Missed My P-Bass Window

[BOOG]

Darn that indecisiveness

 

[bullshark]

It's a near monopoly here. I don't know the numbers for certain, but Long & McQuade sell the vast majority of mid-to-upper-end Fender basses in Canada. L&M are actually really good to deal with on most things, but they really get led around by the nose by some of the "big brands".

L&M negociate on nothing at all. Was buying almost 3 k of gear in one go last year, L&M would give absolutely nothing at all; I then went to Steve`s Music, they gave me 15% right off the bat so I bought from them. I always go to L&M to try out gear, but I end up almost never buying anything there because I always find cheaper elsewhere.

 

[Pyrrho Epoche]

Spent the last three weeks trying every P-bass I could get my hands on. Finally decided that I LOVE the feel of the Fender American Pro II. The neck is perfect. But I don't like the pickups and I'm not super-keen on the finish options (though I could live with a few of them). So my options are: (a) get an Am Pro II and replace the pickup (cost ~ $1,750 US); or (b) get a Fender Mod Shop bass with the neck I want and an upgraded pickup (cost ~ $1,950 US). So is the finish option worth $200? Maybe. Probably. Not sure. I think so. Anyway...

Today I head to my local shop to make a final decision and find out: (a) the price of the Am Pro II is now $150 US higher than it was a couple of days ago; and (b) I can't order a Mod Shop bass from Canada (I was under the understanding I could through a dealer).

The short of it... my P-bass dreams are on hold.

Damn.

Just piece one together off of Ebay Stratosphere. Thats what I did and saved alot of $.

 

[JimmyO]

Maybe you could do the secret handshake deal. Find a sales person that says they can deal a little. Get them away from others and shake hands with them, hidden in your palm is a gift card to Tim Hortons for $10 CA.

Do you even Canada, bro? Gotta be Swiss Chalet.

 

[Bass Motifs]

I asked. They won't do it. They claim Fender won't allow them to. Might be BS, but if they won't sell it, they won't sell it. And, psychologically, I just can't bring myself to pay the higher price knowing that I missed the lower price by mere days.

Never heard of such a thing, especially on pre-existing stock. Are you a cash buyer? Put your money on table (figuratively speaking). And if they say no, walk out. It's a sign. I don't mind paying the asking price if it's worth it, but I don't like being taken for a ride. Someone is having you on.

 

[Lo-E]

Problem is…. I'm looking for 1.625". I'm a bit flexible on the carve, but it has to be a "C"

That’s not such a big problem, really. In the world of P-basses, 1.5” is rare and 1.75” makes up less than half of what’s out there. 1.625” is the most common width.

 

[anotherhomeysan]

The Am Pro II neck really is excellent. I love mine. QC is not exceptional though -- the pick guard on my Squire Jazz is better fitted. I will say I think the pickups are a really happy median between vintage and modern and I'm happy with how they take effects, just to say you may want to play through your own amp and pedals and EQ before dumping them. I know some TBers have swapped the Alnico 2 and Alnico V halves of the split pickup (that's part of the Am Pro II's unique pickup) and been happy with the results.

 

[BOOG]

If it were me, I would buy the bass as is, holding off any mods until you spend 20 hours with it played at least through your own rig. This will give you anmpke time to twist dials to see if you can get what you want tone wise. . If you have a gig in this time frame, all the better.

Then if you still don’t like the pickups, mod it.

I might try some string experimentation, too. My p-bass was my best tool for really understanding and learning what all of the different types and brands of strings could/couldn’t do.

If you love the neck, like I do, buy the Am Pro iI used, and throw in EMG GZR pickups. They are passive, require no soldering, and sound terrific - wide open the can grind. 90% volume and lower, they are fat and clean.

You could probably get both for under $1300-$1400 total.

My first bass (still my #1) got dressed up with a set of GZR’s and the world was right as rain

 

[bassnyc1]

Just piece one together off of Ebay Stratosphere. Thats what I did and saved alot of $.

This. Buy parts and make a Bass that's truly yours. Might save a bit of $$$, too!

