Fender 2004 American Deluxe Precision Bass Reviews 5

Too priceful to buy (ouch!)

The new 2004 American Deluxe P-Bass offers tons of tonal variations. A 3-band active EQ combined with a split-coil P-style neck pickup and a special-design J-Bass humbucker in the bridge position make this an axe that can cut any gig. New cool finishes were added, including Montego Black - a colour found actually on Squiers - for the premium alder body and gold vinyl anodized for the pickguard. I think that the Montego Black American Deluxe P-Bass with the gold anodized guard and the all-maple neck looks much like a '57 Vintage reissue model with American Deluxe specifications (J-Bass humbucker in the bridge, 3-band EQ, 22 frets, abalone dots and 5-bolt neckplate), while the rosewood-neck version looked more like a '59 model!

None!

Whether you find a '57 or 59 Vintage re-issue, you'll noticed the major differences between the two Vintage Precisions and the new American Deluxe model. First, both the American Vintage 57 and 59 P-Basses feature the same gold anodized pickguard and a 20-fret maple neck, although the Montego Black were primarily offered on the budget-priced Squier versions in the early '80s. Finally, the 2004 American Deluxe Precision is basically a high-end version of the American Vintage '57 and '59 with 22-frets on the fretboard, a string-through/top load bridge, 18-volt active electronics and a bridge humbucker for more tonal expansion. The revamped American Deluxe line is regarded as a pretty example of quality, construction and craftsmanship.

Fender's American Deluxe Series guitars and basses are the top-of-the-line of American-made Fenders. Since their debut in the early '90s, these instruments featured Fender-Lace Sensor pickups, but by 1995/98 the entire line were redesigned with active electronics and Vintage-Noiseless pickups. In January 2002 some few cosmetic updates were added to the entire line, such as a 5-bolt neckplate, a new 18-volt power supply and a 4+1 tuner layout with two Hipshot string trees for the 5-string P and J-Bass models while 2004 saw the addition of new cool finishes as well as newly-designed SCN (Samarian Cobalt Noiseless) units, made with samarian cobalt magnets for better response and more articulation.

John Constantinides rated this unit 5 on 2004-02-16.

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