NBD: After 26 Years of Playing, My First Proper Fender

Riff Ranger

Riff Ranger

bass/guitar/vocals in Thunderhorn
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Mar 22, 2018
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#1
I started playing bass on a black-and-gold Samick P/J in the summer of 1993. I put together a couple of bands in high school and played a few shows. While I always admired my friend's dad's 1962 jazz bass, and (for reasons I'll never remember) happily babysat my other friend's dad's 1972 precision, I never really considered getting a proper Fender for myself. I wanted to be different, and I wanted to be metal; I happily played a Jackson and an Ibanez (still have that one) when I gigged and recorded in early adulthood, and got talked into an Epiphone Thunderbird when I briefly considered picking up a Squier jazz a few years later. Well, look at me now:
979C2638-33DD-401D-BDBC-9F38DDD95EA8.jpeg

It started with this guy: my middle child, more of a drummer, and a lefty besides, but quite convincing here.
F09DE99D-8313-44D6-A293-2848CBE2E215.jpeg

When we got him a drum set for his fifth birthday in January 2018, I started wondering why I didn't play more, and as I jammed with him, the thrill of playing and the desire to do so roared back as strong as when my teenage hands first touched an instrument. But sometime during my late twenties and early thirties, when I wasn't playing a lot, my tastes had changed, and I didn't seem to have the right tools for the tones I wanted. When I started trying to find something to match my new ideas about my own sound ... I found myself where countless others have since 1957. Sort of.
810EE672-4E63-4C7F-BEE6-9E42BB9A7498.jpeg

I got the five-string Squier for Father's Day to match a weirdo MIJ modded four-string that had become a favorite, but they didn't quite match (and I do love twins, it seems). So I finally got a 2010 MIM Fender Precision, and I finally have the sound in my head in four- and five-string versions. Fortunately, I have a mostly supportive and patient partner who has put up with a lot of NBDs since I really got back into playing. I really do think I'm set for now! Fortunately my tastes for Alembics, Rickenbackers, and Spectors never got very far, haha.
10AA8035-96AE-4ADB-AEC2-CEB60B22475A.jpeg
 
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#3
Reedt2000 said:
Nice! A twofer :thumbsup:

I'm surprised how much I like the red edge of the pickguard on the 4 string with the 3-color burst.

Congrats!
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Same here! It came with a white guard, which I knew I would replace with black (like the '72 I babysat way back when), and when I saw a deal on the black/red/black, I thought I'd give it a try. Glad I did!
 
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#5
landry.bass said:
Awesome! Burst with a black guard and maple board is damn sexy!

I recently got a MIM P and I love it too. Feels and sounds great. Enjoy your first for real Fender!
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Thanks, and congratulations back at you! I always liked the maple boards on my ATKs, and when I set my sights on a Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass V, I knew that would have a maple board (they all do). I didn't know I would get a burst; I had deals fall through for both a white model and a candy apple red model before I finally found that one on Reverb and jumped on it even though the burst wouldn't have been my first choice. But when I got it, I remembered that '72 that lived with me for a while, and figured a black guard would be just the thing. When I loved the VMPV, I knew I would have to get a black-on-burst Fender four-string to match. I guess that's kind of my deal now.
 
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#6
Very nice, congrats! Burst/black/maple is one of my all time favorite combos. Love the family pics too :)

I’ve been playing $200 basses for 20 years, I guess I only have 6 more to go :roflmao:

Do you notice an upgrade in fit, finish, feel? Or is it just the sound? I have a little internal debate going on if it’s time for my “proper Fender,” and what exactly I would get out of it.
 
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#8
alanloomis1980 said:
Very nice, congrats! Burst/black/maple is one of my all time favorite combos. Love the family pics too :)

I’ve been playing $200 basses for 20 years, I guess I only have 6 more to go :roflmao:

Do you notice an upgrade in fit, finish, feel? Or is it just the sound? I have a little internal debate going on if it’s time for my “proper Fender,” and what exactly I would get out of it.
Click to expand...
I'm on record as a big fan of $200 basses (and all they can become), haha. I think the instruments made by Westone and Electra in Japan in the '80s have held up particularly well, and you can score those at that price all day right now. The biggest part of why I got the Fender instead of another Squier was simply that I really wanted a twin to my five-string P with that burst/black/maple combination; had a Squier like that come up first, I might have saved a few bucks and gone for it. I did very nearly go with a new Squier Classic Vibe '70s precision with a bound-and-blocked P neck, and I doubt I'd have regretted it; but when this came along, it just seemed right.

