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fender USA nitro p bass
- Thread starter kenbert
- Start date
I played one a few months back. It 'felt' better than the regular American Specials. I played through an Ampeg PF800 and the tone was fat and thumpy. The neck is pretty sweet. When I A/B'ed with an American Standard, I found I like the feel of the nitro satin Am Special much better.
How?
That cheap finish must really have some really magical qualities. That's the only difference.
No Greasebucket tone control in this Guitar Center satin version. Another difference vs. the American Special.
I know mine doesn't, and it's ser # dates it as a 2012. I bought it used, so It may have been changed out by the previous owner, but the soldering looked like it was original, if i remember correctly.
I got mine brand new in 2012, the tone pot would roll off highs but wouldn't add in any low mids. Honestly at the price they are I wouldn't be surprised if fender just threw random parts together on these.
Always a possibility. All I know is that i love the tone of mine, as well as the look, and especially the feel of the neck.
How?
That cheap finish must really have some really magical qualities. That's the only difference.
Describe the color blue.
It's an American Special with a thin coat of nitro, and without the standard Greasebucket circuit. I installed a Babicz bridge, a set of Lollar P pickups, and a Sprague Orange Drop capacitor to upgrade the bass. Now it's one of my main basses. For the money, it's a great deal. Recently, I change the pick guard to tortoise shell, and added NOS 50's Dakaware knobs. It's been a fun bass to upgrade.
That looks real nice with the tort. If you ever feel like spending even MORE money upgrading, you might want to consider a vintage tint on the neck/fretboard.
When I got my sunburst 60th Anniversary P, I felt that the stark light maple board looked out of place with the burst (although it looks awesome on the Blackguard Blondes). So I had a vintage tint put on it. I'll bet it would look killer on that honey-stained of yours! Here are the before/afters:
In a bass, that's a positive, if it's anything at all -- but I've come to the conclusion FMIC doesn't worry much about whether they're in or not.
I've benched otherwise identical Fender basses made on the same day -- one with, one without.
How did that upgrade the bass?
The Sprague totally opened up the high end on the bass, to the point that I actually use the tone control now to fail it back a bit. A very cheap but very cool mood.
So, you're saying you scraped off the Greasebucket and replaced it with the conventional circuit?
Otherwise, any .047mFd cap is the same as any other .047mFd cap in this application, irrespective of composition or brand.
I have wanted one of these for a few months. I love that "cheap" nitro finish. To me it feels a lot nicer than the plastic like poly finishes. Also this bass played and sounded better to me than ANY of the other american Fenders at my local GC. Unfortunately it is not in the cards for ole Mike currently and since this bass is no longer on the Fender website I can only assume GC is clearing out space for new product.
If any of you buy this bass and decide it isn't for you in a couple months PM me and I will likely buy it from you.
If any of you buy this bass and decide it isn't for you in a couple months PM me and I will likely buy it from you.
