Fender Vintage Style Precision Bass, Owner'S Manual

Setup and Adjustment Made Easy

Weather, specifically temperature and humidity, may have a 
dramatic impact on the way your bass plays. All instrument 
woods expand and contract with seasonal fluctuations in 
temperature and humidity, and naturally, string height and 
playing action are affected. Depending on the climate where you 
live, your bass may need routine adjustments a couple of times 
a year. 

Fender

®

 basses have several points of adjustment which 

are there to compensate for the adverse effects of these 
environmental changes, and more importantly, these features 
allow you to tailor the playing action of the bass to your own 
personal playing style. 

Note: The following factory specifications are median specs, 
and are meant only to guide you. They should not be taken as 
hard and fast rules. If you prefer your action a little higher or 
lower, change it as you like, but be aware that higher action will 
be more difficult to play and lower action may result in excessive 
fret buzz, depending on your technique, or style of play.

Changing Batteries

Fender produces basses with passive electronics (no batteries) and basses 
with active (battery-powered) preamps. Some active basses have an active/
passive switch, to switch between modes. Depending on the instrument, your 
active bass may have either a 9-volt (one-battery) system, or an 18-volt (two-
battery) system. (

Visit the 

Fender

 website for detailed specifications for your 

instrument.

) 

Typical battery life for both systems is approximately 600 hours of playing time. 
All Fender basses with active preamps are equipped with switching jacks which 
engage the battery when a cable is plugged into the jack. 

Note: To maximize 

battery life, unplug your cable from the bass when not playing the instrument.

As your batteries lose their power, the voltage supplied to the preamp will 
also drop, which will result in distortion and noise in the bass’s signal. When 
distortion and noise occur in your signal, it is your cue that the batteries must 
be changed for the instrument to operate correctly. 

Note: Active basses that 

do not have an active/passive switch will not play passively when the batteries 
are dead.

For basses with 2-battery 18-volt preamps, always replace both batteries at 
the same time, as mismatched voltages may adversely affect the performance 
of the preamp.  It is a good idea to use the same brand of battery consistently, 
over the life of the instrument.

16

Set-up