The Precision Bass was originally released in 1951 as a counterpart to Fender’s Telecaster guitar. In 1957, Leo Fender gave the Precision a major overhaul to become the bass that’s widely known and adored today.

Precision is the workhorse of basses. It has a great feel and a deep sound that allows a low-end bass tone without compromising the clarity of notes in the middle- and high-end frequencies. Quite simply, of all the basses out there you can’t go wrong with a Precision Bass. In any gig or recording situation, this bass will get the job done. Leo Fender began with the basics, but more than 50 years later it’s still the “go-to” bass guitar.

The American-made Precisions sport an alder or ash body with a maple neck and a maple, rosewood, ebony, or Pao Ferro fingerboard. In the Japanese and Mexican models, the body is typically poplar or basswood. Traditionally, the Precision features one split pickup connected in humbucking mode. Some later models offer an 8-pole jazz pickup in humbucker mode or a regular humbucker alongside the traditional split pickup. Precision is available in a variety of colors and finishes.

Pro Player Tip
If you are a bass player, I highly recommend a Precision for your toolbox — or as I prefer, two: 1) one with flat-wound strings for that nice, rhythmic “play in the pocket” sound, and 2) one with round wounds to give you a little growl when you need it.

With a mahogany body and set neck, the SG has a deep, rich tone powered by two humbucking pickups. The control setup is very straightfoward: a three-way switch that lets you select neck only, neck and bridge combined, or bridge only activation with a one-volume and one-tone control for each respective pickup.

The guitar itself feels wonderful to play, with its shallow body and slender neck, it just feels like it molds to you and plays like a dream. With its sinister pointed horns and powerful drive, this guitar is a screamer and a rock-and-roller’s favorite (which is precisely why I love it so much). Players of note include Angus Young, Tony Iommi, Eric Clapton, and Pete Townshend.

The body, measuring in at 16.25″ in width, has a sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides. The mahogany provides a deep bass tone that mixes well with the the mellow, slow response of the sitka spruce top. The top is light but extremely strong with a radius to add tension and strength, resulting in a “speaker cone” effect adding a boost to the mid range for a well-balanced tone. Hand-scalloped bracing focuses the natural acoustic sound toward the center of the body, enhancing sound projection.

The dovetail neck joint provides a tight, locking connection — allowing the body and neck to become one solid piece of resonating wood. The Madagascar rosewood fingerboard has a rolled edge that is slightly beveled for a smooth feel.

These guitars are well balanced and have a smooth and easy feel to them. They sound, look and feel great, what more can I say ….

With a three-piece maple neck-through-body construction on a flame-maple body, the Pedulla delivers a great tone and sustain. The polyester-finished ebony fingerboard has a smooth-as-glass feel to it; this rare finish gives the bass its distinctive voice as well as a hardness that resists wear.  Its unique body style is ergonomically sculpted for access to the highest notes on the treble side and an extended bass side horn for perfect balance when strapped on.

Hopefully I’ll have one of these for my very own someday (if my wife is looking for a unique gift for me and comes across this, I’d like it in the blue-green sunburst as shown, but with chrome hardware and four strings only, please).  In the meantime, I’ll keep saving my pennies.

Steve