NBD: Fender Precision 1971 sunburst - where's the mojo?

[58kites]

If Fender did that, a lot of people would complain that it's not a true AVRI and sales would go down. Guaranteed.

I cannot understand the nostalgia mattering more than the utility. The Yamaha route up against the heel is so not changing the look of the bass. Especially on a P Bass and a Jazz Bass with a black or tort guard, you would barely notice the route.
I understand if somebody can't deal with the look of the wheel at the heel but it's such a good system.
Why do we want vintage stuff that is inferior? Keep all the great things about a Jazz Bass or a Precision Bass but put the improved mechanical things on it or in it.

I had to look through thirty images to get one that this route was visible.
And it would be less visible if Yamaha did not add the plastic piece in there.
And the route could be half the length of this route if you used a short L hex wrench as the tool.

 

[58kites]

To continue my rant...
I wish the split P and the Jazz pickups did not have those little ears on the pickup covers.
It would be much easier to route the bass in a rectangle without the ear, just make the covers a bit longer with a hole on each end.
Jazz pickups each have four ears/screws per pickup housing to deal with, that is a pain in the butt.
Yamaha did it without the ears for a long time before they caved and made them Fender style like in the pic above.
They could also do the split P pickup in a soapbar housing like EMG does on some of their P pickups.

Okay, back on topic if you're tired of my blabbing.

 

[Hillbilly Sam]

I cannot understand the nostalgia mattering more than the utility. The Yamaha route up against the heel is so not changing the look of the bass. Especially on a P Bass and a Jazz Bass with a black or tort guard, you would barely notice the route.
I understand if somebody can't deal with the look of the wheel at the heel but it's such a good system.
Why do we want vintage stuff that is inferior? Keep all the great things about a Jazz Bass or a Precision Bass but put the improved mechanical things on it or in it.

I had to look through thirty images to get one that this route was visible.
And it would be less visible if Yamaha did not add the plastic piece in there.
And the route could be half the length of this route if you used a short L hex wrench as the tool.
View attachment 7324724

I guess you don't like nitrocellulose finishes, then?

 

[Longwheelbass]

I know, and the fun thing is that I use them on a lot of other basses that shows no real wear, but I'm caring for this Precision like an holy relic the first weeks will probably go like this, then I'll leave it on the floor with barbed-wire strings

joking apart, I'm probably going to try some other sets, like Rotosound Jazz77 ( I love that old 70's punk/post punk sound of a Precision with Roto flats, and also Roger Waters'es early 70's P at some point) and Fender flats, and see how it responds.
I'm more oriented, on this bass, to roundwounds, for a more "modern" punk/rock sound, buy who knows, we are wheels always turning around and around, changing tastes and ideas.

GHS Boomers Nickel Medium gauge. used them on every P and Jazz bass I've ever had (about 40) since about 1991. Between 82 and 90 I used Rotosound nickel rounds but when the GHS showed up I tried em and they sounded better to me. They sound perfect on this 73. I had rounds on this for a few weeks but the novelty wore off pretty quick...and I write a LOT of dub/trip hop stuff. The ashtrays are of course only ever on to impress chicks, when live/recording they're off - you want the flats sound you palm mute...

 

[ad9000]

I've owned an embarrassing number of Fender basses ranging from 1962-1978 (and I still own a few). Some of them, regardless of the year, were dogs, some were good, and some were/are amazing. My first Fender bass was a 1971 P that I bought used in 1972 (long gone, by the way). It was not stellar and not especially bad either, probably much like the '71 that was the subject of this thread.

I've found "mojo" to be unpredictable and not dependent on the year, but of course there are generalities - if you wanted to rate the percentage of great '60's and '70's Fender instruments by year, based on all the ones I've played 1964 would be high on the list, with 1979 probably at the bottom.

How an instrument was treated and maintained are factors, also how much or how little it was played. Some of the worst playing old Fenders I've picked up are the museum pieces that were rarely or never played.

One of the best sounding P-basses I've ever played was a '74 rosewood neck model owned by a friend who is mainly a songwriter. 1974 was not the most "golden" era for Fender, but not quite the worst either. The bass is unremarkable looking and doesn't have the best feeling neck, but it has the most incredible presence, clarity and punch in a mix - I A/B'ed it with my '62, and it won by a mile - sound wise at least.

