Newly Completed BD-Fender AmPro P5

[Aaron Houts]

Here’s my modded 2017 Fender American Professional Precision V.

I got this bass almost exactly a year ago.
I wasn’t planning on modding it, but I decided to make some minor changes after having it for a little while.

I changed the pickguard to plain white, added a string retainer on the B string, changed out the tuners and bridge for Hipshot Ultralites and an FM3 and had it shielded and set up by a luthier.

Now it is finally complete!
Here it is in all its glory!

 

[bassplayer2014]

Beautiful!

How does it sound and play? I bet great!

I have a stock, with the exception of a B-String retainer, a 2012 Fender AS P5 and it's phonomenal.

Congratulations and enjoy.

 

[Aaron Houts]

Beautiful!

How does it sound and play? I bet great!

I have a stock, with the exception of a B-String retainer, a 2012 Fender AS P5 and it's phonomenal.

Congratulations and enjoy.

Thank you!
It plays and sounds great!
I was surprised at what a difference the bridge made. The string height can get crazy low with the Hipshot bridge. Plus, I know it’s debatable that bridges can make a difference in the sound, but it sounds different to me!
Please feel free to post pics of your P5. I’d love to see it!

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Ah ... if you say so ... it’s clearly difficult to contradict the OP in his post ... coming here from the link posted under the “Official Precision Bass Club” ... the only thing that, in my opinion, may change the tone of a P bass, not changing the neck or the body, is replacing the pickups ... the rest is practically non-influential ... in terms of action I have three basses with that Fender bridge and I like low action as I like soloing ... I can’t complain about it ... personally, moreover, Fender’s bridge is aestethically more pleasant than the large, flat piece of metal made by Hipshot

 

[Aaron Houts]

@Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati

I definitely get the bridge debate. I honestly don’t know whether it makes a difference sonically and most people on this forum know better than I would. I know that you know your stuff.

The only thing that I needed this bridge to do was weigh more than the stock bridge for balance purposes. I removed 80 grams from the headstock by switching tuners and added 120 grams to the body by switching the bridge.

The lower string height was a bonus as was the aesthetic for me. I like the way the Hipshot looks.

If the sonic change has been minimal, that’s even better. I wanted a P bass that sounds like a P bass. All of the electronics and the V mod pickup are stock. The pickup was one of the reasons I bought the bass. My goal was to change as little as possible on this bass and I left the electronics in tact to preserve the sound as closely as I could.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Can’t comment on the bass balance (changing components will have surely an effect in this regard) ... I fully agree with you on the pickup ... it was a nice discover for me and I believe they haven’t been praised adequately