Fender Precision Bass

Precision Bass

Manufacturer	Fender
Period	1951 — present
Construction
Body type	Solid
Neck joint	Bolt-on
Woods
Body	Alder and ash (poplar and basswood on many Mexican and Japanese models)
Neck	Maple
Fretboard	Maple, rosewood, ebony, and Pao Ferro
Hardware
Bridge	Fixed
Pickup(s)	One single-coil (1951 — 1957); One split pickup, pieces connected in humbucking mode (1957 — present); One split "P" pickup and one eight-pole "J" pickup (2 magnets per string) connected in humbucking mode (some later models); One split pickup and one humbucker (some later models). Fender Musical Instruments Corporation of Quincy Illinois is a manufacturer of stringed instruments such as solid-body Electric guitars including the Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Bolt-on neck is a method of Guitar (or similar stringed instrument construction that involves joining a guitar neck and body using Screws as opposed to glue as Alder is the common name of a Genus of Flowering plants ( Alnus) belonging to the Birch family (Family Betulaceae) An ash can be any of four different tree genera from four very distinct families; most commonly in a combined form (e Populus is a genus of between 25–35 species of Flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. Tilia is a Genus of about 30 species of Trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in Asia (where the greatest Acer ( maple) is a Genus of Trees or Shrubs They are variously classified in a family of their own the Aceraceae, or Ebony ( Diospyros ebenum) also known as India Ebony or Ceylon Ebony depending on its origin is a Tree in the genus Diospyros Overview Pao ferro or pau ferro (Caesalpinia echinata or Machaerium scleroxylum Tul A pickup device acts as a Transducer that captures mechanical vibrations (usually from suitably equipped Stringed instruments such as the Electric guitar A single coil pickup is a type of magnetic Transducer for the Electric guitar and the electric bass. A conventional humbucker (or Humbucking pickup) is a type of Electric guitar pickup that uses two coils both generating string signal
Colors available
(Standard Series: as of 2008) Black, Brown Sunburst, Midnight Wine, Arctic White, Chrome Red, Electron Blue (American Deluxe Series): 3-Color Sunburst, Amber, Montego Black Metallic, Chrome Silver (American Standard Series): 3-Color Sunburst, Olympic White, Black, Candy Cola, Blizzard Pearl, Charcoal Frost Metallic (American Vintage Series): 57: White Blonde, 2-Color Sunburst 62: 3-Color Sunburst, Olympic White (Highway One Series): 3-Color Sunburst, Flat Black, Honey Blonde, Midnight Wine (Classic Series): Butterscotch Blonde, 2-Color Sunburst, Black, Honey Blonde, Candy Apple Red (Deluxe Series): Black, Chrome Red, Blizzard Pearl, Natural, Crimson Red Transparent, Blue Transparent

The Fender Precision Bass (sometimes shortened to the "P-Bass") is an electric bass guitar, and was the first widely-available model of the instrument. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the It was designed by Leo Fender and brought to market in 1951. Clarence Leonidas Fender ( August 10, 1909 - March 21, 1991) also known as Leo Fender, was an American inventor who Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January

Background

Although the Precision Bass was first presented some 15 years after the original solid body, fretless, guitar-style electric bass produced by the Audiovox Manufacturing Company in Seattle, Washington, the Precision Bass was the first mass-produced electric bass. Washington ( is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. In its stock configuration, it is an alder or ash-bodied solid body instrument equipped with a single split-coil humbucking pickup and a 1-piece maple neck with rosewood or maple fingerboard and 20 frets. Alder is the common name of a Genus of Flowering plants ( Alnus) belonging to the Birch family (Family Betulaceae) An ash can be any of four different tree genera from four very distinct families; most commonly in a combined form (e A solid body electric instrument is a String instrument such as a guitar, bass or Violin built without its normal Sound box and relying A conventional humbucker (or Humbucking pickup) is a type of Electric guitar pickup that uses two coils both generating string signal Acer ( maple) is a Genus of Trees or Shrubs They are variously classified in a family of their own the Aceraceae, or The Precision Bass is among the best-selling electric basses of all time and is still being manufactured today.