 

[Gervais Cote]

I've owned an embarrassing number of Fender basses ranging from 1962-1978 (and I still own a few). Some of them, regardless of the year, were dogs, some were good, and some were/are amazing. My first Fender bass was a 1971 P that I bought used in 1972 (long gone, by the way). It was not stellar and not especially bad either, probably much like the '71 that was the subject of this thread.

I've found "mojo" to be unpredictable and not dependent on the year, but of course there are generalities - if you wanted to rate the percentage of great '60's and '70's Fender instruments by year, based on all the ones I've played 1964 would be high on the list, with 1979 probably at the bottom.

How an instrument was treated and maintained are factors, also how much or how little it was played. Some of the worst playing old Fenders I've picked up are the museum pieces that were rarely or never played.

One of the best sounding P-basses I've ever played was a '74 rosewood neck model owned by a friend who is mainly a songwriter. 1974 was not the most "golden" era for Fender, but not quite the worst either. The bass is unremarkable looking and doesn't have the best feeling neck, but it has the most incredible presence, clarity and punch in a mix - I A/B'ed it with my '62, and it won by a mile - sound wise at least.

I don't know if it's pure coincidence but the best two vintage Fender p bass I heard and/or played with are a sunburst/rosewood neck 62 and a maple/natural 74.

The 62 with deep talking flats sounded like a double bass and the 74 with nickel rounds was a heavy rock machine.

 

[Bikeguy57]

You list the gazillion basses you've owned, and can't figure out why a particular bass isn't magic?

 

[ROOTSnFIFTHS]

I think some time playing the instrument should be dedicated before you pass any judgement. Part of the deal is learning what that particular instrument will give you and how you touch the strings to get it to speak. Also, record the the bass in rehearsals or practice.

The Pbass Is an instrument that sounds rather bland by itself, its middy and not sparkly... but that sound in a rhythm section is why its the most recorded bass in modern music. What you hear when you are playing, is not what the audience hears and recording will give some insights as to how good or bad that instrument sounds in context of an ensemble. The is where the Precision Bass shines.

I don't give the vintage thing all that much weight. For all intent and purposes, that bass is unplayed and still essentially new, regardless of when it was manufactured.

You might end up not liking it and selling it. My favorite Precision, and I own several, is a Mexican Player. I have a couple of 1975 vintage PBasses too. The Player is better playing and sounding bass... go figure.

You have to judge the instrument as an individual. Country of origin, year produced, or cost has little to do with how good the bass is.

100% to this post. I have an early Road Worn series Precision that puts to shame a half dozen vintage basses I have owned or tried. The bass is resonant and LOUD when not plugged in. Never goes out of tune and sounds fantastic. It is made in mexico and cost me $650 compared to $10K+ of the bass it is built after. Vintage prices are out of hand and definitely not worth it for me. But if you need to go this route, play it first.

 

[regtan26]

the best way to find your one is to play it first before buying. I found the best p bass that I have played in Japan when I was on holiday. Visited every music shop that I can find and tried so many things. Found a 71 rosewood board pbass that was refinished in nitro and reliced, the bridge tuner and pickup was replaced as well, refretted also. Pickup was duncan SPB-1. I feel like I have found the one and I dont mind having only this one. Compared it side by side with another 71 that was all original but my one was just way more resonant and playability is just perfect. That all original 71 was really mediocre. Tried other vintages, custom shops, boutique brands, none spoke to me like my 71.

 

[rolfplamperton]

Yeah, most vintage stuff I've played has been built like dogturds. Some of the basses have sounded really good but none of them had even the build quality of your average American Pro/Standard. Tone wise, they vary quite a bit. I had a 71 P about two years ago and it was complete junk in every way. I had a 75 P last year that was also junky but absolutely destroyed two custom shops that I had as far as tone, and did manage to set up pretty good because someone had glued a gigantic shim at the end of the neck pocket.

 

[bbjonz]

Yeah, most vintage stuff I've played has been built like dogturds. Some of the basses have sounded really good but none of them had even the build quality of your average American Pro/Standard. Tone wise, they vary quite a bit. I had a 71 P about two years ago and it was complete junk in every way. I had a 75 P last year that was also junky but absolutely destroyed two custom shops that I had as far as tone, and did manage to set up pretty good because someone had glued a gigantic shim at the end of the neck pocket.

