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Suddenly undecided as to which Precision I should buy

Suddenly undecided as to which Precision I should buy



GET ONE LIKE THIS

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G&L LB100.

I tried out many, many, many P Basses over a two year period in my hunt for a solid, well built, nice playing passive bass. My search ended with the LB100. Do yourself a favour and check one out.

Not only will you get an amazing P Bass... it's as Fender as Fender can be.
 
I bought two new Fender P basses within the last two years, they're both actually P/J basses, one's an American Hotrod P and the other is a Tony Franklin fretless, they are both fantastic basses. The Hotrod bass is by far the best Fender if not the best bass I have ever played period, it sounds killer, big fat and clear with Labella deep talkin flats on it, it sounds like the voice of God through my SVT. I started out on Fenders playing a P bass in 71, played them for 25 years then played other basses for about 20 and am now back with P basses, it was like coming home after a long arduous journey:D. They are both excellent basses, made very well, play very good and sound great, the day of the crooked Fender neck with the G string slipping over the edge of the neck is over. I am completely satisfied with these basses, have no GAS for anything very expensive or boutique except of course for maybe a 50's pre CBS Precision, haha! If fender keeps making them like this they're going to put the boutique bass companies out of business.
 
Hey guys. I am currently in the search for a really good split-coil, 4-string Precision. My first and only choice was the Am. Std. Fender, but I've been checking the Lakland Skyline series (specifically the 44-51) and I've read only good things about them, plus a lot of people say that they are on par with the American Fenders. I like Fender but I'm open to any suggestions. Can you please give me a bit of help? Any suggestion about other brands, where their P-basses stand in terms of tone, build quality, etc.
My money's on the Fender Classic 50's Precision. It's Mexican made, yes, but easily on par with the Am Std, Skyline and G&L offerings!!! It also comes in Nitro!!!

Personally, my next bass will either be a Spector Euro/ReBop, or a Fender Mike Dirnt Road Worn Precision in white wash with maple board!
 
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My money's on the Fender Classic 50's Precision. It's Mexican made, yes, but easily on par with the Am Std, Skyline and G&L offerings!!! It also comes in Nitro!!!

Personally, my next bass will either be a Spector Euro/ReBop, or a Fender Mike Dirnt Road Worn Precision in white wash with maple board!
Again, yes, the 50s MIM Precisions are great, tried them both, classic and road worn, but their necks are too thick for me.
The Dirnt road worn you described looks great, I've seen one up close, but didn't have time to play with it.
 
Again, yes, the 50s MIM Precisions are great, tried them both, classic and road worn, but their necks are too thick for me.
The Dirnt road worn you described looks great, I've seen one up close, but didn't have time to play with it.

The Dirnt I played had a MASSIVE neck, both wide and thick. I've got a Classic 50s and it is wide but thin.

The Dirnt did sound fantastic, for the record!

EDIT it wasn't a road worn, it was the earlier model. Supposedly he likes bat necks though, not sure if there's any variation there.
 
First off I'm a P bass guy at heart and a Fender lover. To me thee bass of all time is a Fender P bass. With that Lakland basses are very impressive and since I got my Skyline 55-01 my P bass stays home.
The main reason is needing the B string but honestly the fit, finish, neck construction (with Plek) makes it an awesome bass for the money. If I were looking new P bass I would defiantly have to look at a Lakland first.
 
Hey guys. I am currently in the search for a really good split-coil, 4-string Precision. My first and only choice was the Am. Std. Fender, but I've been checking the Lakland Skyline series (specifically the 44-51) and I've read only good things about them, plus a lot of people say that they are on par with the American Fenders. I like Fender but I'm open to any suggestions. Can you please give me a bit of help? Any suggestion about other brands, where their P-basses stand in terms of tone, build quality, etc.

All i can tell you is that you can take 100 basses of any brand all from the same factory run, and everyone will offer you something different is some way.
But maybe one will feel right, one of them will resonate something in you that this is the bass for me.
I use a 83JV 57Pbass and when i had to have some long overdue work on it i needed to find a replacement to use.
i played easily over a hundred P basses, i handled and played every P bass in all the shops i went into till i found the one i eventually bought.

i never plugged them in, just handled and played them with no amplification because what i want is feel as the tone will sort its self out as i will always sound like me, and if i find a cheap copy that feels good, but then does not sound good i will change pups and EQ suite to make it sound better.

For me instruments are about feel, if it feels like your bass then it is your bass regardless of the name on the head stock.
 
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Build a mutt. Spec out what you want and buy it piece by piece. In the long run it'll be cheaper, comparable in quality and exactly what you want. If that doesn't sound like a viable option, look for an older Fender P with a B neck.

It is a good variant as a part bass build, but I think there are two downsides such as:
- a built bass may sound poorly because there is no any quality control, just you; and
- resale value might be very low although a quality part bass may cost around $700.
When you buy a brand you are sure that the QC does not pass real garbage.

I would go with used 2011-2016 Am std Fender P. After releasing Am Professional line, you can find it for reasonable price.
 
Hey guys. I am currently in the search for a really good split-coil, 4-string Precision. My first and only choice was the Am. Std. Fender, but I've been checking the Lakland Skyline series (specifically the 44-51) and I've read only good things about them, plus a lot of people say that they are on par with the American Fenders. I like Fender but I'm open to any suggestions. Can you please give me a bit of help? Any suggestion about other brands, where their P-basses stand in terms of tone, build quality, etc.

I was in a similar place about a year ago. I really wanted an American Precision V, but couldn't overlook the Lakland Skyline equivalent with it's industry standard P5 style pickup as opposed to Fender's oddball offset P5 pickup, and the Lakland had a 35" scale. I ended up going with an American Precision V after all because 1) I found a demo version at Sweetwater that saved me a couple hundred off the price, 2) I couldn't find a Lakland like I wanted anywhere around Nashville to try, and 3) I really wanted American Made. Still happy with my Fender, and would say that either way you can't go wrong.
 
I bought an American Select here in TB and it is the nicest Precision I have ever played.
These ones sell for little in the used market (about the same as an american deluxe) and have the added bonus of a quarter sawn neck (more resistant to warp and twist) and compound radius neck which makes playing in the upper register much easier.
Mine is not going anywhere, I will sell my vintage one before I sell this one.
 
If you can afford it, get a real deal 1957 to 1974 Fender Precision Bass.

If not, the AVRI '63 is pretty damn nice!

Used Fender Custom Shop Ps pop up on TalkBass for decent prices. (Really nice basses the CS!)

Sometimes Music123, Musicians Friend, American Music Supply, Sweetwater, Zzsounds, etc have returns and blems for around the $1,600 range.

Fender American Vintage '63 Precision Bass
The American Vintage 63 is simply amazing in every way. You will never need another bass. I got one in December and love it.
 
IME, the Skyline is right there with the American Standard in terms of fit and finish (country of origin does not determine quality), and Lakland's customer service is superb.

I haven't been able to try the Professional series yet, but that P does cost $360 more (though the Skyline doesn't have a case).
It may not -Always- determine quality but it does determine cost to an extent. If Indonesia pays their labor much less, doesn't worry about deforestation, and doesn't have to worry about maintaining environmental quality standards in their emissions - the price should be cheaper than those that do, regardless of final quality.

If you can get the "same quality product" about the same price, one made caring about the impact on the world we all live in and paying their workers a reasonable wage, and one made without those protections in place for much less cost, which would you say is the better value?