What if Leo didn't get it exactly right the first time around?

[Just Wrong]

For the past five years, I've been using vintage-inspired Fender Jazzes and Precisions exclusively. I believed in the adage that Leo got it right the first time around with the Jazz and the '57 Precision onwards.

Yesterday, I got a "modern" bass and couldn't believe how wrong Leo had been:

• Truss rod access requires having to remove the neck
• Tuners weight so much, resulting in serious neck dive
• Bridge requires strings go through it, which is mildly inconvenient when changing strings
• Threaded saddles causes smaller gauge strings to move move around
• Single coil hum (Jazz bass)
• 7.25-inch fingerboard radius, requiring more neck relief and so higher action
• Heel design makes it had to access last frets.

Also, when we say, "Leo got it right the first time around," we usually mean the '57 Precision, which isn't exactly the "first time around."

You could Leo created a bass that works in most if not all genres, but isn't that only because it was, for a while, the only bass available on the market, more or less? Would we say the same thing of the Warwick Thumb, for example, had it been the first bass on the market and played on all those classic records?

So, what exactly did Leo get right?

 

[CletusMarley]

Leo hoodwinked us all. That rascal.

 

[Michedelic]

The 34" scale was just right, plus the overall ergonomics and stylishness of the body shape and the intent that it was an electric bass guitar, not some sort of ersatz upright bass, scaled down. The extended upper bout was an innovation, let alone that it was double cutaway.

You can argue about pickups, but as the '51 P was a trickle-down from the Telecaster, and the single coils on that was not a detriment, that's what they went with. The '56 P may have had the humbucking re-think, but on a Jazz you had the option again…plus either/or/both.

The string-through doesn't bother me personally, I actually prefer it. The heel design impeding the higher frets? That's just nitpicking, how often would those be played, realistically? The bolt-on neck concept, which necessitated the heel, was manufacturing brilliance, not only keeping costs down but elevating the utilitarianism of the instrument, especially in the realm of repairs.

 

[superheavyfunk]

There aren't that many ppl out there who actually say that "Leo got it right the first time." That's a talkbass thing.

Me personally, I've never gelled with most fender bases. Their guitars are a different story but the basses don't work for me, so I'd say that Leo didn't get it right at all… but I'd never say that amongst the crowd here cuz I'd likely be excommunicated.

 

[J Wilson]

• Truss rod access requires having to remove the neck
• Tuners weight so much, resulting in serious neck dive
• Bridge requires strings go through it, which is mildly inconvenient when changing strings
• Threaded saddles causes smaller gauge strings to move move around
• Single coil hum (Jazz bass)
• 7.25-inch fingerboard radius, requiring more neck relief and so higher action
• Heel design makes it had to access last frets.

Several things to consider:

It's easy to see these features 75 Years Later as the instrument has matured and moved on in some ways as detractions.

I'd only say, in it's day, the OG Precision was a revelation. Leo Fender didn't invent the electric bass guitar, but he did make it practical and useable. The redesign to the rounder body and the split humbucking pickup has been a world standard ever since. And at the time, the hardware and features were contemporary, if not outright new ideas.

And though I see these same foibles as varying degrees of nuisance, these things still sell like hotcakes 'as is' and command a huge market share, without any of the 'improvements' most of us can spot or imagine. Completely modernize a classic, you can be playing with fire.

I'd also say that the Precision wasn't competition to a bunch of competitive designs already on the market as well. The Precision and later Jazz were adjuncts to his guitar and amp business, an easy new market he could invent . . . and command.

Present day Fender could easily market versions of the Precision and Jazz with everything you list addressed, easy enough to do. The fact that they, and so many of the clone builders of Fender-Shaped-Objects DON'T address all of them tells you everything you need to know about their fan base: When it comes to these things, archaic is comfortable for most guys.

Look here on TB at the large number of Fender NBD postings. It's the same two basses, largely stock, over and over and over and over. But even though they're all alike, each guy thinks his is special.

That's why Fender is reluctant to rock that boat.

So then through Music Man, and later G+L, he made improvements. People still argue about that, too, and point out things he SHOULD have done differently on them. Whaddya gonna do?

 

[MrAB4003]

For the past five years, I've been using vintage-inspired Fender Jazzes and Precisions exclusively. I believed in the adage that Leo got it right the first time around with the Jazz and the '57 Precision onwards.

Yesterday, I got a "modern" bass and couldn't believe how wrong Leo had been:

• Truss rod access requires having to remove the neck
• Tuners weight so much, resulting in serious neck dive
• Bridge requires strings go through it, which is mildly inconvenient when changing strings
• Threaded saddles causes smaller gauge strings to move move around
• Single coil hum (Jazz bass)
• 7.25-inch fingerboard radius, requiring more neck relief and so higher action
• Heel design makes it had to access last frets.

Also, when we say, "Leo got it right the first time around," we usually mean the '57 Precision, which isn't exactly the "first time around."

You could Leo created a bass that works in most if not all genres, but isn't that only because it was, for a while, the only bass available on the market, more or less? Would we say the same thing of the Warwick Thumb, for example, had it been the first bass on the market and played on all those classic records?

So, what exactly did Leo get right?

