New Fender Standard P Bass

[Pet Sounds]

No, it isn’t. Poplar is a perfectly acceptable body wood for all practical purposes. I have played excellent basses with poplar bodies, but it does have one drawback, which is that it’s very uneven in color. So a poplar body has to have a finish in order to cover that unevenness.

I'm not an expert on woods, but I've read that poplar is a very soft wood that will get dinged up easily and won't hold screws as well as harder woods.

 

[P. Aaron]

Wow, you people really hate poplar. As if you could tell the difference between woods on solid finished instruments.

Poplar is soft and great for case, kick and base trim. It's also good as a finishing wood that's going to be painted as it's raw color doesn't always take stain and urethanes well. I've always felt more comfortable with ash or alder as a body wood for a bass or guitar, even basswood on guitars (Ibanez Japanese JS models do this). Pine or poplar just tells me a maker is trying to keep things at a price point and the known woods that have been reliable are getting expensive.

A long winded way to say, economics but.

 

[DWBass]

Personally, I feel like those are Squiers with a Fender logo for an extra $200.

And this is why I am NOT a fan of Fender. Business practicing and pricing.

 

[Krisfield]

Multi Tiered Pricing. A Fender instrument for every budget. Fender probably did some market research which told them entry level instruments are selling well.

 

[HelpImaRock]

Poplar is soft and great for case, kick and base trim. It's also good as a finishing wood that's going to be painted as it's raw color doesn't always take stain and urethanes well. I've always felt more comfortable with ash or alder as a body wood for a bass or guitar, even basswood on guitars (Ibanez Japanese JS models do this). Pine or poplar just tells me a maker is trying to keep things at a price point and the known woods that have been reliable are getting expensive.

A long winded way to say, economics but.

It's always been about price. That's why Fenders were made from ash and then alder. If it sounds good, it is good.

 

[Flaked Beans]

But as far as I know it's the first time they have manufactured any of their truly classic models outside their own factories in the US and Mexico (Squiers excepted of course, and please correct me if I'm wrong).

Yes they did. Modern Player basses were made in china and I've seen quite a few MIK Fender jazz and precision basses back in the '90s.
edit/ the fender deluxe 24 jazz basses from the '00s were also made in Korea.

 

[JakobT]

I'm not an expert on woods, but I've read that poplar is a very soft wood that will get dinged up easily and won't hold screws as well as harder woods.

It may be softer than, say, alder, but I have had no issues with the basses with poplar bodies I’ve had. It’s not a problem.

 

[Iristone]

Poplar should be similar to alder: actually in China we sometimes call alder "red poplar". It's just that, I can buy a CV for less which uses almost the same material with almost the same build quality, but the appointments on the CV should be more to my liking.

 

[Chuck King]

In the voluminous discussion of this new Fender Standard line, here and on other guitar forums, I consistently see people claiming that there are better-spec Squiers for less money. Assuming those Squiers are functionally equivalent and of similar quality, I still think a lot of people underestimate the value of the word “Fender” on the headstock. Of course nobody is going to come out and say that they would pay a premium for that. But I suspect that for every savvy shopper who buys the Squier and laughs all the way to the bank with the money they saved there are ten who will pay the extra $200 or whatever and swell with pride at owning a real Fender and not a lowly Squier. I think the “savvy shopper” types are disproportionately represented on guitar and bass forums.

Poplar is soft and great for case, kick and base trim. It's also good as a finishing wood that's going to be painted as it's raw color doesn't always take stain and urethanes well. I've always felt more comfortable with ash or alder as a body wood for a bass or guitar, even basswood on guitars (Ibanez Japanese JS models do this). Pine or poplar just tells me a maker is trying to keep things at a price point and the known woods that have been reliable are getting expensive.

In my experience with poplar instruments and from everything I’ve read poplar is basically interchangeable with alder except visually. When I think of soft and easily dinged up I immediately think of basswood. Until this thread I have never heard that about poplar.

There’s a tendency to demonize any wood that might be used to save money, but just because a wood might be cheaper or more readily available than some other more traditional wood doesn’t mean it’s bad for its use. But poplar, of all things, has been used so much for so long (including by Fender) that I would count it among the usual suspects, only slightly less “standard” than alder, mahogany or ash. But even the more recent Asian mystery woods can still be perfectly fine for guitar building. I think most complaints are just prejudice.

 

[Pet Sounds]

In the voluminous discussion of this new Fender Standard line, here and on other guitar forums, I consistently see people claiming that there are better-spec Squiers for less money. Assuming those Squiers are functionally equivalent and of similar quality, I still think a lot of people underestimate the value of the word “Fender” on the headstock. Of course nobody is going to come out and say that they would pay a premium for that. But I suspect that for every savvy shopper who buys the Squier and laughs all the way to the bank with the money they saved there are ten who will pay the extra $200 or whatever and swell with pride at owning a real Fender and not a lowly Squier. I think the “savvy shopper” types are disproportionately represented on guitar and bass forums.


