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Post subject: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th anni.
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 2:40 pm
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What are the differences between the following P basses?



51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th anni.

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AVRI 62 J Bass, AVRI 62 P Bass, USA Std. FSR Hand stained P Bass, USA Std. J Bass, F Cabronita P Bass, Squire P Bass special fretless, Squire HSS Strat.


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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 6:19 pm
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The 51 Reissue (RI) and the Sting signature are pretty much the same Japanese made Fenders. Same plant, same woods, same parts including the same single coil pickup, same 2 saddle bridge, same pickguard and same reverse tuners. There are a few differences such as the Sting has a contoured body while the 51RI is a slab. The Sting also has that 12th fret STING inlay while the 51 RI had 2 black dots. I say "had" because the 51 RI is discontinued. Otherwise the two basses are the same. Both are vintage correct neck width and 7.25" radius with 1.625" width at the nut. This is the baseball bat neck. For a while it was possible to get a sunburst 51 RI and if you put one next to the Sting, other than the 12th fret inlay and body contouring they were identical. These instruments have "Vintage" frets which means the same frets used on a Telecaster guitar. Both have maple fretboards and butt end truss rod adjustment. I prefer the 51 RI as it has more body wood due no contouring. I enjoy the vintage frets because when setup with flats they almost sound fretless during slides.

The other two instruments are split coil basses with medium jumbo fretwire and modern 9.5 radius. The Dirnt model is a Made in Mexico split coil pickup ash bodied instrument. It has a "59 Custom Shop pickup and a Leo Quan BadAxx II bridge. Only available with a rosewood fretboard. While it looks similar to the 51 RI and the Sting in some cosmetics none of the parts are interchangeable between the Fender Japan instruments and the Dirnt except maybe the necks.

The 60th Anniversary P-Bass is a one time only limited special design made in the USA with a see through blonde finish. This might be the finest "best of both worlds Precision" ever and it is now out of production so once the ones at dealers are gone, that is all there will ever be, Chicago Music Exchange has ONE left at this moment. Simple and nostalgic first generation body design, 2nd generation split coil Custom Shop pickup and modern neck profile. Maple fretboard. Select woods throughout with ash body and maple neck. This bass produces a huge range of tones. This is the only bass on your list that comes in a stock hard case. It also has the Posiflex Graphite truss rod system which is only available on USA basses. None of the others you asked about were USA made.


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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 5:18 am
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Thank you for your excellent answer brotherdave.

The way I understood is that the 51 RI and sting signature is actually the same instrument except from the contoured body on the sting. Which maybe makes the sting model like a 53 or 54 RI?

Does the body difference between the two make a noticeable difference in tone?

Secondly, the 51 RI and sting model are pieces of the original design from that era which the dirnt model and 60th model are not, although no doubt the later is a good bass.

In terms of availability the sting model comes first as I understand.

Another important question actually comes up to my mind. Are these the same frets on my AVRI 62 Jazz Bass? If yes, I've used round wounds on it since I bought it in 2006. Does that mean I've taken out a lot of their life out of the frets?

Thanks

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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:24 pm
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Yes the AV 62 RI P-Bass used vintage frets also. The only way to tell about fretwear is to actually check the frets for wear. Move the strings aside and check. If you see some scalloping then yes you have fretwear. I'd not use rounds with vintage frets or at least use nickle plated rounds if I had to use rounds and for sure avoid stainless rounds. Any flats will extend their life indefinitely. Of course at my age it really doesn't matter so much now does it? lol.

In addition to the body contour the Sting has the "STING" logo inlay at the 12th fret. It is based on the '54 P-Bass Sting has used for over 20 years. He has used many other basses but is more associated with the sunburst 54 P-Bass than any other. As for tonal differences in the 51 Reissue and the Sting, that will vary from instrument to instrument even when comparing different copies of the same model. I think I have a better chance for more resonance with the heavier body of the '51 because it has more wood while the Sting has been contoured with some wood removed. HOWEVER, I've seen a couple of very resonant Stings that would beat my '51 RI. The plain truth is that resonance is going to vary from instrument to instrument even within the same exact model because no two bodies are exactly alike.

All four referenced models are excellent instruments with their own strong points. The 60th Anniv P-Bass is the highest quality of the four and the most tonally versatile. The 60th is the most labor intensive and expensive. Only the Sting and the Dirnt are still in production.

The Custom Shop has a 51 Vintage P-Bass now.


