Review: Fender Player II Precision Bass

The Fender Player II series has arrived. A glorious new collection of vintage inspired instruments with plenty of modern upgrades, the Player II series encapsulates the spirit of Fender with uncompromising quality at an affordable price point. Featuring a suite of never before seen colours pulled from the Fender archives, this collection looks fantastic, features supremely comfortable necks and has stage-ready tones across the board. 

The Player II Precision Bass is a classic, no frills P Bass with an array of well thought out, player-friendly features. Featuring an Alder body, a Maple neck and the classic P Bass split-coil pickup configuration, the Player II isn’t reinventing the wheel, it’s perfecting it. Finished in a groovy new Hialeah Yellow, pay homage to Fender’s classic Butterscotch and Buttercream finishes, it’s a new addition to Fender’s repertoire, this bass is dripping with vintage attitude and has the beloved tonal qualities that has made the Precision Bass one of the most popular instruments in the world. 

The original Precision Bass was introduced in 1951 and was the first electric bass to garner any real attention and use. After some trial and error, Fender had settled on the design we know and love by 1957, including the classic ‘split-coil’ pickup design that they still carry today. The P Bass pickup features staggered pole pieces and its two coils are generally connected in order to be hum-canceling, a detail that was not particularly focused on by Fender at the time due to Seth Lover’s patent on the humbucker.

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Today, the Precision Bass remains one of the most popular basses around, particularly in the world of rock, thanks to its thunderous bottom end and superb playability. The P Bass is also a favourite amongst studio musicians for its reliable ‘thudding’ tone. Having a strong sonic presence in the 90-100Hz region, the P Bass’ famous thud sits just above the 50-60Hz body of a typical kick drum, creating a perfect mud-free synergy in the low-end mix that engineers can’t get enough of. 

The Player II’s Alder body features the classic contours that make these instruments so comfortable and features a 3-ply parchment pickguard, chrome hardware, knurled flat-top control knobs and an adjustable four-saddle bridge with single-groove steel barrel saddles. This vintage style bridge provides precise intonation and rock solid tuning stability, crucial components of a stage-ready instrument. 

The Player II’s maple neck features an incredibly comfortable modern “C” shape that feels like home no matter where you’re fretting, and is finished in an ultra smooth matte finish that allows you to glide up the neck with ease. The maple fretboard is adorned with 20 medium-jumbo frets and features a modern 9.5” radius for superior performance, finished off with simple black dot inlays. A key feature of the Player II series is the rolled edges of the fretboards, elevating the comfort of these instruments to new heights. The feel of a top notch custom shop instrument at an extremely accessible price point is just another reason why this collection is one of Fender’s best efforts to date.

Precision Bass

Featuring the P Bass’s classic vintage shape, the Player II’s headstock is loaded with open gear tuning pegs with a modern gear ratio. Combining vintage style with modern performance for superb tuning stability, Fender’s cloverleaf design looks as cool as ever on this bass and caps off the instrument’s classy vintage aesthetic. 

The Player series P bass pickup has the powerful bottom end and aforementioned thud we all know and love with a subtle update for modern times. Loaded with Alnico V magnets, this new and improved pickup retains bottom end but cuts back on muddiness, with slightly more top end zing than one might expect from a P Bass, as well as a bit more output to give it some edge. When played through a clean amp with the tone slightly rolled off, the Player II sounds every bit the vintage P Bass you’ve heard on countless records, warm, solid and slotting right into a classic rock mix in effortless style. When set wide open with a bit of gain, heavier, modern tones with plenty of high end grind are readily available, making this bass more versatile than ever despite its vintage look. 

With bass guitars now taking on all sorts of sonic roles across the vast spectrum of contemporary music, the Player II series reminds us that the P Bass still reigns supreme when it comes to simply being a bass in the traditional sense of the instrument. Whilst some modern instruments may be packed with more midrange, output, are better equipped to interact with elaborate pedalboards and take on a more melodic tasks, when it comes to providing that rock solid thud that is still so sorely needed in countless musical contexts, the P Bass is unbeatable. That being said, with the slight hot-rodding of the Player Series pickup in this bass and its effortless playability, there’s not much you can’t do with it. 

This powerful, versatile sound is the perfect balance of old and new, much like the myriad of excellent new finishes in the Player II series. Whilst these colours may never have been seen on a Fender instrument before, they harken back to where it all began. Having been pulled from Fender’s original archives, the vibrant, eye popping Hialeah Yellow of this bass is just one of many new vintage colours available in the Player II series, inspired by the American automobiles of the 50s and 60s in classic Fender style. 

So whether this is your first stage-quality bass or your hundredth, you really can’t go wrong with the Player II series. With all the vintage charm, supreme modern playability and powerful, versatile sound that Fender can muster, it’s an absolute steal for the price! A no brainer whether it’s your first or your 10th P! Compared to the first Player series, this new collection has really taken things up a notch and is set to become an instant classic. 

So for that classic thud, without the mud, look no further. The Fender Precision is as relevant today as it was in the 50s and it’s sounding better than ever. 

For local Fender Player II enquiries, visit Fender Music Australia.