NBD - Fender Standard Precision Bass Limited Edition Ocean Turquoise

It's been probably 15 years since I owned a P-Bass. I recall that I bought one when I started playing bass and seemed to think it only had one sound. No one told me that's the sound you want for 50% of popular music.
Well I'm older, and not much wiser, but I hear it's a good idea to have a P-Bass.

The strings are super zingy so I can't make a fair assertion about how it sounds yet. I'll probably throw on a set of flats that have been waiting for a P for many years.

This is the first neck that I've played in many years that doesn't have rolled edges and I'm such a wuss that the fingerboard edge is very distracting. I'll need to roll them a bit for comfort. It doesn't have any fret whiskers yet but I can take care of them if they grow when the air dries out. I'm told this is a comfortable neck, but as I'm used to Jazz necks it feels rather large right now. I'm sure I'll adapt with some play time. I used to play an 8 string bass (NS/Stick) and THAT had a big neck.

Regarding the appearance, I'm not sure what drew me to this model other than it was on sale for under $600. In my opinion it's one of the ugliest factory colors I've seen come out of Fender, especially on a maple neck instrument. BUT it has a Tort pickguard so that makes up for most sins. Honestly, I think the Ocean Turquoise would look better with a white pickguard and white pup covers, but then it wouldn't be Tort, ah but I digress again. Here's some pictures.

The camera is not capturing how truly blue-GREEN this thing is. I mean it's really, really dark-green turquoise. The photos make it look much bluer (and better looking) than it is in reality.



The saddles are really cheap die-cast looking things. I'll probably replace the bridge... but you do get to see the sparkle in the paint...



The tuners are equally uninspiring and operate roughly. My last MIM bass (JMJ Mustang) came with some really nice Hipshot brand tuners, but it did cost more. I guess it got upgraded hardware. The knobs on this P-bass wobble when turned, so the shafts are already bent... it's okay, I'll replace the pots soon.



The truss rod hole is not skunk stripe wood, they've just applied a thin bit of black paint around the hole which was already coming off.



While the 4-ply pickguard is a nice touch, it is so unevenly cut that it has chunks missing around the edges.



OTOH, the neck pocket is nice and tight.



and the pickup covers have nice smooth edges... Nothing sharp or uncomfortable for your thumb, and oooh look at the Tort... did I mention it has Tort?



The neck and maple fingerboard didn't have any objectionable grain lines... I don't like seeing grain in a maple fingerboard.



I'm glad to have a P-Bass again, and it is such an... unusual color choice... that I think it will truly be a collectible in 30 years

 

I've had fret whiskers on all level of basses and classical guitars. The variability of the moisture content in the wood and the relative humidity where the instrument is kept can make it happen to anything that doesn't have a bound neck (and I've even seen it on one bound neck). I had a Lakland 55-01 with a maple neck that would draw blood until I fixed it.

Maybe roasted necks are the solution (baking the moisture out of the wood prior to installing frets should do it). I haven't heard any reports of fret whiskers on roasted necks.

I've learned to do most repairs on my own, besides refretting. Getting rid of fret whiskers is easy if you have a good set of files, patience and a steady hand.

So if you like an instrument but it has sharp frets, get them taken care of or keep it in a humidity controlled case until it re-hydrates and they go away.

Concerning the color of the Ocean Turquoise... yes, it's hideous but that makes it unusual in the world of pretty instruments. I'm not much of a looker any more either so maybe we're a good fit.

 

I have a fairly critical eye and have seen similar shortcuts on previous American made instruments I've owned. The bent pot shafts are because it was hanging up in GC for a while. The pickguard issue is not visible more than a foot away. The tuners and bridge are the nature of non US parts and would be found on the Squires as well.

I don't generally care much what an instrument looks like if I like the sound. I do like buying from GC because of the lengthy return policy. 45 days is normally long enough to determine if I'm going to like it or not.

 

Pics were taken with a Pixel phone and a Fuji X30.

I had a couple hours to play it through some of our standards, listening to how the LEOT (Limited Edition Ocean Turquoise) sounds in a mix. I adjusted the truss rod to taste, set the string height and it only required minor tweaks to get the intonation spot on. It has the stock strings for now and they are super bright and lighter gauge than what I'm used to so that's interesting to me.

It sets very nicely in a mix with the tone from 25%-50%. Beyond that it loses a lot of character and rolled all the way off it's not musical at all. I'll want to try some replacement pots and caps for certain. My Mustang and Jazz have way more usable tone controls so I'll need to fix that if I keep it.

The neck (other than the non-rolled fingerboard edges) is GREAT. I love the neck. In has a great feel and the satin finish on the back is really smooth, even with sweaty mitts. I don't recall my last P-bass neck feeling nearly this nice.

The other thing that is a surprise is the P-bass body. It balances absolutely perfectly on a strap or when I'm sitting. In fact, when I'm sitting it is far more comfortable to practice with than my Jazz or my EB basses. It's even more comfortable than the Mustang. It just fits me.

I can't believe I went through so many basses over the years and avoided a Precision, I'm stoked. I still think the color is... weird and the tone pot/cap needs a swap but so far I'm really pleased with the LEOT.

 

I took a peek in the control cavity last night to see what kind of cap and pots the LEOT had. The pots were completely no-name and the capacitor was the tiniest 503 disc cap (50nf) I think I've seen in an instrument. They certainly are saving money there. They'll be going to SMT caps next. My MIM Mustang at least hand nice Korean pots and a big disc cap.

More surprising was there was factory attempt at RF shielding the control cavity. There was carbonized paint on the bottom of the control cavity, and splashed up a bit on one of the sides. I mean really; if you're gonna put some RF shielding paint in there can the QC guy at least tell someone to finish the job...