Last edited by brotherdave on Wed Feb 13, 2013 7:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 4:54 pm
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I have a 60th Anniversary P, and it is an outstanding instrument. The standard finish was blonde. Fender did make a limited run of 100 in a sunburst finish. Mine is one of those as shown on the left in this photo beside my Tele bass.


Image

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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:08 pm
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For a drummer, you have good tastes in basses drummer5359.


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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:08 pm
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brotherdave wrote:
For a drummer, you have good tastes in basses drummer5359.


Thank you Brother Dave, I'll take that as a compliment.

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Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania U.S.A.

"We don't stop playing because we grow old.
We grow old because we stop playing."

"My goal in life is to be as good of a person as my dog already thinks I am."


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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 9:45 pm
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@brotherdave

Sting's "Tele" bass was made in 1953, date during which the contoured P-Bass bodies make their debuts.


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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 11:02 pm
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Ok so I was off a year. It isn't a Tele bass, its a Precision. Telecaster Bass didn't come out till 1968 and the original Tele Bass wasn't contoured. So we're even. Nah nah nah nah nah. lol.


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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 7:29 am
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I consider the early Precisions as Tele Basses because of their headstock style.


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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 7:42 pm
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Sting's Bass is a 1954 P-Bass that he picked up in New York in 1981,.......but hey I'll let Sting tell you in this Fender News article from June 2010.
http://www.fender.com/news/sting-on-his-fender-bass/
but honestly we all know it's an early 50's P Bass so why split hairs ... that being said there's one at the Long & McQuade music store near my house that's been there for a year & for the life of me I can't understand why it hasn't sold yet,...... it's a real looker, it sounds & plays great, (the neck has a similar feel to my Steve Harris P Bass,...it's chunky)
I almost want to pick it up but I'm eying a Daphne Blue color Customshop bass with a P/J set up, tort pickguard, & Badass II bridge on a P bass body with a white pearl block marker maple fretboard Jazz Bass neck,at the downtown location...


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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 9:57 pm
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James Coderre wrote:
I'm eying a Daphne Blue color Customshop bass with a P/J set up, tort pickguard, & Badass II bridge on a P bass body with a white pearl block marker maple fretboard Jazz Bass neck


The bass in question is a 2011/2012 P-Bass Pro.

The 2013 version has two '51-style single-coils and a 1-piece maple neck with Tele-shaped headstock, all mounted into a regular P-Bass body.


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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 6:14 am
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chromeface wrote:
The bass in question is a 2011/2012 P-Bass Pro.

The 2013 version has two '51-style single-coils and a 1-piece maple neck with Tele-shaped headstock, all mounted into a regular P-Bass body.

What are you talking about?? in fact you don"t know what you're talking about, have you been here to Vancouver in this music store to see the bass I'm talking about??
Long & McQuade custom ordered this bass, & it's got Customshop 60's pickups in it, it has a 70's style Jazz Bass neck, with white binding & white pearl block markers with standard Fender head like the neck & head on the Marcus Miller bass (there's no Tele head on this bass) & it has the Customshop Logo stamped on the back of the head ............
There's nothing '51 style on the bass I'm thinking of buying, You're talking about a completely different bass, ...........I mean Really man.


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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 8:53 am
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It's that bass I'm talking about, the one you plan purchasing!

Image

The 2013 looks like this:

Image


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Post subject: Re: 51 RI vs. Sting (artist) vs. Dirnt (artist) vs. 60th ann
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 3:16 pm
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No it doesn't look like the one 's in the picture's you've posted .......... READ THIS CAREFULLY......... THE CUSTOM SHOP BASS I'm INTERESTED IN GETTING WAS CUSTOM ORDERED (DO YOU YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS??? ) WHY WOULD YOU SHOW ME A PICTURE OF A P-BASS WITH A ROSEWOOD FRETBOARD & SUNBURST FINISH FROM THE 2011 CUSTOM SHOP CATALOG & THEN SHOW ME THIS OTHER PICTURE OF A P BASS BODY WITH A 51' STYLE NECK & HEAD WHEN I ALREADY DESCRIBED THE CUSTOM SHOP CUSTOM ORDERED BASS I'M INTERESTED IN BUYING,... IN MY ABOVE POST!!! Anyway once again you're being frustrating........... stop trying to be the know all of bass because you're not, ....... you know it's possible that I may be interested in a customshop bass that you may not have ever seen...... let it go...


Last edited by James Coderre on Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:52 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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