I love my USA Fender Precision. It looks great, sounds great, and feels like an extension of my body.
Did I mention I love my P bass? Its a great bass but ...
Oh, also I have a Gibson T'Bird which I love almost as much, maybe more some days, than the P bass. Its a gigantic monstrosity of a bass and I love it. It sounds incredible and looks very cool. Its also a great bass but ...
I get frustrated because certain lines I want to play, when they're down the neck like in G, just aren't as fast or smooth as I want because I have to really stretch or shift my hand. I've worked really hard at it and have gotten much better, but it always bothers me that its so difficult. Then there's the occasional hand pain.
Every time I went into my local Sam Ash I would pick up the Mustang PJ and play it and was always amazed how easy it was to play. I could fly through those difficult lines without a thought. And it sounded pretty good. Not the same as my P or TBird, but pretty good. And I liked the feel of the neck - not overly glossy or sticky. Smooth and feels good in the hand.
So I finally bought it. I decided the only fair way to get used to this short scale bass is to hang the others up on the wall, and only play the Mustang for the next couple months. I'm really liking it. Its very fast, I mean really fast, and so easy to play. Its also light and feels good hanging on a strap. The sound is different than I'm used to, but I'm learning to get what I like from it. This bass could become my #1 player.
I've heard the comments about problems with the pickup selector switch. And mine was noisy right out of the box. I took off the pick guard to get to the switch and gave it a good spray with contact cleaner and the noise is gone. Its an easy fix and I recommend it to anyone with a noisy switch.
I changed the strings to chrome flatwounds and they sound great!
I gave it a setup. A small truss rod adjustment and lowering the saddles. Now the action is low and no fret buzz at all, just like I like it.
Mods? Of course! I modify every bass I own. I guess I just like to tinker with my basses, plus it makes them my own. I added a Fender Precision bridge cover (ashtray cover). It looks great and gives the bass a different look. The color is the sonic blue (looks green not blue to my eye) with mint green pick guard. I'm not liking the mint green pick guard so I ordered a black one. It should arrive in the next day or two.
The fretboard is Pau Ferro of course. Its a little lighter than I'd like, but it still looks good. I like the grain lines in it.
I considered buying the JMJ Roadworn version because it has such great reviews and sounds incredible in some YouTubes I listened to. But in the end I wasn't ready to drop $1000 on a bass I wasn't sure I'd play. If this PJ turns out to be the #1 like I think it might, I might consider adding the JMJ sometime in the future.
Anyway, just wanted to share my Mustang PJ experience and will post pics once the new pick guard is on it. Happy thanksgiving everyone.