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Fender Pino Palladino vs "Regular" Fender CS

#21
spec wise the Pino and the CS are nearly identical. There is really no justification for the $5000 price tag when compared to a CS P bass thats $3500.

Of course the same can be said for the CS P Bass compared to the American Original P Bass. Again they are identical spec wise. They are both production lines (despite people thinking the CS actually means custom or special build) and use the same woods. Yet the price is $3500 vs $1700

To me its just another Fender marketing ploy to make the customer think they are getting something they are not.
 
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#24
I'm fortunate enough to own 1959 Fender Precision that I bought when i was in college It has a very comfortable neck profile, sounds great and was very reasonably priced. All the basses I own were purchased used. So, my suggestion is that you play a several used precision style basses, until you find one that suits you. Pino is a exceptional player, regardless of the bass he's playing.
 
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#26
lsu921 said:
For those of you that have owned and/or played both.. What differentiates the Custom Shop Pino from a more "regular" Custom Shop P? The fiesta red finish and relic is obvious, but is there anything more to it? What's the Pino neck profile? I played a CS P for the first time yesterday, and I loved everything about it except the neck profile. It was MASSIVE. The one I played was an Aztec Gold 1959 Journeyman Relic.

I've got a fever for a Pino that even more cowbell won't cure, so I'm trying to do some due diligence before dropping that much cash.
Click to expand...

I've played a few Pino Ps over the years and they've all been outstanding basses. However, I don't quite get why they are SOOO much more expensive than other similar FCS offerings. I don't think I could ever drop that kind of coin on a bass even if I had money to burn ... it's just not in my DNA. In addition, while I can tolorate the whole relic'd thing, I cannot live with a relic'd neck. It's gotta be smooth as a baby's you-know-what for me.
 
#29
Thanks for all the replies. For the record, I'm not considering a Pino to "be like" Pino. What I'm looking for is an exceptionally good P-Bass with rosewood board in either Fiesta Red, Sherwood Green, or Olympic White with some level of relic. The Pino happens to fit the bill, but as others have mentioned it's about $1000 more than a regular CS. I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
 
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#30
I feel like your main question was regarding differences between a CS and a Pino. I'm not sure too many of the responses tried to help with that.
I don't know too much about either, but I'm guessing the Pino is pretty close to a 62' P in neck profile and feel. You played a 59' CS that I'm guessing has a more 50's profile than the 60's profile of the Pino.
Not sure exactly when it happened, but the 50's instruments went from a thicker, sometimes V shaped profile to a slightly flatter C shaped profile in the 60's.
Maybe seeking out a 60's, or specifically 62' CS would get you closer to the Pino in neck profile. Other differences in pickups and all…IDK.
 
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#31
@MIMike, you are correct. The neck profile of the Pino is what I was interested in. I'm guessing since it's a signature model it would be the same on all. I have a 50's MIM P-Bass that has a rather big neck, but nothing like the 59 I played at GC. I've been playing almost 30 years, and that was the biggest neck I've ever seen.
 
#33
Never read a bad review about a Pino and they do not come up for sale often, which could indicate owners are happy with them. Prices have changed a lot with COVID but you can order anything you want from the CS. You pick the color, neck profile, level of relic'ing, etc. That may be your best bet. If you don't need the relic treatment and you want to stick with Fender, the mod shop may be worth considering. It would certainly save you some bucks. Ordering from the CS is fun. Just make sure you pick the right dealer. I've had excellent service from Greg at Bizarre Guitars and Dennis at The Bass Place. Sweetwater can also order you one and get financing when available but when I tried there, they weren't as 'aware' or engaged as the other places were.
 
#34
The custom shop at Fender is there for a few reasons. Primarily, it's there so that, when a customer comes along and says "but I don't want on of the 3 colors you offer in your standard line", or some other simple variation on a standard Fender, they can make you want you want without shutting down the standard production line, and then they charge you extra for whatever it is that you want that's different. It also allows them to do non-standard things for high profile artists, so they can say that "bass player X" plays a Fender.

What people fail to realize is that "Custom Shop" is not really another step in quality. Sure, you can get rolled edges or something, but I can do that (I have) in 15 minutes, and for far less than they'd charge you to do it. The Custom shop exists primarily for Fender's convenience, and yes, it makes them a bit more profit per instrument than a normal one. But the parts they use are made from trees just like the stuff on the regular production line, and they're made in the same CNC machines, with the same programs. There isn't an identifiable thing that a custom shop instrument has the a regular production one doesn't, other than colors, how beat up it is, etc.

They've also figured out that people will pay for a bass that's "just like Jaco's" (or, in this case, Pino's). If that's you, fine, but always remember that that magic of Jaco or Pino doesn't come from the instrument. I could take Pino's exact instrument, he could take mine, and I'd sound exactly like me, and he like him - lucky for him the talent doesn't move with the bass.

My favorite "custom shop" instrument at present (for the irony) is the one that Gibson makes of Slash's Les Paul - it's a copy (naturally) of Slash's Les Paul, and it's made by Gibson. Well, if Slash's Les Paul has some magical qualities to it that normal Gibson Les Pauls don't, perhaps it's because Slash's Les Paul isn't a Gibson - it's a copy made by a small luthier. So, the Gibson tribute is their copy of someone elses's copy....of a Les Paul. Almost hurts my brain to get through that twist....
 
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#39
MIMike said:
I feel like your main question was regarding differences between a CS and a Pino. I'm not sure too many of the responses tried to help with that.
I don't know too much about either, but I'm guessing the Pino is pretty close to a 62' P in neck profile and feel. You played a 59' CS that I'm guessing has a more 50's profile than the 60's profile of the Pino.
Not sure exactly when it happened, but the 50's instruments went from a thicker, sometimes V shaped profile to a slightly flatter C shaped profile in the 60's.
Maybe seeking out a 60's, or specifically 62' CS would get you closer to the Pino in neck profile. Other differences in pickups and all…IDK.
Click to expand...
Yes, imho, it's the 62 neck profile. I have a real 62 P, it's wide side to side bit thin back to front. To me, it is in a category all by itself. Not a feel they regular let out of the shop. Not for everyone but you'll know it when you feel it :)
 
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