Fender Player Precision Bass Review

This is The One

It was a magic time. Just before the Bicentennial when KISS released Destroyer. I found the album by accident at Sears. Browsing through the vinyl selection that all department stores used to have. I saw the album art. It looked like the comics I liked to read. At first, I thought there were two women in the band. Then I looked more carefully and decided there was only one. I couldn't… read more stop thinking about that piece of art. I convinced my mother to buy me the album. By the time we got back to Sears, Destroyer was sold. So, I settled for The Originals. Also, with a provocative album(s) cover. The music was not disappointing. Very soon after discovering KISS I wanted to be Gene Simmons. Or a reasonable facsimile. There was a bass guitar in a pawn shop window. $50. I asked my mother to buy it for me. Look at me, right? He wants everything! But my mother said no. Soon after she bought me a trumpet. I guess she figured that I couldn't become Gene Simmons playing a trumpet. Years later, after hearing Randy Rhoads, I got my first electric guitar. Somewhere in the back of my mind still lurked the aspiring Gene Simmons facsimile. It lay dormant for many years. I don't want to say how many. You can do math. A long time. I recently wrote a song that I really like called "In the Sky." I thought it came out great. A very talented drummer friend of mine added his track. Then I asked the bassist with whom I usually work to add a bass line. After about three months there was still no bass. Then I saw the special offer on this guitar. I decided it was time to fulfill my destiny. I cried when I finally held it in my arms after carefully unwrapping the meticulous Sweetwater packing. It was perfect. Louis Sawyer helped me immensely by suggesting that I take advantage of Sweetwater's setup service. I had the bass intonated at B flat. I play with my guitar tuned to B flat. Just like a trumpet as some of you might have realized and as a result are now chuckling to yourselves. I plugged it into my Kemper right away and was able to play some simple ideas. Simple but the instrument made them sound fantastic. I thought, "Why not try to record that bass line now?" I did. It came out wonderfully. The tone is incredible. I get a very Geezer-like sound, which was exactly what I described to Louis. I could not be more satisfied with this instrument. It is beautiful. It is easy to play. The balance is incredible. I chose the lightest one for comfortable playing and was afraid it might affect the tone. Louis assured me all was well. Louis is right about a lot of things. I highly recommend this instrument. Get it setup by Sweetwater too. You won't be sorry.

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Great bass for the money!

I really like this bass. Fit, finish, and quality control at this price point is superb. No noticeable flaws on my personal example. The neck is very well finished in a nice satin, and the profile is a nice kind of D (not too thick, not too flat). The frets are all level with no sharp ends. The truss rod works well in both directions. The tuners work wonderfully and are very stable.… read more The bridge, while a little lightweight, works well. You can easily adjust for string height and intonation. My only complaint is with the pickup. While it works perfectly fine and objectively sounds alright, I find it lacking tone wise for my personal tastes. It's fairly low output, and lacks punch in the lows and low mids. Increasing said frequencies at the amp caused the pickup to flub out fairly quickly. I'm much happier with the aftermarket pickup I replaced it with (Seymour Duncan Hot P). All in all, however, the Fender Player series P bass is a great instrument at a great price!

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Love this bass

This is the second bass I've bought from Sweetwater and if you're concerned about receiving a guitar through the mail, I can report that both of them arrived in perfect condition, ready to play and needing only a few tweaks based on my personal preferences. This PBass did not disappoint and has the classic old school sound that I've always loved. Looks good, feels good, and is just… read more really fun to play. Glad I finally bought this classic and just wish I'd done it sooner.

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Perfect Instrument, Perfect Transaction

A recreational guitar player, I decided that I wanted to learn to play bass guitar. Erik was extraordinarily helpful, answering my questions and offering suggestions and instrument options. I decided on the Fender Precision Bass and couldn't be happier with it. Thanks again, Erik!

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Love it

I get so many compliments on the color and it sounds fantastic. Love the way it feels

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Best Value in Bass-dom

Fender continues to knock it out of the park with the Player Series. I bought a Player Jazz a few years ago and decided to add a P so I won't have to take my vintage '69 out of the house as much. I won't be so irrationally exuberant as to suggest this Player P matches the '69, but the race is closer than I would have imagined. Just a sweet, well, player. And sure is pretty. The… read more bass arrived with wonderfully low action and was perfectly intimated up and down the neck. I replaced the stock Fender stock strings with LaBella flats (which were in effect free as part of the $85 Sweetwater Bucks promotion) and got down to business playing along with some favorite tracks. What tone. I can't wait to gig with this bass for the first time in a few weeks. As always, the Sweetwater experience was exemplary. I have no words left for this company. They are the best customer service retailer in the world, in any segment. Thanks, as always, to Dan Robinson and all the others who delivered a fantastic instrument, set up flawlessly, in just two freaking days.

