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fender precision deluxe V question

M

Mr. BassmanPT

Aug 15, 2009
955
5
Europe
#1
hi,

i have some questions regarding a jazz precision deluxe.. i met this guy that has a beautiful precision to sell. here is is the bass:

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the bass looks mint, i had it in my hands, and it felt great! from what the guy said, fender isn't building anymore of these so this is probably a good time to get a collectors bass! i do not have the serial number but the bass was bought in last February of 2008 so it was probably assembled in 2007.

however i didn't plug it because there was no amp near. so i do not know how the bass sounds. and here comes the question. the guy says that when he touches the pickup poles, the bass has those noises like it lacks grounding. he also states that if he rotates the knobs, the bass also has those kind of noises.

he pointed this to the fact that all fender active basses and guitars, somewhat lack in the grounding department and all of those actives have those grounding noises.

i would like to know if this is true or if the seller is trying to lie. he also said he is trying to sell this bass because he wants something else, something more versatile.

he states the noises aren't that noticeable when playing live for example but if we are at home, when everything is dead silent, you can hear these grounding noises. he also said that a luthier said it can be solved if a better grounding is applied.

hope to have an answer soon.

PS: i offered 1200 euros, is this too much? how much would you offer for a bass like that one?
 
#2
Not sure what you think the seller is lying about if he's telling you there's something wrong with the bass. :) I had a 4 string P bass deluxe, but it was a 98 or 99, and it was the most problematic bass I ever owned. I've ranted countless times here about it. Guess I'm going to yet again. I had problems with the mid pot that a technician told me was some kind of ground issue. I didn't really know much at the time, but the guy told me replacing the pot wouldn't fix it, that it was some kind weird grounding thing. I had to push down on the knob to get it work properly. I just dealt with it. Bass had tons of other issues, most of them I think were simply because I got a lemon, but IMO that's unforgivable when you're paying over $1000 for a bass - which I did. Having play in the tuners that and authorized Fender repairperson admitted to but just attributed to all the lightweight fender tuners being crap was probably my biggest peave. That and the fact that the bridge pickup was incredibly thin sounding. Nothing at all like a MM which I was hoping it would sound like. Took me a lot of basses to find everything I hoped that P bass to be. My Musicman Stingray HS.

Also, I do believe they stopped making them, but I don't believe that's going to make them any more valuable. They're not the most popular basses.
 
#3
thanks for the reply. i just want to make sure that all fender actives are poorly grounded, when he said that i just could not believe it!

the guy also said the sound wasn't that fat sound he likes.. i though of string it with flats to compensate though..

but are really those grounding issues that bad? and the tuners? are they crap? how can a fender deluxe be that crap?

what do you mean by getting a lemon ?
 
#4
I don't know if they changed the tuners since the late 90s, but they were the fender lightweight tuners. I never before that bass owned a bass that had any kind of play in the tuners. It was a pain in the butt to tune the thing and when I called Fender they told me to bring it to my local Fender guy. He told me "they're all like that" and showed me some he had in a drawer that had snapped or he had replaced. He told me he would change them only if I wanted to buy new tuners. I was pissed, but sucked it up and got used to them.

As for mine being "lemon" I only say this because others make very different claims about this bass. Some people love them. IMO anyone who thinks they're "fat" sounding doesn't have much experience in a band setting with a bass that truly sounds "fat". Not sure anyone ever makes that claim though, the bridge pickup is undeniably thin sounding. P pickup had some beef to it, but I brought a dan electro ad a backup bass several times when I was using the P, and for bottom end it destroyed the P. Wasn't only my opinion.

As for grounding issues - LOL. Talk to someone with a Jaguar. I just bought one and HAD to do the grounding fix that there's a thread about here. It was a simple fix (guaranteed ANYONE can do it), but absolutely necessary as far as I'm concerned.

It baffles me that Fender doesn't address issues like this, and that their customer service IMO has been pretty horrible. I've really believe that Fender is entirely out to just make money. I don't believe for a scond that they care about putting out a quality instrument. They don't have to because they live off their reputation and the fact that in the 60s there wasn't mush else to play but a Fender.

If I were you I'd steer away from this bass. My number 1 bass for versatility is my Stingray HS. Nothing I've ever owned comes close to that and quality wise it's light years away from the P deluxe I had. If you're really into getting a Fender though, the Jaguar is still being blown out at musiciansfriend for $599, which they'll let go for $480 if you talk em into the 20% discount they offer every other week. :) Oh wait, yer looking for a 5 string... OK. Whatever. Good luck.

