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So close, so far away (Fender content)

Ellery

Ellery

Mar 25, 2015
3,310
5,400
#1
I finally found what I was looking for- almost. Having nothing but active double buck basses, I have been wanting to get a passive P-bass (thanx to all you P-bass nuts on TB ;)). Perhaps a good quality P would fill the bill in place of the expensive boutique basses I have always lusted for. But it would take the perfect one to steer me away from familiar territory, and I had this image in my mind: Black, black pickguard, J neck w/ maple fretboard and black block inlays. And it must be a Fender American, I am not throwing money away on an import (quality and resale concerns). So I'm tooling around in this pawn guitar shop and stumble upon the lady of my dreams. My jaw drops, I pick her up, and my heart sinks to my stomach...it was a Chinese Squier:vomit:! Have I utterly failed in finding my dream Fender, online and on foot, or are they even out their? I can go new or used. Any ideas?
P-bass vintage modified

P-bass vintage modified

P-bass
 
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#6
Texan said:
Nothing wrong with Squiers...it's about the feel and tone, not the name.
Click to expand...
I understand this response, and expected it. I already have a nice bass, looks good, good pups and bridge, not pro but definitely above entry level, and it covers my bases (no pun intended). I am not going down from here. I have the time to be picky. Also if I ultimately don't like it I wouldn't expect to recover much reselling it.
 
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#7
Ellery said:
I understand this response, and expected it. I already have a nice bass, looks good, good pups and bridge, not pro but definitely above entry level, and it covers my bases (no pun intended). I am not going down from here. I have the time to be picky. Also if I ultimately don't like it I wouldn't expect to recover much reselling it.
Click to expand...
What's to recover? It's well under $500 do you honestly think you'll lose more money reselling that than an American bass? I mean used American basses go for about that much less than new.
 
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#8
My first bass was a Chinese Squier. I freakin hated it. The feel, the sound, even the appearance. It left such a bad taste in my mouth I loathed all p-basses, thought they were all junk. Of course I knew nothing back than then about playing or equipment, and I'm sure my inexperience made it seem worse. When I upgraded to a nice mid level Schecter, the playability and the pups were so much better! I never looked at P's again. Until I learned more about them, their strengths, their potential, and that American Fenders are a different instrument entirely. I've been visiting local shops and trying them out, I'm starting to "get" it. But it's gotta be the right one.
 
#10
Ellery said:
Black, black pickguard, J neck w/ maple fretboard and black block inlays.
Click to expand...

Is there room for compromise on any of those details? I know I had a specific look in mind for my "dream" bass but the main things were a P bass with a Jazz neck. I picked up a bargain bitsa franken-bass (MIJ body, Warmoth neck, Bill Lawrence pup, Gotoh bridge and Schaller tuners) and the more I look at it the more I think that it's so close it doesn't matter as it plays and sounds fantastic. When I've got some money to throw away i'll probably get the neck refinished and get the reverse headstock painted black on the face...... but i'm not in a hurry. Mind you, I do like that maple neck with blocks.

Capture.JPG
 
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#11
Ellery said:
I finally found what I was looking for- almost. Having nothing but active double buck basses, I have been wanting to get a passive P-bass (thanx to all you P-bass nuts on TB ;)). Perhaps a good quality P would fill the bill in place of the expensive boutique basses I have always lusted for. But it would take the perfect one to steer me away from familiar territory, and I had this image in my mind: Black, black pickguard, J neck w/ maple fretboard and black block inlays. And it must be a Fender American, I am not throwing money away on an import (quality and resale concerns). So I'm tooling around in this pawn guitar shop and stumble upon the lady of my dreams. My jaw drops, I pick her up, and my heart sinks to my stomach...it was a Chinese Squier:vomit:! Have I utterly failed in finding my dream Fender, online and on foot, or are they even out their? I can go new or used. Any ideas?
P-bass vintage modified

P-bass vintage modified

P-bass
Click to expand...

This is easy.

1. Buy a new American Standard P.

2. Buy the jazz neck you want.

3. Swap necks.

4. Sell the P neck.
 
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#12
Chico Ruger said:
This is easy.

1. Buy a new American Standard P.

2. Buy the jazz neck you want.

3. Swap necks.

4. Sell the P neck.
Click to expand...

Yea, there are tons of genuine Fender necks for sale on eBay and elsewhere, and you can get a black pickguard from Pickguardian or wherever. AND black is an American Standard color. Order everything on the same day and you'll have the exact bass you want in less than a week.
 
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#13
BAG said:
Is there room for compromise on any of those details? I know I had a specific look in mind for my "dream" bass but the main things were a P bass with a Jazz neck. I picked up a bargain bitsa franken-bass (MIJ body, Warmoth neck, Bill Lawrence pup, Gotoh bridge and Schaller tuners) and the more I look at it the more I think that it's so close it doesn't matter as it plays and sounds fantastic. When I've got some money to throw away i'll probably get the neck refinished and get the reverse headstock painted black on the face...... but i'm not in a hurry. Mind you, I do like that maple neck with blocks.

View attachment 935947
Click to expand...
I would accept dot inlays in place of the blocks, if the rest of the bass and the deal were good. I would take the inconvenient chrome bridge cover because it looks cool but gotta have a fat bridge down there. I would accept P/J pups but really don't want active circuitry (maybe that doesn't matter if I don't boost the pots?). The nature of the deal could sway me but what I stated is what I'm looking for. :cool:
 
#14
IronLung1986 said:
Yea, there are tons of genuine Fender necks for sale on eBay and elsewhere, and you can get a black pickguard from Pickguardian or wherever. AND black is an American Standard color. Order everything on the same day and you'll have the exact bass you want in less than a week.
Click to expand...
One can get a genuine American Fender neck? New or do they sell them used only?
 
#15
IronLung1986 said:
Yea, there are tons of genuine Fender necks for sale on eBay and elsewhere, and you can get a black pickguard from Pickguardian or wherever. AND black is an American Standard color. Order everything on the same day and you'll have the exact bass you want in less than a week.
Click to expand...
Very interesting. I was prepared to upgrade the bridge and pickguard if I found a used one that was close. But the neck thing could be a game changer.
 
#16
IronLung1986 said:
Yea, there are tons of genuine Fender necks for sale on eBay and elsewhere, and you can get a black pickguard from Pickguardian or wherever. AND black is an American Standard color. Order everything on the same day and you'll have the exact bass you want in less than a week.
Click to expand...
How interchangeable are these necks, are they always the same depth and width? And it must matter if the torsion bar is adjusted at the head or the body right?
 
#19
Gotta defend Squier here. My Affinity P is great! Of course I replaced the pickup with a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound, all the pots with 250K and a Switchcraft jack (just cause I had the pots and jack around from previous projects) and put on La Bella tapewounds. But even before that, when it was stock with old strings it was still pretty kick butt...
 
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#20
Ellery said:
One can get a genuine American Fender neck? New or do they sell them used only?
Click to expand...

Yep, brand new genuine Fender necks. STRATosphere sells them on eBay for one.

Ellery said:
How interchangeable are these necks, are they always the same depth and width? And it must matter if the torsion bar is adjusted at the head or the body right?
Click to expand...

Yea, truss rod access is your main concern. Maybe some real Fender gurus can advise for sure on whether an AmStd Jazz neck will go into a AmStd Precision body with no trouble. I think it'll probably be fine. I put an AmStd P neck in an AmSpecial P body with no issue, so I suspect their heels are all the same size these days.

EDIT: wanted to add that I don't think there's such a thing as an American Standard maple/block inlay Jazz neck. Not currently anyway. Might have to go outside the AmStd line for that.
 
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