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NBD: Fender Masterbuilt 51 Precision

KYbass

KYbass

Jul 12, 2023
106
272
East KY
#1
Wow!
I'm normally not a big fan of heavy relic work, but this thing is perfectly fit and finished. Jason Smith did an outstanding job on this one. It's listed on his social media accounts as a good number of the Master Builder builds are.
The bass is under 8.5 pounds, has a perfect fit and finish, and has incredible tone. I will be changing the pickguard to white or parchment, but that is absolutely the only thing I'm touching on it. The people at Willcutt were awesome to deal with as always.

Edit: If anyone has any questions about Masterbuilt vs CS quality, build, etc feel free to ask. I have CS, this, and in the process of a custom Masterbuilt.

IMG_2440.jpeg
 
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#3
Only one pic? Cruel :)

What is the neck profile? Do you have measurements? AFAIK CS '51 necks are U-shaped baseball bats, .94" at the 1st fret and .99" at the 12th.
Most importantly, how are your ribs and forearm haha

I definitely would like to know how you compare this to a team-built CS and any other tidbits of info you'd like to share.

Enjoy!
 
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#6
andare said:
Only one pic? Cruel :)

What is the neck profile? Do you have measurements? AFAIK CS '51 necks are U-shaped baseball bats, .94" at the 1st fret and .99" at the 12th.
Most importantly, how are your ribs and forearm haha

I definitely would like to know how you compare this to a team-built CS and any other tidbits of info you'd like to share.

Enjoy!
Click to expand...
I was living and dying over a basketball game last night, I'll get a few more pictures in a bit.

Yes, it's the bat U shape, which I find comfortable. My ribs are ok so far. The favorite CS I play has a bound top so I'm semi used to the edge. The back will take a bit to get used to, thankfully having a belly helps. 😂

This vs Team built. Not even close. I played a teambuild 53, 51, and 51, so 3 slabs. This weighs noticeably less (like 8.3 pounds), the relic work is obviously much better, they all had the same 55 hand wound pup but you could tell this one was selected over the others or was made to a different spec as it sounds much better to my ears anyway. The balance and tone of the pup are much more pleasant than those other 3 and yes, I checked pup height and action and all 4 were set up about the same, so there's room to say a better tune up would balance things out. The neck feel on this was better. You can tell this had time put into it from the small details that were perfect.
I would buy this again, but wouldn't buy the team built versions. They really felt like full on slabs of wood vs this one which has this "feel" to it. I'm totally not dumping on team built models, I actually gave up my 64 Team built P as part of this deal, and it was incredible in its own right.
I will say, there is no comparison between any of the multiple CS models I've had and the MiA line. I have an Ultra P and I love it, but it's not a CS.

Also, if anyone wants what may be the best sounding Strat I've ever heard, the Perry Masterbuilt Korina Strat Willcutt has is stupid awesome.

Rant over, I'll get some pics and pic of build sheet.
 
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#8
KYbass said:
I was living and dying over a basketball game last night, I'll get a few more pictures in a bit.

Yes, it's the bat U shape, which I find comfortable. My ribs are ok so far. The favorite CS I play has a bound top so I'm semi used to the edge. The back will take a bit to get used to, thankfully having a belly helps. 😂

This vs Team built. Not even close. I played a teambuild 53, 51, and 51, so 3 slabs. This weighs noticeably less (like 8.3 pounds), the relic work is obviously much better, they all had the same 55 hand wound pup but you could tell this one was selected over the others or was made to a different spec as it sounds much better to my ears anyway. The balance and tone of the pup are much more pleasant than those other 3 and yes, I checked pup height and action and all 4 were set up about the same, so there's room to say a better tune up would balance things out. The neck feel on this was better. You can tell this had time put into it from the small details that were perfect.
I would buy this again, but wouldn't buy the team built versions. They really felt like full on slabs of wood vs this one which has this "feel" to it. I'm totally not dumping on team built models, I actually gave up my 64 Team built P as part of this deal, and it was incredible in its own right.
I will say, there is no comparison between any of the multiple CS models I've had and the MiA line. I have an Ultra P and I love it, but it's not a CS.

Also, if anyone wants what may be the best sounding Strat I've ever heard, the Perry Masterbuilt Korina Strat Willcutt has is stupid awesome.

Rant over, I'll get some pics and pic of build sheet.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I can't afford any of the tiers you mentioned but it's interesting you say there's a clear difference between them. Some people feel the CS markup is not reflected in the quality.

As for the neck, I am thinking of ordering a 51 neck from Musikraft for my humble MIM P bass because it's the only way to have a proper baseball bat neck with a proper 1.75" nut width these days, and I want a rosewood fretboard on it, which obviously wasn't a thing in 51.
 
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#10
andare said:
Thanks. I can't afford any of the tiers you mentioned but it's interesting you say there's a clear difference between them. Some people feel the CS markup is not reflected in the quality.

As for the neck, I am thinking of ordering a 51 neck from Musikraft for my humble MIM P bass because it's the only way to have a proper baseball bat neck with a proper 1.75" nut width these days, and I want a rosewood fretboard on it, which obviously wasn't a thing in 51.
Click to expand...

It's my own experience, I'm never going to complain or make issue about someone playing or loving what they have or like. One bass I actually regret selling was a MiM 2022 Player P. It was a workhorse.
My own experience, not necessarily ownership, is with about a dozen MiJ, maybe two dozen MiM, a few MiK the old Jazz 24, two dozen or so MiA, two dozen Team CS, and maybe 3 Masterbuilt. I've seen two legit, unplayable, issues among all of them, one MiM had the worst fret ends I've ever cut myself on and one MiJ had pups that should've never left the factory. Sure there's been necks that needed reset, or slight fret sprout, but only those two were a nope. Overall, among all brands, I haven't seen horrible, nonstop issues I read about, lucky I guess or the old adage about who yells loudest.
 
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