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Great sound, great value!

I didn't want to break the bank, but wanted a quality instrument with great sound. This bass nailed it! Neck has thinner profile which plays very smooth and that Fender "growl" sounds so sweet.

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Nice P Bass

I've had this bass a little over a year now, and have played it daily. Out of the box it played great, just needed the action lowered a little bit. The stock pups sound good, but I'm going to swap them out with something a little warmer in the near future. It's just a personal preference, the stock ones are fine though and it performs well on stage and for recording. So far I've… read more only swapped out the white pickguard for a tortoise one. I've compared this to a couple MIA P basses, and there are noticeable differences between the two, but not huge in my opinion. This is a fine bass for the price, the only negative with mine was that a handful of fret ends on the treble side required some additional filing. Other than that, everything else was fine. I'm quite satisfied with mine and feel like it's a good reliable work horse in my stable. These are so easy to personalize and mod while not breaking the bank, creating your own hot rod P bass if you want.

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Positively Player Precision!!

For the longest time I just wasn't a P-bass fan, but then I really started honing in on some famous P-bass players and learned to appreciate their sound and playing (praise & worship music also has a lot of P-bass on those recordings). So, I had to add one to my arsenal. After reading lots of reviews online and watching several videos, I knew the Player Precision was what the doctor… read more ordered. So far, the experience has been great! The bass is definitely made very well build and finish-wise. My bass arrived set up very nicely with very playable action, nice fretwork, and very little to no fret buzz (raised the saddles a tad and the little bit of buzz was gone, still plays perfect) - that was my biggest worry about buying this instrument and I'm more than happy. The pickup, too, is really cool; very balanced sound tonally and output-wise (not too loud, but not too soft, if you want to turn up your amp's gain or volume controls). The sound is just pure P-bass heaven; it's the one tone we all know and love that works so well on everything. The volume and tone controls are also top notch, with every smoothly tapering off or turning up (no sudden cuts as you turn the knobs). The tone control is also perfect, and with it I am able to make it as bright or as boomy as I need, with every tone in between. The stock hardware works well, too, in my opinion. Still, some may like to upgrade all those parts, but, for me, it works and sounds great. The bass has plenty of sustain, and no crazy dead spots in weird places (the 7th fret on the G-string still dies off quickly, but still has the same volume and punch as the other notes). All in all, I've finally got a really cool Fender Precision in my arsenal. Looking forward to recording and playing this ole girl!!

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Worth evey penny!

Bottom line is this is a great Fender P-bass for gigging as well as recording. Doesn't cost thousands of dollars and you don't have to worry too much about damage. Sounds like a Fender P, plays like a Fender P and reliable like a Fender P. I've had mine for 2 years and playing it on a daily basis. Great bass.

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Fender Player P Bass

This is an excellent bass guitar, especially for the price. It has a lot of tone variation, no need for active pickups on this one; nice & simple.

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Outstanding Bass

This Fender Bass is really good. The fit and finish on my particular bass was pristine. Neck pocket was neat and fit perfectly. Color is exceptional (all be it a personal preference). The neck is beautiful and very playable. Bridge and tuners are very good and I don't see a need to change them. The pickup is excellent. Again, if your picky about that sort of thing...I guess you… read more could change it out. I wont be touching it. I play bass for an outreach band and at church on our worship team. FOH guys said the bass lays perfectly in the mix. We use a large array JBL speaker system and the house rocks with the bass in there. Great tone. I have read alot of mixed reviews about the current batch of Fender basses, but my experience with this one has been tremendous. I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Really excellent. And what can I say about Steve Dibblee? He is such a helpful and knowledgeable sales rep. Sweetwater has been my go to music supplier for 99% of my instrumental needs over the past 12 years. I cant recommend them highly enough. They have earned my trust and loyalty.

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Great P-Bass Great Service!