You know, I had a hankering for an old P-Bass recently and damn near pulled the trigger on a refin '66. But I came to my senses based on the fact that, (a) I've played 5-string almost exclusively since 1986, and (b) there's no way to know when buying an old Fender if it has "it," whatever it is. I suspect that hankering had something to do with the the fact I saw ToP last month and Marc VW was playing a nicely beat '66, which worked great for those tunes (given that Rocco used an old P on the classic recordings). But I got over it...

So I pivoted and bought a Lull PJ5 from some guy on TB.

 

[MIJ Fender Guy]

Any Fender from any year can be good or bad. The setup, geometry, pickups and strings determine the feel and sound. Hopefully the hardware looks good, performs well, and the tuners feel good to use. If all those things are awesome, and it happens to be vintage, then awesome. Then you'll have the "mojo" aesthetics to go with the bass that feels, plays and sounds good. No bass is guaranteed to be good, no matter what year or cost. Not for $100, 1,000 or 10,000. There's nothing more to it than that.

 

[retslock]

I've never quite understood the concept of mojo in a bass. As a '73 Precision owner I used to often get nice comments about the sound of the bass from studio engineers. My bass felt quite different though from other Precision basses I played back then. Mine was slightly heavier than most but it played well and sounded great.
I don't care much for the esoterica of the bass guitar. I have aesthetic preferences but generally, as long as it doesn't get in my way I'm ok with it.

 

[Pier_]

it's been a while since I bought it, and I dedicated it a lot of time in both playing and trying strings to find the "spot on set".

talking about the overall instrument, it's well built, the truss rod reacts with small movements and it's really stable, my luthier also noticed it, and the overall weight and balance are perfect, 3.8kg and it doesn't dive.

my real problem was "the strings".

I tried many different sets and gauges I normally use, both flats and rounds

Rotosound Swing in both 45-105 and 40-100
Rotosound Jazz 45-105
Fender flats 45-100
Ernie Ball nickel 45-100 and 50-105
Fender nickel 45-105
D'Addario nickel 45-105
GHS Precision flats 45-95
Labella Deep Talking 43-104

after all this changing, considering that every set was used for a while both at home and rehearsals/studio (except the Labella, which had some problems on the D-string and the shop refunded me), I was astonished by the GHS P flats, that responded in a way that I didn't expect!

with most roundwound sets this bass sounded somewhat "dark", and with most flats it sounded less focused. the worst were the Rotosound Jazz, for example, a set of strings I loved on a Vintera 60's P bass I've had a few months ago, and I expected to sound good on this '71, but no, it sounded so hollow and confused.
I then found a set of GHS P-flats that I had in the drawer, brand new and probably bought a long time ago, maybe some Amazon offer I couldn't refuse (here in Italy they cost 50/55€), and tried them.

my first impression was astonishment. I'm used to that set of strings, and I usually like the dark and middy response, the thuddy E-string and all those typical characteristics of P-flats, but on this particular instrument they were "bright", more sparkly, with a livelier E-string, without losing the typical mid-focus that these strings are known for.

two examples, recorded via DI and playing with a pick (Herco Flex Holy Grail)

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

also, the tension and balance on this bass is particularly spot-on, it's like this bass was born for them, or viceversa.

after some rehearsals with them and a recording session for my punk band (the links up there), I thought that maybe I could've tried a set of Labella, so I bought a 43-104 set. the sound was "good", but nothing special, a bit muffled and dark, losing the mid presence of the GHS, and also the D string had a rattle issue and the shop refunded me, so I went back to the GHS, and now, since December 2025, they were never removed.

the sound is better focused and somehow brighter than with rounds, the notes are clearer, even after using them for a couple of months, and in live situations the bass drilled everything with ease.

I still find strange that they respond in this way on this bass, because I've also used them on a Stingray, and they deadened the sound so much that it felt like playing with pillows and blankets on the amplifier.
this '71 maintains the sustain, shows less dead spots compared to other strings, and the E string sounds good and balanced.

talking about the "mojo", I still haven't found it, ti's just a good Precision bass, with some characteristics on it's own, and that probably shows it's best with this particular set of strings.

