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Precision "upgrades" that should be stock on new model - poll

Select a max of 3 that you think could/should be stock on a Pbass.

  • 21 (or more) fret neck

    Votes: 70 26.9%
  • Truss rod wheel at heel

    Votes: 122 46.9%
  • Drop tuner on E string

    Votes: 40 15.4%
  • Reverse P pickup option

    Votes: 67 25.8%
  • Better string tree for ADG strings

    Votes: 79 30.4%
  • Upgraded nut material

    Votes: 76 29.2%
  • Make Jazz profile necks optional

    Votes: 128 49.2%
  • 2 Jazz pickups on the P body

    Votes: 19 7.3%
  • A bound Aerodyne style P

    Votes: 15 5.8%
  • Put the jack on the side of the body

    Votes: 63 24.2%

  • Total voters
    260
In my mind, there are only 2 things a P-bass should have as stock "upgrades" from the factory.

1. String tree that addresses the open A issues you get from the flat headstock design flaw.
2. Adjustable saddle bridge. Threaded or American style. Both would address issues with string spacing & pick-up alignment on the cheaper models.
but a string tree upgrade is so easy to do yourself
 
Weird thread. I've never found P bass string trees to be even remotely inconvenient, and I've never had any particular problem with the A string. And as far as I know, the only "rule" about how many wraps should go around the post is this: they shouldn't overlap, and if you have less than 2, you start running the risk of having the string slip.

Drop D tuners and truss wheels are great inventions, but are hardly requirements. I'm not a fan of tilt headstocks; they are more fragile. A straight headstock and a string tree is a much sturdier solution. There are string trees that are a nuisance, but the P bass tree is not one of them.
 
Out of all the ideas in this thread, the one I like best is to ship P basses with flatwounds from the factory. I don't like flatwounds at all, but this suggestion makes some sense to me. Flatwounds sound good when other people use them; they just don't work for me.

I hear you. People change strings on a new bass anyways so it doesn't really affect people too much.
 
Having flats as an option makes sense if you're ordering factory direct - which will soon be possible with Fender - but it doesn't make sense from a retail standpoint, as stores don't want to be re-stringing instruments to customer's wishes, and Fender needs to put some strings on in order to properly set up the instrument before it goes out.

I was thinking of more mechanical "changes" that a lot of people would want stock, rather than have to get out a screwdriver to change, as the majority of people aren't "tweakers" like some of us. Even something as simple as a new string tree may be a big deal, and if a new 3-string tree/guide is put forward of the A string tuner, would leave a useless little hole in the middle of the headstock.

I guess covers would have been a good option and should be from the factory. I was thinking matching painted headstocks as well, but the poll only allows 10 choices.

I agree with the adjustable string spacing on the bridge - roller bridge probably.
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You can't fix a dead spot. It's to do with resonance & varies from body to body. EVERY bass has a dead spot, you just have to find it. Some of them just might be on a note that's off either end of the fingerboard.
I know exactly what it is. I'm intimately familiar with them. I have three basses (out of seven) which absolutely do not have them. Of those one is headless, one is carbon 35" and one is a wooden five string. All of my Fender style basses have them including one which is carbon. Seems to point at the Fender style headstock as a culprit. Fix it.
 
All of my Fender style basses have them including one which is carbon. Seems to point at the Fender style headstock as a culprit. Fix it.
Aside from making it a little thicker, or tweaking the shape of the sculpting from neck to head (the volute?), I think that any such request will fall on some very deaf ears.

With all the copies, that headstock shape (with a Fender logo), is the primary thing that defines it as a Fender.
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