Retro-Rama

No column about vintage basses would be worth its salt without eventually featuring the Mac Daddy of them all, the Fender Precision. It was Leo Fender’s first entry into the electric bass concept, and even today it is remarkable how many of his early innovations are still in use. The design evolved through the 1950s, and by ’59, the P-Bass looked pretty much the same as it does today. The design has been refined, copied, and expanded on in many ways by many people, but its essence remains clear: The Fender Precision is a no frills, meat-and-potatoes, “one size fits all” electric bass guitar.

Rather than find a mint-condition beauty worth many thousands, it seemed more appropriate to showcase a well-worn (and affordable) foot soldier from the music wars. This ’62 Precision is my own instrument. For many years I have played various Fender-inspired and Leo Fender-designed basses, all of which I still love and use, but I never found “my” old Fender P-Bass until about six years ago. I walked into my local music store looking for something else entirely and stumbled upon this refinished, high-mileage trade-in. I picked it up, immediately noticed how light it was (due to the dried-out wood), and played a couple of notes acoustically—and suddenly I understood what I had heard about for years, but never quite experienced for myself. Needless to say, I had to have it. In addition to the “hippie re-fin,” the side dots have been drilled out (presumably for use in dark nightclubs), it has a warped pickguard, and the previous owner’s Texas driver’s license number is stamped into the back of the headstock. All of this stuff makes this Precision a bust for collectors, but it makes the bass even more perfect in my eyes—and it was a bargain at $1,500!

I have never touched this instrument’s trussrod or bridge; it plays in tune and has the lowest action of any bass I regularly use in the studio, with next to no fret buzz. It had roundwounds on when I bought it, and I have kept it that way, as to my ear they combine perfectly with the rosewood fingerboard. The pickup has the classic P-Bass midrange punch, but with a clear, deep, and tight bottom, and a quite amazing top end. Unlike many old (and pricey) P’s I have played over the years, you can actually turn the tone knob all the way down for a fat whoompf tone, put it in the middle for a smooth ballad sound, or crank it all the way up to a super-zingy high end, one that’s brighter than I have ever heard from a passive bass.

In a track, this bass sits perfectly with the kick drum, guitars, and keyboards, with just the right amount of midrange articulation to poke through the mix. Among other records, a couple of years ago I played it on Alan’s Jackson’s “Work in Progress,” a No. 1 country single (from his Arista CD Drive). It’s hard to overestimate the comfort factor that seeing an old Precision Bass can give to many producers, engineers, and artists in the studio, and whenever I want to go to that place, Fender P is the obvious choice, I know I have it covered with this scarred-up beauty!