“This is like the center of gravity for the bass world”: Geezer Butler, Tal Wilkenfeld and Nate Mendel hail the legacy of the P Bass, as Fender celebrates its 75th anniversary

Sean Hurley plays the Fender 75th Anniversary Precision Bass Collection .

The Precision Bass is 75 years old and to mark this landmark occasion Fender has unveiled three anniversary editions of the bass guitar that transformed popular music.

Many instruments – and their makers – overstate their impact on popular culture, but the Precision Bass quite rightly is regarded as a hinge moment for popular music. Taking design cues from the first-mass produced electric guitar, the Fender Telecaster, the P Bass completed the transition from bulky stand-up basses. A new era arrived.