Musicians Friend Review - '50s Model Precision

[mvbrando]

My error - MF did post. I missed it. -Mike

Initially I posted this thread thinking I had submitted a review that MF did not post.
After a week of not seeing it appear I stated here mistakenly, that MF had not posted. It was then pointed out here by Maplenecked that, indeed my post was on the MF site - my mistake.

This is the item:
Invalid Link Removed

This is the review at Musicians Friend:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not a troll, but judging from all the stellar reviews here I'll probably be taken for one. Here are the facts in my experience with this bass.

I've been playing bass since 1967 and still own the 1966 Precision bass I bought new after saving by working after school. Over the years I've owned over two dozen Fender basses, many of them pre-CBS and transition era.

I bought a new 50's Precision bass as a stage bass when I didn't want to sling my '66 around. I'm not a bass snob; there are plenty of inexpensive new basses that are excellent instruments. I also don't hold to the belief that American basses are made any better than those made in other countries, rather that there are many finely made instruments coming from elsewhere.

I found the craftsmanship on the 50's Precision I bought to be exceptional. I was surprised at how good the fit and finish was on the bass. But that's all I can say positive about it. It proved to be the most unusable Fender bass I've ever owned until I went through a series of changes to find out what was wrong with it.

The beef I had was that it was the most unclear, dead sounding Precision I had ever encountered. I went through aseries of changes trying to find out why.

First I went through swapping out the stock pickup with various pickups. No change.
I've owned basses that had dead spots in the neck and thought maybe this bass had a massive amount of those. I swapped the entire neck for an Allparts replacement, but still - same dead thud, even with new strings.

It turned out that the good looking finish consisted of a thick shell of urethane that was choking the vibration in the instrument. I sanded off the entire finish and had a local furniture shop stain it and put 3 thin coats of nitro lacquer on it and was then amazed at how the bass sounded - a totally different instrument, one of the best sounding I've owned.

If you're contemplating buying one of these I suggest buying one used, then refinishing it in nitro.

 

[superdick2112]

Odd.
I own a Fender Classic '50's Precision, and it sounds punchy, spunky and vibrant - it positively oozes vintage P-Bass tone.
At 1/3 the price of my USA Fender Adam Clayton Precision, it definitely holds its own.
I've played other Classic '50's Precisions, and they all sounded good too.
I'm surprised the finish was choking so much tone out of your bass, but stranger things have happened.

 

[maplenecked]

That’s quite the review! I’m impressed the lengths you went to get a good sound out of the instrument instead of just returning it. However, it’s the first complaint I’ve really heard about these basses. Having a nitro refinish is a pretty cool thing though, can we see it?

 

[Salicete]

I had two bad experiences with them within a month regarding what I believed to be seriously misrepresented Fender American basses, one an open-box “mint” (not) bass, and one a brand new AVRI with
~ substantial ~ as in nobody could have not noticed it, damage.

I haven’t shopped there since, though they keep bumping up the credit limit on the MF card I never use anymore....

With regard to reviews, I used to post a lot there, and sometimes they took weeks to show up, and they even posted the ones that were not positive, typos and all, no edits or omissions, so I don’t know what the deal was with yours.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I buy Stupid Deal of the Day almost exclusively, with the exception of not-so-easy-to-find strings for my guitar.
The one time I had a problem they let me return it w/o trouble. It was a higher-tech Vox AmPlug that didn't function at all.

This one:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/ampl...-usb-audio-interface-with-jamvox-iii-software

 

[mdogs]

You just submitted that, you haven’t even given them a chance to post it. Plus, if I were them, I wouldn’t post it either as I seriously doubt your conclusion is correct. On top of that, who on earth would not have returned it to them instead of going to those lengths?

 

[Killed_by_Death]

You can get the finish off much easier than sanding it off:



heat gun & a scraper (chisel in this case)

I do agree that those thick poly finishes choke the timbre.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

You just submitted that, you haven’t even given them a chance to post it. Plus, if I were them, I wouldn’t post it either as I seriously doubt your conclusion is correct. On top of that, who on earth would not have returned it to them instead of going to those lengths?

I just read the OP review on MF by clicking the link he provided.
I'm not sure I understand his beef about them not posting it.

Furthermore, he purchased a bass that doesn't work right, and instead of returning it, he started making significant changes to it?

