Fender Strikes Again

[scubajosh77]

I bought one of the first run Player Plus Precisions in Cosmic Jade. As soon as I saw the color, had to have it. Played it for awhile as it came from the factory but it had a little buzz, so before Thanksgiving I dropped it off at Corner Music up in Nashville for Jeff to work his magic. I live just outside of Huntsville, AL so it's almost two hours to Nashville, but Jeff's work is worth it. A couple weeks after I drop it off Jeff calls. Bad news. The neck has a significant rise at the heel that he's not certain he can fix. Maybe Fender can warranty the neck?

So I contact Fender customer service and although I'm two months past the two year warranty they agree to work with me. BUT, I've got to take it to an AUTHORIZED Fender repair shop for THEM to check it out. Nearest is in Muscle Shoals an hour and a half away. So, I get the bass from Nashville, drive it over to Muscle Shoals. They agree, the neck is jacked and they will contact Fender. A couple weeks pass and Fender agrees to send a replacement neck but it'll be 90-120 days before they can. Sheesh. Yesterday the shop in Muscle Shoals calls. Fender sent a neck and it doesn't fit. They contacted Fender again, yup it's the right neck so the body must be out of spec. Fender offers a replacement, but the Cosmic Jade is discontinued. I can get another color, or another bass of same value. Ugh.

I unenthusiastically asked for one in Fiesta Red. 99% certain I'm going to sell it as soon as I get it and try to find another in Cosmic Jade but am worried about the quality crap shoot. Frustrated.

 

[bholder]

Ouch. I feel yah. I think I would have asked them to make that replacement neck fit. At Fender's expense.

 

[Warpeg]

Sorry to hear of your experience. I know that my next comment has nothing to do with your post, but I feel compelled to say that it is because of situations like this (and for many other reasons) that I ONLY buy used basses. New basses are just a hassle.

 

[Callused Finger]

There are currently 37 Cosmic Jade Player plus Precisions on Reverb.
Hope you get it sorted.

 

[scubajosh77]

Ouch. I feel yah. I think I would have asked them to make that replacement neck fit. At Fender's expense.

My understanding is that the pocket in the body was oversized. I can't imagine an attractive solution for that unless they made a one off neck. Odd I know.

 

[scubajosh77]

There are used Cosmic Jade Player Plus Precisions available at Guitar Center (Musicians Friend)
A new one on Reverb for $1k (free shipping).

Hope you get it sorted.

That's probably my plan, but as I mentioned I'm worried I'll end up with another dud, and it's dependent upon me being able to sell this Fiesta Red one without taking much of a loss.

 

[MattZilla]

There are currently 37 Cosmic Jade Player plus Precisions on Reverb.
Hope you get it sorted.

My understanding is that the pocket in the body was oversized. I can't imagine an attractive solution for that unless they made a one off neck. Odd I know.

Should this thread be stickied?

“Fender Precision Bass Player Plus” model bodies are not compatible with off the shelf necks from Allparts, Warmoth, or Fender and their necks are not compatible with any other Fender bodies, which may not matter as at least one at two years old needed to be defretted and leveled and defretted to return to playability.

 

[Killing Floor]

You can label me a fan because my last bass and last guitar purchases were Fender and the next one on my plan is a Fender. Or you can label me a hater because I’m not afraid to tell you almost any $500 import has better build QC and better material QC than a MIA Fender. Take your pick.

But/And

Fender did not begin as a boutique brand and it still isn’t. It’s the look and sound of rock’n’roll and nearly every other genre for that matter.
Sometimes that goes into check in your brains and you want to expect more from Fender or other brands because we disassociate the very real warts from our sense of nostalgia.

My very favorite guitar just came back from 3 weeks with a luthier having a skateboard ramp removed from the neck. It’s not perfect but at least step bends don’t bottom out on every fret.

It’s a Fender. Love it for what it is.
Leo got it right.
And then he went to MusicMan and resolved a lot of the issues he recognized but couldn’t address due to budget.

Rock’n’roll

 

[Bikeguy57]

Sounds like something is fishy, or there is a miscommunication with the shop in Muscle Shoals. Fender 20 fret bass necks are standard, as are the neck pockets. A replacement neck might require minor sanding of the neck pocket, but the original neck fit, so it's hard to envision a scenario where the replacement neck does not.

 

[scubajosh77]

Sounds like something is fishy, or there is a miscommunication with the shop in Muscle Shoals. Fender 20 fret bass necks are standard, as are the neck pockets. A replacement neck might require minor sanding of the neck pocket, but the original neck fit, so it's hard to envision a scenario where the replacement neck does not.

Quite possible I suppose. However I can only go off what I'm being told. I'm not going to drive an hr and a half to Muscle Shoals to ask them to show me the issue.

 

[Bitterdale]

Quite possible I suppose. However I can only go off what I'm being told. I'm not going to drive an hr and a half to Muscle Shoals to ask them to show me the issue.

You could ask for a few pics to illustrate the issue.

 

[Mastermold]

Man, this is a bummer. It makes me wonder why their CNC machines aren't calibrated to the same specs.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

But kudos to Fender for covering it even though it's out of warranty.

 

[Aidenn7]

made in mexico stuff is a mess.. my mik, mic, mia, mii is good stuff..

 

[SharpCat]

Should this thread be stickied?

“Fender Precision Bass Player Plus” model bodies are not compatible with off the shelf necks from Allparts, Warmoth, or Fender and their necks are not compatible with any other Fender bodies, which may not matter as at least one at two years old needed to be defretted and leveled and defretted to return to playability.

That's totally not true. I have a Player Plus Precision **in Cosmic Jade** and it's totally fine. I've swapped necks around several times for fun, everything fits everything, be it Player Plus, Player Jazz, Squier Affinity, Squier CV.

Sorry for the OP, but this is not a generic Player Plus issue.

 

[Aidenn7]

A new bass may not be any better but should get more return of the fiesta red.. but I'm surprised they didn't just shim the neck and say forget it.. you fn lucky

 

[EdO.]

made in mexico stuff is a mess.. my mik, mic, mia, mii is good stuff..

As posted earlier, mine is perfectly fine. I DID have to fix some fret sprout but otherwise no issues whatsoever and it's a decent workingman's instrument. I will agree though that my CIC, CII, CIK Squires are probably equal or close in quality.

Is your opinion based on actual hands on experience or ???

 

[J Wilson]

Jeff at Corner Music is fabulous, but you're lucky Fender didn't jerk you around that you had it worked on first by a non-authorized repair location and now you've voided their warranty. And good on them to step up past their warranty period.

 

[Lammchop93]

Sorry to hear that. Fender has really had some bad rep the last 2-3 years. This doesn’t help. I hope it works out for you!

 

[pbass2]

As posted earlier, mine is perfectly fine. I DID have to fix some fret sprout but otherwise no issues whatsoever and it's a decent workingman's instrument. I will agree though that my CIC, CII, CIK Squires are probably equal or close in quality.

Is your opinion based on actual hands on experience or ???

I've got a couple MIMs and they're really good specimens--fit and finish is solid, necks are great, no fret sprout, nuthin'. On the other hand I had a MIA P with a significant gap in the neck pocket(that I played the heck out of anyway of course...). I guess it's a crap shoot.