There are bass options galore in Fender’s new American Performer line, with three of the nine models geared towards lovers of low end. As well as Jazz and Mustang Basses comes the American Performer Precision, armed with the versatility of a PJ pickup set and available in Three-Colour Sunburst, Arctic White and Penny gloss polyurethane finishes along with our review model’s Satin Lake Placid Blue.

We’re a little bit in love with the finish – it looks amazing under lights and feels great, too. The Yosemite pickups, meanwhile, are a fresh brew courtesy of Tim Shaw that feature alnico V magnets, new wire-specs and shellac-dipped coils. “To my ear, shellac ‘breathes’ more than wax does,” Shaw tells us. “The pickups are a bit more responsive with shellac than they are with wax, and that’s an important component of the sound of the Performer Series.”

In use

The neck has a satin urethane finish that’s sleek and drag-free, while the ‘Modern C’ profile’s depth fattens out nicely to a full inch at the 12th fret. The 41.8mm nut width falls nicely between the chunk of a ’50s Precision and a skinny ’60s Jazz Bass and the overall package is fast and fatigue-free. Plugging in, the PJ configuration enables you to dial in everything from a dubby throb to driving rock, abrasive punk, funk and more. There’s a great balance of depth, punch and attack and the Greasebucket tone control retains definition nicely.

Watch our video demo here:

Key Features

• PRICE £1,149 (inc gigbag)
• DESCRIPTION Solidbody double-cutaway electric bass. Made in USA
• BUILD Alder body, bolt-on maple neck with 9.5″ radius slab maple fingerboard, 20 medium-jumbo frets, synthetic bone nut
• HARDWARE 4x steel saddle vintage-style top-loader bridge, Fender ‘F’ lightweight vintage-paddle tuners with tapered shafts
• ELECTRICS Yosemite Single-Coil Jazz Bass and Split Single-Coil Precision Bass pickups. Middle pickup volume, bridge pickup volume, master Greasebucket tone circuit
• SCALE LENGTH 34″/864mm
• NECK WIDTH 41.8mm at nut, 57.0mm at 12th fret
• NECK DEPTH 21.44mm at first fret, 25.5mm at 12th fret
• STRING SPACING 31.8mm at nut, 60.8mm at bridge WEIGHT 3.99kg/8.8lb
• FINISH Satin Lake Placid Blue polyurethane
• CONTACT Fender EMEA fender.com