I texted him earlier, so I'll have that info soon.
The Fernandes has a 1-5/8" (41mm) nut width and a fairly thin profile .75-.8" @1st fret (I don't have gauge feelers).
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Is there anything else like a 60s pbass?
- Thread starter Ricky Caboverde
- Start date
The Fernandes has a 1-5/8" (41mm) nut width and a fairly thin profile .75-.8" @1st fret (I don't have gauge feelers).
I think the American Vintage II P basses are wonderful. I have the '54P and the selling point for me was the neck and flats. I think the AVII '60P might be worth consideration.
Bones
Bones
Gotta love CNC routing. I have a '60 Jazz bass I've owned since '70, and recently I've played a couple Squier CV Jazz's and they feel almost identical. It's crazy.
Cool, if you could ask him year and nut width of the P we can get this narrowed down.
In 1968 Fender switched from the A width (1.75") to the B width (1.625") as standard for the Precision Bass. The profile of the neck itself changed over the years. My '72 has a chunky, round profile, but the '74 I owned was a tad slimmer. During the 1970s, Fender also offered a "narrow neck" option for the Precision Bass. These had a 1.50" nut width, the same as a Jazz Bass.
The A width neck was not reintroduced until the vintage reissues were launched in 1982.
- Steve
The American P basses made in the 21st century are generally better than those made in the 60's.
I mean, most Custom Shop P basses feel awesome. I have zero experience with 60s P basses but I reckon they're pretty close.
This one is pretty easy. You need an old Fernandes P bass.
It's my impression that some of the newer "vintage spec" builders get pretty close. Moollon / Olinto / Nash. Of course, the cost puts you in the same ballpark as legit vintage Fender.
The Fender Custom Shop P Basses can be really close. The couple of Moollon P Basses that I've played were great. I had a Lakland Bob Glaub signature bass that was wonderful. What I own is a 1960 American Vintage II P Bass, and it's as close to the tone of a 60s P as I need to get. It plays great. It feels great. And it cost about half of a Custom Shop or Moollon, and maybe a third of what an Alleva-Coppola goes for. I play my CS Jazz Basses most of the time, but when I get a gig that calls for a P Bass with flats, it's a joy to play.
Fender necks in the 60s were handmade an thus can differ quite substantially in profile. Additionallly, only you know what about the neck in question made it feel so good to you.
Your best option is probably to find a Fender dealer and play every model of Precision Bass they have.
There is even a possibility that the relatively inexpensive Player II has what you are looking for.
Your best option is probably to find a Fender dealer and play every model of Precision Bass they have.
There is even a possibility that the relatively inexpensive Player II has what you are looking for.
D
Exactly! Until we know the size/profile of that late 60s neck it's impossible to give any kind of meaningful advice. There is really nothing special about 60s Fender necks in general, except that they were very inconsistent and that many of them are in a rather bad conditions these days. It's all about the dimensions.
Most of the responses so far, where people are just recommending their own favorite basses (in some cases not even based on the neck...) or even worse, basses that they've only read about online, are quite frankly useless and should be ignored.
If we know the nut width, the thickness (front to back) at the 1st and 12th fret and a rough description of the neck profile (is it for example a classic C or leaning more towards a U...?) we might be able to find a bass with a similar neck, or a Fender compatible replacement neck. It's impossible to give you good advice without this information.
But even with all this information, you won't really know until you hold the bass in your own hands. Even rather subtle differences can make a HUGE difference. For example, it may not seem like a big deal if the thickness at the 1st fret varies by 1 mm, but it can significantly change the "feel" of the neck.
The one thing we DO know is the fretboard radius, which is 7..25" on late 60s Fenders. Pretty much all P-basses sold today, with the exception of Fender Vintera and Fender American Vintage series are 9.5" radius. But both the Vintera and the AV have the wider "vintage style" nut width, similar to what Fender referred to as a C-sized neck back in the 60s (not to be confused with a C profile neck). The neck on your friend's bass might be a C-size, but it might also be a B-size which has a similar nut width to "modern" P-basses.
The neck "sizes" (nut widths) Fender used back then were, from thin to wide:
A: Jazz Bass
B: Similar to "modern" P-basses
C: Similar to current "vintage reissue" Fender P-basses
D: Even wider (extremely rare, probably meant from players who made the transition from double bass)
This means that a P-bass could even be ordered with an A (J-bass) sized neck size back then, but based on the vintage P-basses I've seen over the years this didn't seem to happen very often. 60s P-basses with original J-bass necks seem to be very rare.
This is not to be confused with neck PROFILES, which on a late 60s P-bass is probably a C but might also be closer to a U,
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I've owned 4 GL basses, with different neck specs. They're all really comfortable, with rolled fretboard edges, and medium jumbo frets.
My favorite neck is on my Wunkay (L-1000), which has a #12 neck, 1.65" nut and 12" radius.
A couple of years ago, I got to play this early/mid 60s P at a hootenanny. At the same time, I also got to play this lady's beautiful 70s 4001 outfitted with Rickenbacker Maxima flatwounds.
Apple and Oranges, both were nice ,but I definitely preferred the Rick.
My favorite neck is on my Wunkay (L-1000), which has a #12 neck, 1.65" nut and 12" radius.
A couple of years ago, I got to play this early/mid 60s P at a hootenanny. At the same time, I also got to play this lady's beautiful 70s 4001 outfitted with Rickenbacker Maxima flatwounds.
Apple and Oranges, both were nice ,but I definitely preferred the Rick.
D
They are indeed. At least with the condition many 60s P-basses are in today. The really good ones (they do exist) rarely come up for sale.
And of course, if you don't need the Fender logo on the headstock you can also find objectively better AND cheaper P-basses from other manufacturers these days. A real Fender Precision Bass is a classic, and a cultural icon, but we all know they are severely overpriced these days for the quality they deliver compared to several other brands.
Additionally, Vinteras have a 1.75" nut, the AVIIs 1.7". It's 1mm and it's noticeable to me. The vintage string spacing at the bridge is 20mm, which is also noticeable from the non-vintage 19mm.
And I agree that the profile makes a big difference. A C profile with sloping shoulders feels tiny compared to a D or U profile with fuller shoulders, and we all have our preferences.
Y'know…. I wasn't gonna say it!!
In the 1980s there were a number of Japanese manufacturers who absolutely nailed the feel of a "vintage" fender. I put the word vintage in quotes because, as we've discussed, that can mean a lot of different things but Fernandez was one of the better brands at copying the good, old stuff along with ESP's Navigator series and, of course, the early Squier models which were such good vintage reissues Fender ended up re-branding them as Fender vintage reissues.
Unfortunately for those of us in the know, the internet spilled the beans years ago and those basses are no longer the bargain they were but they're still pretty cheap compared to current Fender offerings.
I had a 62' replica made by [Redacted] who got it almost completely right (reverse tuners/cloth wiring/slab fingerboard/nitro/threaded saddles...everything except the clay dots and actual tort)...worth every penny, but took three years to get...so I hesitate to recommend him exactly, but you might want to poke around various luthiers
This is not correct.
A is 1.5 and C is 1.75.
The Fender road worn precisions, especially the early ones. They are the best ones I've ever handled as far as feel is concerned.
hey, ricky, you're right: the neck ultimately makes the instrument's feel. sure, balance and maybe weight contribute to feel (and maybe other stuff), but it's the neck that our hands remember. so, shop for a great neck!
it's an easy thing to do with FSOs because a great FSO neck will fit almost any/all FSO bodies. i'm glad you found the secret (it's the neck, stupid! 
).good luck finding your own great neck!
