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NBD Player II Precision

blr2

blr2

Apr 21, 2010
1,226
2,302
EU
#1
Well, approximately 30 years after I first tried a MIM Fender, I finally got one. I could never find one I liked, until yesterday. Here is my brand spanking new Coral Red P:


MIMP.jpg


I didn't really need another P-bass, I already have a '99 MIA P (my #1 bass) and a modded Sonic P I got this winter. I went to a store to check a Hagstrom Super Swede bass they just received in stock. Well, this didn't grab me, but they also had a batch of the newly released Player II basses from Mexico. The Coral red got my attention with its bright red color and the nice dark figured rosewood board. Except for the poor setup I couldn't find anything wrong with it, so I decided to get this baby home. Gave it a nice setup (truss rod and action adjustment, intonation and a bit of a nut height), oiled the board, changed the strings to my current favorite rounds (Roto Billy Sheenah Signature). It plays like butter now, with action well bellow Fender specs. The fretwork is surprisingly good for a MIM Fender. No high frets or fret sprout whatsoever.
At just under 9 lb (4 kg), it's not heavy, my MIA P is something like 15 oz heavier, which is still ok, considering it's an ash body instrument.
Initially, I was thinking that I'll change the pickup, but the more I play it, the more I'm convinced that It's not needed. Nothing wrong with the sound, just a nice classical P-tone.
All in all a nice instrument. I've been critical in the past to the quality of MIM Fenders. I was either lucky, or Fender has finally stepped up their QC with the Player II series. The only think I may do is (of course) changing the PG to a tort to get this Pino Palladino look.
 
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#3
I agree for the tort pickguard nevertheless, this is the very first red body I see that fits very well with a black pickguard so if it was mine, I would leave it as is for a while.

And I really feel Fender will be kicking a _ _ with this new MIM Player II series. I was looking for a Sire p bass but Fender MIM now got my attention………….
 
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#4
Yeah, I agree, the black looks cool too. I may try a tort, but it has to be a very dark one.

One more thing, the neck has a skunk stripe at the back. Why would they do this on a slab rosewood board? Seems like a waste of production costs to me. They could have spent the money on a nicer setup from the factory instead.
 
#5
blr2 said:
Yeah, I agree, the black looks cool too. I may try a tort, but it has to be a very dark one.

One more thing, the neck has a skunk stripe at the back. Why would they do this on a slab rosewood board? Seems like a waste of production costs to me. They could have spent the money on a nicer setup from the factory instead.
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Yes -- the maple-fretboard Player II P also has what appears to be a laid-on board so the skunk stripe was a puzzlement there as well.
 
#6
Puzzling indeed. I don't mind the stripe though. Looks like a nice, albeit cosmetic addition, in this case. It's perfectly flat and leveled with the back of the neck. I cannot feel it's there while I'm playing. Maybe I'll drop an e-mail to Fender to ask them why they're doing it.
 
#9
I still don't know what a "slab" rosewood/PF/maple fretboard is but that looks amazing. Such a brighter red than their previous red versions.

It's nice to see Fender adding black pickguards as stock on some of their MIM models as opposed to slapping on the same ol' white on EVERYTHING.
 
#10
blr2 said:
Well, approximately 30 years after I first tried a MIM Fender, I finally got one. I could never find one I liked, until yesterday. Here is my brand spanking new Coral Red P:


View attachment 7014863

I didn't really need another P-bass, I already have a '99 MIA P (my #1 bass) and a modded Sonic P I got this winter. I went to a store to check a Hagstrom Super Swede bass they just received in stock. Well, this didn't grab me, but they also had a batch of the newly released Player II basses from Mexico. The Coral red got my attention with its bright red color and the nice dark figured rosewood board. Except for the poor setup I couldn't find anything wrong with it, so I decided to get this baby home. Gave it a nice setup (truss rod and action adjustment, intonation and a bit of a nut height), oiled the board, changed the strings to my current favorite rounds (Roto Billy Sheenah Signature). It plays like butter now, with action well bellow Fender specs. The fretwork is surprisingly good for a MIM Fender. No high frets or fret sprout whatsoever.
At just under 9 lb (4 kg), it's not heavy, my MIA P is something like 15 oz heavier, which is still ok, considering it's an ash body instrument.
Initially, I was thinking that I'll change the pickup, but the more I play it, the more I'm convinced that It's not needed. Nothing wrong with the sound, just a nice classical P-tone.
All in all a nice instrument. I've been critical in the past to the quality of MIM Fenders. I was either lucky, or Fender has finally stepped up their QC with the Player II series. The only think I may do is (of course) changing the PG to a tort to get this Pino Palladino look.
Click to expand...
Yes , yes and more yes..Congratulations on your excellent choice.
I love the quality of my Made in Mexico Fenders
 
