Fender American Professional series discontinued?

[Hounddog409]

I recently missed an opportunity to buy a used American Standard Precision in sunburst and rosewood fretboard so I considered looking for a brand new American Professional.
No shops have the Am Pro Pbass locally and big european distributors like Thomann offer almost nothing.
Then I came accross this thread on reddit:



So, is that it? No more Am Pro?
Will Fender bring back the American Standard or issue a "new" MIA series with another name?

There will be a new name, same bass, higher price. Fender being fender.

 

[felis]

American Amateur

 

[Diamond_Dave]

The Fender Died Young from a Drug Overdose Signature
The Fender Plays Roots and Fifths Only
The Fender It Only Goes to 9
The Fender Careful, It's Not Grounded
The Fender IT Professional
The Fender We Forgot to Install the Pickups, So Just Whistle
The Fender Jazz Bass with the Neck of a P-Bass and the Body of a P-Bass and a P-Bass Pickup
The Fender the QC Guy was on Vacation

 

[lowendrv]

Like it matters

Yeah , An American Fender P or J is an American P or J no matter what they call it .
Don't think they will be doing anything ever to those two except change the name .

 

[JimmyM]

Yeah , An American Fender P or J is an American P or J no matter what they call it .
Don't think they will be doing anything ever to those two except change the name .

Would be nice if they started using decent pickups on them again but yeah, exactly my point.

 

[nonohmic]

Oh noes no more P basses!

 

[nonohmic]

in rereading the OP.

If the time comes when you can't buy a new P bass with sunburst and a rosewood board. There will be way bigger problems ongoing for you and the world than not being able to buy a guitar.

 

[bobba66]

The P-Bass has a dignity all it's own......

 

[selowitch]

If I somehow became Fender’s Director of Product Development, I wouldn’t do too much innovating either. Fender customers want Stratocasters, Telecaster, Precision Basses, Jazz Basses, and the occasional Jazzmaster or Mustang—and that’s pretty much it. They do take some risks with Time Machine and Rarities models, and the Squier line sometimes turns up something fairly radical, but at its core Fender’s aesthetic is very traditional, and their customer base is too.

The philosophy seems to be: If you want to innovate, do it on your own dime via the Mod Shop or the Custom Shop; otherwise, just play your black Precision Bass with a rosewood fingerboard and shaddup.

On the other hand, the new Stratacoustic and Telecoustic models are, in my opinion, pretty dang cool.

Also, Fender amps are freaking excellent. I own several and they are nearly perfect. In fact, the amplifiers Fender makes reflect Leo’s legacy almost more than the guitars do.

 

[LoveThatBass]

At least, if the Am Pro is on its way out, I hope Fender are going to swap the V-mod pickup for something better.
I owned a 2014 American Standard P with CS62 pickup and it was great with flatwounds. Regret having sold it last year.
I think the V-mod pickup was the only flaw in the American Professional while everything else was great. If I have a chance to buy one I would just swap the V-mod pickup for a CS62 and swap the mint pickguard for a tort one.

I fully agree with you about the V-Mod Pickups. I replaced mine with Aero's. Much better sounding now.

 

[nilorius]

If it's true, i don't think they will bring back some old series, more like something new.

 

[foolforthecity]

Fender has been making Jazz and Precision basses for about 70 years. They change the series names regularly to drive interest. If it looks the same and costs the same it is the same bass. Don't panic.

True as I see it. Have an Am P Deluxe and an P Elite, same beast.

 

[thetragichero]

Fender has been making Jazz and Precision basses for about 70 years. They change the series names regularly to drive interest. If it looks the same and costs the same it is the same bass. Don't panic.

 

[Vanheusen77]

Yeah, no big deal. They make great stuff now.

 

[RabidMusic]

The name may change but they will release a bass with the same features.

 

[Joybass]

It's called mark-ee-ting. Only things that change are the name and the MSRP. And a few minor details that cycle around every so often.

 

[birminghambass]

The all new Fender Max Profit Series!
New 9 piece bodies to increase stability!
1 ply pickguards to increase resonance!
Raw wood bodies with no shielding to decrease weight by up to 3%!
Soft aluminum frets for that vintage feel!
New 2 bolt neck joint!
Invisible case technology! (No case included)

 

[Corevalay]

Rather than coming up with new Series names and tiny changes, they should add some new and interesting finishes. That's the change I'd love to see from Fender. How about an American Standard PJ, I never understood why it's either low end or very high end only with the PJ.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Rather than coming up with new Series names and tiny changes, they should add some new and interesting finishes. That's the change I'd love to see from Fender. How about an American Standard PJ, I never understood why it's either low end or very high end only with the PJ.

Probably because it’s one of the few areas of opportunity where they can charge more. Same with the Jaguar. Plus the whole economies of scale thing.

 

[tpaul]

Let’s see.....I’m thinking the new series will be named something like:

• American Workhorse
• American Bell-Cow
• American Session
  
• American Flagship
• American Classic

I’m sure they have been reviewing their thesaurus looking for the next name

Well this looks fun. I'll play.

American sub-standard: the new budget line.
American Dream: you can buy one but you'll have to mortgage your house.
American Tourist: the bass is nothing special, but the case can stand up to being mauled by a gorilla.
American woman: Fender's first bass made for female players! Comes with flower and rinestone appliques, and optional underwire support on the tummy cut.