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Fender Classic Series 50's precision bass

#21
Gorn said:
A bassist I know has one of these that he's looking to get rid of. The back of the neck is glossy, right? Is it sticky? Is the gloss easily removable with scotch brite pads?

I know the neck is wide, but is it also chunky front to back? How does the tone of these generally compare to a MIM standard?
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Front to back, the neck is a touch thicker than the MIM Std, but it's a flatter shape. They feel very comfortable to me. The pickups were US made, same as the pre '08 American Standards...not sure if that's still the case. Some people have a problem getting used to the 1.75 nut width, but I think it feels very natural and I could bounce back and forth seamlessly between it and my 1.62 nut American P. The necks on these are actually fairly thinner front to back than the newer American Vintage 58's...in fact, I sold my AV 58 in favor of the Classic 50's for this reason. Unless you have some kind of physical restriction, all of this stuff can be gotten over as you get used to it, but still many people find the difference small enough to barely notice.

I highly recommend these.
 
#22
I have a jazz bass with a Cabronita neck. I love the neck. It fits my hand perfectly. That neck and the 50's neck are both apparently C shaped, but the 50's is flatter front to back? Do the larger nut width and smaller radius on the 50's mean the neck is actually shaped differently, even though they're both C shaped?

The obvious answer is to play it but the guy with the bass lives in Boston and is coming down this weekend with the bass. I've never seen one of these in a store.
 
#23
Gorn said:
Another question, it looks like the pickguard has holes for a pickup cover and a tugbar. Is the body drilled too? Or just the pg?
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The holes are not pre drilled. The holes are there in the PG, but not the body.

The stock pickups aren't terrible by any stretch. I'm just a big fan of the 62RI and Fralin pickups, so that's usually what I use in all my P's. These also come stock with a .1uf capacitor (same as the 62, 63, 57 and 58 RI) so it will be a bit darker with the tone rolled all the way off. I changed mine out to a .047uf (stock Precision cap value since the mid 60's) to let a little more high end into my rolled off tone, but that's just a personal preference.
 
#24
Gorn said:
I have a jazz bass with a Cabronita neck. I love the neck. It fits my hand perfectly. That neck and the 50's neck are both apparently C shaped, but the 50's is flatter front to back? Do the larger nut width and smaller radius on the 50's mean the neck is actually shaped differently, even though they're both C shaped?

The obvious answer is to play it but the guy with the bass lives in Boston and is coming down this weekend with the bass. I've never seen one of these in a store.
Click to expand...

I think the MIM std have a "Modern" C and 9.5 radius. The classics have just a "C"....not sure what the specific technical difference is. The 7.25 radius is a little rounder that the 9.5, but some people barely notice. The biggest difference I notice between the two radi is that you can bend notes on the 9.5 without it choking out on the higher frets...but I almost never do that anyway.
 
#25
petrus61 said:
The holes are not pre drilled. The holes are there in the PG, but not the body.

The stock pickups aren't terrible by any stretch. I'm just a big fan of the 62RI and Fralin pickups, so that's usually what I use in all my P's. These also come stock with a .1uf capacitor (same as the 62, 63, 57 and 58 RI) so it will be a bit darker with the tone rolled all the way off. I changed mine out to a .047uf (stock Precision cap value since the mid 60's) to let a little more high end into my rolled off tone, but that's just a personal preference.
Click to expand...
Interesting. So on this one, the tone is darker with the tone rolled off? How does it compare to modern precisions with the tone rolled all the way up? Sorry for all the questions, but you're answering them so why not.
 
#26
I had the same bass color and all. I only got rid of it for trade value to get a 74' P bass. Funny thing is the classic sounded just as good as the 74' but I wanted vintage. If I come across another used and local I'm buying it ...that is for sure. Great bass.
 
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#28
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I love mine so much!!!
I get so many complements on the look and tone, I highly recommend one
 
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#31
Gorn said:
Interesting. So on this one, the tone is darker with the tone rolled off? How does it compare to modern precisions with the tone rolled all the way up? Sorry for all the questions, but you're answering them so why not.
Click to expand...

Rolled all the way up it's no different. Its another thing that most people wouldn't really notice. Also, the only nitro version of this bass is the black 50's Classic "Lacquer" that costs a little more and comes with a HSC. The regular 50's Classic Series is regular poly and comes with no hard case. It would age the same way any other poly bass would. The black "Lacquer" model would age just like a nitro finish.
 
#38
I should not have entered this thread. I thought my GAS died down; nope. I thought I was happy with my MIM standard P-bass. I was wrong. The reviews I've read on this thread are making me GAS for one, especially the blonde one. Not a fan of fiesta red, but damn, that vintage blonde model with a tort pickguard mod would be to die for.

I have made a terrible mistake
 
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