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#11
blr2 said:
Well, approximately 30 years after I first tried a MIM Fender, I finally got one. I could never find one I liked, until yesterday. Here is my brand spanking new Coral Red P:


View attachment 7014863

I didn't really need another P-bass, I already have a '99 MIA P (my #1 bass) and a modded Sonic P I got this winter. I went to a store to check a Hagstrom Super Swede bass they just received in stock. Well, this didn't grab me, but they also had a batch of the newly released Player II basses from Mexico. The Coral red got my attention with its bright red color and the nice dark figured rosewood board. Except for the poor setup I couldn't find anything wrong with it, so I decided to get this baby home. Gave it a nice setup (truss rod and action adjustment, intonation and a bit of a nut height), oiled the board, changed the strings to my current favorite rounds (Roto Billy Sheenah Signature). It plays like butter now, with action well bellow Fender specs. The fretwork is surprisingly good for a MIM Fender. No high frets or fret sprout whatsoever.
At just under 9 lb (4 kg), it's not heavy, my MIA P is something like 15 oz heavier, which is still ok, considering it's an ash body instrument.
Initially, I was thinking that I'll change the pickup, but the more I play it, the more I'm convinced that It's not needed. Nothing wrong with the sound, just a nice classical P-tone.
All in all a nice instrument. I've been critical in the past to the quality of MIM Fenders. I was either lucky, or Fender has finally stepped up their QC with the Player II series. The only think I may do is (of course) changing the PG to a tort to get this Pino Palladino look.
Click to expand...
Top for this is a white or greenish/white pickguard IMHO 🤟😊
 
#12
blr2 said:
I didn't really need another P-bass
Click to expand...
:wideyed:

0000.jpg

ClusterFlux said:
I believe that is the official motto of TalkBass. :D
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🤣

yeah, well, some of us don't need any P-basses....but we have them just the same! 😂

but you have a beautiful specimen, @blr2 --- that just looks amazing, and FWIW, i like the looks of it just the it is. and if plays "like butter," you got a deal, too! congratulations on your new instrument! :thumbsup:
 
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#15
JRA said:
but you have a beautiful specimen, @blr2 --- that just looks amazing, and FWIW, i like the looks of it just the it is. and if plays "like butter," you got a deal, too! congratulations on your new instrument! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
I was a bit worried about playability. The setup at the store was such (way too high action) that I couldn't judge how well the frets have been leveled. Thankfully it is very good, not worse than my other 3 Fenders (two MIA and a MIJ). They are even polished to a near mirror finish, another pleasant surprise from MIM Fender. The edges of the fretboard are rolled off slightly and the frets nicely filed, so no any sharp frets whatsoever. I hope I wasn't just lucky, and from now on MIM Fenders will keep this level of quality for all of us to enjoy.
 
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#16
blr2 said:
I hope I wasn't just lucky....
Click to expand...
i think it would be great if you were! finding instruments that play well involves a lot of searching and/or a little bit of luck, IMO. finding a great one is akin to winning the lottery, IME 😂 --- i'm just glad you took a chance on it, and it worked out. pretty cool stuff! ;)
 
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#17
JRA said:
i think it would be great if you were! finding instruments that play well involves a lot of searching and/or a little bit of luck, IMO. finding a great one is akin to winning the lottery, IME 😂 --- i'm just glad you took a chance on it, and it worked out. pretty cool stuff! ;)
Click to expand...
I agree. That said, I'm not that worried about playability because I can fix most of the stuff that makes it worse. I can fix high frets and even level all the frets, fix sprout, cut nuts etc., but it makes me bitter to have to do that on an instrument that costs that much (or even more). I gladly did it on my Sonic P that costs 4 times less though. I still think that Fender will only benefit if they pay a bit more attention to factory setup. Not a professional setup, just bring them a bit closer to spec. This will give them an advantage when played off the rack.
 
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#18
The pattern that I see too often with these issues is that they mostly fall in the fender camp. Not a hater, I own and play a few. It's just that I have many from many different builders and I do not have the issues ever with other names. Not rattling off names, too many. But cmon fender....consistency.....no way. I had to dredge through a bunch to find something worth putting time into to make right. As I just read, why am I putting that much time in on a new instrument to fix stuff. Setup aside as we all like it different. I do like mine but it took a bunch to make it playable and after a free plek at SW it finally is right. Enjoy and if ya don't, there are many great builders out there.
 

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