I have 3 Fender p-basses. One is a AmPro (great bass), the others I built from parts so I know exactly whats inside. 
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Fender Player Series bass has the wrong pickup
- Thread starter ThingsAbove
- Start date
Did you mention it to GC? Perhaps they'll be able to get it taken care of. Not your problem, sure, but maybe we won't see this thread popping up again... (hopefully
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Regards false advertising.
I'm betting someplace in all the boilerplate is a line stating...
"Specifications subject to change without notice"
I'm betting someplace in all the boilerplate is a line stating...
"Specifications subject to change without notice"
Fender maybe betting on the buyer putting in their brand of choice pups. Still if they're going to advertise alnico pups, better damn well have alnico pups!
I suspect they're dumping old/cheap parts on new basses. I can't be sure of course but this SUCKS pretty bad.
I told them when I returned it, but the manager didn't show any concern. OTOH, the return was very quick, so kudos to them on that account.Did you mention it to GC? Perhaps they'll be able to get it taken care of. Not your problem, sure, but maybe we won't see this thread popping up again... (hopefully
Alnico5 pickups would have magnetic pole pieces rather than the steel poles with the ceramic bar magnet sandwich on the bottom. I should have noticed that the pole pieces were steel earlier, but didn't even think to doubt that the pickup was wrong until I found that the measured DC resistance was half what it should have been.
Something like this:
if the intent was to put regular "Player" pups in the "Limited Edition" offering.
Last edited:
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
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Me personally, I understand that that MIM Fenders don't come stock with the best pickups available so with that in mind I'd probably buy the bass knowing I'd be replacing the pickup at some point especially since you can get a really nice sounding US Fender P bass pickup (alnico V) for under $60.
Yep. It is in the Invalid Link Removed in the No Warranty section.
"Information and related materials are subject to change without notice. "
It is interesting to me that so many are so quick to want to burn Fender at the stake because the pickups are listed incorrectly. It sounded to me like the OP returned the bass because he didn't like the way it sounded. That's valid, and I understand the OP's frustration if he didn't like the sound, and then he discovered he didn't get the pickups he expected. However, I'll bet those P basses sound good; I never met one that didn't. "Good" is subjective, though.
The issue is that the alnico pickups as standard on the player series were one of the differentiators from the MIM standard which historically had ceramic pickups. In theory, you would not need to upgrade the pickups as most of us have historically done.
I attribute it to this FSR (fender special run) at GC where the standard series and player series lines are blurred.
I attribute it to this FSR (fender special run) at GC where the standard series and player series lines are blurred.
This has me wondering even more about my Rogers Waters MIM Fender P bass that I purchased from GC a year ago. The bass is advertised with Duncan QP pickups. However that Duncan logo is not on them and they don't sound like those PU's either. The reason I say is that I have a P bass that I had a friend install Duncans in and it does not sounds the same to me. I was immediately suspicious and this thread has me even more curious. And yes I know well after a year from purchasing the bass I am "stuck". But now I have to find out for sure. Just cause.
QP pickups are visually distinctive without a logo.
I hope that was a mistake rather then something sneaky.. Fender's had typos/wrong info on their website before...
Funny thing is that some people talk about originality when they're buying Fenders.
Funny thing is that some people talk about originality when they're buying Fenders.
I couldn't get the tone pot to work for me. The tones I got from that bass went from super-zingy bright to buried under a blanket. I could not find a setting that brought the mids to life. I would have starting replacing parts but there were other issues with the bass that I listed in my NBD thread that weren't great. Then when I discovered it had the same pickups as the exact same bass for sale $100 less (same color, pickguard, everything) from GC website from the previous year I decided to return it.
At this point I'll just look for a used one for a lot less and plan to replace electronics.
I agree and don't get me wrong they do look the part. Again just saying they don't sound like my other MIM P bass with QP Duncans.