You might find the answer by switching to a G&L

 

[5StringBlues]

If your head was made of spare ribs, would you eat it?

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

Mmm... Spare ribs...

 

[chris_b]

Leo, and his team, finally got it right. CBS got a lot wrong. They worked it out in the end.

 

[jd56hawk]

For the past five years, I've been using vintage-inspired Fender Jazzes and Precisions exclusively. I believed in the adage that Leo got it right the first time around with the Jazz and the '57 Precision onwards.

Yesterday, I got a "modern" bass and couldn't believe how wrong Leo had been:

• Truss rod access requires having to remove the neck
• Tuners weight so much, resulting in serious neck dive
• Bridge requires strings go through it, which is mildly inconvenient when changing strings
• Threaded saddles causes smaller gauge strings to move move around
• Single coil hum (Jazz bass)
• 7.25-inch fingerboard radius, requiring more neck relief and so higher action
• Heel design makes it had to access last frets.

Also, when we say, "Leo got it right the first time around," we usually mean the '57 Precision, which isn't exactly the "first time around."

You could Leo created a bass that works in most if not all genres, but isn't that only because it was, for a while, the only bass available on the market, more or less? Would we say the same thing of the Warwick Thumb, for example, had it been the first bass on the market and played on all those classic records?

So, what exactly did Leo get right?

I notice you didn't post a pic of your modern bass.

 

[mongo2]

IMO Leo got it right as he could the first time with the slab bodied Precision. I prefer the slab string through body. l prefer a humbucking pickup the they were't a readily available item back in 1951. I also prefer lighter/smoother tuners but the weren't available so the originals were adapted from upright bass tuners.

For quite a while I've been using shortscales so I modded my DIY SCPB to a short scale and used a dual rail humbucking pickup and Gotoh Res-O-Lite tuners.

Following a minor stroke the reault of which requires that I now sit when playing I find an offset waist body such as a Jazz bass style to make playing easier for me so I'm in the process of DIY-ing a bass body inspired by a Danelectro Pro guitar but with an offset waist. If my early '60s Silvertone Model 1444 by Danelectro had an offset waist body I'd be all set.

 

[buldog5151bass]

You can't compare 1957 to 2000. Most decent guitarists can play Johnny B. Goode decently, but Chuck Berry created it.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

If your head was made of spare ribs, would you eat it?

Depends. What's the dry rub recipe? Mesquite or hickory? Sweet sauce or vinegar?

 

[Naigewron]

You could Leo created a bass that works in most if not all genres, but isn't that only because it was, for a while, the only bass available on the market, more or less? Would we say the same thing of the Warwick Thumb, for example, had it been the first bass on the market and played on all those classic records?

Nailed it.

The Precision suits all genres because we're used to hearing it in all genres. It defined what an electric bass sounds like.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

Leo didn't "get it right" the first time. His engineers got off to a GREAT start.
Ever drive a car from 1951? Try and corner in it? You're gonna go sliding g across the bench seat due to the suspension (or lack therein). 1951 tires were baloney skins. 1951 brakes were awful.
I could also metaphor using 1950s Harley Davidsons. Awesome, but primitive.
But the engineering was off to a great start!
I love modern FSOs. I respect antique Fenders. Great start!

 

[Auer]

If your head was made of spare ribs, would you eat it?

What else would I do with it?

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

For me, Rob Allen got it right the 084th time. Thing is perfect.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

For the past five years, I've been using vintage-inspired Fender Jazzes and Precisions exclusively. I believed in the adage that Leo got it right the first time around with the Jazz and the '57 Precision onwards.

Yesterday, I got a "modern" bass and couldn't believe how wrong Leo had been:

• Truss rod access requires having to remove the neck
• Tuners weight so much, resulting in serious neck dive
• Bridge requires strings go through it, which is mildly inconvenient when changing strings
• Threaded saddles causes smaller gauge strings to move move around
• Single coil hum (Jazz bass)
• 7.25-inch fingerboard radius, requiring more neck relief and so higher action
• Heel design makes it had to access last frets.

Also, when we say, "Leo got it right the first time around," we usually mean the '57 Precision, which isn't exactly the "first time around."

You could Leo created a bass that works in most if not all genres, but isn't that only because it was, for a while, the only bass available on the market, more or less? Would we say the same thing of the Warwick Thumb, for example, had it been the first bass on the market and played on all those classic records?

So, what exactly did Leo get right?

I am reminded of an ancient question posed by Microsoft: Why are manhole covers round? Answer: It doesn't matter why. It is a standard. Same for Leo. He may not have gotten there first, but he did set the standard.

 

[Spupilup]

I always thought the Leo got it right argument was more about the Tele which, in it's original form as a Broadcaster, predated the P Bass by at least a year or two.

I know I am an oddball here but it took almost 10 years of playing at home and in bands before I finally bought a bass by Leo and it wasn't a Fender, it was a G&L L1K. Sorry but the P bass never did it for me but when I first laid my hands on an L1K in 1980, I knew I found what I was looking for. From a spec perspective, Leo got it right in the beginning but I think he would have argued that there was always room for improvement.

 

[2saddleslab]

Leo was done in '51!