Fender factory setup

[Bassdrifter]

I have bought many basses. New and used. Cheap and not exactly cheap. All of them have needed a setup. It has been my opinion that any new bass needs a setup. Until now.

I received a brand new Fender American Performer Precision Bass. The setup just amazed me. Neck relief:: 0.4mm. String height E: 2.1mm. String height G 1.9mm Nut height: 0,6mm. Pickup height 4mm. Intonation: Spot on. The most amazing thing was that it was in tune! Straight out of the box!

Setup is of course a mater of preference and the player preferred the strings somewhat higher so i raised then 0,2mm and a full new setup was of cource needed with the preferred LaBella flatwounds, but the basic setup: Wow!

I have never bought a new american made Fender before. Is this normal?

 

[Killing Floor]

There is no normal. Every dealer has different procedures and employees with different skills. That's really great your bass allegedly came ready to play.
But the rules are clear, no pics = no bass.

 

[Bassdrifter]

There is no normal. Every dealer has different procedures and employees with different skills. That's really great your bass allegedly came ready to play.
But the rules are clear, no pics = no bass.

The box was sealed, I Ass U Me d it was drop shipping and that the dealer had never touched it. Maybe they did and that they treat American Fenders differently than Squier, Epiphone, Ibanez, Sterling and Mexican Fenders.
Pics; I have ben reading this forum for years, I should know better. Sorry. I did not think of taking pictures of the setup straight out of the box, or even better, an unboxing video. I am not big on unboxing videos. The bass now has my setup and probably looks like any other. I may take pictures when i get it back from the player to change the bridge, pickups, post, tuners, strings or all of the above, (Not that it seams necessary on such a fine instrument, but who ever cared about "necessary"?) but i guess it would not be relevant for this tread.
Edit: Spelling

 

[pedulla-2007]

There is no normal. Every dealer has different procedures and employees with different skills. That's really great your bass allegedly came ready to play.
But the rules are clear, no pics = no bass.

I took my American Standard P-5 to an “authorized” Fender luthier, trained and certified, by the markings over his crib in the back of the music store. I paid 60.00 for a professional setup and intonation. The first thing he asked was what kind of music I played, and then how aggressively I played? I told him what he needed to know, and left the bass, fully expecting a relatively low action. Maybe it was the aftermarket bridge that threw him, but I found his questions odd.

When I picked it up 2 days later, I took it home without even looking at the bass, I was shocked to see the action 2 credit card thickness away from the fretboard. I called him immediately to ask why the high action. He said that is what I had requested. I ended up going to a private individual to get the action I needed. I believe setup is subjective to each individual’s personal preference. Just my two cents.

 

[Five or Six]

That's why over the years I've learned to do a proper setup "my way to my liking".

 

[FunkHead]

The box was sealed, I Ass U Me d it was drop shipping and that the dealer had never touched it. Maybe they did and that they treat American Fenders differently than Squier, Epiphone, Ibanez, Sterling and Mexican Fenders.
Pics; I have ben reading this forum for years, I should know better. Sorry. I did not think of taking pictures of the setup straight out of the box, or even better, an unboxing video. I am not big on unboxing videos. The bass now has my setup and probably looks like any other. I may take pictures when i get it back from the player to change the bridge, pickups, post, tuners, strings or all of the above, (Not that it seams necessary on such a fine instrument, but who ever cared about "necessary"?) but i guess it would not be relevant for this tread.
Edit: Spelling

This is what I prefer. I don't want anyone setting up my bass but the factory followed by me. If the bass isn't defective, it should be a simple setup. Especially the simple design of a Fender Precision.

Wildwood has a good reputation for setups but my last Rick 4003 from them was wonky. One truss rod was turned about 10 turns more than the other. I though they may have been trying to correct a twist but after I reset the truss rods equally, It was perfect.

Congrats on getting a good bass.

 

[jimmydean]

When I got my Dingwall in January , the bass was set up perfectly and in tune and believe it or not ......the bass is still in tune , I have never had to tune it ......crazy ?

 

[Bluesrock]

I have bought many basses. New and used. Cheap and not exactly cheap. All of them have needed a setup. It has been my opinion that any new bass needs a setup. Until now.

I received a brand new Fender American Performer Precision Bass. The setup just amazed me. Neck relief:: 0.4mm. String height E: 2.1mm. String height G 1.9mm Nut height: 0,6mm. Pickup height 4mm. Intonation: Spot on. The most amazing thing was that it was in tune! Straight out of the box!

Setup is of course a mater of preference and the player preferred the strings somewhat higher so i raised then 0,2mm and a full new setup was of cource needed with the preferred LaBella flatwounds, but the basic setup: Wow!

I have never bought a new american made Fender before. Is this normal?

I have several Fenders over the years and the only issue I've ever had is that the strings usually need lowered a bit.

