Fender American Deluxe Precision Bass 

Comments about Fender American Deluxe Precision Bass:

Recently purchased the three color sunburst with the rosewood board. Needed this bass like another hole in the head but couldn't resist. Kept it for a few days with all the plastic on it to make sure it was a keeper. It's a keeper....bass has everything I would want: P/J p/u configuration, active/passive capability, bone nut, straplocks, contoured heel, massive bridge, serious case. I just had to adjust the neck a bit, lower the action to my taste, and will probably put on "half-rounds". One thing it would be nice for Fender to do is offer the sunburst with a maple board. Another thing is offer the natural ash (which I almost bought) with a little vintage tint in the finish. The body and neck look too "sterile" and bleached out IMO. Otherwise I'm very satisfied so far with the bass.

Comments about Fender American Deluxe Precision Bass:

electronics good tone and concept but the cheap battery terminals was skimping..bass does't fit case very well not snug in case moves around in the gap around the body in.. case not made to fit excately
Spot of glue on fretboard sticking up the size of a ink pen tip diameter..took work to get it partially removed, lower tone knob or dail that shares the same pot never tightened down spinning freely, went to remove batteries for storage of bass..was very careful, because I noticed they used the very cheap folded card board type battery terminal block..went as easy as possible to remove battery, and one of the terminals broke off and stayed on the battery anyways, also the little spong thing to cushion the battery came right off, because they did not clean a powdery substantance off the battery compartment walls, so it had powder on the the adhesive side thus it came off..(American guitars I just bought) just changed a defective knob on a new Gibson les Paul, and had to send a Gibson SG back. because someone missed with the screw driver and guaged the front of the body..THE POINT I AM MAKING these american guitar companies do not have the quality control like they used to for the big bucks they charge because of ther name..I have been playing for 37 years and owned a lot of guitars from the big names and now you have to hassle with a low standard of quality control...very versital bass, excellent tone, but must be fully inspected, because the lack of quality control...I will upgrade the Battery terminals, something to consider if you purchase one of these basses.
Very very cheap battery terminals
low quality control spinng knob never tightened and a few cheap parts customer needs to use some of their time to fix and upgrade battery terminals.. clean powder out of battery compartment and restick sponge cushion

Comments about Fender American Deluxe Precision Bass:

I'm overjoyed with the American Deluxe Precision Bass. It's light, romantic-looking, and it sounds great. It is now my #1 bass, and I can't see myself parting with it...ever.
Powerful active EQ; active/passive switch really does provide a wider tonescape; choice of top-load or string-thru bridge puts that debate to rest; great flight case. About the only thing I can wish for is a piezo pickup, but that's a very nitpicky request.
Finish is flawless; tuners are ultra-stable and don't tax your fingers; no noise whatsoever; tone is very expressive without too much thump or tin. Truss rod and string height were good from the factory, but intonation and pickup height required adjustment. Knobs made contact with the pickguard, which would eventually create wear, so they needed to be raised slightly (easily done with a flathead screwdriver).
If you like this sort of sound, the price is right, though not mind-bogglingly low. It's absolutely a professional instrument, so you could pay a LOT more.

Comments about Fender American Deluxe Precision Bass:

Great overall bass loaded with the best of the best Fender features. Would have been higher rating except for noisy lack of shielding.
I've had this bass for several weeks and continue to explore new sounds and get used to all the amazing new features. The new preamp is fantastic with lots of headroom from the 18 volt electronics and the passive mode is so close to my American Standard sound I'm really amazed. I plat it passive at least half of the time because it sounds so good! The electronics are the best Fender's ever done and the tone controls are for real adding tone and not just boosting db. Subtle might be a better word for the bass and the mid control adds punch while the treble adds nice crispness. Even the passive tone control provides excellent tone shaping. The craftsmanship of the neck and body are outstanding as you'd expect and the hipshot lightweight tuners are light and stay in tune. The new strong arm string tree for the A string solves a long-standing problem and adds to the many features. The only drawback on this bass is the lack of shielding. Out of the box REALLY noisy which is likely why I was able to get a good deal on a used one. This is overcome by having conductive shielding paint installed and a ground plate under the J pickup. Once the noise is overcome, this is an insanely nice bass, but beware you might get one of the noisy ones like I did. Fender should go back to shielding like they used to and maybe they have, but my tech knew about it so I got mine fixed pretty quick. I like this better than the Jazz deluxe likely because of the great pbass pickup.
Quality is outstanding except for the lack of electronics shielding.
Great value and the new electronics and other features justify the slight price increase over prior models.

Comments about Fender American Deluxe Precision Bass:

I have had this bass for about 3 weeks now and I am quite satisfied. Over the years I have owned numerous Fenders, Musicman, Rick, Spector etc. always looking for my perfect sound. I have come to conclusion that Fender is my brand of preference for playing classic and/or hard rock...I already own a 2008 American P-bass and a late 80's Japanese Jazz Special (the original Duff Mckagen bass) so I was looking to "round out" my collection. This Deluxe P-bass has a great sound to it, very twangy which is what I like, but also the active pick-ups give it a fuller low-end then the standard P-bass. But I will say that the passive mode of the Deluxe does not sound as good as my standard P-bass even though its the same pick-up configuration, so basically I will be keeping this in Active mode the whole time and use my standard P when I want the classic P-bass sound. Bottom line is this is really not a P-bass sound-wise, but I would say more comparable to my Spector Euro-5 i.e. other high-end basses. It is well worth the price I am glad I bought it.

Comments about Fender American Deluxe Precision Bass:

Years ago I vowed never to buy a Fender, because their customer service is SO BAD!! However, I had to change my mind once I played this bass!! My American Precision Deluxe arrived yesterday - this thing is a work of art!! As others have mentioned it WILL give you the tone you are looking for, it IS well constructed, and the neck is solid / easily playable.

Comments about Fender American Deluxe Precision Bass:

I'm a huge fan of the precision bass and without a doubt Fender "nailed it" on this one . Very versatile , finish fit and assembly is Better than I have EVER seen from Fender including custom shop models . You will NOT find a greater Precision bass than this !

Comments about Fender American Deluxe Precision Bass:

When my Fender American Deluxe Precision Bass arrived in the mail I could not put it down! This instrument is incredibly versatile...If you are looking for that classic P-bass sound you can easily pan between the pickups...Or if you are looking for that big, punchy tone with a touch of low end (Like I crave) the Active EQ will give you exactly what you are looking for! I can't compliment the craftmanship and versatility of this instrument enough...When they upgraded this model with a passive/active pickup switch I was a bit dissapointed that it added $200 to the cost. But now that I own it I think the switch is a great addition for practicing on your own. If you don't want to waste away the batteries a simple flip of the switch to passive will save you. I am sure after a lot of use the passive/active switch will also come in handy at shows if the batteries die. If you are looking for a bass with endless options this is it. It is definitely worth the increase in the retail cost!