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NBD: Fender Vintera Precision Bass

#44
michaeln said:
Let us know after you play it. I have a feeling they will be pretty consistent from bass to bass.
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So I had about an hour to go over the bass and these were my findings:

1. Nut slot too low on E and A string
2. Fret Ends were done nicely, there are some high spots as confirmed with fret rocker. The 14-18 fret on the e string basically unplayable.
3. Neck feels awesome all around love the finish and handling.
4. Pickups kinda weird. The pole pieces on the treble were protruding by 2.5 mm the bass side was flush.
5. Definitely a bit of neck dive on my guitar strap, will be fine with a wider strap though I imagine.
6. Appears to be a grounding issue somewhere, getting some hum when not touching the bridge/input jack. Doesn't register on my interface but I can definitely hear it so it's pretty quiet but noticeable with headphones.
7. There is a finish crack in the neck pocket. Pocket is VERY tight so I guess good thing minus the crack.

The overall playability from the 1-12th fret is great. I thought the action would be higher due to the radius but not so at all. Measured from the 12th fret. E-G 2.25mm 2mm 1.75mm 1.5mm
 
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#45
@michaeln hey man, that bass is GORGEOUS!!!!

If you find yourself needing to adjust the truss, you can try using a small #1 flathead to turn top half of the adjustment nut.

Side note: If that gig bag is just getting thrown away... feel free to throw it on over this way. LOL
 
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#49
Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati said:
It should mean Vintage for the new Era or something like that (what new era? I preferred the old one anyway ;))
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AH! that's kind of.... erm... well, I wouldn't have called it "Vintera".... but ok. how about "classic", works for ernie ball.

anyhow, ok, so vintera, because other fender precision basses are so much more modern in their design, I suppose... LoL

anyhow, I do really like this bass, looks great! I love a great P... I listened to an old studio recording I played on like 20 years ago when I was using a rented P and slapping, sounded phenomenal. P basses can do anything, often better than other basses....
 
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#54
michaeln said:
My understanding was that VintEra is based on a project for 3 eras... the 50s, the 60s, and the 70s. This one falls into the 50s, there is a Jazz in the series that is a 70s, etc. Oh, and there is a big dollop of Fender Marketing BS that has been added to make this old design seem new. Nothing wrong with the old design, I like it.
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that's interesting! and yes, I agree.:-)
 
#55
michaeln said:
My seafoam green Vintera Precision arrived today. As I thought, the "Deluxe" gig bag is a throwaway. The bass is set up perfectly. Good thing, because it looks like either the pickguard or the neck needs to come off if you want to adjust the truss rod (old school bridge end of the neck with a phillips head, no cutout in the pickguard to allow access). Since it doesn't need adjustment right now, no big deal.

I like that the pickguard is a pale gold rather than the bright yellow gold shown in many of the stock photos of this instrument. The pickguard looks dark in the photo, but that is an artifact of the lighting. In regular light it is pale gold, actually significantly lighter than the maple fingerboard. I like the slightly aged look of the maple. Fretwork is good.

I love the sound, at least so far. The fat neck is quite comfortable to play, and since I am not a string bender, the 7 1/2" radius feels comfortable to me.

Looking forward to putting some TI Jazz Flats on it, and those should be arriving tomorrow.
View attachment 3617169
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Yep, it's a keeper. Nice bass.
 
#56
dkelley said:
cool!

Silly question... what is "Vintera"? a bassist? something unique about this model of bass?
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Basically it all started back in the mid 2000s when Fender released the 50s classic series... which led to the Road Worn Series... which led to the Road Worn Flea Bass... which has brought us to the Vintera Series. All MIM and generally are considered great instruments that people seem to love.
 
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#57
Michaeln. How do you feel about the tone knob? I feel like it sounds closer to a greasebucket, I don't notice any "bass boost" as I sweep it. Even at the very bottom. My 2015 standard precision feels like all the way off it gets a pretty big low/lowmid boost which this does not.
 
#58
finfrocka said:
Michaeln. How do you feel about the tone knob?
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Oh, we're just friends.

I feel like it sounds closer to a greasebucket, I don't notice any "bass boost" as I sweep it. Even at the very bottom. My 2015 standard precision feels like all the way off it gets a pretty big low/lowmid boost which this does not.
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Sorry, I have not been that observant about those nuances. I will try it next time I play it.
 
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#60
bassrique said:
The paint job looks nitroish. The neck looks darkish like old maple. Good stuff.
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It definitely feels like poly lol. The neck looks and feels great. I suspected the higher end mexican models had more attention to detail when it came to the necks and fretwork. After getting mine in today, I'd stand by that statement for sure.

Another thing I've noticed is that if I apply backward pressure to the neck while fretting a note, it doesn't buzz out or really move at all like my other basses. Seems very solid.
 
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