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Post subject: Mexican Fender Precision?
Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 5:52 am
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I bought a used Fender Precision last week (I believe it is a '95) to use with my studio.
It says that it is made in Mexico. I noticed though that it has two sets of volume and tone controls in a stacked configuration. Is this normal?
The pickguard is also half length (compared to a standard issue).
Nothing looks to have been changed or altered and the instrument is in pristine condition.
Is this the way it was made?
Thanks for any help,
Byron


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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 11:45 am
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From your description that sounds like a Precision Bass Special, mid 90's. I really like these. Stacked pots and active EQ. They have a pickguard that is reminiscent of the First Generation P-Bass/Tele Bass and a P/J pickup arrangement. I had one of these for a while finished in see through blonde. Nice bass but too many knobs to fiddle with for me and the neck is a Jazz width. I really liked the look a lot and it is very unique! The finish was excellent! This bass and the You can get a wide variety of tones with them too. Just went back to a basic P-Bass and basic Jazz from there. This bass along with the JP90 are two of the most underrated basses Fender ever issued. I'd buy one again if I wanted an active EQ P-bass. Would be really good for recording and will be an excellent studio bass because I never heard any unwanted hum or hiss on mine.


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Post subject: Neat!
Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 12:05 pm
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Thanks Dave
I didn't realize that the bass was active - I suppose I should change the battery soon to ensure operation.
Thank you for your help. I paid $400 Canadian with the case. It is in nice shape (I'll see if I can send you a picture just for interest). It's sunburst.
I feel much better about the purchase. All my Strats are US so I was concerned a bit about owning a Mexican P.
Nice to have knowledgeable advice here. I couldn't locate any information about it (obviously).
Have a fine day,
Byron


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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 12:23 pm
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There should be an oval battery compartment cover on the back of it held on with two screws. The battery lasts ages. Just don't leave it plugged in unless you are actually using it and it will last way longer than you can stand. I used to change about every gig because I was afraid it would die. Finally I decided to see how long a battery would last so I left it plugged in for about two weeks and it still worked! After that I figure about 300 hours. That is a lot of use. Still never had one go dead...but....I always have a passive bass at the ready at gigs.

If yours doesn't have this battery cover yours may be passive. But all the ones I've seen had active EQ. Really nice tones.


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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 12:33 pm
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The back of this has a plastic plate behind the controls. I'll pop it off tonight just to check. Thanks again,
Byron


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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 1:30 pm
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Does it have a Precision neck pickup and a Jazz bridge pickup with a PRECISION BASS SPECIAL decal on the headstock? Photo would be nice.


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Post subject: HELP FOLKS!
Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 5:28 pm
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Ok, Byron has this bass. I had one which I thought was just like it. Byron's is a 95 MIM serial neck on what looked to me like a MIM Precision Bass Special with the micro amoeba pickguard which I think lived on with the Stu Hamm artist model for a while afterwards.

Anyway, the headstock doesn't say "PRECISION BASS SPECIAL" It just says "PRECISION BASS" and it doesn't have a battery compartment on the back.

Anyone ever have one of these? What model is it? I know they were making P-BASS STANDARDS then too. What model is this thing? I really don't think it is a SPECIAL. I'm attaching some of the photos he sent me.

Image
Image
Image

This bass has the dual stacked pots like the P-Bass Special in 95 and 96 but no battery compartment. I was not aware of this model at all.

Can anyone ID this? Thanks.,...and THUMP ON!


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 7:08 pm
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The P-Bass Special I have is the California series and it is a passive bass. It is a P/J configuration made in America. I can't seem to find out an awful lot about this series bass except that it was rumored to have had the components made in Mexico and it was assembled in the US.

I like it. It has a nice growl to it but it has a rather weak output. Compared to my other passive P-Basses, I have to crank the input gain up quite a bit on my amp to get the same output level from it as I would normally get out of the other axes at lesser settings.