The Standard P-Bass is sanded, painted and assembled in Ensenada, Baja California along with the other Standard Series guitars. Baja California (pronounced ˈbɑːhɑː kælɨˈfɔrnjə in English is the northernmost state of Mexico. The American Standard (featuring a high-mass vintage bridge and Hipshot lightweight staggered tuning machines), American Deluxe (featuring a J-style humbucking pickup in the bridge position and an active 3-band EQ with an 18V power supply), Highway One (featuring '70s styling, BadAss II bridges with grooved saddles and a Greasebucket tone circuit since 2006) and American Vintage series models are manufactured in Corona, California. The Fender American Deluxe Series is a line of high-end electric guitars and basses introduced by Fender in 1998 and upgraded in 2004. The Jazz Bass (or J Bass) was the second model of electric bass guitar created by Leo Fender. A conventional humbucker (or Humbucking pickup) is a type of Electric guitar pickup that uses two coils both generating string signal Badass is a trade name of Leo Quan a manufacturer of bridges for Guitars and basses. Corona is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean.

Similar to The Beatles' effect on the popularity of the Rickenbacker 4003, the early adoption of the electric bass was in part due to Bill Black's ownership of the instrument. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 For the American WWI fighter pilot see Eddie Rickenbacker. For the airport see Rickenbacker International Airport. William Patton "Bill" Black Jr ( September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American Musician. Black was beginning to use a Precision Bass during the filming of Jailhouse Rock. Jailhouse Rock is an American Motion picture directed by Richard Thorpe, released by MGM on November 8, 1957 Fender also delivered an early Precision to LA session bassist and arranger Shifty Henry. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West John Willie "Shifty" Henry (born 4 October 1921, Edna Texas — died 30 November 1958, Los Angeles, California

The double bass was considered difficult to keep in-tune, physically cumbersome and difficult to transport. The double bass is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed String instrument used in the modern symphony orchestra. It was becoming hard to hear in increasingly large bands or in bands that included amplified electric guitars. An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder With electric pickups, a small body and fretted neck, the Precision Bass overcame these problems.

The electric bass produces a timbre that differs from that of the double bass: it is a more focused, harder-edged sound, with less percussive thump and a more clearly articulated fundamental tone. By bringing the sound of the bass up in a band, the bass became more dominant in its role and transformed the beat and rhythm of pop music. The electric bass hallowed driving rhythms while still outlining harmonic structures and is essential to the evolution from jump blues and swing to rhythm and blues and rock music. Jump blues is a type of Up-tempo Blues music influenced by Big band sound Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of Jazz music that developed in the early 1930s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums.

Design updates

The original Precision Bass of 1951 was essentially a bass counterpart to the six-string Telecaster and shared several of its design features--the main difference being its then-radical double cutaway body. The Fender Telecaster, also known as the Tele (pronounced Telly is typically a dual-pickup solid-body Electric guitar made by Fender. In 1953 the Precision was restyled with the edges contoured for comfort and in 1957 the original single-coil pickup was replaced with a new split-coil pickup with staggered polepieces, connected in a humbucking mode; however, Fender never emphasized this, as the Seth Lover patent on the humbucker had not yet expired. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) A conventional humbucker (or Humbucking pickup) is a type of Electric guitar pickup that uses two coils both generating string signal Seth Lover ( January 1 1910 in Kalamazoo Michigan &ndash January 31 1997 in Garden Grove California) is most famous for In the same year, the headstock and pickguard were redesigned. Two years later, a rosewood fingerboard glued on a maple neck featuring "clay"-style dot position markers replaced the 1-piece maple neck. The rosewood neck became a standard feature until 1966/67, when the CBS-owned Fender companies began to offer a separate laminated maple fingerboard capped on a maple neck. Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. By 1969 to the present day, the 1-piece maple neck option is a standard feature on many Fender basses, with the rosewood fretboard offered as the second neck wood option. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The original design, with a few updates, was reintroduced in 1968 as the Telecaster Bass. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Fender Telecaster Bass was an electric bass guitar introduced in the late 1967 by Fender.