Here's a little story about my road to this bass: My parents bought me my 1st electric guitar when I was 14. Shortly after that I had teen buyer remorse because I realized I really wanted a bass! I was a huge fan of Sting from the Police and other bassists from New Wave bands. Since my parents were working folks there was no way I could say "Hey I really want a bass instead..."… read more So I half hearty learned and became a rhythm guitarist and singer in a HS band all the time coveting our bassist's black Fender P-bass. Time marched on college, life, work, etc and my guitar and the band faded into memory. Then this year I retired. My son started guitar lessons and I thought maybe I'll play with him. Then the lightbulb went off and I revisited the lost dream of playing bass. I researched and came back to the bass I coveted as a teen the Fender P-bass. I originally wanted black until I saw the pics of the MIM sunburst model with maple neck and pulled the trigger. I was so glad I did! The service and advice from SW and Christian were top notch. The bass is absolutely stunning. Fit and finish were perfect. The satin neck is smooth and easy to play. No sharp edges on the frets. Tuners do a great job of holding tune. The split coil pickup delivers, well, that classic P-bass sound with great sustain. The bridge seems solid to me. I heard my son humming the bass line to "Come Together" so it was the 2nd song I taught myself. Practice and learning are going steady for both of us and we have fun jamming together. The road here was long but worth it. One last shout out to SW and their CS The bass came practically set up after their 55 point inspection and the box was over packed and double boxed with care to ensure safe deliver. Buy from SW with confidence. Cheers!

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Why buy the expensive ones? In terms of SOUND, there is no reason.

It's price is AMAZING and it SOUNDS and FEELS great! The PICKUP has a very goot output, and it's tone is not modern bright, being a little bit sweet or soft sounding around the high end frequencies. It makes the bass sound really vintage even with relatively fresh strings. I simply LOVE this sound.The nut is a bit smaller than in other (older) precision basses, making this bass… read more perfect for people who want a P sound and something closer to a J neck comfort.The FINISH is GREAT. Bridge is pretty basic, but whatever! It does what it's supposed to do. Tuners are basic as well. But they TUNE and STAY TUNED. The finish of the neck and frets are absolutely great, making the bass a fast instrument and really easy to play.And... P bass is P bass. If you are a PRO or a beginner. Go for it and be happy.PS.:When I received it I was really surprised. It is GORGEOUS!

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My New Favorite Bass!!!!

I got the bass with a perfect setup! I had to put some lemon oil on the fretboard because it was a tad dry. I also switched out the stock, white pickguard for a beautiful tortoise pickguard (Which I got from Sweetwater!). I put some D'Addario Chrome Flatwounds and it feels great! Fender really hit it out of the ballpark with this bass. It looks and feels like a vintage instrument!… read more Might be getting the jazz bass from the series as well...

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Beautiful instrument

It's a Fender. Plays, sounds, & looks like you expect from a P bass. Set up nicely by the Sweetwater techs. I've checked out other brands in this price point. They just don't match up.

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Looks even better in person

The pictures of this bass are nice but I was even more impressed when I received it. Looks great and plays great. Can't go wrong with this bass. Someday I'll purchase an American P Bass but I'm very happy with my choice.

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Aw, heck Yeah!

Ever since a bud turned me on to Sweetwater, I go window shopping nearly every day, see what's around. I have an Ibanez Black Eagle bass, and was curious about some tech improvements. Christian Baer, my sales engineer, was with me 100%. He gave me great suggestions; I was receptive. But in the end, I decided not to commit. Because I wanted another bass in my arsenal. I had my eye… read more on the Fender P-Bass because I had learned and played on many basses, BUT not the P-Bass. I needed it. So, I went in. Christian was there with me and was utterly fantastic. Shipping was quick and easy. When I received it, it came out of the box perfectly (a major thanks to Conner and Austin for the 55-Point inspections, and the folks in Mexico for assembling a lovely instrument!) I plugged in and the P-bass was fire! It has such a warm tone, great sustain. It plays better than most basses I've used before. I cannot thank Christian and the other folk whose hard made this possible enough! You are all the best!

