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Fender La Cabronita Precision Bass

#223
Wish I could post a clip... prepping for an acoustic tour playing only upright this summer, so that's gonna be tough for me! If an opportunity presents itself, I will try though.

I had a 7-song set pop up at a church yesterday when I got off the plane. Used the Cabronita for that too - everything from "contemporary worship rock" to Emmylou Harris material. The bass worked great for it all!
 
#224
MikeyThrottler said:
My black Cabronita showed up on Saturday (2 days earlier than I was expecting - Thanks, Sweetwater!) so I had the weekend to mess with it.

Thoughts: Fit and finish are better than I was expecting from a MIM Fender; it's easily on par with my CIJ P-bass and not far from my '04 American P. The only issue I immediately noticed were slightly rough fret edges on the G string side of the neck; then again it had been sitting in a chilly Fedex truck. Everything else seems as solid as can be. Mine weighed in at 8.5lbs on the bathroom scale. I also noticed that the forearm contour is less pronounced than I was expecting. This isn't a problem for me as I like slab bodies. I can also see the (very much U-shaped) gloss-finished neck being a bit sticky in the summer, so I'll probably sand off the finish down the line.

I can't comment in too much detail about tone as I've only been able to play through my practice amp at apartment volume, but suffice to say the Cab doesn't sound like a P Bass. To my ear it's less boxy sounding with more pronounced upper mids and somewhat muted highs. I will echo scotch's statement that the Fidelitron pickup is very sensitive to right hand dynamics. I'll know more once I run it through the SVT with a band this week, but for now I'm quite satisfied for the price.

Crappy phone pic to prove it happened:

Cabronita_zpsfd1535f4.jpg
Click to expand...

Cool! I agree with all your initial impressions.
 
#225
Is this "Fidelitron" the same, or close to, the Gretsch Filtertron? Since Fender owns both, I would assume it is. I have played several Gretsches and the Filtertron was kinda meh to me.
But I LOVED the TV Jones equipped basses.
Has anyone swapped pickups in the Cabronita yet?
How did it work?
 
#226
PaperbackRyder said:
Is this "Fidelitron" the same, or close to, the Gretsch Filtertron? Since Fender owns both, I would assume it is. I have played several Gretsches and the Filtertron was kinda meh to me.
But I LOVED the TV Jones equipped basses.
Has anyone swapped pickups in the Cabronita yet?
How did it work?
Click to expand...

Fender doesn't own TV Jones, though (as far as I know).

I had planned on swapping out the Fidelitron for a TV Jones - but I'm honestly happy with the Fidelitron! No plan to swap out anymore...
 
#229
Figured I'd give an update since not too many people have their hands on these yet.

I finally got a chance to play my Cabronita through my '76 SVT for a bit tonight. Granted, it was at townhouse volumes so I wasn't able to really crank it for fear of getting the cops called, but it still gave me a better idea of how it sounds through my main gigging amp. And unfortunately no, I still don't have any decent way to record it....

I compared it to my main live bass, which is a maple board '04 American Precision with a Duncan Quarter Pounder pickup and Rotosound rounds that haven't been changed in probably 20 shows. Here's what I noticed:

-The pickup in the Cab is hot, but nowhere near as hot as the Quarter Pounder (few pickups are). I will definitely need to run my volume knob up a click live, but the SVT has plenty of horsepower for that.

-The Fidelitron pickup has remarkably subdued highs. I usually run the SVT's treble knob at 10 to 11 o'clock depending on the room and age of the strings. Even with the brand-new rounds on the Cab I was boosting it to about 1 'o clock and it was still less clangy than the QP. The pickup also has a lot of mids, which I love, but a much different character than a spit coil. It kind of sounds like a Thunderbird with the neck P/U soloed. Oh, and it comes ALIVE when you start to overdrive the tubes a bit.

As for the feel, I've noticed 2 things. 1. This is NOT a "C-shaped" neck, this is a "U-shaped" neck. Yes, it measures 1.625" at the nut like most modern P's, but the neck is noticeably deeper. It's the deepest neck I've ever played; not as fast as my American P, but I find it comfortable as I have massive hands.

Also, this is a BIG bass. The body is thick and basically a slab with only a very slight forearm contour. I'm still playing around with getting comfortable on it, but all signs seem to point to me wearing it higher than my other basses.

There's my 4-day review. I'm sure I'll know more after a long band practice tomorrow night.
 
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#230
MikeyThrottler said:
As for the feel, I've noticed 2 things. 1. This is NOT a "C-shaped" neck, this is a "U-shaped" neck. Yes, it measures 1.625" at the nut like most modern P's, but the neck is noticeably deeper. It's the deepest neck I've ever played; not as fast as my American P, but I find it comfortable as I have massive hands.

Also, this is a BIG bass. The body is thick and basically a slab with only a very slight forearm contour. I'm still playing around with getting comfortable on it, but all signs seem to point to me wearing it higher than my other basses.
Click to expand...

I just got mine today (2-tone burst) and have not yet listened to it through an amplifier. But I concur with these two points. I love this neck. I used to own a '69 Telecaster bass and have missed that "baseball bat" neck ever since I sold it (which I have regretted for 38 years). The major difference between the two necks is that the Tele was 1.75 inches at the nut, while the Cabronita neck, as noted above, is 1.625 inches at the nut. But both profiles are decidedly fat. I don't find these tallish frets bothersome.

I put TI Flats on this bass, and am looking forward to playing it in a live setting.
 
#234
rumblinbass said:
I'm really curious about the pickup location. I remember reading that the pickup location on the CS Cabronita was not in the P position. It was moved for more volume. Is that still the case for this Cab?
Click to expand...

The pickup on the Cab is in roughly the same spot as the "D-G" side of the split coil on a regular P. As such, it's a little closer to the bridge than a P pickup on the "E-A" side.
 
#236
rumblinbass said:
I'm really curious about the pickup location. I remember reading that the pickup location on the CS Cabronita was not in the P position. It was moved for more volume. Is that still the case for this Cab?
Click to expand...

My Cabronita's pickup is about 28.5" on-center from the nut. Same as my Split-P pickups on-center almost exactly.
 

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