All this to say that the bass Byron has is called a "cowpoke" bass. There is a discussion about it here: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=506195
I've seen and played a couple in years past and they actually sound pretty nice and are quite playable.
Here's one for sale on e-bay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-P-J-bass-act ... 7C294%3A50[/url]


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Post subject:
Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 7:47 pm
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dedmouse wrote:
The P-Bass Special I have is the California series and it is a passive bass. It is a P/J configuration made in America. I can't seem to find out an awful lot about this series bass except that it was rumored to have had the components made in Mexico and it was assembled in the US.

I like it. It has a nice growl to it but it has a rather weak output. Compared to my other passive P-Basses, I have to crank the input gain up quite a bit on my amp to get the same output level from it as I would normally get out of the other axes at lesser settings.


Ok you've been given some bad info. The only thing done to the California Series basses so far as I know at Ensenada was the finish. The process was bodies and necks crafted at Corona are trucked down Highway 1 to Ensenada where they were finished and then trucked back to Corona for final assembly. When they came back from Mexico they were still just bodies and necks with no hardware or electronics. Then final assembly was done in Corona. The series was so well received that it was revived and given the more appropriate name "Highway One." Depending on the model, Fender uses hardware from a variety of sources and it is possible some of the components were made in Mexico but they were not installed until the guitar reached Corona.

dedmouse wrote:
All this to say that the bass Byron has is called a "cowpoke" bass. There is a discussion about it here: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=506195
I've seen and played a couple in my day and they actually sound pretty nice and quite playable.


"Cowpoke" is a corny nickname someone on another forum coined to make fun of it and is not an official model designation. If you notice in that thread they talk about how they are really P-Bass Specials. Byron's here does not have the SPECIAL on the headstock like mine did. His is not active like my Special was. Mine played great in spite of a Jazz style neck and was a great bass for recording because the electronics were dead quiet. Besides having no battery, the neck on Byron's looks more like it is P width at the nut and I've asked him for a measurement.

I've actually never seen a passive one like this before. There aren't many of these around and that is for sure.


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Posted: Sun May 24, 2009 8:45 pm
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I recognize that model of Precision as one that was the lower cost alternative to the Stu Hamm "Urge" bass. Fender came out with it at around the same time.
I always thought of them as Mexican Urge basses.

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Post subject:
Posted: Sun May 24, 2009 9:00 pm
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BCbassman wrote:
I recognize that model of Precision as one that was the lower cost alternative to the Stu Hamm "Urge" bass. Fender came out with it at around the same time.
I always thought of them as Mexican Urge basses.


That still doesn't tell us what model it is. Urges say URGE. This says Precision Bass. That is all it says, FENDER PRECISION BASS with a 95 neck serial which is period correct for this design. P-Bass Specials looked exactly like this. Didn't know they made any passive PJ's in this smaller body style with the amoeba pickguard. Trying to figure out if there was a neck swap here or if this model has an official designation. Traditional Precision Basses were being made at this same time.


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Post subject: Surprise
Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 5:49 am
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I popped the rear control panel off this weekend and was presented with this:
Image
So it is an active bass. I had thought they were simply stacked volume and tone controls but I did manage to plug it into the amp this weekend (for the first time since I bought it). Excellent sound.
How do I find out what these stacked controls actually do?
Thanks to all for all the help,
Byron


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 1:08 am
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With bass in playing position looking down. Left control top is master volume, bottom ring is blend. Right control top is treble, bottom ring is bass. I thought I sent you an email to that effect. Sorry if it didn't go through. Also folks Byron measured the neck and it is a P-neck not a J so it isn't a Special. It is an active Precision Bass. Really haven't seen any of these before. Would have to be pretty scarce.


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed May 27, 2009 10:54 am
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I know it doesn't say Urge on the neck of the bass. If so, Fender would probably have to pay Stu Hamm some kind of royalty. Of course that is pure speculation on my part. But that pickguard along with the Kubicki style control sets that were used on the Precision and Jazz bass Plus models that were out in the mid-nineties, makes me think that it is a lower cost "Urge bass" without the moniker.

I just remember these being associated withe Stu Hamm.
I could be totally wrong though, I am just speculating.

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