 

[Turnaround]

I have bought many basses. New and used. Cheap and not exactly cheap. All of them have needed a setup. It has been my opinion that any new bass needs a setup. Until now.

I received a brand new Fender American Performer Precision Bass. The setup just amazed me. Neck relief:: 0.4mm. String height E: 2.1mm. String height G 1.9mm Nut height: 0,6mm. Pickup height 4mm. Intonation: Spot on. The most amazing thing was that it was in tune! Straight out of the box!

Setup is of course a mater of preference and the player preferred the strings somewhat higher so i raised then 0,2mm and a full new setup was of cource needed with the preferred LaBella flatwounds, but the basic setup: Wow!

I have never bought a new american made Fender before. Is this normal?

Not so much normal as lucky. Regardless of how it is set up at the factory, in shipping the bass may be subject to hot and dry or cold and wet conditions, either of which will throw a setup off.

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

on a fender bass (american design) it’s best to use imperial units to measure and tweak the setup

 

[Malak the Mad]

A few years ago, I pounced on a nicely priced, open box Fender American Professional II Jazz bass. Ultimately, I returned it, but not because anything was defective. In fact, it felt and sounded great...just not $1,300 great. (I'm on a bit of a budget, so...) One thing that really stood out was how well set up it was. So, while I may have returned the bass, I took a big page from it and made adjustments to all my parts-basses in an attempt to get them closer to how nice and easy the MIA Pro II felt.

And, since we're flogging the "no pics...no bass" rule...

 

[Killing Floor]

on a fender bass (american design) it’s best to use imperial units to measure and tweak the setup

And because metric is weird.

 

[Malak the Mad]

And because metric is weird.

Perhaps, but if we all used the same standard, then it would be just that...standard. Plus, we wouldn't have to quibble and lament over the whole "metric vs. imperial" nonsense.

I can't say for sure, unless we all made the change, but it would probably only take a generation for everyone to adapt. (Related note: I've had to lay it on several clients that their children will never know a World without the internet...or several computers in every house...or smart phones...or WiFi...or streaming services...etc...and that they'll only be able to imagine that all we Gen X'ers could to amuse ourselves while we were living in caves was to bang rocks and sticks together around the fire pit. It's just the way it is now. )

 

[Five or Six]

Not so much normal as lucky. Regardless of how it is set up at the factory, in shipping the bass may be subject to hot and dry or cold and wet conditions, either of which will throw a setup off.

Not to mention when you put strings of your choice on a new bass (which should be done right away) it will need a new setup.

 

[Karl_in_Chicago]

Perhaps, but if we all used the same standard, then it would be just that...standard. Plus, we wouldn't have to quibble and lament over the whole "metric vs. imperial" nonsense.

I can't say for sure, unless we all made the change, but it would probably only take a generation for everyone to adapt. (Related note: I've had to lay it on several clients that their children will never know a World without the internet...or several computers in every house...or smart phones...or WiFi...or streaming services...etc...and that they'll only be able to imagine that all we Gen X'ers could to amuse ourselves while we were living in caves was to bang rocks and sticks together around the fire pit. It's just the way it is now. )

Old saying in Information Technology - "Standards are great. Everybody should have at least one."

 

[Malak the Mad]

Old saying in Information Technology - "Standards are great. Everybody should have at least one."

Go on...

 

[Turnaround]

Old saying in Information Technology - "Standards are great. Everybody should have at least one."

The saying I remember from my IT days was "The great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from. One is bound to fit".

 

[Edgar83]

I've recently bought exactly the same bass, new. although not terrible the setup was far from being perfect for my needs. I've also changed the nut because the string slot for E string was too large.

Edit: picture added!

 

[Bassdrifter]

on a fender bass (american design) it’s best to use imperial units to measure and tweak the setup

I saw this a few hours ago. I can not stop laughing! Assuming it is humor it is a great comment. If it is not it even more fun!

 

[Bassdrifter]

I took my American Standard P-5 to an “authorized” Fender luthier, trained and certified, by the markings over his crib in the back of the music store. I paid 60.00 for a professional setup and intonation. The first thing he asked was what kind of music I played, and then how aggressively I played? I told him what he needed to know, and left the bass, fully expecting a relatively low action. Maybe it was the aftermarket bridge that threw him, but I found his questions odd.

When I picked it up 2 days later, I took it home without even looking at the bass, I was shocked to see the action 2 credit card thickness away from the fretboard. I called him immediately to ask why the high action. He said that is what I had requested. I ended up going to a private individual to get the action I needed. I believe setup is subjective to each individual’s personal preference. Just my two cents.

60$ seams cheep. I did not think you could get a professional to do a setup for twice that. What kind of music and how aggressively you play seam like good questions if you do not have specifics to go by. I find it strange that people do not do their own setups, at least anything that does not acquire files.