NBD: Tony Franklin FL

I am kind of building up my inventory after losing all of my basses last summer. I guess the trauma of that is really making the GAS really bad.

And Dr. Cheese didn't help at all either, with all those videos of his playing that TF....

So I finally couldn't resist the TF after drooling over it for the last 6 months or so. Don't get me wrong, I love love my jaco jazz bass, but I had to have at least one unlined fingerboard around here somewhere. So got the last blue TF sweetwater had in stock.

This is actually the first actual Fender Precision I've owned in nearly 30 years. And the only P/J I've ever owned period. Everything else has been a rickenbacker 4001/3, a Carvin, some 6 string out of the dumpster somewhere or a jazz bass. So an actual Precision bass in my ownership feels kind of strange lol.

I haven't set it up yet, but had enough time to drop the saddles from their usual mile-high setting on a new bass, to play it a little bit (the nut I'll file down this evening after work if I feel like it).

I really does sound very different from my jazz bass. In fact more different than I was expecting. Even the bridge PU has a honk to it that my jazz bass doesn't. That's probably the 70's positioning and its a different PU. Also, could be the roundwound strings or the fact that, well, it's a P bass.
The neck is also unexpectedly comfortable. The last few P basses I played either had 2x4 widths or the older "D" shape or both, which always broke my left arm to play. This has a "C" and is really quite thin and comfortable. I can tell the difference between it and my jazz bass, but I'm pleasantly surprised.

I already don't like the drop-D tuner, but I knew I wasn't going to like it as I've never really liked them. The bass itself is well worth it so I shouldn't complain.

Finally, the truss rod nut is a hex head and Fender shipped a ball-head adjustment wrench. Yes!

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I had to flip a coin on the black one too, speaking of that. Normally I don't really care what color or finish my basses are (long as it's a thick layer of gloss), but I agonized a little over the LPB or the black....

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Ooh aah... If I won the lotto I'd get a black one too...

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I just got through with an inital setup and I did get to use the ball wrench on the truss rod - needed tightening a little bit. It definitely does work and no need to pop the neck or remove the pickguard.

I wouldn't want to turn it every day for 10 years like that, as the nut will eventually strip out on the inside. Its inevitable with ball-end hex wrenches and I don't know how good of a metal the truss rod nut is made out of.

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As for the sound, the bridge PU is a surprise. Has a lot of pop to it - that might be because of the roundwound strings, and I'm used to my jazz bass with flats on it. Sounds very 70's jazz bass ish with it soloed. Everywhere else it sounds like a P bass.

Can't wait for the strings to die. The zing is crazy. Guess I'll have to play the heck out of it....

Still working on the nut, but I might not be able to get it down as far as I want with the tools I have....

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