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NBD: Fender American Profesional Precision
- Thread starter Linnin
- Start date
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- american fender nbd precision bass
Sweet! I bet it sounds fantastic through GK....uh....Ampe.......
What was that amp again?
Seriously. Great looking bass.
What was that amp again?
Seriously. Great looking bass.
OK, I'm in Love with a Fender again. I know, BIG surprise, right? But this was too easy. Please forgive the foregoing poor quality cell phone photos. I sold all my camera gear last year to help pay for a coffin.
Normally I detest plain black or white instruments. In this case the Fender Olympic White is just stunning. So rich and creamy, it looks as if it had been dipped. Flawless in every respect. I used to think why would anyone ever want a mint pickguard? Well, now I know. In person it reveals itself in a very visually pleasing presentation. I like it.
To say it plays great and sounds fantastic would be an understatement. The factory setup was good and only required a little tweak after its journey to the east coast. I'll address the new V Mod pickups and the neck in separate posts.
Normally I detest plain black or white instruments. In this case the Fender Olympic White is just stunning. So rich and creamy, it looks as if it had been dipped. Flawless in every respect. I used to think why would anyone ever want a mint pickguard? Well, now I know. In person it reveals itself in a very visually pleasing presentation. I like it.
To say it plays great and sounds fantastic would be an understatement. The factory setup was good and only required a little tweak after its journey to the east coast. I'll address the new V Mod pickups and the neck in separate posts.
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Keep. I will never change a thing (other than strings) on this bass. It is perfect as is.
Have you noticed that it's a lefty?
I think your new bass is backwards. Too bad.
Looks great though!
Looks great though!
First let me comment on the neck. This is the last of the standard rosewood fretboards. From now on only by custom order at extra cost. When I ordered this bass I couldn't know how fortuitous an event it would be. This slab of rosewood is deep; dark, and dense. You can barely see the grain which is very straight. The pores in the wood are very uniform in size and evenly distributed. I don't know enough about rosewood to know if this is a very old slab, but I suspect that it is. Showed it to a friend and the first thing he said was "Man! That's a nice neck. That's an old piece of rosewood right there." The white maple of the neck itself is also very plain with wide straight grain. No Knots. Seems very strong.
Three things are upgrades on the American Professional neck from the American Standard. First, the new fluted shaft tuners vs straight. I never had a problem with straight, but I can see where the fluted shafts are helpful to get a uniform downward wrap. Second, bone vs synthetic nuts. I compared the bone with the synthetic on my American Standard Jazz. Sonically I could tell no difference. Bone is simply perceived as higher quality. Third is the new 'tall narrow frets' vs medium jumbos. I've played medium jumbos all my Fender life since 1972. I do like the new frets as they seem more precise in intonation when you fret a note. I don't chord much, but they do help in that endeavor. My slap technique is laughable at best and I sounded just as bad with tall frets as with jumbos.
The neck shape itself is a throwback to the 1963 Precision and is called a "thick C" with an 1 5/8th inch width at the nut. I love it. It really feels good in my hand. I like it much much better than the 'Modern C' and 1 1/2" width at the nut of my Jazz. It just feels better; more comfortable, and plays just as fast as the Jazz.
Three things are upgrades on the American Professional neck from the American Standard. First, the new fluted shaft tuners vs straight. I never had a problem with straight, but I can see where the fluted shafts are helpful to get a uniform downward wrap. Second, bone vs synthetic nuts. I compared the bone with the synthetic on my American Standard Jazz. Sonically I could tell no difference. Bone is simply perceived as higher quality. Third is the new 'tall narrow frets' vs medium jumbos. I've played medium jumbos all my Fender life since 1972. I do like the new frets as they seem more precise in intonation when you fret a note. I don't chord much, but they do help in that endeavor. My slap technique is laughable at best and I sounded just as bad with tall frets as with jumbos.
The neck shape itself is a throwback to the 1963 Precision and is called a "thick C" with an 1 5/8th inch width at the nut. I love it. It really feels good in my hand. I like it much much better than the 'Modern C' and 1 1/2" width at the nut of my Jazz. It just feels better; more comfortable, and plays just as fast as the Jazz.
I got a special deal! Only $50 more
,
The sound quality is world class and the tone is solid classic Fender (let there be no doubt) Precision. It's important to me that my Fender sounds like a Fender. Fender engineer and pickup designer Michael Bump (@Bluzman99) has outdone himself with the new V Mod Precision pickups.
I've played a whole slew of pickups in my 47 bass playing years. I don't recall any that have sounded better. Different, yes. Better? No. The VMods are AlNiCo V magnets for pole pieces in the treble half and AlNiCo IIs in bass half. Ahhhhhh ... sonic bliss. I tweaked the pickups a bit lower (like 1/32nd") from factory setup. That sweetened the tone up and then a bit of further tweaking & angling to even out the string-to-string volume 'till all is copasetic. The AlNiCo IIs of the bass half are very throaty and growly. As I have already stated elsewhere, when you chomp down on a low F you can hear Heaven rejoice!
The AlNiCo V treble half is strong; articulate, and well defined. If you pop a high G or A, it leaps out and bites you on your ears. Hello! Still, when played with dexterity and dynamics you will hear all the subtle smoothness you desire. Very responsive to the bass players emotional input.
Don't be surprised if one night someone in the audience taps his friend on the shoulder and yells, "Hear that?! That's a damn Fender Precision!"
I've played a whole slew of pickups in my 47 bass playing years. I don't recall any that have sounded better. Different, yes. Better? No. The VMods are AlNiCo V magnets for pole pieces in the treble half and AlNiCo IIs in bass half. Ahhhhhh ... sonic bliss. I tweaked the pickups a bit lower (like 1/32nd") from factory setup. That sweetened the tone up and then a bit of further tweaking & angling to even out the string-to-string volume 'till all is copasetic. The AlNiCo IIs of the bass half are very throaty and growly. As I have already stated elsewhere, when you chomp down on a low F you can hear Heaven rejoice!
The AlNiCo V treble half is strong; articulate, and well defined. If you pop a high G or A, it leaps out and bites you on your ears. Hello! Still, when played with dexterity and dynamics you will hear all the subtle smoothness you desire. Very responsive to the bass players emotional input.
Don't be surprised if one night someone in the audience taps his friend on the shoulder and yells, "Hear that?! That's a damn Fender Precision!"
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