He posted the review on Mar 4, and it appears on line 6 days later.
When did he buy the bass? And how long after he purchased it did he send in the review?

And I can't figure out if his gripe is with MF, or FMI. Sure FMI, like all manufactures has a lemon roll off the assembly line from time to time. That's why they have guarantees. I assume he purchased it new? If it was still under warranty then he voided it by making changes? Or did he wait until the warranty was up, then made the changes, then submitted the review? Did he ever contact MF about the problem other than to submit a review?

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this whole thing.
There seems to be a lot of holes his story that need filling in.

 

[Samboat]

I've found some sellers to be untrustworthy as well. Usually I'll try to look the item up on Amazon for the reviews there, which are usually the same, but with a few more thrown in. It's hard to find decent reviews on a lot of gear, which makes it hard as a consumer sometimes

 

[maplenecked]

I just read your review on MF by clicking the link you provided.
I'm not sure I understand your beef about them not posting it.

Nice you’re right there it was!

 

[mdogs]

I'm done buying from Musicians Friend. After years of enjoying doing business with them I've discovered that they're not my friend after all.

I research musical equipment I'm interested in to find out others experiences before I buy. Given the expense, I want to know as much as possible before I spend hard earned dollars. Up until now I've trusted in Musicians friend to post reviews without bias which provide a balanced and fair representation of customers experiences with products - both the good and the bad. That is no longer true. My latest submission has convinced me that reviews with negative feedback are withheld leaving only the positive posts, which promote sales.

Here is a post I submitted a week ago that never made it on the reviews for the "Fender '50s Precision Bass" I bought and had a bad experience with:

This is the item:
Invalid Link Removed

This is the review Musicians friend did not post:
--------------------------Submitted March 4, 2018----------------------------------
I'm not a troll, but judging from all the stellar reviews here I'll probably be taken for one. Here are the facts in my experience with this bass.

I've been playing bass since 1967 and still own the 1966 Precision bass I bought new after saving by working after school. Over the years I've owned over two dozen Fender basses, many of them pre-CBS and transition era.

I bought a new 50's Precision bass as a stage bass when I didn't want to sling my '66 around. I'm not a bass snob; there are plenty of inexpensive new basses that are excellent instruments. I also don't hold to the belief that American basses are made any better than those made in other countries, rather that there are many finely made instruments coming from elsewhere.

I found the craftsmanship on the 50's Precision I bought to be exceptional. I was surprised at how good the fit and finish was on the bass. But that's all I can say positive about it. It proved to be the most unusable Fender bass I've ever owned until I went through a series of changes to find out what was wrong with it.

The beef I had was that it was the most unclear, dead sounding Precision I had ever encountered. I went through aseries of changes trying to find out why.

First I went through swapping out the stock pickup with various pickups. No change.
I've owned basses that had dead spots in the neck and thought maybe this bass had a massive amount of those. I swapped the entire neck for an Allparts replacement, but still - same dead thud, even with new strings.

It turned out that the good looking finish consisted of a thick shell of urethane that was choking the vibration in the instrument. I sanded off the entire finish and had a local furniture shop stain it and put 3 thin coats of nitro lacquer on it and was then amazed at how the bass sounded - a totally different instrument, one of the best sounding I've owned.

If you're contemplating buying one of these I suggest buying one used, then refinishing it in nitro.

Just as I thought, your review is up there for everyone to see. So now who is not to be trusted??????

 

[mikew31]

I just read your review on MF by clicking the link you provided.
I'm not sure I understand your beef about them not posting it.

He's just a troll. Joined TB today with the sole purpose of ranting.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

He's just a troll. Joined TB today with the sole purpose of ranting.

But, but but... he specifically says he's not a tr... Ohhhhhh!

 

[Chrisk-K]

I love MF. I always get 10-15% off. Plus, the 8% cash back is great. Their return policy is great as well.

 

[Slater]

The OP researches equipment before he buys. Apparently, that research doesn’t include going to a Fender dealer and trying some basses. I understand some people live in rural areas and it’s difficult to try instruments. But, going by the OP’s post and review, he would have been unhappy with any bass that has a poly finish. And of course, it always makes more sense to replace the pickup, the neck, and do a refin, instead of just returning it.

 

[SJan3]

I'm done buying from Musicians Friend. After years of enjoying doing business with them I've discovered that they're not my friend after all.

