NBD: Fender Vintera Precision Bass

[michaeln]

JF344’s for the win!

Yep, the famous Amazon "Accordion Accessories".

 

[michaeln]

Awesome looking bass! Congratulations! As I was looking at your photo (closely), it appears you have trussrod access at the headstock and I do not see any type of indication that there would be access to the trussrod through the heel-end of the neck.

Nope, that's what I thought from the pictures. But that dark area on the headstock is just a dark wood plug, no access there. I can see 1/2 of the adjustment screw slots at the pickup end, it is definitely down there in the true vintage fashion.

 

[michaeln]

I should be getting mine any minute. I noticed after ordering from GC that it immediately said expected to ship on dec 12 meaning they didn't have any in stock. I'm just hoping you didn't beat me to the punch and I'm getting sent a floor model.

I ordered mine from Amazon. I am all done with GC, what a hosed up operation.

 

[michaeln]

That's true for the body wood but not easily done on the aluminium pickguard (unfortunately) ...

It would be easy enough to grind out the relief on the pickguard, but it would then be silver where it was ground and would look like crap on the gold anodized pickguard.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Nope, that's what I thought from the pictures. But that dark area on the headstock is just a dark wood plug, no access there. I can see 1/2 of the adjustment screw slots at the pickup end, it is definitely down there in the true vintage fashion.

I see. Well, I have a Fender 60s (reissue) J with trussrod access in the same place. I had my tech guy do a little cutting and routing and also purchased a "Telecaster" trussrod wrench from Stew Mac. He did excellent work and making adjustments is so easy now. Enjoy playing that thing... lots of slobbering/drooling TBers here gazing at that beaut, I am sure!

 

[michaeln]

Congrats! I love mine (in Vintage Blonde). I put a new set of LaBella flats on it and have done a few gigs with it. Great basses.

Wow, that is even prettier than I had thought it would be. That would have been my choice if the seafoam green had not been available. I have always had conservatively colored basses (silver, several sunbursts, olympic white, etc..) but always secretly admired those mid-fifties GM paint colors. I decided it was time, so went with the seafoam green. I would have been delighted with the blonde though.

 

[Wfrance3]

Agreed. I think you have one of those "bullet" truss rod adjustments right above the nut.

I really like the PG, if you get to wanting to mix it up a little down the road, 'll bet that bass would look good in brown tort as well.

 

[Element Zero]

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

It would be easy enough to grind out the relief on the pickguard, but it would then be silver where it was ground and would look like crap on the gold anodized pickguard.

If you find somebody who can grind an aluminium pickguard behind the corner good for you .. in that case, I wouldn't mind much about the silvery look of the guard after the modification as it will be part and parcel of the instrument's life .. on the other hand I noticed that Fender omitted drilling the thumbrest's holes through the guard ... I can figure out how many hundreds of thousands of dollars they saved in doing so ...

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Congrats! I love mine (in Vintage Blonde). I put a new set of LaBella flats on it and have done a few gigs with it. Great basses.

View attachment 3617583

Best finish of the Vintera P bass series IMO ... congrats !

 

[2F/2F]

The guard should not need to come off for truss rod adjusting. That’s the thinnest guard Fender ever used.

The intended method is a small (#1) screwdriver on one half of the adjustment nut, not a star screwdriver down the middle of the nut. Some old Fender manuals from the ‘60s explicitly state this.

Awesome looking bass! Congratulations! As I was looking at your photo (closely), it appears you have trussrod access at the headstock and I do not see any type of indication that there would be access to the trussrod through the heel-end of the neck.

Not sure if this post is a joke or not. Of course it’s a heel adjust rod. It’s a ‘50s reissue!

 

[michaeln]

Agreed. I think you have one of those "bullet" truss rod adjustments right above the nut.

Dunno why some of you guys don't believe me. Here are pics of the screw adjuster at the bridge end and the plug at the headstock end.

 

[Altitude]

That's true for the body wood but not easily done on the aluminium pickguard (unfortunately) ...

If you have the right tools to cut an aluminum pickguard, I'd think you could cut a notch into one to make room for a hex wrench.

 

[michaeln]

If you have the right tools to cut an aluminum pickguard, I'd think you could cut a notch into one to make room for a hex wrench.

And then what are you gonna do with a hex wrench? It is a cross slot adjuster.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

If you have the right tools to cut an aluminum pickguard, I'd think you could cut a notch into one to make room for a hex wrench.

Yes but i can just imagine what kind of s**t the end result will look like if done by myself as it always happen the first time one does something ... better experimenting with something else IMO and put the required patience together for properly adjusting the neck relief once the desired set of strings has been installed

 

[Altitude]

Yes but i can just imagine what kind of s**t the end result will look like if done by myself as it always happen the first time one does something ... better experimenting with something else IMO and put the required patience together for properly adjusting the neck relief once the desired set of strings has been installed

Oh, you mean the DIY option. Yeah, I wouldn't trust myself there either.

 

[michaeln]

You guys sure know how to take the fun out of an NBD post.

 

[Altitude]

And then what are you gonna do with a hex wrench? It is a cross slot adjuster.

Sorry, the truss rod in the American Pro J neck I bought lately was a hex. The body I put that neck on lacked a route, so I had to solve the problem and the hex part stuck in my mind.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Just some more unwanted meat on the fire .... as I was too lazy for removing the neck every time and as I did not own, nor do I own it nowadays, the magic Telecaster tool from StewMac, I shaped the otherwise cool looking celluloid guard of my AO '60s Jazz Bass with a standard Phillips screwdriver ... it worked

 

[Salo70]

No extra holes on the pickguard for pickup cover and thumbrest? Good, because that kept me from buying these. Them pickguard holes look stupid if there are no covers etc.