In 1954, the Precision underwent several significant changes, and while modifications to the Telecaster occurred around the same time, those on the P-Bass also owed a tip of the headstock to Fender’s newer solidbody guitar, the double-cut Stratocaster introduced the same year. Its 34″ scale would ultimately become the industry standard.Īnd while its headstock looked similar to that on the Tele, the P-Bass didn’t look completely like a big brother, as it’s a double-cut instrument, with a large pickguard that covers both cutaway horns. A bridge cover and a handrest (covering the pickup) proffered an aerodynamic aesthetic (possibly to counter the “plank” designation some players used in reference to Fender’s slab-body instruments), and it had a finger rest on the treble side of the body. Its bridge had two pressed-fiber saddles, each handling two strings. Electronics consisted of one single-coil pickup with level polepieces, and master volume and tone knobs mounted on a small metal plate. The Precision originally emulated many elements of its six-string sibling, including a maple neck with black dot fretboard markers, a “slab” body made of ash (finished in a dark blond that has come to be known as “butterscotch” in vintage-guitar parlance), black Bakelite pickguard, and through-the-body string loading. The Precision was introduced at a time when musicians were beginning to pay more attention to electric stringed instruments, and its acceptance was bolstered by the fact that the Fender company had also marketed a successful solidbody electric guitar (the Esquire/Broadcaster/Telecaster) shortly before the Precision was introduced in late 1951. While it’s true that Gibson, Rickenbacker, and Audiovox all built electric basses some years earlier, the instrument developed by Leo Fender and George Fullerton has always been considered the progenitor of the modern electric bass.
In the world of electric basses, the 1952 Fender Precision is the one that started it all. ’54 Precision Bass: VG Archive, courtesy of Rockohaulix.
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