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Fender custom shop vs the real deal

MoonQuake

MoonQuake

Supporting Member
Jan 1, 2011
585
407
Montréal, Qc.
#1
Has anyone ever compared a Fender custom 59 precision bass with a real 59 or 60's p-bass?

Being a lefty and being that finding a good left handed vintage p-bass is near impossible at an affordable price, I'm about to pull the trigger on a custom shop.

But is it worth it???
 
#2
In my opinion, with the right amp and the right bass, you can emulate that sound with a modern bass with a modern tube amp. I can with my Lakland 44-02 and a Mesa Walkabout Scout.

I haven't played either of the aforementioned basses, but I've heard them, and honestly, you really don't need to spend that much money to get that tone. Also, getting the real deal is something you would want to put in a bullet proof locked glass case, and never play, since the wire coils are corroded along with many other things in most vintage basses.

Really just need a pickup in the right spot, and the right equalizing

Another edit, you can get custom shop fender pickups from made by fender direct or from ebay. You can have someone put that in a bass that has the same wood, and the same looks. Honestly, Fender Custom shop is one of the most overpriced branches of a company I've ever seen. You can custom order basses from this guy, [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and he will build it with any specs you want. You can choose finishes, and pickguards, and I'm almost entirely sure that'd it be much cheaper. He uses Lindy Fralin Pickups, which is another brand you can custom order from. Plus, I met Mike Lull at NAMM in January 2011, and he's a great guy. He let me play his new (at the time) TC5, and my god that is a godly bass. He let me jam with Grant Austin Taylor at his booth too.

By the way, that is the most pretentious 16 year old I have ever seen, (I was 15 at the time) but you didn't hear it from me.
 
#3
If you want a 59 or 60's model bass that's perfect as it can be in every way then yeah, a custom shop bass is a better way to go. I doubt many vintage basses are in anywhere near as pristine condition not do they play or sound as good as a new CS instrument.

The other factor as you state is that the cost of a bass of that vintage would probably put you in a position of not wanting to even leave your house or studio with it. IMHO it's bad enough risking a $4000+ CS bass out on a gig let alone one that has a value many times greater.
 
#4
Irtemed said:
In my opinion, with the right amp and the right bass, you can emulate that sound with a modern bass with a modern tube amp. I can with my Lakland 44-02 and a Mesa Walkabout Scout.

I haven't played either of the aforementioned basses, but I've heard them, and honestly, you really don't need to spend that much money to get that tone. Also, getting the real deal is something you would want to put in a bullet proof locked glass case, and never play, since the wire coils are corroded along with many other things in most vintage basses.

Really just need a pickup in the right spot, and the right equalizing

Another edit, you can get custom shop fender pickups from made by fender direct or from ebay. You can have someone put that in a bass that has the same wood, and the same looks. Honestly, Fender Custom shop is one of the most overpriced branches of a company I've ever seen. You can custom order basses from this guy, [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and he will build it with any specs you want. You can choose finishes, and pickguards, and I'm almost entirely sure that'd it be much cheaper. He uses Lindy Fralin Pickups, which is another brand you can custom order from. Plus, I met Mike Lull at NAMM in January 2011, and he's a great guy. He let me play his new (at the time) TC5, and my god that is a godly bass. He let me jam with Grant Austin Taylor at his booth too.

By the way, that is the most pretentious 16 year old I have ever seen, (I was 15 at the time) but you didn't hear it from me.
Click to expand...

I've had a bass built by a luthier to exact Fender vintage specs. Alder body, 250k pots, handwound pickups by Curtis Novak etc... etc... And it sure sounds great. But it doesn't sound like the real thing. It lacks some bite to a certain extent.

I also went to a Fender cutom shop dealer and compared mine to a CS 59 P. And the CS was a winner. I don't know what Fender does, maybe the choice of wood but it seems other can't reproduce exactly what it is.

The only thing I wasn't able to compare was a CS against a real 60's P.
 
#5
bass_steak said:
I've had a bass built by a luthier to exact Fender vintage specs. Alder body, 250k pots, handwound pickups by Curtis Novak etc... etc... And it sure sounds great. But it doesn't sound like the real thing. It lacks some bite to a certain extent.

