[Poll] Who is truly interested in a 70s Precision reissue?

Would you like to see an accurate 70s P reissue from Fender?

  • Yes I would definitely consider it.

    Votes: 128 34.7%

  • No I would not consider it.

    Votes: 171 46.3%

  • Orange Vegetable.

    Votes: 70 19.0%
  • Total voters
    369
#42
125% in - I’m very surprised they haven’t done a straight-ahead real-deal 70s Precision available in America yet. Or a full MIA non-FCS version of the same. I’m aware of the Mexican 70s reissues with the blocks but that’s not what we’re looking for.

The electric bass cognoscenti certainly don’t hold back their disdain for this era in Fender history, but an awful lot of great music was made with them back in the day.

Currently, there is a Japan-only 70s reissue which is pretty close but the tuners are not period correct.

Fender 2021 Collection Made in Japan Traditional Series 70s Precision Bass Black 885978821761 | eBay
 
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#43
J Wilson said:
It's as good an idea as any IF they catch a trend that somehow, 70's products are the thing right now.

Actually, to me, this is the problem with Fender.

It's splitting the hairs you've already split to keep re-issuing this era or that era bass . . . . . when actually, in the real world, it's the same damn bass. It's been the same body woods (ash, alder, some sort of pine) and all maple necks (with/without a rosewood board) with variations in bridges and keys, and more variations on that split pickup than snowflakes between the OEM's and the 50 or more aftermarket choices. Many of the same finish combinations and colors.

Exactly WHAT would set apart a good 70's from a good 60's or a good 80's . . . or the already marketed vint reissues they've already done, much less the Squiers?

I mean, how many times do you make a new same old Precision Bass? I'm flummoxed . . . . everybody wants the same bass, but thinks this one is better.

precision-bass-classic-vibe-60s-2019-lau-hd-5-154952.jpg

Bent-plate threaded saddle bridge, alnico pickups, three-tone sunburst poplar body with amber tint maple neck neck, laurel fingerboard, open-gear keys. OK, it's not alder, it's not rosewood, but it's inexpensive ($499) as Leo intended. I promise you, a MIA for 2 grand will NOT sound four times better. I can work this thing to death, right out of the box, no worries.

Maybe . . . . . I just don't get it. In fact, I'm sure I don't.
Click to expand...

It's mostly about the neck profile which is (IMO) THE most important thing about a bass. You don't get necks like that on P-basses from any other period. They're not my personal favourites but they're certainly different and some people love them.

Also, the fretboard radius and the voicing of the pickup. I'm actually surprised that so few pickup manufacturers offer "70s reissue" P-bass pickups. 70s Fenders have become very popular lately. Personally I think the prices people are paying for 70s Fenders these days are INSANE! Sure, there are some really good ones but as far as consistency/craftsmanship goes it's the worst Fender era EVER. Now, a GOOD reissue made to 70s specs would be a different matter of course but I'm not sure I would want to pay American Vintage/Original prices for one.

As for anyone hoping for an ash body P-bass from Fender I can't see that happening anytime soon when they phased out ash in all their production models 1-2 years ago. They can't get enough southern ash for large scale production due to a beetle infestation and they seem unwilling to make northern ash "boat anchors".
 
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#44
That MIJ Trad 70s has a 40mm (1+ 9/16") nut. The OP doesn't say what the specs are of this bass he wants us to want, just that they'll be correct, but my guess is that 40mm isn't part of them?
 
#45
I have an all-original 1978 P that's a pretty good bass, sounds really nice, but it's heavy. I had for a few months a 1968 P a good while back that felt and sounded pretty awful, but I paid just over $300 for it (long story) and promptly doubled my money. It was pretty light weight, but the poly finish was ridiculously thick.

I'd happily buy a CNC made, well QCd, "reasonable" weight reproduction '78 "rosewood" (or thereabout, no washed-out Pau Ferro please) board fretless in Oly White with a black guard, since any originals out there would be darn scarce and a crapshoot on quality.

So, "Yes" that would be nice. :)
 
#46
antfarm said:
Absolutely. 1972 preferred, B neck, TV logo and tugbar on the bottom. Alder, rosewood, burst and tort.

Wouldn’t mind a later year either, just give it a TV logo and keep the weight around 4 kg.
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Interesting.

The best Fender bass of any iteration I've ever played was a '75 alder/sunburst/rosewood Precision faded to a brownish yellow. I was floored when I played it. Better than my '59 custom shop - a very good bass in its own right - and my good friend's '73 Jazz, which is far and away the best jazz I've ever played. The fit and finish was almost as good as my Yamaha BB2000 and on a par with my Yamaha BB3000.

This particular Precision sounded fantastic. B neck and thus very playable. Similar in appearance to my '62 RI alder/sunburst/rosewood precision (with the exception of the B neck width) but a much better bass.

