Few rock bassists are as closely identified with fretless bass as Tony Franklin. Acclaimed for his innumerable session credits and work with Roy Harper, the Firm, Blue Murder, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and others, Franklin is a devoted and longtime Precision artist and one of the finest modern exponents of the fretless version of the instrument. The Tony Franklin Fretless Precision Bass delivers his style and powerful elastic tone in a model with classic looks and personalised Franklin features including two specially voiced pickups, a drop-D E-string tuner and more.
FEATURES
- Maple neck with C profile
- Three-way pickup selector switch
- Unmarked and unfinished ebony fingerboard with side dot markers only
- Tony Franklin designed pickups
- American Vintage bass bridge with four single-groove steel barrel saddles
- Vintage-style tuners with HipshotŪ Bass Xtender drop-D tuner on the E string
"P/J" PICKUP CONFIGURATION WITH FRANKLIN BRIDGE PICKUP
This bass features the tonally versatile combination of a pummeling split single-coil Precision Bass middle pickup and a growling Jazz BassŪ bridge pickup, widely known in bass guitar circles as a "P/J" pickup configuration. The specially voiced Tony Franklin Jazz Bass single-coil bridge pickup has hex-screw pole pieces and ceramic bar magnets.
NITROCELLULOSE LACQUER FINISH
Nitrocellulose lacquer is one of the great original-era Fender electric guitar finishes, and is still used today on select instruments. Thin, porous and delicate, its a premium finish prized for sonic qualities that let body woods breathe with their true tonal character, and for an appearance that ages and wears in a distinctive way appealing to many players.
FRETLESS EBONY FINGERBOARD WITH NO FRET MARKERS
Theres nothing like the slippery, fluid and elastic tone of a fretless bass. A distinctly classic Fender sound since the early 1970s, its in better form than ever coming from Tony Franklins Signature Precision Bass, which features a beautiful ebony fingerboard with no fret marker lines (side dots only).
THREE-WAY BLADE PICKUP SWITCH
Because its a dual-pickup instrument, Tony Franklins signature Precision model features a three-way blade pickup switch that gives you each pickup individually or both of them together.
HIPSHOT DROP-D TUNER
The E-string tuning machine on the Tony Franklin Fretless Precision Bass features a HipshotŪ drop-D mechanism that lets you de-tune quickly and accurately with the mere flip of a lever.
SIGNATURE-STAMPED NECK PLATE
In an extra-personalized touch, the neck plate of the Tony Franklin Fretless Precision Bass is engraved with his signature
BODY
Body Material - Select Alder
Body Finish - Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Body Shape - Precision Bass
NECK
Neck Material - Maple
Neck Finish - Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Neck Shape - Modern "C"
Scale Length - 34" (86.36 cm)
Fingerboard Material - Ebony
Fingerboard Radius - 9.5" (241 mm)
Number of Frets - Fretless
Fret Size - Fretless
Nut Material - Synthetic Bone
Nut Width - 1.625" (41.3 mm)
Position Inlays - Side Dot
Truss Rod - Vintage-Style Butt Adjust
ELECTRONICS
Bridge Pickup - Tony Franklin Single-Coil Jazz BassŪ with Hex Screw Pole Pieces and Ceramic Bar Magnets
Middle Pickup - Tony Franklin American Split Single-Coil Precision BassŪ
Controls - Master Volume, Master Tone
Switching - 3-Position Blade: Position 1. Jazz BassŪ Pickup. Position 2. Jazz BassŪ and Precision BassŪ Pickups. Position 3. Precision BassŪ Pickup
Configuration - SS
HARDWARE
Bridge - 4-Saddle American Vintage Bass with Single-Groove Steel "Barrel" Saddles
Hardware Finish - Nickel/Chrome
Tuning Machines - FenderŪ '70s Vintage-Style Stamped Open-Gear with HipshotŪ Bass Xtender "Drop D" on the E String
Pickguard - 3-Ply Black
Control Knobs - Knurled Flat-Top
Neck Plate - 4-Bolt with Artist Signature
MISCELLANEOUS
Strings - Tony Franklin Signature Strings, Nickel Plated Steel (.045-.105 Gauges)
Other Features - Unlined Fretless Ebony Fingerboard, Precision BassŪ; and Jazz BassŪ; Pickups, 3-Way Pickup Switching, Matte Finish Pickup Covers, Tony Franklin Engraved Neck Plate, HipshotŪ; Bass X-Tender; Drop D Tuning Key on the E String, Tony Franklin Designed NPS Strings, Vintage Styling, Side Dot Position Markers are Located at the Fretting Points of the Fingerboard