I also went to a Fender cutom shop dealer and compared mine to a CS 59 P. And the CS was a winner. I don't know what Fender does, maybe the choice of wood but it seems other can't reproduce exactly what it is.

The only thing I wasn't able to compare was a CS against a real 60's P.
Click to expand...

It's Abigail Ybarra and those handwound pickups of hers. ;)
 
#7
I got to A/B my CS 55 P against an original '56.
Very suprising how exactly right-on it is in neck shape, feel, playability, weight was dead-nuts.
The original's neck finish naturally worn felt better than my NOS neck finish.
However I didn't like my stock pickup. I felt it was unbalanced and the A was overbearing, and swapped it for a Lollar which balances perfect.
 
#8
I have had two CS Jazz Basses, and they've been really good instruments. I also own a near-mint '62 Jazz and a more daily-driverish '65 Jazz. The actual vintage instruments have a mellowness that I can't quantify but is clear to me- even if it is imagined, if that makes any sense. Long story short, a CS is a great instrument that will come close enough to the real McCoy for any practical purpose.
 
#9
I tried 2 CS late 60's P basses and did not like them at all vs the real thing. They looked the same just the originals were older (worn) but did not sound close at all or feel like the vintage P basses did. IMO the only 2 CS Fender's I played were no way near worth what they were asking for them.
 
#10
The one I tried I felt it had more open range in the bass, like the lows were more bloomy and less compact than the real vintage we hear on youtube. Of course, we often don't know what they're plugged in. But in general I feel like the real vintage P's have crisp tight mids and kind of compact lows too.

Am I making any sense?
 
#12
I am a lefty too and have righthanded friends with the original P and J basses from the pre CBS 60ies.... great basses but they were all highly selected by them before they've bought them (that's the big plus point being a right handed person;))

But I have ordered myself a CS Jazz Bass three years ago and it became a Dennis Galuszka Master Built 66 Jazz Bass , that was based on the 64 model which the Custom Shop offers but was modified to my needs like an Ash body, Block Inlays + Binding, Vintage White w. matching headstock... this Bass turned out to be a lifetime bass - it just has it :hyper:

Also I do prefer the Closet Classic finish which feels very smooth..

I should get my CS (Team Built) 62 P Bass in Shoreline Gold the next weeks (should have it by now since Fender wanted to send it in march but it's not here yet :bawl:)

To me it is great to play on these old Fenders of my friends and there's defenetely some nostalgia going on when you play them but you also have to find an outstanding one and as a lefty you don't have a big choice - if you're lucky you'll find one or maybe two and even that is only happening every 10 years and then you do have to pay more than a righty because the seller thinks he can ask more because it's a lefty...:mad:

so I would go with the Custom Shop because you do get very nice quality instruments that also feature great tonewoods and great workmanship (Dennis Galuszka did a GREAT job with my Jazz Bass) and a sound that's very close - if even better - to an old one
 
#14
I own a CS 59 P as well as a real 59 (in my avatar). Both are great. The real 59 P is better both in feel and tone. But I wouldn't say it is 4X better.
Sure, you can get the same tone in the studio, or even live. But there's something about holding a 50+ year old instrument in your hands. The natural wear on the neck, and the smell of the wood really sets it apart from the newer ones.
If you want to try to get the tone of the 59, then buy the CS. But if you want a piece of history and can afford it, then get the real deal.
 
#17
msb said:
The older ones were not all that consistent , you might play a bunch to find one that felt right .
Click to expand...

Too right.

The three or four CS '59 Ps I tried were some of the best playing and sounding Precisions I've ever picked up. All made me want to fork out the dough instantly, saved only by the fact that I have some fabulous Ps already.

Fender really got it right with these, if you can find one used they are worth looking at, IMO. I find CS new prices too rich for my blood, as I think about resale when I buy an instrument and they take a big hit walking out the door.

A good real '59 in S/B can be had for about 10k- there is a really nice one at Bass Emporium right now. But I couldn't comfortably take an instrument out that was worth that much, YMMV.
 

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