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MGR/Golem « Fender American Precision Deluxe »
Published on 06/07/09 at 15:00Play small ensemble, small venues, prolly not your typical P-Bass player, but it's not my only bass. We play American songbook, blues, yaydayyada ...
This ax had a major clearance price drop, and I never had a real P-bass, so I figgered WTF and played it. Turns out it's one of the very few basses that sounded good to me with it's factory RW strings on it. Usually, I hafta mentally project how a bass will sound with my flatwounds.
It's your basic sunburst finish, with maple FB and uglee PG.
I didn't buy it right away cuz I really didn't need it ... but I did really like it. Then came the "20% Off All New Fenders" sale, and "clearance" is still "new", so at the combined priced drops [20% below clearance price] I finally took it home. So I give thanks for GC's crazy corporate mentality !
The neck is large and comfy, and the edges, including the fret ends, are flawless. Has good balance and not too heavy. Tuners work better than most. Better than on any of my EBMMs or GnLs, or most any other "large peg" tuners I can recall. These are Hipshot UltraLights, a sort of hybrid between small precision tuners and big open gear tuners.
The 3-band EQ is cool. I set the bass and treble for whatever limits are right for the room and the speaker cab, then I use the midrange as my variable from tune to tune, to set the mood, etc. Really easy. No other 3-band I've tried works out that simple for me.
Seems quite immune to electrical noises.
Output jack is on the body instead of on the plastic PG. Much safer that way.
The tone is generic, yet versatile. For me thaz good, cuz I wanna sound good and do my job. I don't need an attention-getting bass tone. I don't need applause ... I need zero complaints from the Diva, and like to make the people dance.
Without the multiple discount programs it would be more than I can afford.
Maybe it could weigh a bit less.
Has a pair of stack knobs. Never liked that idea, on any bass.
Bridge PU is not adjustable, and too loud on the bass side. I will hafta mod that, to lower the bass side. Prolly easy mod, but it should be built to be adjusted.
Construction quality seems similar to a MusicMan, but there's less switchgear, fewer PU coils, simple little bridge, alder instead of ash, etc, compared to MM ... yet Fender costs more ?? But it's really is a cool bass, and some players just gotta have a Fender.
An interesting change from my more usual MusicMan tone, two different but equally usable voices ... yet for features and price, I'll be staying with MM. This one-time impulsive bargain purchase was not a bad move, but I am NOT really converted to Fender. I'm in a sorta "no strings attached" romance with it, for now.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
This ax had a major clearance price drop, and I never had a real P-bass, so I figgered WTF and played it. Turns out it's one of the very few basses that sounded good to me with it's factory RW strings on it. Usually, I hafta mentally project how a bass will sound with my flatwounds.
It's your basic sunburst finish, with maple FB and uglee PG.
I didn't buy it right away cuz I really didn't need it ... but I did really like it. Then came the "20% Off All New Fenders" sale, and "clearance" is still "new", so at the combined priced drops [20% below clearance price] I finally took it home. So I give thanks for GC's crazy corporate mentality !
The neck is large and comfy, and the edges, including the fret ends, are flawless. Has good balance and not too heavy. Tuners work better than most. Better than on any of my EBMMs or GnLs, or most any other "large peg" tuners I can recall. These are Hipshot UltraLights, a sort of hybrid between small precision tuners and big open gear tuners.
The 3-band EQ is cool. I set the bass and treble for whatever limits are right for the room and the speaker cab, then I use the midrange as my variable from tune to tune, to set the mood, etc. Really easy. No other 3-band I've tried works out that simple for me.
Seems quite immune to electrical noises.
Output jack is on the body instead of on the plastic PG. Much safer that way.
The tone is generic, yet versatile. For me thaz good, cuz I wanna sound good and do my job. I don't need an attention-getting bass tone. I don't need applause ... I need zero complaints from the Diva, and like to make the people dance.
Without the multiple discount programs it would be more than I can afford.
Maybe it could weigh a bit less.
Has a pair of stack knobs. Never liked that idea, on any bass.
Bridge PU is not adjustable, and too loud on the bass side. I will hafta mod that, to lower the bass side. Prolly easy mod, but it should be built to be adjusted.
Construction quality seems similar to a MusicMan, but there's less switchgear, fewer PU coils, simple little bridge, alder instead of ash, etc, compared to MM ... yet Fender costs more ?? But it's really is a cool bass, and some players just gotta have a Fender.
An interesting change from my more usual MusicMan tone, two different but equally usable voices ... yet for features and price, I'll be staying with MM. This one-time impulsive bargain purchase was not a bad move, but I am NOT really converted to Fender. I'm in a sorta "no strings attached" romance with it, for now.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com