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:
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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.
