Well that’s quite snazzy, isn’t it?

That’s the Fender Roger Waters Precision Bass and it’s now shipping. As you can see, it features a none-more-black body, pickguard, bridge and control hardware which I think looks great teamed with the maple neck and fingerboard. Very smart, indeed.

At first glance, the inclusion of chrome tuners is a little odd when all of the other hardware is black. It gives the bass sort of a ‘bitser’ look which may well be the point. Whatever the case, and possibly perversely, I quite like it.

The body is made of alder and is finished in the usual gloss urethane. As I mentioned, the chunky, C-shaped neck and board are maple and they have the usual P-Bass contingent of 20 frets – a medium jumbo gauge. The scale length is 34 inches, so about that distance from the black bridge, we find a surprise – the nut is made from brass. Interesting. Don’t get that so much these days but there are some that swear by brass.

Another couple of interesting features are the F-stamped neck plate (complete with a rubber gasket underneath) and the ’50s, spaghetti-style Fender logo. These little disparate things, along with the ’70s style tuners keep adding to that ‘bitser’ thing and, like I say, I think it’s doing if for me.

The grunt comes courtesy of a Seymour Duncan Basslines SPB-3 Quarter Pound pickup. Nice. The usual volume and tone controls manage the usual volume and tone noises.

Fender tells us that for a suggested US$1,199.99, you’ll get this and a Deluxe gig bag. It’s at the price-point where a hard case would be nice but you can probably expect to find it selling for less than this if you shop around so I guess- Nah, a hard case still would be nice. You don’t want to mess up that prettiness.

Anyway, more at Fender.