REVIEWED
Fender Blacktop Precision & Jazz FENDER
The idea behind the new Fender Blacktop range seems to be to create a range of guitars that offers something a little more raw and more powerful than the sound of the US company’s standard electric guitars and basses. Fender basses have traditionally often relied on single coil pick-ups, which offer a lovely clean tone with almost Hi-Fi sparkly highs, and a good punchy output. However, sometimes you just can’t beat the sound of a twin coil humbucking pick-up which usually offers a sound that is thicker and often more aggressive. The actual sound of Fender basses though is only part of the story, there is also the classic look and feel to consider, and it’s all these parts combine into the very reason why Leo Fender’s creations have remained so popular all these years. So when I first received these two new basses from the Fender Blacktop range I was initially a little concerned whether Fender were messing with the classic formula, lets have a look.
FENDER Precision & Jazz
Precision Jazz
ACT
£682.80 £682.80
All prices include VAT CONT
Fender GBI T:
W:
01342 331700
www.fender.com
Back in Black
At first glance both of these basses look pretty much as you’d expect albeit with noticeably non-standard pick-ups. Available in a choice of either Black or White Chrome Pearl finishes, topped off with distinctive black three-ply scratch plates; the Precision and Jazz both feature solid alder bodies with gloss urethane finished maple necks and rosewood fingerboards and Fender’s standard 34-inch scale length. In addition to a decent set of open gear tuners the Black Top range also features a modern heavier duty Blacktop ‘HiMass’ bridge that promises improvements in stability, tone and sustain over the standard Fender vintage design. Precisions and Jazzes have always had different neck shapes, but comparing both basses like this side by side really highlights these important differences. Both necks feature a modern C shape profile with medium jumbo frets but whereas the Jazz sports a nut width of 1.5 inches the Precision has a wider nut width of 1.625 inches. This may not sound like much but it really makes a huge difference; the Jazz bass feels slick and fast whilst helping out those of us with slightly smaller hands, and the Precision’s extra width feels chunkier and more solid, encouraging the player to dig in and play with more aggression! The wider Precision’s neck feels a little cumbersome in direct comparison to the nimbler Jazz but in practise both necks feel equally as fast and what is preferable ultimately comes down to
26 3
www.playmusicpickup.co.uk
Blacktop Precision & Jazz Bass
The new Fender Blacktop series aims to inject some supercharged Va Va Voom into some of the Californian giant’s most popular designs…but is this what bass players really want?
Words: DP Wilson
personal opinion. Emanating from Fender’s
impressive Mexican factory, the Blacktop’s build quality feels a cut above most of the competition in this price range, with none of the rough edges that can blight lesser guitars. Both necks feature well-fitted and finished nuts; the fingerboards feel slightly rolled over too, giving these basses a nice ‘played in’ feel.
So far then, these Blacktop basses seem very nice if not startlingly different from Fender’s other ‘classic’ basses. However, we have so far largely ignored the electronics and this is where these basses really start to get interesting.
Blacktop Precision The Blacktop Precision completely does away with the classic single coil Precision bass pick-up and instead features a pair of powerful
humbuckers. This
departure from the classic formula
completely changes
Fender Blacktop Precision Bass
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