Can any knowledgeable/experienced people give me some details on the things that are better about a Fender Player Precision and something like a Squier Classic Vibe or a Vintage V4?
I have a MIM 50s Precision that I love and am totally happy with but I would really like to get a second Precision, possibly even temporarily, so I can have flats on one and rounds on the other and be able to swap between them in real time and get a much better comparison than I can get from swapping the strings on the same bass every now and then.
So, because it's for that specific purchase, I don't want to spend too much money on it but depending on which ways the cheaper ones are inferior to the Player, I don't want a quality difference between the two basses interfering with the comparison.
Comments
I owned a Bravewood '55 Precision that cost me £1000 and I now own a Dean Paramount 4 that cost £550.
Both of them were/are brilliant, but the only difference was the Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickup (in the Bravewood).
I think if I switch the hot, split Dean pickup (which suits hard rock), I'll have the same bass but without the 60 cycle hum.
If you go sub £500, you tend to have to upgrade the machineheads/tuners.
I'm not sure I need that kind of accuracy though, it depends what the differences actually are. Essentially I just want to be able to record bass parts using both for a few months or more to see if I get a better feeling for the differences it makes to different tracks.
I'll need to let your point mull around my head to see if I think I can get a good enough comparison without the basses being identical.
A friend of mine had two MIM Standard Precisions - the first, which thankfully he was able to return, was an utter dog... the second, which is an identical model, is one of the best modern Precisions I've ever played.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
£600 used. Slightly thinner body than a US standard, Mex level bridge and tuners.
Neck is a little slimmer front to back too.
It’s a lovely bass. The Specials are well worth looking for.
https://speakerimpedance.co.uk/?act=two_parallel&page=calculator
Pretty much nails the situation.
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I appear to have four Precision Basses. My favourite - and the most expensive - is the Fender AV63 re-issue. The neck profile is perfectly suited to those classic Jamerson and Dunn bass lines. One's fretting hand kinda dances between the chosen notes. A joy to play.
If I shut my eyes, I can fool myself that my beaten up Squier Silver Series P is almost as good. (A Fender USA pickup upgrade helps with this.) Authentically light but lacking the balls of the American instrument.
My Squier Vintage Modified P is noticeably different. It is heavier. It comes with PJ pickups. The fingerboard is narrower at the nut. 1¾" can be more difficult to span but, IMO, is more fun to play on.
The outlier of my quartet is a Fender 1978/79 factory fretless. Typical CBS era boat anchor. Not the heaviest I have ever shouldered but not far off.
Why would anyone buy them??
It is possible to tell the difference. As mentioned earlier, the fingerboards and string spacings are at different widths. A vintage correct model should have a 7¼" fingerboard radius. The Squier VM/CV is a flatter, modern radius of 9½". You feel this more than see it. Whichever radius your muscle memory is attuned to, the other radius will feel "wrong" for a few minutes.
Would I play paid gigs on a Squier VM/CV bass guitar? Hell, yeah.
For me, the Player is obviously a better instrument. The fit and finish is great, the electronics are better quality, and it sounds great.
I used to own a Vintage (brand) Jazz bass and whilst it was an excellent instrument and punched above its weight, it definitely wasn't as good objectively as my Player P is. And that was a good example.
The question, I guess, is whether the Player is 2 or 3 times as good (it's 2 or 3 times the price).... Possibly not, but there's diminishing returns at all price points these days.
Obviously there are exceptions but comparing a bad Player against a good cheapo is an unfair comparison, as would comparing a bad cheapo against a good Player. Taking like with like, for me the Player series are worth the upgrade.
The reason Fender CS seem so consistently good is, I'm fairly sure, that they do select the necks and bodies carefully - not that they're "hand made" (they're not).
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Before my American Special the nicest P from that brand I had ever played was a Squier.
I'd still have a Sandberg P (the VS4) above a Fender if I was buying new though.. Have to change the god awful Delano pickup though. If I buy a P I want it to sound like a P, not a sodding Dingwall!
https://speakerimpedance.co.uk/?act=two_parallel&page=calculator
https://speakerimpedance.co.uk/?act=two_parallel&page=calculator
Am I right to conclude that if I went for one of the cheaper basses, as long as nothing stands out to me that I dislike, it'll be a good enough representation of "a P bass" for my comparison?
It's the only instrument more simple than a telecaster. There's not a lot to go wrong.
https://speakerimpedance.co.uk/?act=two_parallel&page=calculator
Ditto the BadAss and Gotoh-alike high mass bridges. (Not a patch on the real things.)
Getting back to the original flats versus rounds question, is your playing style predominantly plectrum or fingers and thumb?
TBH, if I had £300 - 600 to throw at this dilemma, I would probably invest in an American pickup, a bone nut and a set of flatwound strings for the P Bass. It is a reference sound for which you will always find uses.
The balance of the budget might be better invested in a "modern", two pickup bass guitar.
I've done recordings with it on days where I've changed the strings where I record with one type of strings then record the same parts with the other type so I can compare them. But I would like to have a second P so I can do it more often without the big hassle of changing strings then re-setting up the bass, adjusting the truss rod etc. I think I'd get a deeper appreciation of the differences and how they fit in to different types of track if I was able to do a lot more recordings over a longer period of time.
What you will also probably find is that one of them suits the flats more than the other, so don't be reluctant to swap them round after the first try.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein