cdwillis
Well-known member
Ok, I actually got this Thursday and I'm just getting around to posting it. It's a 2013 Fender Precision Bass Special:
I'm an off and on bass player at home. A couple years ago I sold my Squier Jazz bass because I wanted a precision bass. Got a pretty cool standard precision bass with a maple fretboard. Threw some Labella flatwounds on it, but I never really fell in love with it.
Obligatory pic of the white precision:
It needs a little TLC on the fret ends. They're not super sharp, just a little rough. I'm waiting on a Stewmac fret end file. Dunno if I'm going to sell it or keep it around for a while. When I got it the original bridge was pretty messed up. It was like someone spilled something really nasty on it and it got into all the screws. Rather than clean it up I put the Fender high mass bridge on. The bridge sits up considerably higher so I don't think the action can get as low as the stock bridge without shimming the neck or filing the saddles down. Shimming the neck might be something I try later to see if I can dial it in a little better.
Back to the Special/Deluxe. I really wanted a Jazz style neck with block inlays and binding. That was the idea of looking for a Jazz, like a 70s or Geddy Lee. I heard a lot of people complaining about the skinny necks on the Geddys and how temperamental they were with temps and humidity changes. That got me thinking about finding a PJ instead and I came across a couple that were a seafoam pearl color. Normally I would dig that color, but with the block inlays and binding I thought it looked weird. Thankfully I came across this one on the Guitar Center site during their Memorial Day sale. Looked up the serial number and it was actually a GC exclusive one year. Someone changed out the stock pickups for the Quarter Pounders. I wasn't sure about the QPs so I have a Dimarzio model P and model J set on the way to try out.
I really like the neck on this bass.The binding makes the neck feel so smooth. It looks like the factory cut the fret ends and didn't do much filing to them, but they're not sharp. The 38mm nut width is a lot more comfortable for me and my little sausage fingers. Tonight I changed the roundwound strings out and put on some of the Fender 9050L flatwounds. They seem a little brighter than the Labellas on the other bass, but still have that warm tone without the squeak.
Earlier when I changed the strings, I also cleaned the frets a bit with 0000 steel wool, and I changed the tone pot out for a Fender TBX tone control. The TBX control was always something I wondered about because the Duff McKagan basses had them. It's a cool mod that I'm liking so far. Changed the stock 22nf tone cap to a 47nf. It's a little too dark all the way down, but I plan on putting 500k pots in with the Dimarzios so I'm going to keep the 47nf cap for now.
I'm an off and on bass player at home. A couple years ago I sold my Squier Jazz bass because I wanted a precision bass. Got a pretty cool standard precision bass with a maple fretboard. Threw some Labella flatwounds on it, but I never really fell in love with it.
Obligatory pic of the white precision:
It needs a little TLC on the fret ends. They're not super sharp, just a little rough. I'm waiting on a Stewmac fret end file. Dunno if I'm going to sell it or keep it around for a while. When I got it the original bridge was pretty messed up. It was like someone spilled something really nasty on it and it got into all the screws. Rather than clean it up I put the Fender high mass bridge on. The bridge sits up considerably higher so I don't think the action can get as low as the stock bridge without shimming the neck or filing the saddles down. Shimming the neck might be something I try later to see if I can dial it in a little better.
Back to the Special/Deluxe. I really wanted a Jazz style neck with block inlays and binding. That was the idea of looking for a Jazz, like a 70s or Geddy Lee. I heard a lot of people complaining about the skinny necks on the Geddys and how temperamental they were with temps and humidity changes. That got me thinking about finding a PJ instead and I came across a couple that were a seafoam pearl color. Normally I would dig that color, but with the block inlays and binding I thought it looked weird. Thankfully I came across this one on the Guitar Center site during their Memorial Day sale. Looked up the serial number and it was actually a GC exclusive one year. Someone changed out the stock pickups for the Quarter Pounders. I wasn't sure about the QPs so I have a Dimarzio model P and model J set on the way to try out.
I really like the neck on this bass.The binding makes the neck feel so smooth. It looks like the factory cut the fret ends and didn't do much filing to them, but they're not sharp. The 38mm nut width is a lot more comfortable for me and my little sausage fingers. Tonight I changed the roundwound strings out and put on some of the Fender 9050L flatwounds. They seem a little brighter than the Labellas on the other bass, but still have that warm tone without the squeak.
Earlier when I changed the strings, I also cleaned the frets a bit with 0000 steel wool, and I changed the tone pot out for a Fender TBX tone control. The TBX control was always something I wondered about because the Duff McKagan basses had them. It's a cool mod that I'm liking so far. Changed the stock 22nf tone cap to a 47nf. It's a little too dark all the way down, but I plan on putting 500k pots in with the Dimarzios so I'm going to keep the 47nf cap for now.