I've always loved the really mid-forward sound of a good '70s P, and if I could get a natural finish '70s with a maple board and black or white pickguard that sounded as good as that '75, had similar fit and finish, and was not too heavy, I'd be all over it like white on rice.
 
#47
I didn’t like any of the many I actually played in the 70’s and my Ibanez (was a fool to get rid of it) left them all for dead. There were many you could barely give away at the time. The fretwork on some of the ones I tried was a disgrace, and you could have stored your stash in the neck/pocket gap.

My opinion is that the only reason their reputation has been somewhat rehabilitated is because the ones which have survived are the good ones.

If they reissued a 70s P bass, with crazy modern innovations like quality control, attention to detail, materials and electronics well I guess I might be interested. But by those criteria there are scores of P-style basses already available.
 
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#50
S.F.Sorrow said:
They can't get enough southern ash for large scale production due to a beetle infestation and they seem unwilling to make northern ash "boat anchors".
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Northern ash is about wiped out too.
Fwiw, I have property in the northern part of western NY. 5 yrs ago, it had a healthy population of green ash. Which is rare to see because most of the ash around here has already been wiped out. Well, 2 yrs ago, the bugs found them and they're gone now.
Anyway, my property is in an extremely flat area (an ancient lake bed where all the creeks run through now) and it's considered a flood plain. So, technically, you could call it swamp ash. Swamp ash isn't a separate species. It's just a nickname for any ash that grows in a wet area. It's not primarily a southern thing. Though, there are a lot of large, swampy areas in the south, there's also a lot of wetlands up north too. So, "swamp" ash isn't restricted to the south.
Truth is, even if it was abundant, it has no magical musical instrument properties. If I had a lot of it, I'd use it for tool handles, cheap furniture and bass bodies that I wanted to make a million of and paint. Kinda like someone did in the 50s, when ash was so abundant, they almost gave it away.
It's sad to see a species die off, but there are plenty of substitutes for ash. It's not like ash is used in acoustics, so it's not the end of the world that it's becoming rare.
Being rare is just an excuse for retailers to jack the price up. But it's nothing special and I wouldn't pay today's prices for it.
(And neither would Leo)
 
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#52
Thing is the only real difference between all the P's out there made by everyone and a 70's P is neck thickness.....Nobody makes a P with the 70's neck thickness. The CV 70 P comes near and is actually perfect.
 
#53
RichterScale said:
Northern ash is about wiped out too.
Fwiw, I have property in the northern part of western NY. 5 yrs ago, it had a healthy population of green ash. Which is rare to see because most of the ash around here has already been wiped out. Well, 2 yrs ago, the bugs found them and they're gone now.
Anyway, my property is in an extremely flat area (an ancient lake bed where all the creeks run through now) and it's considered a flood plain. So, technically, you could call it swamp ash. Swamp ash isn't a separate species. It's just a nickname for any ash that grows in a wet area. It's not primarily a southern thing. Though, there are a lot of large, swampy areas in the south, there's also a lot of wetlands up north too. So, "swamp" ash isn't restricted to the south.
Truth is, even if it was abundant, it has no magical musical instrument properties. If I had a lot of it, I'd use it for tool handles, cheap furniture and bass bodies that I wanted to make a million of and paint. Kinda like someone did in the 50s, when ash was so abundant, they almost gave it away.
It's sad to see a species die off, but there are plenty of substitutes for ash. It's not like ash is used in acoustics, so it's not the end of the world that it's becoming rare.
Being rare is just an excuse for retailers to jack the price up. But it's nothing special and I wouldn't pay today's prices for it.
(And neither would Leo)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know about swamp ash not being an actual species. The term is (to my knowledge) not used by anyone except guitar manufacturers. I guess it must be difficult to find enough lightweight ash for mass manufacturing.

There's not really any shortage of ash in other parts of the world but I guess light/soft ash from wetlands may be harder to find. Thomann/Harley Benton sell HUGE quantities of ash body Jazz Basses but those are HEAVY. But maybe that is actually a different species of ash?

There's always Warmoth of course. They still offer "swamp ash" bodies but I have to say my P-bass "swamp ash" body was a bit heavier than I expected...

But a 70s P-bass shouldn't be lightweight. It should be heavy ash. A "swamp ash" reissue of a 70s P-bass would actually be "out of spec", LOL. So I guess Fender could find more than enough hard/heavy ash from other parts of the world if they wanted.
 
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#54
OnTheDownLow said:
.....Who would be interested in picking one up?
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i already have two Ps in my pod --- twice as many as i need, and 100% more than necessary. :D

also: "period correct" just means "reenactment" to me. if you had to have a P-bass = get one with all the modern improvements. ;)

i voted "no."
 
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