 

[mikeswals]

Buy a used one, especially since you're going to rip the pickup out of it.
If it's a regular production P, then you will be able to find a used one.

 

[Pyrrho Epoche]

This. Buy parts and make a Bass that's truly yours. Might save a bit of $$$, too!

Yea Ebay Stratosphere----basically you're NOT having to pay for the hardcase. You can even, just get the body and whatever pickups etc you dig. I did buy the loaded pickguard though.

I might have saved $300-400.00, I can't recall. I grabbed a roasted maple neck from Fender and U.L. tuners. It is light as hell

 

[Dust2Dust]

I guess the moral of this story is never waste time not buying a bass you don't really like

 

[nkjanssen]

Darn that indecisiveness

I like to think of it as research!

 

[Square]

Sweetwater is offering 10% of of Fender stuff. I know that doesn’t do much for the great white north folk, but here is why I mention it.

I was considering a new bass so called and asked how long the discount would last. The guy said he didn’t know. He said that Fender was offering it so they were just matching it, not an officially sanctioned discount and it would stop whenever Fender stopped offering theirs.

I bought my bass the same day.

 

[ModuMan]

If you know what model you want because of the neck AND you know you want to mod it because of the pickup, then I think buying a used one makes the most sense.

The value of the instrument will not approach "new" again so why not let someone else absorb that cost and put the difference into the pickup?

 

[Ian774]

I went the Mod Shop route and I have zero regrets. Get a special mailbox service or a friend in the USA to help you out? I'm in the UK so lucky Fender does offer it here though.

But yeah, the bass is amazing, the 63 neck is fantastic, and it ended up being cheaper than an Am Pro II.And I've got THE finish I wanted. I registered to Fender Play and got 10% off my order... but I then cancelled the subscription within 14 days. Shhhhh don't tell Fender . Nothing wrong in using what the system allows after all.

 

[antfarm]

There is a chance Fender is announcing the successor to the American Pro II series at NAMM in a couple days. Might be worth the wait, even if only for the new colors.

 

[MotorCityMinion]

Sounds like you don't want a P-bass.

 

[Geogio]

There are barely used AmPro II's out there. With those new herky cases. Right around $1200 maybe a bit less. Just sayin'

 

[MtManiac]

Call me shallow, but I just don't like the look of the G&L's... red, black or burst. And I really want a rosewood neck, so it's either red or burst. Just not for me. I don't want to play a bass I don't like the look of. I'd love a Lakland, but to get the neck, fretboard and finish I want, I'd be looking at a full USA model, which is pretty pricy. I wish the USA Classic series offered "tweener" 1.625" necks.


I'm willing to bet it's going to drop again.


It's a near monopoly here. I don't know the numbers for certain, but Long & McQuade sell the vast majority of mid-to-upper-end Fender basses in Canada. L&M are actually really good to deal with on most things, but they really get led around by the nose by some of the "big brands".

L&M as a distributor (not their retail business) has the exclusive rights in Canada for Fender, and a few other brands. So any other dealer selling Fenders is buying from them. The distributor L&M sells to the L&M stores, as well as Acclaim, Cosmo, etc.

On the one hand, $150 today will be meaningless 15 years from now when you’re still playing this bass.

On the other hand, every Fender I’ve owned except for two I no longer own has been bought used. I currently own 5, and until recently owned 7. I’ve never ever had a problem, and all of these except two were bought online. Via the TB Classifieds actually.

Check out the Classifieds here - for the most part, these basses were hand picked and taken care of by other players. You can even find a Mod Shop model from time to time. With the US dollar’s relative value to the Canadian dollar (why the retailer price hiked), it’s not a great time to be buying anything imported, new or used, but at least with used, you’re not really losing anything as you can pretty much always sell it for what you paid for it. Or do a cross-Canada search on Kijiji and see if they’ll ship. But buy used, it’s the way to go.

Replacing pickups is easy - I just use some of the smallest size marettes (for screwing electrical wires together). No soldering, and nothing is coming undone, and if it did, well that’s an easy fix. However, the VMod II pickups aren’t bad, they’re IMHO easily as good as the CS62 or the Original sets. Strings make a huge difference in pickup performance.