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A great P-Bass for players who don't typically play P-Bass

With the quarantine, I like many others I presume, have decided to into music (or in my case back into it). Typically, I've played Ibanez basses which work great for what I like; jazz, fusion, funk, metal. But you GOT to have a P-Bass in your stable I feel, it's just the philips head screwdriver of bass guitars. So I got one. Now, if P-Basses are what you always play and love… read more you might want to look at other models. But for someone who typically uses other types of basses as your main and you wanted to have a P-bass in your stable for whenever it's needed this is an excellent professional choice. It does what you want a P-Bass to do; give you that grunty lower midrange tone at an affordable price. The neck is fairly comfortable. My main basses are Ibanez and have been all my life so the neck is definitely heftier than what I'm typically used to. But I've tried a number of friend's P-Basses and P-Basses in stores and some of those feel like trying to play a baseball bat (Bassball bat??) and it's nowhere near that hefty. The tone is excellent and what you want from a P-Bass; A lower mid thump that just fills the air and your ears. I kind of wonders "Oh a MIM P-Bass, stock pickups, will I need to replace them for something that sounds better or more vintage?" and no. They're excellent stock. The finish looks quite nice. Brown Sunburst+Maple Fretboard is the best looking combo for precision basses. In terms of faults I'm not a fan of the bridge. The bridge saddles don't have any grooves keeping them in place. A lot of bass bridges are designed with grooves to keep the saddle in it's intended location. In the case of this P-Bass,The bottom screws make contact with the bass of the bridge which is just a completely flat plane. Over time they can and they do drift, especially if you play downed tuned stuff that puts less tension on the strings as tension is the only thing keeping them in place, or if you play with a hard touch. Out of all the guitars and basses I've ever owned and played, this has absolutely the sharpest fret edges I've ever seen. I tend to pinch the neck with my fretting hand, and I only occasionally ever come into contact with the actual sides of the neck. But when I do it's quite noticeable how rough and sharp the fret edges are when you slide your hand up and down the neck. Sliding my hand up and down the neck of the bass and all my other basses and guitars, it stands out every fret edge feels really sharp and rough while other basses and guitars feel extremely smooth or there is only a few that feel a little sharp. If that sort of thing bothers you, or if you're the type that grips the fretboard thumbs over, you might want to look elsewhere. The actual fretwork outside of that is good. No notes fretting out. I have not encountered any dead spots on my P-Bass. But at the end of the day, I wanted a P-Bass on the side and it gets the job done. I'm happy having it in my stable. So in summary, if you want a P-Bass this does the trick, especially if it's as a side-bass especially as the neck profile is noticeably slimmer to other P-Basses. But if this is going to be your main instrument, think about maybe changing the bridge and potentially looking at other P-Bass models that might not have the extremely sharp frets that mine has if that is a significant concern of yours.

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Career

I made $1000s since 1974 with this bass and a '74 bassman 50, a root of a few relationships. The gear was the best and longer lasting.

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Fender P Bass

First things first I must point out that I'm a guitar player and that I just needed a new bass for some home recordings. My previous bass was a cheaper Ibanez soundgear. I was somewhat unsure about the Pau ferro fretboard but it plays and sounds wonderful. Aesthetically, I still prefer the look of rosewood but I'm a guitar player and while I only buy American made guitars its… read more harder for me to justify the price of an American bass. This MIM player series bass plays and sounds Wonderful. Exactly what I was looking for in a P Bass for my recordings. Also, it was somewhat concerning to buy and have a bass shipped to me without a case but the guys at Sweetwater are excellent at packing and shipping guitars. It was shipped safely inside 2 boxes with plenty of packing. Exactly how they shipped my last 2 guitars (Fender American Strat and Gibson Les Paul standard) minus the case of course. If you looking at this don't hesitate any longer. This IS the bass your looking for at a much more friendly price.

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Fender Players Precision Bass

Never owned a bass guitar. Was searching Sweetwater for a couple weeks and decided you can't go wrong with a classic like a Fender P-bass and that was the right move. Feels great and sounds even better. Got a Rumble 25 to go with. Still a full-time 6-string player but proud to own my first bass. As always the 5 stars apply to Sweetwater as well. Amazing selection, great advice and… read more fast shipping.

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Great bass!