In my experience with poplar instruments and from everything I’ve read poplar is basically interchangeable with alder except visually. When I think of soft and easily dinged up I immediately think of basswood. Until this thread I have never heard that about poplar.

There’s a tendency to demonize any wood that might be used to save money, but just because a wood might be cheaper or more readily available than some other more traditional wood doesn’t mean it’s bad for its use. But poplar, of all things, has been used so much for so long (including by Fender) that I would count it among the usual suspects, only slightly less “standard” than alder, mahogany or ash. But even the more recent Asian mystery woods can still be perfectly fine for guitar building. I think most complaints are just prejudice.

Chuck, you are absolutely correct! I was thinking of basswood. Egg on my face. Apologies for my error, everybody.

 

[P. Aaron]

In the voluminous discussion of this new Fender Standard line, here and on other guitar forums, I consistently see people claiming that there are better-spec Squiers for less money. Assuming those Squiers are functionally equivalent and of similar quality, I still think a lot of people underestimate the value of the word “Fender” on the headstock. Of course nobody is going to come out and say that they would pay a premium for that. But I suspect that for every savvy shopper who buys the Squier and laughs all the way to the bank with the money they saved there are ten who will pay the extra $200 or whatever and swell with pride at owning a real Fender and not a lowly Squier. I think the “savvy shopper” types are disproportionately represented on guitar and bass forums.


In my experience with poplar instruments and from everything I’ve read poplar is basically interchangeable with alder except visually. When I think of soft and easily dinged up I immediately think of basswood. Until this thread I have never heard that about poplar.

There’s a tendency to demonize any wood that might be used to save money, but just because a wood might be cheaper or more readily available than some other more traditional wood doesn’t mean it’s bad for its use. But poplar, of all things, has been used so much for so long (including by Fender) that I would count it among the usual suspects, only slightly less “standard” than alder, mahogany or ash. But even the more recent Asian mystery woods can still be perfectly fine for guitar building. I think most complaints are just prejudice.

I demonized nothing. Just noticed that poplar, like pine or others, are chosen for economic reasons.
Note also, many buy as a 1st choice, U.S.A. made Fenders because even if they sell later, many others will buy a used USA Fender before they choose a non-USA Fender. It's a personal preference based upon that persons wants, preferences or experience. How many on this forum noted the lackluster quality of 70's era USA Fenders which now command (IMO) excessive amounts for resale. Ditto Gibson.

(That very thing launched Ibanez to eat both companies' lunch by putting out great instruments for similar prices. It did, I think teach both Fender & Gibson a valuable lesson)

 

[Joel T]

I just ordered a Standard Precision Bass in black and white from Guitar Center's online.

Thankfully, they offered some special discounts. Originally listed as $599.99, I paid a little under $580 post-tax. Before making the purchase, I was able to play one in person at a local guitar store. I tried out both the Precision Bass and Jazz Bass. They both actually felt great in terms of the fit and finish. The neck felt similar to the Fender American Ultra Basses I tried out. The bridges on these Standard basses seem to have slightly more "meat" than on a Squier bass with a vintage-style bridge. The tuners also seem to be locking in very well for the money. I want to note that I've left my Sterling by Music Man StingRay unplayed for weeks, and the strings still stayed in tune when I was jamming to some songs. I obviously don't expect the quality to be as good as a generic USA-made Fender bass. But it seems that these basses on YouTube received better reviews than the Stratocaster. I'll definitely take advantage of the return policies, as I ordered this bass online and fresh out from the factory. I'll give it at least a week, but I do have a lot of positive hope for this bass. It's definitely a keeper if everything works out well. I could make some fun modifications.

 

[dfp]

I got a Standard Precision neck from Stratosphere to use on a parts bass I like gigging with (light weight old Squier Affinity body when they used to make them slimmer, and alder too if I remember correctly).

Anyway, the Standard neck is fantastic. Granted I upgraded from a Debut series neck (I think? I had a brief obsession with 1.5” nut width lol) but the Standard neck is superior in all aspects. Went on the body well and I didn’t even need to adjust truss rod or bridge saddles, perfect action up and down the neck. They seem to be using better looking laurel for the fingerboards too, wiped down with mineral oil and it looks great. One thing I really appreciate is the big cream-white fingerboard dots, the smaller pearloid dots on most Squier necks degrades the visual appeal to me (incl current CV basses). Tuners are stamped “Fender” too, which is neither here nor there to me, but interesting at the Standard price point.

Will gig this tonight…

Old Squier Affinity body
Player P pickup
2025 Standard P neck

 

[Joel T]

After a good amount of days with my black and white, all I had to do is some simple setup (tuning and truss rod adjustment). It still plays well. I eventually donated the bass to a local family church. It's worth the bucks. Perhaps, in the near future, I might get my hands on the Jazz Bass. They seem to be as good as the P-Bass I ordered.