A Charming P Bass Straight Out of 1953
The Precision Bass was marketed to the public back in 1951, but this peerless sonic machine still ignites musical passions 70 years later. In fact, when Sweetwater first saw the Fender Custom Shop ’53 Precision Bass Journeyman Relic, we were blown away by how sweet its retro design looked. To capture the spirit of 1953’s P Basses, Fender Custom Shop started off with a two-piece slab alder body, Telecaster-esque headstock, ’51-style “U” shape maple neck, 20 medium vintage frets, and ’50s-era chrome pickup and tailpiece covers. To achieve a sound straight out of the ‘50s, Fender Custom Shop installed a hand-wound ’55 Precision Bass pickup under its chrome pickup cover. Lastly, its Journeyman Relic finish — with slight dings and moderate-looking playing wear — puts the finishing touches on the retro look and feel of this ’53-inspired Precision Bass.
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Nearly indistinguishable from a true 1953 Precision
It hardly gets more classic than a slab ash body and maple neck on a Precision Bass. Looking to make this ’53-inspired Precision Bass into an instrument nearly indistinguishable from a true 1953 find, the Custom Shop set to work adding aspects like a two-saddle Vintage Precision Bass bridge, one-ply parchment pickguard, disc string tree, and Vintage-style tuners. Meanwhile the ’51-style “U” shape neck profile provides a slight taper toward the bone nut and ends in a Telecaster-shaped headstock that Fender used before they switched to a more Stratocaster-like version. The quarter-sawn maple neck also makes it incredibly sturdy and durable. Its maple fingerboard sports a 7.25-inch radius and 20 Jescar medium vintage frets awaiting the command of your fingertips.
Hand-wound, vintage-wired pickups
This Custom Shop Precision Bass looks like the real deal, but how does it sound? To achieve a tonality that mirrors this P Bass’s looks, Fender Custom Shop loaded it with a single Hand-Wound '55 Single-Coil Precision Bass pickup with vintage wiring to nail that early Precision Bass sound that brought a whole new dimension of music to the ‘50s. You can dial in your sound using the Telecaster-like control mountings on the lower bout with the two essentials: volume and tone. Sweetwater bass experts agree that this quintessential bass spits out tones with a warm low end and plenty of power for modern-day applications. So, where will you take your Fender Custom Shop ’53 Precision Bass Journeyman Relic?
The Journeyman Relic treatment
Though a relic’d guitar finish is almost as common these days as a flawless factory finish, it was the Fender Custom Shop that pioneered the process — and they know how to do it better than anyone. Fender offers different levels of finish distressing. One of the these patented techniques is the Journeyman, found on this Precision. This is an authentic nitrocellulose lacquer finish, which is thinner than today’s polyurethane finishes, allowing the wood to breathe and the tone to bloom. You get a look and feel that’s used but not abused. Imagine a beloved, decades-old bass that’s been well taken care of, with a played-in feel but perfect fretwork. Like every instrument in our Guitar Gallery, it’s been through Sweetwater’s 55-point Inspection and plays splendidly, right out of the box.
Fender Custom Shop '53 Precision Bass Journeyman Relic Features:
- Almost indistinguishable from a true 1953 P Bass
- 2-piece slab ash body with a sweet midrange and tight lows
- Classic Telecaster-esque headstock that came on all P Basses before 1957
- ’51-style “U” shape neck, thicker at body end with slight taper to the nut
- 1-piece quarter-sawn maple neck with 7.25-inch radius maple fingerboard
- 20 Jescar medium vintage frets
- ’50s-era chrome pickup and tailpiece covers
- 1 Custom Shop hand-wound '55 Single-Coil Precision Bass single-coil provides warm, powerful tone
- 2-saddle vintage-style bridge with fiber saddles and chrome cover
- Journeyman Relic finish and relic'd hardware for a moderately worn look
