Precision Bass

About

The Fender Precision Bass is one of the most important instruments ever conceived! It has shaped the sounds and styles of electric basses for decades, and has been heard on countless recordings spanning every genre. At The Music Zoo, we're big fans of the P-Bass, and our selection is sure to provide the perfect choice for every player, whether you're seeking out a vintage player-grade example with some extra mojo, a piece inspired by your favorite artist, value-packed Mexican Fender or Squier examples, stunning Fender Custom Shop creations, or a timeless USA production model, we're the destination with the best combination of the unique and rare and the everyday must-haves! Precision Bass History Fender's Precision bass has spawned countless imitators. It first appeared on the scene in 1951, alongside the original Nocaster and Telecaster models. It's name stems from the "precision" at which a player was able to find and play notes, because of the frets and amplified sound, features that a normal stand-up bass of course lacked. The early P-Bass, from 1951 until 1957, was a bit different than the P-Bass as we know it today. Like the Telecaster, the cutaways had no contour, and the bass used a lone single coil pickup and a black pickguard shaped a bit differently. These early P-basses were only available with a maple fingerboard, and often featured metal bridge and pickup covers. In 1957, the P-Bass received some upgrades inspired by the new Stratocaster model, including a reshaped pickguard, a contoured body, reshaped headstock, and a new "split coil" pickup - two single coils that were offset and arranged in humbucking mode. Rosewood fingerboards were added in 1959, and the tortoise shell pickguard appeared in 1960, replacing the anodized aluminum pickguards of prior years. In 1968, the Telecaster Bass was introduced, and was technically Fender's first "reissue" - inspired by the pre-1957 P-Bass. Though, with the introduction of the Wide Range humbuckers often used t