NBD (for real this time): Fender Standard Precision Bass
Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2026 5:22 pm
You might recall I've been on a bit of a bass quest for the past six months or so. I haven't been in a position to buy anything because basically any spare money is going towards mine and Sarah's upcoming wedding, but I've certainly spent an unhealthy amount of time browsing Reverb. I pretty much landed on either picking up a mid-range P Bass (in fact I've had one on long term loan from a very kind pal for the past little while) or potentially something like a Vista Musicmaster.
Anyway, cutting to the chase, it was my stag do (bachelor party for the Americans) on Saturday night. It was pretty low key, I wasn't bothered about a fancy trip away somewhere, and didn't want to potentially price some people out anyway, so the plan was just a night out in Leeds, pub grub, karaoke bar and then an all-vinyl club night. I wouldn't have expected something like this in a million years, but because it was such a cheap night out compared to a lot of stags, I guess everyone put in like £20-25 and clubbed together and bought me a new bass!!
I'm still in shock to be honest. Somehow even with Sarah asking me some extremely pointed questions about what colour P bass I would buy, I didn't cotton on.
It's the current Fender Standard model. Basically the same as the one I've been borrowing, although they're now made in Indonesia rather than Mexico (not something I've ever particularly cared about) and the necks no longer use a skunk stripe (perfect because I have a weird ick about skunk stripes anyway).
First impressions are good! It's on the lighter side for a P bass, which suits me fine as a little guy. Neck feels great, finish feels similar to my Indonesian Squier Tele which I guess isn't surprising, and also again suits me perfectly because that's my favourite neck I've ever played. The action is a bit lower than I'd like, but that's an easy fix. I haven't had chance to play it plugged in yet, but will do tomorrow night at band practice. Sarah also very kindly hunted down a black pickguard for me, which I'll switch out soon. I really should have cottoned on when I said "Yeah, I'd probably buy a black aftermarket pickguard" and her response was "Oh wow, I didn't realise that was something you could do, what sort of website would you go to for something like that?" Tempted to put some daft knobs on it eventually as well, maybe some big old-style EHX ones or something.
Will post more pics later in the week, currently still feeling somewhat disorientated from perhaps the biggest night out I've been on in three or four years lmao.
Anyway, cutting to the chase, it was my stag do (bachelor party for the Americans) on Saturday night. It was pretty low key, I wasn't bothered about a fancy trip away somewhere, and didn't want to potentially price some people out anyway, so the plan was just a night out in Leeds, pub grub, karaoke bar and then an all-vinyl club night. I wouldn't have expected something like this in a million years, but because it was such a cheap night out compared to a lot of stags, I guess everyone put in like £20-25 and clubbed together and bought me a new bass!!
I'm still in shock to be honest. Somehow even with Sarah asking me some extremely pointed questions about what colour P bass I would buy, I didn't cotton on.
- bigbigbassguitar.jpeg (253.44 KiB) Viewed 334 times
It's the current Fender Standard model. Basically the same as the one I've been borrowing, although they're now made in Indonesia rather than Mexico (not something I've ever particularly cared about) and the necks no longer use a skunk stripe (perfect because I have a weird ick about skunk stripes anyway).
First impressions are good! It's on the lighter side for a P bass, which suits me fine as a little guy. Neck feels great, finish feels similar to my Indonesian Squier Tele which I guess isn't surprising, and also again suits me perfectly because that's my favourite neck I've ever played. The action is a bit lower than I'd like, but that's an easy fix. I haven't had chance to play it plugged in yet, but will do tomorrow night at band practice. Sarah also very kindly hunted down a black pickguard for me, which I'll switch out soon. I really should have cottoned on when I said "Yeah, I'd probably buy a black aftermarket pickguard" and her response was "Oh wow, I didn't realise that was something you could do, what sort of website would you go to for something like that?" Tempted to put some daft knobs on it eventually as well, maybe some big old-style EHX ones or something.
Will post more pics later in the week, currently still feeling somewhat disorientated from perhaps the biggest night out I've been on in three or four years lmao.
Sarah!