I agree with what seems like most people on here that the wide adoption of CNC manufacturing since you and I first started playing almost guarantees that you will now get at least a solid neck and body in almost any instrument at almost any price, and budget instruments particularly are better than they've ever been. So, not surprisingly, I don't notice huge differences when stepping up to a Fender from a Squier, but I do notice a lot of little things that add up: the hardware feels noticeably more solid (nothing problematic with the Squier's tuning machines, just not as solid; the bridge on the Squier had to go, mostly because of difficulty changing strings, which might not be an issue with their four-strings); I anticipate the pots and caps will hold up better over time; the stock pickup sounds great (and while many of the stock pickups in Squiers I have played also sounded good, the one in my five did not, which might speak to relative quality control, as many other VMPV players seem perfectly happy with theirs stock); and most significantly, the attention paid to the look of the wood really shows, certainly on the neck but especially on the body (I find it surprising they did bursts on basswood at all with the VMPVs, as the wood is not known for its looks in the first place, but especially since they didn't put much effort into visually aligning the grain; you can see this if you look closely at the five-string). I'd have been happy with another Squier; I think I will be happier with this Fender.
 
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#9
Monterey Bay-ss said:
I'm on record as a big fan of $200 basses (and all they can become), haha. I think the instruments made by Westone and Electra in Japan in the '80s have held up particularly well, and you can score those at that price all day right now. The biggest part of why I got the Fender instead of another Squier was simply that I really wanted a twin to my five-string P with that burst/black/maple combination; had a Squier like that come up first, I might have saved a few bucks and gone for it. I did very nearly go with a new Squier Classic Vibe '70s precision with a bound-and-blocked P neck, and I doubt I'd have regretted it; but when this came along, it just seemed right.

I agree with what seems like most people on here that the wide adoption of CNC manufacturing since you and I first started playing almost guarantees that you will now get at least a solid neck and body in almost any instrument at almost any price, and budget instruments particularly are better than they've ever been. So, not surprisingly, I don't notice huge differences when stepping up to a Fender from a Squier, but I do notice a lot of little things that add up: the hardware feels noticeably more solid (nothing problematic with the Squier's tuning machines, just not as solid; the bridge on the Squier had to go, mostly because of difficulty changing strings, which might not be an issue with their four-strings); I anticipate the pots and caps will hold up better over time; the stock pickup sounds great (and while many of the stock pickups in Squiers I have played also sounded good, the one in my five did not, which might speak to relative quality control, as many other VMPV players seem perfectly happy with theirs stock); and most significantly, the attention paid to the look of the wood really shows, certainly on the neck but especially on the body (I find it surprising they did bursts on basswood at all with the VMPVs, as the wood is not known for its looks in the first place, but especially since they didn't put much effort into visually aligning the grain; you can see this if you look closely at the five-string). I'd have been happy with another Squier; I think I will be happier with this Fender.
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Wow, thanks for the thorough and thoughtful reply!

My squier/peavey parts bass (which I believe I posted in the cheapo thread) is my main gigging bass. Putting a lot of work into it, most notably neck refinish and level/finishing frets, has really taken it to the next level.

I have pretty much put the idea of an “upgrade” to bed, but saw so many parallels in your story to my own, I had to say something. I think it’s just my ego that wants a Fender, and my ego can wait another 6 years ;)

At any rate, enjoy that bad boy!! :)
 
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#10
Monterey Bay-ss said:
I started playing bass on a black-and-gold Samick P/J in the summer of 1993. I put together a couple of bands in high school and played a few shows. While I always admired my friend's dad's 1962 jazz bass, and (for reasons I'll never remember) happily babysat my other friend's dad's 1972 precision, I never really considered getting a proper Fender for myself. I wanted to be different, and I wanted to be metal; I happily played a Jackson and an Ibanez (still have that one) when I gigged and recorded in early adulthood, and got talked into an Epiphone Thunderbird when I briefly considered picking up a Squier jazz a few years later. Well, look at me now:
View attachment 3515747
It started with this guy: my middle child, more of a drummer, and a lefty besides, but quite convincing here.
View attachment 3515746
When we got him a drum set for his fifth birthday in January 2018, I started wondering why I didn't play more, and as I jammed with him, the thrill of playing and the desire to do so roared back as strong as when my teenage hands first touched an instrument. But sometime during my late twenties and early thirties, when I wasn't playing a lot, my tastes had changed, and I didn't seem to have the right tools for the tones I wanted. When I started trying to find something to match my new ideas about my own sound ... I found myself where countless others have since 1957. Sort of.
View attachment 3515745
I got the five-string Squier for Father's Day to match a weirdo MIJ modded four-string that had become a favorite, but they didn't quite match (and I do love twins, it seems). So I finally got a 2010 MIM Fender Precision, and I finally have the sound in my head in four- and five-string versions. Fortunately, I have a mostly supportive and patient partner who has put up with a lot of NBDs since I really got back into playing. I really do think I'm set for now! Fortunately my tastes for Alembics, Rickenbackers, and Spectors never got very far, haha.
View attachment 3515744
Click to expand...
Ha ha smart move!
 
