Teach me on the Fender Precision American Standard 2012

[Golgo13]

hello everyone , i'm in search to buy a Fender Precision MIA and i found a Fender Precision american standard 2012 the guy ask 1600$ can ( 1150$ us) i wan to know if it's a good price and should i put more money to get the new Precision American professionel II i've found one at 2000$ can ( 1450$ US) are those price are good

i don't wan to upgrade anything some say the electronic on the American standard 2012 is not top notch so are the 400$+ worth it for the American pro II ?

​

 

[michael_t]

Considering L&M lists the Am Pro II Precision for $2,669.99 CAD, $2,000 CAD for a new one seems like a better buy than $1,600 CAD for a 2012 Am Std.

 

[marc40a]

I prefer the neck on the American Standard to the Pro II.
It's a bit less beefy in the 8-12th fret area.
I'd say as long as it has lightweight tuners go for it. The early Am Stds had atrociously heavy tuners. I think they had that all straightened out after 2008 or so.

 

[DWA2469]

I am a fan of the pro II myself

 

[brianrost]

There's not a huge difference between the two. The AmPro II has different pickups, I'll let others discuss which pickups are better. By 2012, the AmStd was updated to the high mass bridge with top or through body loading and lightweight tuners that are on the AmPro and AmPro II. Just looking at the two basses they might seem identical.

 

[marc40a]

5 bolt vs 4 bolt neck is another small consideration.

 

[_Obra_]

I played them both. I prefer 2012 to AM Pro. There are two reasons. In Standard 2012 You have CS62 pickup that is one of the best sounding pickups in a P bass I have ever tried, and the second reason is a little bit slimmer neck.
It would be enough to me to choose 2012 even if the price is the same.

Tuners, bridge and 4/5 bolt neck plate doesn't play a significant role for me....Color, on the other hand, very much.

 

[Lowbrow]

I played them both. I prefer 2012 to AM Pro. There are two reasons. In Standard 2012 You have CS62 pickup that is one of the best sounding pickups in a P bass I have ever tried, and the second reason is a little bit slimmer neck.
It would be enough to me to choose 2012 even if the price is the same.

Tuners, bridge and 4/5 bolt neck plate doesn't play a significant role for me....Color, on the other hand, very much.

+1

 

[bass player 53]

I don't have this exact bass, but I have the 2013 American Standard, USA Jazz bass. It has superb craftsmanship and came standard with the CS '60's pickups, which I think are excellent. The neck has a rolled feel to it, and the weight is reasonable. I bought it new from Sweetwater for ~$1100 in 2013.

 

[Pet Sounds]

I'm a big fan of the 2012-16 American Standards, *and* the Pro II, whereas I don't care for the earlier American Series and the Pro I. I suspect you'd be happy with either. The AmStd is slightly more traditional, with the CS pickups and squared off neck attachment.

 

[MIJ Fender Guy]

It's a pretty good deal for a pretty cool bass that is available by the dozens any day of the year

 

[Geddaric]

If it doesn`t have to be active, I`ve got an American Performer that I love. Great neck IMO.

 

[Frankie Fender]

In Standard 2012 You have CS62 pickup that is one of the best sounding pickups in a P bass I have ever tried

I liked that CS62 pup so much I have it in four of my P Basses. Nothing like it IMO.

 

[LowTorque]

I played them both. I prefer 2012 to AM Pro. There are two reasons. In Standard 2012 You have CS62 pickup that is one of the best sounding pickups in a P bass I have ever tried, and the second reason is a little bit slimmer neck.
It would be enough to me to choose 2012 even if the price is the same.

Tuners, bridge and 4/5 bolt neck plate doesn't play a significant role for me....Color, on the other hand, very much.

I would agree with this.

That being said in the US, you can get them often for about $100 less.

 

[pbass2]

I used an Am Standard P of that era for years--no upgrades needed. Sounded like a P, recorded great. Saying the electronics are not "top notch" is totally subjective. You can "upgrade" the pu's if you want for a different tonal quality, but stock it's a perfectly solid P, doesn't need anything.

 

[tonymcbony]

2008 onwards American Standards are great – had a P and J. 2012 got the better pickup stock.
My Pro II P is absolutely outstanding (I did swap the pickup out for a Fralin that I had about but didn't really need to)

You can't really lose there but I feel the $400 gap isn't enough to not buy new

 

[Solipsistik]

I'm another that prefers the neck of the 2012 to the new Player II. In fact, I posted about these just yesterday in the Fender thread, because I played it along with an America Classic, which I liked the neck of better (it's not maple, which I seldom like in a guitar). Both beat the hell out of the weird heavily-varnished maple Charvel neck I also tried yesterday, which I'd assume people with large hands might appreciate more than me.

 

[MtManiac]

Owning both, I'll say you can't go wrong with either, but also as a Canadian I'd say the prices seem high.

The 2012 sold for CAD$1500 brand new in 2012. So maybe do some cost of living math on that one. My 2014 I bought for $1000 in I think 2019, mint but used.

My Pro II I bought a few years ago used, it is a 2021, I think I paid $1800 for it in 2022-23, mint condition also. List price has gone up since then of course, so again, cost of living math required.

Pricing and condition aside, between the two I prefer the Pro II, with the stock pickups, but my caveat is that I *love* my American Standard.

I find the CS62 pickups to be a bit overrated here on TB, and the VMod II to be underrated. Strings make all the difference for both pickups, you may find you'll need to experiment with string choices to get what you want. The CS62s are not bad, I'd say they're a full range set of pickups, with some slight strength in the low mids. Not particularly vintagey IMHO, but better than what was in the 2011. Just ok.

The neck on the Pro II is what shines though. Different still from the earlier Professional, the Professional II has a more curved fretboard edge and really nice satin finish on the back of the neck. All three necks are great though.

 

[MtManiac]

For that matter A where are the pics??

 

[pbass2]

The only thing I didn't love about my Am Standard from that era was something particular to mine, but worth looking out for on a used one I suppose, I dunno how common it was: on mine the neck pocket/fit was not great. There was a notable gap there. Did it affect anything? Nothing other than it bugged me, but still.....