5 Precision Basses, 5 Prices: What's the Difference? | Reverb

The Fender Precision (P) Bass comes in many forms, and bassists of all skill sets may wonder how much they should spend on the model. Luckily, Jake's here to run through the benefits of these ubiquitous instruments at five different price points so you can decide which one makes the most sense for you.
Amp: Ampeg B15N Portaflex
0:00 - Intro
0:42 - Squier VM
03:10 - MIM
04:52 - American Performer
07:21 - Custom Shop
09:05 - Vintage

[ibalrog]

After listening to this very carefully, I can confirm that these are, in fact, all basses.

[happyhonker]

Whats the difference between a $300 P-bass and a $5k P-bass?

$4700

[zeboogieburitto]

I like the 5 price point idea hope it’s a series

[Staniel]

Lads, as someone who's played bass for most of their life, you stop paying for sound quality at around £600-£800, even basses as low as £500 can sound as good as the top tier ones. With Fender P-Basses, and any basses or guitars for that matter, what you're paying all that extra cash for is playability, aesthetics, durability and/or, of course, when/where it's made. (Which, granted, can add more money than is usually worth, but it is nice to know that your guitar was made in a country that actually guarantees workers a fair wage)

That Squier P-Bass might sound pretty great, but can you confidently say it looks just as pretty as that American Performer? I guarantee you it doesn't play as well either. My first bass was a squier mustang, and playing it back to back with my Performer P-Bass is like night and day. The neck is smoother, the frets are much more neatly fitted and don't buzz anywhere near as much. It's lighter and feels incredibly solid, whereas I have to be very careful with my Squier, as there are still things that become loose that shouldn't. Restringing that thing was a nightmare. The Fender is also balanced so much better than the Squier, despite being a short-scale that Squier has a fair bit of neck-dive.

When it comes to when it's made, that's for collectors. They like to own a piece of history, and a huge portion of these people will pay a large amount of money to do so. These basses are rare, finite, and will never be made or weathered the same way again by a bass made in 2020. Keep in mind, as well, most of these basses aren't sold by Fender themselves, they're sold by other collectors and shops second-hand, so you can't even blame Fender for this one.

Are any of these dealbreakers for the Squier? No, of course not, especially not to a beginner, and not to the many professionals I know who use them both outside and inside the studio (I have a mate who swears by his Squier Jazz Bass - he says there's something he feels with it that just makes him play better than more expensive models). Those basses are still, for the most part, well-made, nice-looking and comfortable instruments. It's still a Squier, after all, and they've been doing this for a long long time. But if you have the money to spend on a mexican or american fender, you will be paying for a much sturdier, nicer feeling and ever so slightly nicer sounding instrument.

(Of course, some of this can be subjective as well. The best thing to do is to play each instrument available to you within your budget, and make a decision based on individual preference. What looks best to you, feels best to you and sounds best to you should all come first, within your budget.)

TL;DR No, these basses aren't all the same, they'll all *feel* and play differently to one another, regardless of how similar they sound.

[aaroncollins]

really appreciate you playing the same riffs throughout. Makes it a lot easier to differentiate between tones

[Manito]

Everyone: they all sound the same

Me: ooh maple neck looks nice

[MarkJC]

Depends on:
1- the player
2- practice time
3- the comfort of the neck/overall bass for the player, weight of the bass, balance, width at nut, stays in tune
4- did you find a good bass in the series? easier to find a prize paying more $$$, but they exist at lower levels too. Plenty of expensive dogs out there too.
5- sounds great at home, what happens when the whole band fires up? does it get lost? many times it does
6- preamp/amp
7- venue/PA system

less important:
1- what you paid
2- brand name
3- color/finish

Vintage is a personal preference. Relic or no is a personal preference. Used or new is a personal preference. Fretboard is a personal preference.
I went through 5 used MIM Fender basses and finally found one I love, but it took a while of playing them to figure it out. I bought a used American P that I also love, but is a very different animal. Trial and error, time spent using the bass, and remember that your tastes will typically evolve.
Watched some guys tearing it up in a bar in Austin a few years back and went up to give them the thumbs up between sets... and 2 guys were playing Squiers! They were unbelievable! An eye-opener for me.

Just my opinion!

[dclipper]

Alternate title: The cheapest P-bass you can get sounds exactly like a '58 Precision.

[ikhsanafisyahdaud]

Tone Comparison:
1:43 Squier Vintage Modified P-Bass
3:53 Fender Mexican P-Bass
5:54 Fender American Performer P-Bass
8:07 Fender Custom Shop P-Bass
10:00 Fender '50-'70 Vintage P-Bass

[gurigran]

I've been playing Fender P basses for almost five decades. I've had and tried them all. In my lonely opinion 1974 to 1978 P basses were perfect, probably because I was so used to them. Earlier models where too heavy or too C shaped neck for my taste. Besides, 90's Japanese models are very good also. Not too good experiences with the mexicans, except the Anniversary series with ash body. The around 2010 Am. Std. P Bass with graphite reinforcemente neck is interesting, more like a piano sound, a different instrument. And finally I agree with another comment here by Iptomtom: The Squier Classic Vibe P Bass is one of the best instruments Fender made lately. Excuse my english, I'm from Argentina, in the deep south.

[smythe]

Best value for quality: Japanese Fenders. When the first batch of Japanese Fender copies came over, the luthiers at Fender were literally shocked at how well the were made, and how true to vintage spec they were. That's why they cut a deal to put the Fender name on em. I have a Japanese PB70 Fender p-bass. It plays and sounds great, and the craftsmanship is superb. They're going up in value, because words been out for years now, but you can still score them for around the cost of a new Mexican one, just have to keep your eyes open.

[marv]

Buy a cheap bass and spend the extra cash on a good amp and teacher to sound good

[dimitryos]

SOUND SAMPLES

Tone on

Squire: 1:43
Mexican 3:53
American Pro 5:53
Relic 8:06
'58 9:59

Tone off

Squire 2:23
Mexican 4:28
American Pro 6:31
Relic 8:40
'58 10:36

Jazz pickup

Squire 2:53
American Pro 6:57

[liamtahaney]

gotta be honest i don't see a damn thing wrong with the squier. put whatever pickups you want in it, and you never have to worry about anything except your ego!!!

[jacktowers]

Loving that lick you were playing when you “rolled the tone off”

[hugooliveira]

I bought a PBass Player Series (maple fingerboard). I'm very happy, Great bass.

[mypal]

Let's see the telecaster version of this. My first electric guitar is a squier telecaster and it's still kicking.

[kingstumble]

I played a 62 P Bass for nigh on 40 years which was my dream bass. I defretted it myself, didn't bother filling the fret slots and played it as a fretless for a while before having it refretted---I just didn't know any better!

[miahorg]

I bought my MIM P 26 years ago for what the Squier stuff costs today. The best thing I did for it was replace the bridge followed by replacing the pickups a couple of times because... reasons. Thousands of hours on this instrument and it plays as well today as it did when I slapped cash down on the counter of the local music store. The player series today is a great value just like mine was then. Everybody else says "get a good amp" and they aren't wrong - 200w min with a headphone jack so you can practice at night.

[oldgreentop]

I can't thank you enough for ***not slapping and popping*** during your demonstration. You allow us to hear the clear, legato bass tone. I love my several Precision basses. Mine are representitive of different levels of quality. They all do exactly what I ask them to do. P-bass, simple, reliable and always satisfying. Parts are everywhere. Everyone everywhere recognizes them. Easy to resell if you need to.