I'm one of those players that believes that every bass has it's right strings set in the end, this is a good Precision, and if took only as a "player", it's not worth the extra "vintage" money.
I bought it as an investment and to try a "vintage" instrument, but if I could go back in time, I'd probably won't buy it.

 

[tvbop]

Ive had a couple, one was exactly the same as yours, the yr, SB, identical. For me the primary 'mojo' is from that thick ole fat neck. No other P bass feels like it. Then add the factory tort pickguard, factory sunburst and even the tuners, Logo etc...it all adds up.
Having said all that I now play a SQ VM P bass refinished in gold, with a cream PG, dead chromes, and its got mojo for days....just feels and sounds right.

 

[MrRobert]

You list the gazillion basses you've owned, and can't figure out why a particular bass isn't magic?

I'm not the person who you asked this question of, but I've had a gazillion basses, all with very similar setups, strings, etc, and I still can't figure out why a particular bass is magic. If you can, please let me know so I can get my other basses to be as close to that magic as possible ha ha This is not an attack on you, I'd just really like to know where the magic lives.

 

[REMBO]

You Might Enjoy This Older Thread! I Was Just Commenting On There Today! Lots Of Good Opinions And Comments!!

Thread 'Don’t tell me that 70s P is now amazing'

Feb 6, 2018

i see it a lot. Guy sees an affordable American bass from the 70s that's dinged up a bit and buys it. Then he claims how it's incredible and has a certain "mojo". Well I'm not buying what you're selling. You paid at least what a new P Bass would go for and got a 40+ yr old bass that sounds like a poopy 70s P. That's it. I I've a 2016 P that I consider the best sounding P ever. Not that it's any different from the million others produced that year...they sound great. The build is WAY better in the new stuff...everything about the modern p trumps the 70s crap. I remember in the 90s how the...

• joeinca
• 70s
• Replies: 784
• Forum: Basses [BG]

• 
• 

 

[REMBO]

I Just Restored This Amazing 1975 Fender P Bass! It Was a total Train Wreck! Now, it Sounds cliché To Say… But, It's Got Magic Mojo Compared To My Other Fender P's That I Own…

 

[BEADG63]

I Just Restored This Amazing 1975 Fender P Bass! It Was a total Train Wreck! Now, it Sounds cliché To Say… But, It's Got Magic Mojo Compared To My Other Fender P's That I Own…

 

[Pier_]

But, It's Got Magic Mojo Compared To My Other Fender P's That I Own…

can you tell us how would you describe the "mojo"?

If you can, please let me know so I can get my other basses to be as close to that magic as possible ha ha This is not an attack on you, I'd just really like to know where the magic lives.

let me quote you. I've had hundred basses, but still can't tell. it's only a matter of perception.

for example, in the last year I discovered the Spector basses: I never owned one until April 2025, when I bought an Euro4 LX; at first I didn't like the ergonomics, but only the gigantic neck (it's the biggest neck profile I've ever had, more than a '51 P bass) and the overall sound. I had too much gigs that I didn't have time to "spend time with it" and get used, so I sold it to a friend of mine.
after some months he called me to sell it back (he wanted to buy a Precision), I took it back and, having more time to spend with it, I played it a lot...

well after a month it grew on me, and became the most comfortable instrument I've ever owned in my life and I've had a couple of Warwick Streamers, but the Spector are a bit different.
I then bought an Euro4 Classic in white, and despite the difference in weight (3.8kg the LX, 3.4kg the Classic), they feel exactly the same, and I love them so much.
they are pristine, glossy, modern, with a lot of curves, the "center" all moved to the left, I had to get used to the "2 frets distance" compared to a Fender (F.E: where I usually have the 7th fret, now I have the 9th, and my muscular memory had to change habit), there ain't any "vintage mojo", nor "reliced instrument" for feel or other things.

just two pristine and modern basses with an 80's design that just fit perfectly in everything I play (and I use them also in a blues big band with a brass/wood section playing the Blues Brothers, Aretha Franklin ecc...).

my Precision Classic 50 never had any "mojo", it was just a good P, but since I put on the ashtrays and a set of 55-105 GHS P-flats, it changed now it's my "vintage bass" that I mostly play plucking/picking near the neck with those fat and bouncy strings.