60th Anniversary
of the Fender Precision Bass

When developed in 1951 the Precision Bass Guitar was a new kind of instrument that did not exist before Leo Fender invented it. With the downsizing of bands in the late 1940's -1950's and not able to compete with loud drummers and electric guitar players, upright bass players were looking for at change.  In response to that Leo Fender developed and introduced in 1951 the electric Fender Precision bass guitar.  The Precision Bass was a new kind of instrument that did not exist before Leo Fender invented it. The Precision Bass guitar liberated musicians from the cumbersome confines of the upright bass, quickly becoming the preferred worldwide standard for tone, power and excellence. Six decades later, it's still the worldwide standard, for the solid-body electric "bass guitar" with a fretted neck that can be played like a guitar.  

In the 1950's some of the notables who used the Precision Bass guitar exclusively were William "Monk " Montgomery and Ray Johnson, both who played fro the band leader Lionel Hampton and James Johnson and bassist for Elvis Presley who played upright bass and switched to Precision to record " Jailhouse Rock" in 1957.  1959 saw young bassist James Jamerson and Donald "Duck" Dunn along with London's bassists Terence "Jet" Harris and John Entwistle using the Fender Precision Bass Guitar.