« -Fender '57 Reissue Precision »
Friday, March 11, 2011 at 2:58PM The workhorse!
This is what I end up recording with probably 85% of the time.
When I first got my Fender deal (1999 I believe), the first thing I asked for was a P-bass. Every serious bass player needs a Fender Precision, so this was a no-brainer! Somehow I'd already been playing for about 7 years without one.
Maybe a week after I picked up the bass from Fender, it went straight into the studio to record "There She Goes" with Sixpence. The bass sounded great straight out of the box!
There's just something undeniably "right" about the way a P-bass sits in most music. They aren't the most sophisticated or 'flashy' instrument, but they work! I would guess that more than half of all popular commercial music has been tracked with a Fender Precision. Despite having just one pickup and the simplest tone control, you really can easily coax virtually any texture you need.
This '57 P Reissue has a particularly aggressive voice. It really wants to rock! Playing with a pick feels perfect with it's wide-C, 50's shaped neck. Even when toned down and muted it still speaks with authority. At the same time, it works great on sensitive songs. I really enjoy playing the '57 on ballads, it creates a wonderful tension - almost like riding an edge where the instrument wants to take off on you, but you have to focus to keep it reined in!
If I had to choose 1 bass and only 1 bass to have, it would definitely be this one! A Precision can really do just about anything & I'm fortunate to have acquired a really good one.
Tech Talk:
Stock American Vintage Reissue '57 Precision. check it out at Fender.com
Strung up with D'Addario XL170 Nickel Roundwounds. at D'Addario
I briefly installed a Lindy Fralin pickup, but quickly switched back to the stock Fender pickup. The Fralin sounded good, but too "polite". The bass lost a little of its' aggressive midrange. Other than a set of Schaller strap locks, it's just like the day I picked it up factory-fresh.
