There were also other comments about the legalities of a bait and switch tactic.


Anyway, to get back on subject, I got a chance to play one at a local dealer. It was pretty darn nice - a definite bargain at $528. The neck felt like a Geddy / MIA P hybrid - not too thin, not to thick and relatively fast for having a glossy finish. The pickup was hot and the tone knob had a great variation to it.

Congrats to all that got them!

 

[hieronymous]

The pickup was hot and the tone knob had a great variation to it.

Good point - I was also impressed by the tone knob - I usually never use them but find myself experimenting with this one.

 

[fenderazor]

Might be, but as long as you amp has a volume control that you can turn up, it makes zero difference. Unless your preamp is especially noisy and you need to keep it turned down.

Honestly, I feel that's a non-factor. As JHaz pointed out, volume knobs are exactly for that purpose.

Personally, I find pickups that are wound very hot (and louder) to lack the nice, little, step by step degrees of tone variations, compared to pickups that are wound much lower. To my ears, it seems to rob a lot of that natural, organic tone, too.


But that's just my opinion. To each his own.

I have one and find the pickups to be very HOT! I'm interested to know what kind of pickups are in it - Japanese? American? That's what you pay for in Japan on the more expensive models - US made pickups. I would be willing to bet they are Japanese but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Just, you know you too well that many bassists buy a Mexican or a Japanese fender and after some time, changes the pickup or bridge. and I think, it is wrong to give 900$ for a bass and finally not to satisfied. So I wanted to see your opinions and I decide the next week, I order the Olympic White. Thank you all very much! Thank you.