Dublin musician Rob Smith's Squier P-Bass backstage at the Empire Music Hall in Belfast. Not to be confused with Robert Smith, lead vocalist of The Cure.

Some Precision Basses made in the 1970s were also available with an unlined fretless rosewood, ebony or (usually) maple fingerboard, popularized by endorsees Sting and Tony Franklin. Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, CBE (born October 2, 1951) better known by his Stage name Sting, is a three time Academy Award Tony Franklin is an English musician His most famous work is on the Fretless Bass guitar with heavy rock bands The Firm (also featuring Free Fender briefly offered a fretless P-Bass in the mid-1990s as a part of the first-generation American Standard line, featuring a lined fretless rosewood fingerboard. The fretless American Standard P-Bass left the Fender pricelist at the end of the 20th century. The American Series Precision Bass (introduced in 2000 and discontinued in 2008) sports the S-1 switching system since 2003, allowing the split-coil pickup to be wired from series to parallel, giving the bass a brighter, snappier tone similar to a Jazz Bass. This feature has been discontinued with the introduction of the second generation of American Standard Series instruments in 2008.

Many variants (sometimes with 21 or 22 frets on the fingerboard) and special-edition Precision Basses have been offered in recent years. Fender made an American Deluxe 5-string model featuring a split-coil neck pickup and a bridge humbucker until 2007, tuned BEADG, but also a passive short-scale version tuned EADGC called the Bass V in the 1960s. The Fender American Deluxe Series is a line of high-end electric guitars and basses introduced by Fender in 1998 and upgraded in 2004. Background The original Fender Bass V was a quirky and unusual electric Bass guitar model produced by Fender between 1965 and 1970 It did not sell well, and after it was discontinued, Fender did not offer another 5-string bass guitar until the 1980s.

Fender has also produced several 'Deluxe' or 'Special' models over the years which feature active electronics and/or a Jazz Bass pickup or humbucker at the bridge position in addition to the normal split-coil pickup. Both of these measures are designed to increase the tonal options available to a fairly simple bass. A brief attempt in the early '90s resulted with the introduction of the Precision Plus and Deluxe Plus basses in 1989 and 1991, featuring Lace Sensor pickups, fine-tuner bridges, 22-fret necks and passive or active electronics on certain models. The Precision Bass Plus is an electric bass made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. The Custom Shop 40th Anniversary model of 1991 was a luxurious version of the Precision Plus Deluxe bass with gold hardware, a quilted maple top and an ebony fretboard with side dot position markers. The Fender Custom Shop is a division of Fender Musical Instruments, housed within their headquarters complex in Corona, Riverside County, California Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. In 2008, Fender offered a 5-string P-Bass as a part of the second-generation American Standard Series line.

From 1980 to 1984, the Precision Bass has been redesigned with new pickups, an active onboard circuit and a high-mass brass bridge. The range included the Special (1980) featuring a split-coil pickup with white covers, gold hardware and a 2-band EQ with an active/passive toggle switch and the Elite (1983) with one (Elite I) or two (Elite II) special-design split-coil humbucking pickups and a fine-tuner bridge made by Schaller. Some models were available with a solid walnut body and a stained ebony fretboard. Japanese models appeared in late 1984, sporting the same specifications as their American counterparts, except for the addition of a downsized body shape and a modern C-shape maple neck with 22 medium-jumbo frets. The Elite Precision's Schaller fine-tuner bridge has been later used on the Plus Series models in the early 1990s. The Precision Bass Plus is an electric bass made by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

Background

Design updates

See also