Review: DYI Fender Blacktop Precision Bass

A few months ago I wrote a piece on some news tidbits over the new year, which mentioned I got a new bass.

That bass is my DYI Fender Blacktop Precision Bass. That brings my total Fender bass tally to five!

Here's the review and breakdown of what I think about it: (again excuse the low quality pics, I'm no photographer. Taken at my office.)

Body

First a quick history of the bass: The Fender Blacktop Precision Bass started production a few years ago, and is an affordable P-Bass with two humbucking pickups. These pickups are a huge departure from the standard issue single split-coil pickup of a usual P-Bass. It's made in Mexico.

What I did (to save some money) was to first buy the body on Ebay:

Neck

Then, through my friend Mubarak, I got his Classic 70's Precision Bass neck, which is maple and has black binding and blocks, and the 'TV logo' made famous in the 1970's and attached them together:

Under The Hood

Finally, I strung it with DR Black Beauties, to match the overall theme of black.

Sound

Monstrous! Those humbuckers are hotrodded with high output and rumbling lows and, surprisingly, clear highs. Of course it's not crispy clear, so don't expect it to be used for fusion, hi-fi sounding music.

I used it for a few gigs for a reggae band, with great results:

The lows were perfect for the bassy dub sound that reggae needs... it's also perfect for rock and punk music.

Overall, a cheap ($ 500) project that adds a new dimension to my arsenal.