Over the past 2 years, I've bought maybe 5 Precision basses and returned all of them, even sold an American standard that I didn't like for a loss. Something just didn't feel right about any of these instruments. But this one feels very good. Most of the Mexican ones I'd bought and returned previously were the old Standard range. I'm not sure if Fender just upped their game with… read more the Player series or Sweetwater just gets the good ones, but something's different. Gone are the sharp fret edges. This isn't American craftsmanship but it's pretty close. The body is much more balanced than the MIMs I'd bought previously. No neck dive. And the tone is classic P-Bass. The instrument itself is light . I own a 2011 American Standard Jazz Bass and it weighs a ton compared to this instrument. Matthew LaMarche, thank you for picking out a winner for me!

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Great bass! Period!!

This bass is awesome! Great way they show the actual bass you can purchase with the weight listed as well. The neck is perfect for my playing style and feels like home in my hands. Set up was great and the neck checked in at .016. I adjusted it to.012 where I prefer it and it had no buzzing issues. I own a few American issue p bass and this one is just as good if not better. I like… read more the growl of it as well as the balance. No neck dive, I purchased the 7lb 13oz with the Pao Ferro neck. I changed the strings to flatwounds and oiled the fretboard with they were off. I also put on a brown tortoise pick guard and noticed full size pots and a great amount of shielding in the cavity. Excellent craftsmanship, quality woods and electronics along with a 55 point inspection! If you're looking for something closer to original tuners and bridge then you will be pleasantly pleased as myself! This is a keeper!

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Exceeded Expectations

I expected a pretty good bass at this price. What I got is an excellent instrument! The fit and finish is as good as my American Fenders, the neck wood is very nice and the neck shape very playable. The bass balances nicely, a comfortable weight. The pickups are surprisingly good! The tuners are solid. Pots turn smoothly and are tapered nicely. I don't love the bridge so I replaced… read more it with an AV bridge. All in all, an excellent package. Special thanks to Colton for making this a pleasant buying experience.

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Sweet deal

Sweet bass at a sweet price from Sweetwater! Shipping was extremely fast.......... next day! Bass needs a little tweaking for personal preference, But set up pretty good right out of the box! Thanks Nick and the Sweetwater crew!

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Premium Quality

I’ve always gone for Jazz basses, but the time, I’ve wanted a classic P Bass tone and chose the Buttercream Player Series.I couldn’t be more impressed by its tone and build quality. Sweetwater also prepared the instrument for playability out of the box, as always, with superior customer service and packing.This bass is worth at least double its current price.This is the P… read more Bass you’re looking for!

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Player Series P bass

Got the Polar White bass set up perfectly out of the box. Looks just like a p bass. plays like a p bass, sounds like a p bass, If I didn't know it was from Mexico I would say its obviously USA.( top quality) The Pau Ferro fingerboard is great and just a bit lighter in color than rosewood but with a closer look its more grainy and looks great!, can't tell the difference when playing… read more it. I Love this bass. Great job to Fender.

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Huge Upgrade

I have been playing guitar for a long time, but I'm relatively new to bass. In 2017, I purchased a Sterling SUB Ray 4-string (Music Man Clone). I was thoroughly impressed with the entry level gear. However, after a couple years of playing, I decided it was time to upgrade. This is truly a next-level piece of equipment. The MIM Fender line is the best value out there. This really… read more feels like a premium quality instrument. The pickup is exactly what I was hoping for out of a Precision bass. With the tone knob, you can dial in practically any bass tone, a rock player would want. The neck is very smooth and it came inspected and setup by Sweetwater. The action is great. Cannot say enough about the quality of the instrument. I went to check the instrument out at a big box store, with cash in hand. After playing it for a few minutes, I could not find the sales person who initially helped me or get anyone else to pay attention to me, so I walked out. So glad I did that. This one is a truly new instrument, not a premium priced demo. Sounds and feels so much better than the one I played (I think this was just the abuse and the loud environment). I've purchased quite a bit of gear through Sweetwater recently and the experience has been fantastic. Ty, my sales engineer always answers my questions and calls me day or night.

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Great buy!

Taught myself to play drums originally, but decided I wanted to branch out and try to wrap my head around something with strings. This bass is wonderful for a beginner or a seasoned player. The range of sound is amazing (coupled with a Fender Rumble 100), and the look and feel are awesome, too.

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IMPRESSIVE!

I am really happy with this bass. I have a USA 50's reissue P bass and this Player Series actually plays better. The neck is absolutely perfect and the satin finish on the back of neck feels like silk. I play through a 1980's Peavey TNT combo amp with a 15" speaker and I can't believe the sound. I might buy the Jazz model next.

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