And to the hardcore FenderDefenders - the above is my experience, AND I do happen to love my Jaguar. Feels like it came from an entirely different company than my P... oh no, sorry. I forgot about the horrible ground issue that needed to be fixed. It's from the same company. :)
 
#7
Just realized I have a clip online showing pretty much what that bass sounded like iffin you're interested. It's at around 2:48 in this video http://www.youtube.com/joenerve#p/u/6/r8wuMyKsTUw . I'm pretty sure all the other basses in any live or recorded stuff in the rest of my vids is a Bongo or Stingray. Did the recording of my new video below with a Stingray, although I used a different bass in the vid for certain reasons.
 
#8
Aspidites said:
As per forum rules you have to be a supporting member to ask that.
Click to expand...

I don't think he was asking, he was stating the the offered price may be high for the given bass in the given location.

Back to the OP, I don't think the blanket statement that all fender actives have grounding issues is true, although to be honest, I've only played them in stores, not personally owned one, as I prefer a passive bass. The P-deluxe, and especially P-deluxe V get great reviews, you should search the forum for some of them. There are some people on this forum that believe discontinuing the P-deluxe V was fender's biggest mistake, so that certainly says something. Anyways, if it's a grounding issue with the particular bass, make a slightly lower offer (I'm assuming you did since you said you put in an offer) and see what you can do to clean it up. It may be a pot issue, might be an issue of shielding, etc. These are very good sounding basses IMO.
 
#9
Look If you have doubt they take a deep breath and pass on it. I just ordered (to be delivered today ) an American P bass V for $1200 via Samash. Ok this is through the internet but I know that when I inspect and play it that I'm covered. When I buy anything via the .net or any other way I am always prepared to back out and send it or take it back. It sounds like this guy is asking retail for it and that there is no discount for doing this transaction. Listen to the other forum members, they know what they are telling you. Right now its tipped on the buyers side. I'm spoiled and I like new stuff fresh out of the sealed box. But that's me. I am certain you can find something just as good if not better if you wait a little.
...Good luck .....
 
#10
good advice in here.

i read all posts fast (i am at work now). i will read them all again later when at home. keep up with the posting, i might lower my offer to 1100 euros. if i decide to go with the bass. will take a look in the reviews and the sound clips.

regards
 
#11
ok, i have been reading a lot of topics about this bass and now i am confused.. the majority of posts i have read are from people who love this bass. i listened to some clips in youtube and the sound is beefy, i like it!

however, the grounding issues keep popping in my head. what should i do?
 
#12
I can't speak to the grounding issue on THAT bass, nor to the troubles expressed by joenerve, but I can say, I own an '02 4 string model that I loved so much I traded one of my Ric's for the one I own. Fat beefy tone, slimmed down body, fantastic neck, fit and finish are superb, what's not to love. And most of what I've read on TB, others feel the same way I do. One of Fenders best basses, ever. I can only imagine Joe got a bad one, for whatever reason, and the one you're looking at has some grounding problem, which should be fixable, (though you should get a discount for it, as well). Mine, and I assume most are dead silent. If there's any complaint, it's with Fender's 18 volt preamp, but I'm having no trouble with mine, (and I should also say, this is my *only* active bass). The tuners on my '02, and I believe on all of them since then, are HipShot ultralights. No trouble there, either. Like I said, Fenders best bass, imo, and a real player at that. Hope that helps, some.
 
#13
thanks for your input mate.. you are helping me with my gas, i bought 2 basses in one week, if i go with this one will be my 3rd bass in just 2 weeks. lol

i will ask the guy to play with the bass plugged in so i can see the amount of ground issue he is talking about.
 
#14
hey there.

by your description, you might want to let that deal go, 1200 euros is way too high for a bass that has those problems. heck, it is high even if the bass did not had any problems. they sell for like 1650 euros new if you can find them.

even more, and this is just a personal opinion, you will probably be happier with a jazz bass. this week, coelho showed us all that a jazz bass has the versatility of sounding almost like a precision bass so why bother with this deal? look for his topic and listen to his clips! buy a jazz instead! you can buy a 5 string jazz for 1000 euros used.

1200 euros? for that price you can buy a fender jazz, new strings and save some money!
 
#15
i have one bass like this one and it does not have any problems. it is a 4 string though. maybe he got a defective bass?

if you really want to buy it, talk him down, even 1100 euros might be a bit high. i would offer 1000 euros and shield it properly, you can spend the 100 remaining euros with a proper shielding.
 
#16
a friend of mine has one of these and wants to sell it.. the sound lacks punch. he tried everything, strings, amps, cabinets, pedals, everything. this bass lacks bass!

i agree that you might want to look somewhere else.

hey, at least you have been warned...
 

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