I research musical equipment I'm interested in to find out others experiences before I buy. Given the expense, I want to know as much as possible before I spend hard earned dollars. Up until now I've trusted in Musicians friend to post reviews without bias which provide a balanced and fair representation of customers experiences with products - both the good and the bad. That is no longer true. My latest submission has convinced me that reviews with negative feedback are withheld leaving only the positive posts, which promote sales.

Here is a post I submitted a week ago that never made it on the reviews for the "Fender '50s Precision Bass" I bought and had a bad experience with:

This is the item:
Invalid Link Removed

This is the review Musicians friend did not post:
--------------------------Submitted March 4, 2018----------------------------------
I'm not a troll, but judging from all the stellar reviews here I'll probably be taken for one. Here are the facts in my experience with this bass.

I've been playing bass since 1967 and still own the 1966 Precision bass I bought new after saving by working after school. Over the years I've owned over two dozen Fender basses, many of them pre-CBS and transition era.

I bought a new 50's Precision bass as a stage bass when I didn't want to sling my '66 around. I'm not a bass snob; there are plenty of inexpensive new basses that are excellent instruments. I also don't hold to the belief that American basses are made any better than those made in other countries, rather that there are many finely made instruments coming from elsewhere.

I found the craftsmanship on the 50's Precision I bought to be exceptional. I was surprised at how good the fit and finish was on the bass. But that's all I can say positive about it. It proved to be the most unusable Fender bass I've ever owned until I went through a series of changes to find out what was wrong with it.

The beef I had was that it was the most unclear, dead sounding Precision I had ever encountered. I went through aseries of changes trying to find out why.

First I went through swapping out the stock pickup with various pickups. No change.
I've owned basses that had dead spots in the neck and thought maybe this bass had a massive amount of those. I swapped the entire neck for an Allparts replacement, but still - same dead thud, even with new strings.

It turned out that the good looking finish consisted of a thick shell of urethane that was choking the vibration in the instrument. I sanded off the entire finish and had a local furniture shop stain it and put 3 thin coats of nitro lacquer on it and was then amazed at how the bass sounded - a totally different instrument, one of the best sounding I've owned.

If you're contemplating buying one of these I suggest buying one used, then refinishing it in nitro.

Respectfully, your post makes no sense to me. Pickup swap and no change? Neck swap and no change? I just dont believe it.
Not too sure what you were expecting but it's not a custom shop instrument.
If you hated it, why didn't you return it?

 

[mvbrando]

Apologies to Musicians Friend. Thanks for pointing that out Maplenecked. I kept looking for my review at each end of the stack of reviews, figuring that a new post would be at either end. Odd that it's in between a couple of June 2007 reviews.
Faith restored in Musicians Friend... but not Fender urethane finishes.

-Mike

 

[SJan3]

I just read the OP review on MF by clicking the link he provided.
I'm not sure I understand his beef about them not posting it.

Furthermore, he purchased a bass that doesn't work right, and instead of returning it, he started making significant changes to it?

He posted the review on Mar 4, and it appears on line 6 days later.
When did he buy the bass? And how long after he purchased it did he send in the review?

And I can't figure out if his gripe is with MF, or FMI. Sure FMI, like all manufactures has a lemon roll off the assembly line from time to time. That's why they have guarantees. I assume he purchased it new? If it was still under warranty then he voided it by making changes? Or did he wait until the warranty was up, then made the changes, then submitted the review? Did he ever contact MF about the problem other than to submit a review?

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this whole thing.
There seems to be a lot of holes his story that need filling in.

I totally agree.

 

[SJan3]

The OP researches equipment before he buys. Apparently, that research doesn’t include going to a Fender dealer and trying some basses. I understand some people live in rural areas and it’s difficult to try instruments. But, going by the OP’s post and review, he would have been unhappy with any bass that has a poly finish. And of course, it always makes more sense to replace the pickup, the neck, and do a refin, instead of just returning it.

LOL!!

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Apologies to Musicians Friend. Thanks for pointing that out Maplenecked. I kept looking for my review at each end of the stack of reviews, figuring that a new post would be at either end. Odd that it's in between a couple of June 2007 reviews.
Faith restored in Musicians Friend... but not Fender urethane finishes.

-Mike

If you haven't done so, you might try clearing your cache on your computer occasionally when looking for something to update. You may have just been reloading the same, non-updated page. Also, reviews can be loaded in different orders. Load highest or lower rating first, or most recent first.