GEAR REVIEW
THE NEW PRECISION BASS FENDER PLAYER II SERIES | Eric Dahl
seems to provide more sustain thanks to the wood ’ s density .
Since Fender has revamped the Player II Series it only makes sense to do the same with the iconic Fender Precision Bass .
Right out of the box the first thing I noticed about this bass is the satin finished neck , rolled fretboard edges and a smaller Modern “ C ” shape with 9.5 ” radius . The neck is not Fender Jazz Bass small , but definitely not as hefty as vintage and classic Precision basses I have played and owned .
Another standout feature is the Hialeah Yellow finish that our test instrument was presented in . It looks vintage and broken in . But Fender has expanded the color offerings for this Player II Series P-Bass to include 3-Color Sunburst , Polar White , Coral Red , Black , Aquatone Blue and Birch Green … offering bassists , a larger spectrum of colors to choose from than they are typically offered .
The 4-saddle bridge with individual grooved barrels is robust and easy to set intonation or lower / raise the action depending on your playing style . The contoured Alder body is very comfortable to perform with and
Not knocking the other color choices for the P-Bass in the Player II Series , but in the Hialeah Yellow the chrome hardware , 3-ply parchment pickguard and black pickups pair well together .
Plugged in I found the V Split Coil Precision Bass pickups on this model to be a bit brighter than other American made P-Bass offerings . Which is also great for some styles of bass playing particularly if you ‘ pop and slap ’ the strings more . For my more traditional bass playing style rolling back the tone control a ¼ turn helped bring the bassier tone I was looking for . It also keeps this Fender Bass from competing with other instruments in the Praise band in the same frequency spectrum as keyboards and pianos .
The Player II Series P-Bass is very well balanced when worn with the Alder body and Maple neck . The Modern “ C ” shaped neck with satin finish , rolled fretboard edges and Medium Jumbo frets will definitely help you avoid bass player hand fatigue . You know what I ’ m talking about if your forearm and hand have ever cramped up while playing bass for extended periods .
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