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Fender Am. Prof. II Precision vs Player Precision

#61
I've played both in stores and i felt the Am.
ProII was def. the better bass. Build better quality, and I liked the pickup a lot as a great allround tone (modern or traditional voicing) . A great all-purpose bass, very well built. The Player to me, ok bass for the money but nothing special there; traditional Pbass that has great colors and could be great traditional Pbass with pickup upgrade (which adds another $125 or so the price). If you afford it, I'd go with the Am. ProII all day
 
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#62
Off on a tangent, Have you considered a Squier Classic Vibe 60s?

I had in the past an Am Pro 1, and currently have a Player. I bought the Squier P on a whim because I wanted a burst finish, and it's now my main P bass. Why? It plays as well as any P, and the pickups sound really good. And the weight is under 8 lbs.

The Player is definitely a good bass and I recommend them. The pickup is just OK, but doesn't have the mojo of the Fender Original 62 pickup. I found the build quality fine. But I agree the pots may need to be changed at some point. I got my bass new, and within a year I had to replace the volume pot.

As for the AmPro, I didn't like it from the day I got it. I didn't like the frets nor the pickups. And it was heavy. The build quality was good, but that was about the only thing I liked about it. I sold it within a year and took a big loss.
 
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#64
I´d like to share my experience Player vs. Am Pro II. Its JB in my case, but I think it doesnt matter.
I purchased Player series. Good bass, no special complaints. I can recommend it all the way.
Year later I purchased American Pro II. And its better, no (almost) three times better, but it defintely is.

Wood and quality - both great, no complaints. But I like rosewood better.
Tuners - better on American Pro II. On Player withou problems, but I should swap them for Hipshot anyway.
Bridge - Himass vs classic. I like both. But I like strings thru body more, Player doesnt offer that.
Pickups - both good for their price. Player more classic sounding, V-Mod II more modern. I replaced for Fralins on both basses.
Neck - both great, but the feel of American Pro II is better, smoother + rolled edges and the sculpt neck heel (absolutely great feature)
Electronics - maybe even totally same. Swaped for David Starr stacked knobs on both.

American Pro II offer you everything what Player plus more. Pickups you can change everytime. Buth the bass in general is really better. If you have the money, go for US model. If not, go for Player and you wont regret.
 
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#66
I looked at new Player Jazz and P Bass models a couple of years ago, I didn’t even play either one of them as I just didn’t like the sharp edge on the necks. Apart from that they looked fairly well made instruments.

I went for an American Pro I Jazz bass, really nice neck with rolled edges. Ok it was a lot more money but in my opinion worth paying the extra for.
 
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#67
I've never owned a Player, but I've owned MIM Standards of various eras and never was satisfied with them. For me, they never measured up to my American Fenders in terms of tone, workmanship, materials or playability. The only Mexican Fender I've ever really liked was my old '50s Road Worn Precision Bass. For a time, I was gigging with an American Standard and using a Mexican Standard for a few songs, and the difference between them was very noticeable. I sold the Standard soon thereafter. YMMV.
 
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#68
Phaidrus said:
That's what I think too! However, in Europe the Am.Pro II Pbasses go for about €2100 /$2180 and this Am.Pro I is already discounted (or "discounted") to €1750 / $1820 from its original price of €2000 / $2080 when it was the current model. Do you think I could ask for further discount?
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Europe?
Looks at this:

Fender Precision American Professional II
FENDER PRECISION AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL II

Talking to the guys on Mercatino you generally manage to get good discounts and what they start with ..
 
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#70
Phaidrus said:
Did you notice sloppy fretwork or similar QC issues? Any marked differences between the two types of pickups?
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no, but I was only checking them out, not buying. I chose my basses on playability not so much on finish details. It is possible the upgraded versions are finished better but if I was buying a new Fender, of which I have owned and do own many, the Player series is on the top of my list. Fret work was good on the ones I played.
 
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#74
There was a super nice Player P at a local store. I went in every day and played it, and I was reading all the glowing comments on TB about these... Almost pulled the trigger. I managed to hold off (it was offered at a $200 discount), got a Demo Am Pro II P a few weeks later. Put flats on it (not my typical weapon of choice) and it killed on the gig! After a few more days with it I went back and played the Player P and it felt like a toy in comparison. Still a nice enough bass, but the Am Pro II is much better in every category except price. Not surprising, but I'm glad I held off and got the right one for me.
 
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#75
RSmith said:
There was a super nice Player P at a local store. I went in every day and played it, and I was reading all the glowing comments on TB about these... Almost pulled the trigger. I managed to hold off (it was offered at a $200 discount), got a Demo Am Pro II P a few weeks later. Put flats on it (not my typical weapon of choice) and it killed on the gig! After a few more days with it I went back and played the Player P and it felt like a toy in comparison. Still a nice enough bass, but the Am Pro II is much better in every category except price. Not surprising, but I'm glad I held off and got the right one for me.
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Interesting! Which flats did you put on the Am Pro II?
 
#78
RSmith said:
DR Legends, warm deep tone, not too much tension. I have some TI’s too. They were a different vibe.. Both good but I’m favoring the DRs.
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I have a set of Hi Beams on mine. At some point I'm going to try out flats, but them being so expensive makes choosing a set hard. I really like the hi beans, so maybe I'll give the Legends a try.
 
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#79
atquinn said:
I have a set of Hi Beams on mine. At some point I going to try out flats, but then being so expensive makes choosing a set hard. I really like the hi beans, so maybe I'll give the Legends a try.
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Flats last forever, though, and you can sell them if you don't want to play them. Used flats sound better and many players would jump at the opportunity to spend less and not have to put in the time to wear off the initial brightness.
 
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