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#12
Monterey Bay-ss said:
I started playing bass on a black-and-gold Samick P/J in the summer of 1993. I put together a couple of bands in high school and played a few shows. While I always admired my friend's dad's 1962 jazz bass, and (for reasons I'll never remember) happily babysat my other friend's dad's 1972 precision, I never really considered getting a proper Fender for myself. I wanted to be different, and I wanted to be metal; I happily played a Jackson and an Ibanez (still have that one) when I gigged and recorded in early adulthood, and got talked into an Epiphone Thunderbird when I briefly considered picking up a Squier jazz a few years later. Well, look at me now:
View attachment 3515747
It started with this guy: my middle child, more of a drummer, and a lefty besides, but quite convincing here.
View attachment 3515746
When we got him a drum set for his fifth birthday in January 2018, I started wondering why I didn't play more, and as I jammed with him, the thrill of playing and the desire to do so roared back as strong as when my teenage hands first touched an instrument. But sometime during my late twenties and early thirties, when I wasn't playing a lot, my tastes had changed, and I didn't seem to have the right tools for the tones I wanted. When I started trying to find something to match my new ideas about my own sound ... I found myself where countless others have since 1957. Sort of.
View attachment 3515745
I got the five-string Squier for Father's Day to match a weirdo MIJ modded four-string that had become a favorite, but they didn't quite match (and I do love twins, it seems). So I finally got a 2010 MIM Fender Precision, and I finally have the sound in my head in four- and five-string versions. Fortunately, I have a mostly supportive and patient partner who has put up with a lot of NBDs since I really got back into playing. I really do think I'm set for now! Fortunately my tastes for Alembics, Rickenbackers, and Spectors never got very far, haha.
View attachment 3515744
Click to expand...
Great story great pics!:thumbsup:
 
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#15
Congratulations on the Fender. I didn't get my first Fender until about 25 years of playing. :) I was really into Ibanez basses and other active basses, sort of resisting Fender basses. Well, until I tried one many years later did it make sense why bassists love the P Bass and kicked myself for not having tried one sooner.
 
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#16
packhowitzer said:
I had got one of these in 93-94 myself. Served me well for a few years.

the ol' Samick Saturn 5
samick-saturn-5-xl.jpg

note: not my pic
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That's what I had, minus one string and either the switch or one knob (I don't remember whether it had a selector switch or a blend knob); I can't find a picture of the four in black anywhere, but I tracked down a greenish one somewhere. Not a bad place to start, but I can still feel the fret ends hanging just off the edge of the fingerboard, haha. After about a year, I had a poster over my bed with the guys from Megadeth and their black Jacksons, and I traded the Samick toward a Jackson Concert EX, which I had for years but eventually traded for a Westone Prestige 150 guitar (excellent instrument). Not a bad line to draw. I still like pointy instruments but when that Squier VMPV found me, I knew I was done for and had to get a proper Precision four-string to match it.
 
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#17
Monterey Bay-ss said:
That's what I had, minus one string and either the switch or one knob (I don't remember whether it had a selector switch or a blend knob); I can't find a picture of the four in black anywhere, but I tracked down a greenish one somewhere. Not a bad place to start, but I can still feel the fret ends hanging just off the edge of the fingerboard, haha. After about a year, I had a poster over my bed with the guys from Megadeth and their black Jacksons, and I traded the Samick toward a Jackson Concert EX, which I had for years but eventually traded for a Westone Prestige 150 guitar (excellent instrument). Not a bad line to draw. I still like pointy instruments but when that Squier VMPV found me, I knew I was done for and had to get a proper Precision four-string to match it.
Click to expand...

That's a cool progression. I worked at a music store back then (I was in high school at the time) and I upgraded the hardware with some stuff we had lying around the back room of the repair shop. Well it wasn't so much an upgrade as I changed out the gold to black. It ended up looking pretty sharp. I also had a Washburn Bantam XB400:
washburn-xb400-999.jpg


I played both of those basses in a heavy metal band. In 98, I sold both of those to some guys I went to college with (as well as an old Audio Centron power amp) and bought a brand new Ernie Ball Stingray in Honey Burst. I loved that bass.

And as far as the topic of this thread goes - I didn't get my first fender (a CIJ Geddy Lee Jazz) until 2007 - after I had been playing for 16 or 17 years. But it turned me on to Fenders and now I have three.
 
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#20
chandman1004 said:
I think it is awesome...View attachment 3517924
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Would you look at that! I have a Hipshot Kicka$s ready for this one, and might try some different pickups, but the stock bridge and pickup seem pretty good. The white guard had to go before I took any photographs, though, haha.
 
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